Ultimate Spider-Man #14: The Most Dangerous Game (Spoiler-Free!)

This is a Spoiler Free Review of Ultimate Spider-Man #14. Stay tuned to Comic Watch for a longer, spoiler filled review later this week. 

One of the most compelling aspects of comic coloring is just how much influence a palette can have on the primal feeling of the art and story. A great colorist can elevate the action or emotion in every page and panel to deliver an instant moment of catharsis or terror, playing on the psychological and physiological aspects of the reader. The most simplified example of this is diving into a character’s anger or bloodlust through a deep red, or the sinking use of a blue to convey without words a weariness and infectious melancholy. Truly great colorists can take similar settings or backgrounds and infuse rich, oscillating feelings via two different approaches to related colors. 

Ultimate Spider-Man #13 – written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Marco Checchetto, colors by Matthew Wilson, and lettering by VC’s Cory Petit – continues the Ultimate rendition of Kraven’s Last Hunt, as Peter and Harry fight their way through the underground Savage Land. Kraven is tracking the duo while at odds with fellow Sinister Six members Mole Man and Mysterio. The latter has machinations for Kraven while the former simply wants to protect his home and the Moloids that inhabit it. Meanwhile, back in New York proper, Richard, clad in the black suit, and Felicia Hardy meet face-to-face in a tense conversation about their roles in the shadows of their fathers. 

Hickman delivers yet another intense, pulse-pounding script that moves light on its feet, jumping between the upper and lower New Yorks in rapid success. The end result of that frenetic pace is a sense of adrenaline during the reading, as anticipation builds for the inevitable conflict between Richard/Felicia and Peter/Kraven. In typical fashion for this title, Hickman also manages to deliver on that anticipation while also subverting it, resulting in a story that is equal parts gripping for its dramatic resolutions and conflict. There’s a lingering sense to some of the beats that events resolving a little too neat gives the issue an edge of doubt, selling the controlled aspect of Hickman’s scripting.

In contrast to Hickman’s reserved approach to the plotting, Checchetto’s artwork goes all out in every moment, putting all of the artist’s strengths on full display. As the book moves into this new arc, Checchetto is given the opportunity to break out from the typical backgrounds of (still beautiful) cityscapes for lush jungles. It’s a similar opportunity that Chip Zdarsky brought in the later issues of Daredevil, allowing Checchetto to showcase how well he can render natural environments. 

Here, the jungles feel pulsing with life and danger even in the more scenery shots of waterfalls and dense tree coverage. Even in the quieter flashes between chases or action sequences, Checchetto renders the backdrop so lushly that it becomes impossible to see pure stillness in the harsh landscape. In its place is a hostile environment matching its inhabitants, which are either predator or prey, unknown until Checchetto brings them to life in conflict. The action continues to be the right balance of stylized and realistic, ensuring a sense of weight is given to the few superhuman moments. 

That sense of overwhelming life, even in the harsher moments of the issue, stems from Wilson’s gorgeous coloring. Wilson worked with Checchetto on the Daredevil issue set in the more serene forests outside of the Beast’s cave, bringing a softer touch with cherry blossom pinks and cooler greens. Here, Wilson’s choice for the greenery pops across the page, almost oppressive mixed with the harsh, humid background colors. 

It’s concise choices in hues that take similar environments and create different emotional touchpoints. The explosive tones of the forest also make for a hypnotizing juxtaposition for the palette of the city, painting the bustling metropolis as a more serene space as the sun sets in the distance. The typical blues and greys evoke that slower exhalation for the characters, which is used as a great level setting in the opening of the issue.