Announced during a press conference call today, Marvel announced Ultimate Comics Spider-Man by Brian Bendis and Sara Pichelli, the fourth of the new relaunched/revamped books coming from Marvel post-Death of Spider-Man. The book is going to be relaunched at #1 (after just getting renumbered), and Bendis describes the new status quo as “the most nerve-wracking initiative I’ve ever been a part of.” Bendis immediately notes that this is not going to be the same title it once was, with all the Ultimate titles really aiming to be fresh and new above all else.
Bendis also notes that Hickman and Spencer joining the Ultimate Universe is less a “passing of the torch” moment, but rather akin to when he and Millar were brought in to originally create the universe. He adds that he, Hickman, and Spencer have a big open door policy going on so that if something happens in one book, the other creators can immediately react to it in theirs, making the Ultimate Universe much more together than it ever has been.
Bendis also adds that the opening arc will feature characters reacting to the death of Peter Parker, as well as the introduction of a new Spider-Man (whoever that might be). The Fantastic Four, or what’s left of them rather, will also make themselves known “when the time is right” (check out the Ultimate Enemy trilogy for what became of the Fab Four). Bendis won’t say too much as he doesn’t want to give away the finale of the current story, but insists it will make sense soon. He also adds that he has no plans to leave the book or the character, even if he is “outlasting” Peter himself.
Bendis noted that Fallout is a direct sequel to the Death of Ultimate Spider-Man, and it features Easter Eggs for the series and what is to come. In regards to the death itself, Bendis noted that there is more that goes into Spider-Man than just being Peter Parker. He also added that there are going to be several new characters based on “spider-research”, as well as a lot of returning characters – including Mysterio. Gwen Stacy is also going to have a tremendous year as a character, although no further elaboration was given.
The plan right now is for all the Ultimate books to ship more than 12 times a year. Stay tuned for all the various titles later this year as the Death ends and Fallout end.
See also: Ultimate Comics Ultimates, by Hickman and Ribic; Ultimate Comics X-Men, by Spencer and Medina; Ultimate Comics Hawkeye, by Hickman and Sandovall
