Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #8 review: something sinister is coming

Charming, hopeful, fun, and filled with heart. Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) is all that and more while making it appear like an easy task. Jonathan Hickman's run tells one of the greatest wall-crawler stories in recent memory filled with big twists and turns. That allows it to fully reimagine the iconic hero while respecting his origins and roots. Unfortunately, the one thing that it has rarely been so far is "action-packed".

While there have been a few explosive moments here and there, the storyline has focused mostly on the human moments and setting things up for the future. So did Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #8 finally break the mold to become an explosive ride that surpasses its predecessors? Or is it the first misstep in what has been an amazing ride so far? Let's figure it out as we break into our review of the latest issue in the saga!

All heart and no action

Just like the rest of the series, Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #8 shines the spotlight on its characters and their human interactions - a rule that applies both to the good guys and the villains. Case in point; Peter and Mary Jane spend the majority of their time organizing and attending their kids' birthday party. The celebration allows for many charming moments, such as Peter challenging his daughter to a dance-off, J. Jonah Jameson talking about loneliness and life to Richard Parker, and Peter being offered a job by his uncle. They are all heartwarming events, but they come at the cost of any action sequences.

Spider-Man does show up for a while, but only in the form of a flashback meant to resolve the last issue's big cliffhanger. However, even when Tony Stark finally visits a suited-up friendly neighborhood hero, his role is relegated to just answering a few minor questions (with no new mind-blowing information given), and vanishing again with the promise of a return at a later time. So not only does the web-slinger show up only for a very short sequence, but the big cliffhanger of the last issue had a mostly disappointing resolution.

Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #8 also presents a very interesting moment in which Peter talks to his Picothech suit without wearing it. Granted, you could say this isn't the first time an advanced A.I. is integrated into Spidey's costume. However, the biggest difference now is that this software is a "perfect replica of Peter's psyche". So all in all - Peter possesses a black suit that's able to replicate his memories and ideas while seemingly having a life of his own. Oh, and Doc Ock also has a fragment of this very interesting technology. Yeah, if this doesn't scream "Venom", I don't know what does. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait more time to finally find the answers to this lingering mystery.

The Sinister Six are coming

While Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #8 has no action set pieces, it lays the groundwork for Spidey to face six of his most fearsome enemies - a very exciting prospect considering Peter has had very little experience being a superhero.

The City of New York is ruled by Wilson Fisk (who was put in such a position by the Maker's Council). However, over time he placed a different supervillain (himself included) in charge of one of the city's five boroughs. Taking into account a representative for the underground as well, all six foes have shaped Spidey's hometown from the shadows. Now, it seems they will hunt the wall-crawler as well as The Green Goblin.

All eight issues of Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) released so far have taken things slow while setting promising storylines from the future. The latest entry in the saga is no different - as we only see the Sinister Six getting together and discussing how to handle the "Spider-Man" problem. Hopefully, the pieces are already in place for an explosive follow-up that makes the most of everything that has come before it. The time has finally come to watch Spidey fight for his life, and what better way to do it than by facing multiple villains?

Veredict: A solid entry that signals better things to come

Overall, Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #8 is another solid entry in the franchise. It has the iconic "human" moments that were shockingly missing in issue #7, while it sets up an exhilarating confrontation for its titular hero in the future. While it takes things slow (and Tony Stark's presence does little to nothing to advance the story forward) it's proof that Jonathan Hickman is heading in a great direction.

Issue #9 will be published on September 25, 2024. When that day comes, be sure to check out our review! And for all things Spider-Man, stick around with Whatever A Spider Can.