Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) is, without a doubt, the single best ongoing comic book series starring the wall-crawler. Thanks to it, readers worldwide witnessed a grown-up iteration of Peter Parker live a perfect, power-less life next to his wife and two kids: May and Richard Parker. However, we all know trouble likes to chase after Peter, and it wasn't long until the family man discovered he was supposed to be bitten by a radioactive spider in his teenage years until someone sinister prevented that event from ever occurring. Then, Peter was presented with a choice: Willingly let a spider bite him and gain what should've been his in the first place, or keep living a peaceful life next to his loved ones.
...And we all know how the rest of the story goes.
So far, Spidey has faced a few iconic supervillains here and there in the first year of his superhero career. However, nothing could've prepared him for Kraven's arrival. The world's greatest hunter kidnapped Peter and his best friend, Harry Osborn, and took them to Savage Land to play one sick and twisted game. Unfortunately, that means it's been more than a month since the wall-crawler disappeared from the public eye, and no one is more heartbroken than his family. Fortunately, not everything is bad, as a new hero has arisen in Spider-Man's absence.
Richard Parker is the new Spider-Man while his father is missing
During the first pages of Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) No. 13, readers are treated to a shocking revelation: An iteration of Spider-Man seemingly wearing the symbiote suit is freely roaming the streets of New York. However, at that point, it's very well known that Peter Parker has been kidnapped by Kraven the Hunter, so that prompts the question: Who is behind the wall-crawler's mask? Well, turns out it's no one other than his own son, Richard Parker.
For starters, this event is a nice callback to Kraven's Last Hunt — an extremely beloved comic book series where Sergei Kravinoff "kills" Peter Parker, buries him six feet underground, and poses as the hero by wearing his black suit. The basic storyline presented here is the same: the wall-crawler is defeated at the hands of Kraven and someone else takes his place by wearing a dark Spider-Man suit. Except this time around, Peter's son is the one to keep his father's legacy alive — a concept fans absolutely loved from the get-go.
So far, Peter's family has been extremely integral to the Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) storyline. Mary Jane came up with the "Spider-Man" title once she learned her husband was a vigilante, May Parker was the first to discover her father's secret and helped him come up with the color palette for his super suit, and Uncle Ben told him there could be dire consequences to his heroic actions (you know, a variation of the "with great power comes great responsibility" speech). However, the one character who didn't have a chance to steal the spotlight was Richard, and now we know it's because the Spider-Man team was saving the best for last.
Furthermore, Marvel now has the perfect opportunity to do a new adaptation of the love story between Spider-Man and Black Cat without Peter having to cheat on M.J. After all, during the last pages of Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) No. 13 we see Richard cross paths with the acrobatic supervillain, so chances are he will be the one at the center of the "will-they-won't-they" relationship this time around. Just when it seemed the series couldn't get any better, writer Jonathan Hickman came up with a twist that has been overwhelmingly well-received by fans. So fingers crossed it only gets better from here.
Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) No. 14 will be released on February 26, 2025.