I’ve generally been a big fan of this arc, and I like the story and twists Zdarsky has in this issue. It unfortunately just suddenly unspools in the middle, making the Riddler look bafflingly dumb. Maybe an extra issue would have been helpful, and part of me wonders if editorial was pushing Zdarsky to wrap this up to get on to Hush 2, or if this is what Zdarsky intended. On the positive side, I always enjoy Daniel’s art on Batman. more

Still impressed by the plot threads Kirkman is juggling, and while a couple seem to be moving closer, others are as far apart as ever. For now it makes the story feel big and alive, but I worry it will eventually make it feel tedious and disconnected. Devoting precious space to each plot also makes the story feel slower than it has up til now, but I’m still engaged enough mostly overlook it.

Dan Mora’s art is always impeccable, and the Martian Manhunter plot is very good. But I was disappointed that two other plot points, with the Atoms and Mister Terrific, were just setting up other books.

Maybe Gabe Hernandez is a senile old man, but this issue was easily a banger. It's amazing, spectacular, and the ultimate showcase of what a good comic book is. I like how Hickman kind of disses on how Aunt Gayle is jealous that Mary Jane and Peter Parker are all happy and have kids, similar to how Marvel doesn't like Peter Parker and Mary Jane together.

Marco Chechetto art works, I like Hickman's pacing and dialogue (even though it might turn casual fans away). Overall this was a solid concluding chapter of the year. I'm a Superman and Batman fan now, but I can easily say Ultimate Spider-Man by Jonathan Hickman was the best series of the year hands down.

I can't wait to see how Hickman is cooking up next year. Hickman may not be my writer, but I can't deny his talents. more

I’m really impressed and appreciative of how different the Absolute titles are to their mainline universe counterparts. Everything here feels alien—especially Superman. His costume and “cape” feel like true alien tech, which is really neat. But Superman himself also manages to have more humanity than anyone working for Lazarus, so he isn’t completely alien to the reader.

I really like the Orwellian themes that Aaron has put in here, especially with AI both on Krypton and Earth. more

Camp dials back the action of the previous issue to show us small character moments between members of the team. There are a ton of characters to juggle and it could feel disjointed, but Camp proves deft enough at writing this ensemble cast that it provides depth rather than muddying the story.

I’m really impressed with how Kirkman is managing so many plots at once and also successfully developing each of them.