Ultimate Spider-Man #5 is a fascinating penultimate chapter for the first arc, as it reaffirms and reinforces many of the thematic throughlines of the story. Hickman puts the focus on Harry and his journey to the Goblin identity while building out the Ultimate Universes political structure and exploring Harrys contrasts to Peter. Messinas art excels in depicting the conflicted expressions in tight close-ups but stumbles in illustrating the bigger action sequences. Wilsons coloring adds a sense of visual continuity between Messinas two issues while making it feel distinct from the work established in Checchettos issues. This is another slam dunk that justifies itself with a well-told story both on the written and visual level. Read Full Review

I mean, this series is extraordinary. I simply can't get enough. Read Full Review

Ultimate Spider-Man #5 fleshes out Harry Osborn quite a bit while informing readers of whose side he's on. A larger battle is underway, and this issue effectively loops Spider-Man into that fight right in time for Ultimates #1 out next week. Read Full Review

Messina delivers some great art in the issue. The imagery is beautifully detailed and perfectly captures the dark tone of the story and the character. Read Full Review

All that being said, this is a damn good-odd issue. We get some fantastic art, with callbacks to a world that might have been (The Ultimate Armor, Bullseye) and a story about a boy who must very quickly become a man. We meet some new old characters (Otto!), and we get more exploration of how Harry came to own Stark Enterprises. With a bit more Spider-Man, this would have been a 5. This is still the best of the Ultimate line. Read Full Review

After last issue, the interactions between Harry and Peter feel out of sequence, but Hickman and Messina make young Mr Osborn as complex as he's been in years. Read Full Review

Ultimate Spider-Man #5 continues with its excellent characterization, but I fear the plot's pacing might be too slow. Read Full Review

Ultimate Spider-Man #5 is a world building issue centered around Harry Osborn's Green Goblin origin story. While the absence of the Parker Family is certainly felt, Jonathan Hickman makes up for it with more great character and world building. The one-shot style pacing helped to maintain interest in what goes on to look forward to where the developments involving Harry, Gwen Stacy, and Otto Octavius will lead to. Read Full Review

Ultimate Spider-Man #5 is a fully realized, organic origin story explaining how Harry Osborn became the Green Goblin. The art team packs in all the drama they can, and Hickman is at the top of his game when it comes to world-building, but the net result is Ultimate-ly a dull comic with (again) no Spider-Man in sight. Read Full Review

Plot
The drama of Harry Osborn's life began with the death of his father and mother during The Maker's attack on New York, where Tony Stark was blamed.

Harry stopped being an irresponsible playboy to dedicate himself to learning about his company, but being an Osborn means entering a secret circle led by Kingpin that the Stane/Stark company offers him.

Harry begins to investigate all the information that Tony Stark handles, discovering that he is still alive and that he has been in charge of changing history and bringing back the heroes and villains.

Harry now investigates Stark's clues and already knows that The Maker is responsible for the death of his parents. That involves torturing Bullseye to find out what the Kingpin is hiding. Harry is neither hero nor villain.

This installment is full of revelations and raises the level of suspense and mystery.

Art
It is very organic with some textures, which seem to have a certain Asian influence, it has a lot of shine.

Summary
Harry Osborn's secret agenda begins to be revealed and has long ramifications. more

I know this book is called "Ultimate Spider-Man," but I really appreciate Hickman diving in on Harry's recent past to give us a lot more context on where he's coming from. Messina did a better job here with his interiors as well, in my opinion. Not that he did bad in the last issue, but I just think his art worked even better this time around.

I live for these slowed down and build up Hickman issues where I'm well fed. I really like this series. Messina's breaks out of the mold he tried to be in last issue and made this issue his by delivering his own beautiful style without trying to match Checcheto. Great stuff!

Look, I simp for good things, and Hickman's writing is a good thing.

Stellar performance by Hickman and Messina. Where I was concerned with Messina's abilities last issue I really think this was a truer example of his talents. Sure he isn't Checchetto but he's still a brilliant artist all the same.
I appreciate these slower issues building the world around the characters since we know that we're taking such big time jumps between issues. While almost completely absent of Peter Parker I'm just as interested in Harry and his role to play in this story. His ambition to take down Kingpin and the rest of the cabal that framed Tony. It's thrilling. Not something we get a lot from Spider-Man books.
We're not sure yet how that is going to affect his relationship to Peter. Is this Peter going to be less inclined to pull his punches as a father who fears for his family? Is he going to completely agree with Harry? These are the questions that should be popping into people's heads as we see Harry employing some pretty barbaric tactics even if what we see on the page can only be speculated on future ramifications. more

I would say Harry's story so far has been more interesting than Peter's, great issue

A really good issue that explains Harry's origin. Nothing extremely groundbreaking,but very solid.

The momentum takes a hit here, but it's still strong overall.

Great world building

This is a better display of Messina’s talents than last issue, and we see Hickman further flesh out this new universe.

Jonathan Hickman keeps hitting home runs. This issue gives us a captivating narrative that goes deeper into Harry’s tragic backstory & his journey to becoming the Green Goblin. It’s a testament to Hickman’s exceptional storytelling ability, as he seamlessly subverts Harry & Peter’s classic & iconic origins/relationships in such simple, yet nuanced ways that feel authentic to this universe. You really get a sense of how much the Maker has put his thumb on the scale to create a world completely of his design.

Hickman’s talent for crafting compelling dialogue shines through yet again in the conversation we see with Peter & Harry near the end, as well as what we see from Harry, Gwen, & the new inclusion of a young Otto Octavius. He astutely understands how to build interesting interpersonal dynamics & all these interactions would make Aaron Sorkin grin.

The artwork by David Messina is equally impressive, w/ meticulous attention to character design & facial expressions that convey a wide range of emotions & set the mood of each scene. The technology-driven panels showcasing Stark’s hidden lab are awesome to see come to life, & Mathew Wilson’s colors bring the entire issue to life with great colors & effective shadowing.

Overall, this is another gripping & character-driven issue that sets the stage for more interesting plots to keep unfolding. Hickman’s bold storytelling choices may seem out of place in a Spider-Man title, but he has completely redefined the character in just a handful of issues. more

The art is bit of a downgrade, but I think Messina does a good job still.

While I do like almost everything in this comic, reading this monthly and having the pacing be slow, even if a lot of groundwork is done, makes this more difficult to enjoy. It's still really great, but not peak like the first issues felt. However, I imagine with the next issue this will truly ramp up.

Original USM was also very slow, but that ended up being mostly great.

Good issue. Messina is clearly brought on to write more of the sitting and talking issues, and I guess I am fine with that.

Interesting to learn about Harry's past leading up to current time. Hickman continues to world build and I do enjoy the world and people he is building.

Honestly not as great as the previous issues but still played an important role. Seems like we are getting right back into the action next issue so this lull isnt too bad for me.

This issue is a bit slow and the art isn't as good, but this is still the best spidey series so far

Art: 3.5/5
Story: 3.5/5
Total: 7/10

This seems to be a hot take considering most of the other reviews on here but I was bored by this "flashback" issue. The first three issues were really promising, but the previous issue and now this one have left me unimpressed with where this series is going. I want more Spider-Man in this Spidey book.

Also, this is a monthly book and Marvel can't keep the main artist on it for more than three issues? C'mon Marvel!

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ResearchReader - Jun 13, 2024

While I rate the book a bit higher than you, all your points are valid. Nothing wrong with wanting more Spider-man in a Spider-man book considering what a disaster the mainline book is.

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I'll grant that this issue was an improvement over the snoozefest that was the last issue, but unfortunately not by much. I've never cared for long arcs where they take a break from everything for an issue that's entirely flashbacks. AT least this wasn't following a cliffhanger forcing us to a=wait a full month more. I really hate when they do that.
We're 5 issues into this series' first arc and the pages actually containing Spider-Man can still be counted by hand. Not to mention he hasn't even appeared in costume since issue #3. Books like this wouldn't have lasted in another time. Luckily we're in a time when readers are used to this sort of thing. Not all of us like it, but we are used to it.
If history has taught us anything it's that Norman somehow survived that explosion and will eventually surface, though it may not be for some time. But if he's anything like all the others that will be the case. He already proved here he was a dick as a father, so that's already check one.
We do see Harry's story, so that's good. It wastes a full issue with flashback content that could have moved a little faster so we could have seen some Spidey action, but chose not to. That's bad. So this was basically a so-so issue.
I really hope Hickman plans to finally return to the basics next issue and stay there. Another complaint this issue is total lack of Uncle Ben, Jonah and the Parker family. Let's face it, they're supporting characters of more interest than your usual supporting cast and we want to see more of them and how they develop. So far here Spider-Man has done well as a father superhero and I'd like to see his kids succeed where Superman's didn't. May is a bit more interesting so far, but that's probably because she knows her father's secret already. It kind of reminds me of Darkwing duck having a daughter who his secret. In those days it was a new and very amusing concept. One thing about this series that has succeeded is the Parker family. They seem to appeal to fans. As long as Marvel doesn't mess it up like DC did for Superman they have a lot of potential to grow as characters and find their way into the fans' hearts.
I still don't really trust Harry. He seems to mean well, but really is more devoted to his own cause than making a difference. Like how he saw the Shocker as no threat and let him go as well as keep the money he stole. All he cared for was something for his personal gain. Sooner or later either Peter will help him see the error of his ways or they'll have a big brawl showdown. Possibly both.
This opening arc is set to finish next issue, but it's obvious already that absolutely NOTHING will be resolved, as usual in a comic today. I hear the Sinister Six are going to debut in the next, and they're usually pretty fun. One thing to note is I look forward to seeing this continuity's Doc Ock. Usually he's a dumpy older looking figure, but this Otto has obviously taken better care of himself, which may make him a bigger menace than most others.
Well, here's hoping for a good #6. more