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Ultimate Spider-Man is currently three issues in, and writer Jonathan Hickman, alongside artist Marco Checchetto, has shaken up the status quo of the iconic Marvel superhero in a way that reintroduces him in a modern way. Set in the new Ultimate Universe, the series tells a different Peter Parker story and shows us the character in a way that we have never seen.
The main difference between the new Ultimate Spider-Man and the classic version of the character is that we follow a much older Peter Parker here who hasn't received his powers yet. While in the comics Parker becomes Spider-Man at the age of 15, he is around 30 in this comic and lives an ordinary life in New York City before something extraordinary takes place.
Ultimate Spider-Man follows an older Peter Parker
In this new Ultimate Marvel comic line created by Jonathan Hickman, we see the Maker, an evil version of Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, travel back in time to create a world without superheroes. Thus, the new Ultimate Marvel universe is created where heroes don't exist and the world is left in a worse condition.
When a younger version of Tony Stark learns of this, he goes around trying to change the past and giving those who were meant to be superheroes their powers. It's here that we are introduced to a much older Peter Parker, who was never bitten by the radioactive spider that gave him his powers.
Peter in this world is married to Mary Jane, has two kids with her, and also works at the Daily Bugle. While he is living his perfect domestic life, he always feels that there is something about him that's missing. However, his life changes one night when he is given a box by Tony Stark from the future, who is on his mission to give the world back its heroes.
Here, Stark explains to Peter his destiny and who he was meant to be. When Peter opens the box, he finds a radioactive spider inside and a black ball, which turns out to be his new super suit. While many of the Spider-Man stories focus on the character having a great deal of responsibility bestowed upon him, this version of Peter accepts his responsibility happily and becomes Spider-Man.
How is it different from the classic Spider-Man?
Jonathan Hickman's Ultimate Spider-Man portrays the character quite differently because, in the classic origins of the character, we always see Peter Parker receive his powers at the age of 15. He never chooses them willingly, but accidentally receives them after a radioactive spider bites him.
He also realizes that with great power comes great responsibility when his Uncle Ben is tragically gunned down thanks to his own mistake, while in Ultimate Spider-Man, Uncle Ben is very much alive and working alongside Peter at the Daily Bugle due to him not receiving his powers at the age of 15. This itself lends to a very different Spider-Man story.
On top of that, Gwen Stacy in this universe is married to Harry Osborn, who is the Green Goblin. This is also another huge change, as Gwen happens to be Peter Parker's first serious love interest, but the two never cross paths in this universe. Currently, Ultimate Spider-Man is four issues in, with #5 set to come out in May.
