Ultimate Spider-Man #11: The Ultimate Conversation

A year is seemingly a short span of time in the long arc of history but can stretch for an eternity while in the day-to-day milieu. The conception and birth of a child can elapse within the span of that calendar. Or little can change, like adding six inches of hair on a head, give or take. In comic terms, 12 issues (or more depending on the craziness of creators and their schedules) typically come and go, enough to fill two standard trade paperbacks. Thinking in those terms, it seems such a surprise how much ground has been covered (and just how much more is left) in the penultimate issue of Ultimate Spider-Man’s freshman year. 

Ultimate Spider-Man #11 – written by Jonathan Hickman with art by David Messina, colors by Matthew Wilson, and lettering by VC’s Cory Petit – brings the series close to its first anniversary as Peter faces a heavy conversation with Uncle Ben, Harry Osborn ghosting him, and another Sinister Six encounter. On the eve of the attack on New York, the same one that killed Aunt May and Norman Osborn along with countless others, Peter and Ben meet to discuss the current state of their relationship and responsibilities. There’s an undercurrent of fatalistic honesty in the conversation which ends in a complicated place as the issue ends. 

Meanwhile, the new Black Cat makes her first appearance at a meeting of the Sinister Six, taking the place of her wheelchair-bound father. Mr. Negative, who brushes off a meeting with Spider-Man during a bank robbery, and his uneasy competitors are put into place by an angry Wilson Fist, who’s readying himself for an inevitable power struggle. Elsewhere, after said robbery ends with a beating, Peter and MJ have another quiet conversation about the weight and fear they both have for Peter’s wellbeing. They talk through it, hinting at family strife with Watsons and Peter’s maturity. Lurking around the corner is the holidays, and threats internal and external are ready to blanket the Parkers it seems. 

Hickman’s scripting is excellent as ever, weaving these elements in a way that just feels like a Spider-Man comic. It’s the right level of superheroics and soapy drama, achieving a homeostasis between Peter Parker and Spider-Man. What stands as a testament to the long game writing of the series is the satisfaction that comes from the quiet, introspective conversations that Peter has with MJ and Ben respectively. 

The first is intimate, an honest and open dialogue between two people who trust each other on the deepest level possible. Even in the uneasy times, the respect and directness from the two is a refreshing upending of the melodramatic tropes in on-page marriages. Hickman gives the conversation a mini three-act structure in that it rises, climaxes, and then falls with a hint that some of the tension is still there. It’s a masterclass in how characters being on the same page doesn’t mean they can’t be compelling or dynamic to read. Hickman also gets to throw in a few quips that hint at the playful, lively spirit of MJ that gets to shimmer and shine in the series. 

On the other hand, the chat at the memorial with Uncle Ben is Hickman getting to have his under-the-surface, subtext-driven dialogue as well. Peter and Ben never come right out and directly say what they mean, speaking in vagueness and obfuscations that stem directly from their experiences as journalists. After the last issue’s focus on Ben and Jonah, that choice is an excellent structure to reinforce that element of Ben’s character. No matter what, he’s a newspaperman through and through, but he can still express to Peter how proud he is of the man he’s become while also expressing some fear and pessimism. Reading between the lines, Ben knows dark days are ahead, and he just wants what’s best for Peter and his family, even if it might not be the right thing. 

To balance those intimate conversations, Hickman also interjects a great action set-piece that Messina deftly executes. The artist brings a smoother line to the book, in contrast to the scratchy, looser pencils of Marco Checchetto. As a result, the people in normal clothing feel a bit more restrained but the time in costume excels. Messina’s linework for Spider-Man contains a great sense of fluidity in the expressions and motions of the suit. Widened eyes, thwipped webs, and flipping around all feel natural on the page, the figure moving with the grace one comes to expect from the spider. 

It’s a shame that at times, the exposed faces and superpowered figures can stumble. Some of the panels with Mr. Negative and MJ especially blend body parts, poorly blocked and colored, resulting in lacking clarity. Other times, an expression like a raised eyebrow or smirk cuts straight through and hits the mark. Whether it’s just the result of the burden attached to monthly comics or a mismatched sense of alchemy between color and art, those moments are noticeable but not derailing from the issue. 

Otherwise, the coloring from Wilson continues to be fairly top-notch. Wilson gets the opportunity to play in some new hues and tones within the issue, employing an expressive range of purplish gray for the night conversation between Peter and MJ. It gives a denser tone to the already tense conversation, underscoring while the dialogue ends the scene, more is yet to come. On the flip side, as more superpowers enter the book with Mr. Negative, there’s the chance to establish the villain’s visual palette. Alongside the inversing colorings of black and white, there’s a fleeting dark pink and purple that signals his control of others. The activation of said powers utilizes inky black bubbles that resemble the stunning color work of Tamra Bonvillain in Once & Future.