25 Years Ago, Ultimate Spider-Man Launched a New Era That Would Change Marvel Forever

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Each month, we take a look back at a comic book issue released 10, 25, or 50 years in the past. When a month has a fifth week, we also include a surprise comic. This time, we’re revisiting September 2000 to celebrate the debut of Ultimate Spider-Man.

It’s hard to grasp why the initial reaction to the Ultimate Universe was negative, especially considering we’re surrounded by popular titles like DC’s Absolute Universe and Marvel’s Ultimate Universe today. Just over a year before, John Byrne had revamped Spider-Man’s origin with Spider-Man: Chapter One. While it wasn’t a failure, it didn’t resonate strongly enough with readers for Marvel to pursue it fully, so it was largely forgotten. In a similar vein, Marvel previously attempted Marvel Universe, a concept that aimed to create fresh, interconnected stories without being tied to existing continuity…

The idea initially failed to gain traction. Therefore, when Marvel decided to try again a few years later with a fresh, self-contained comic book series designed to “reintroduce” its core heroes, fans were understandably doubtful. That’s what made the launch of Ultimate Spider-Man #1 in October 2000 (created by Brian Michael Bendis, Bill Jemas, Mark Bagley, and Art Thibert) so remarkable – it became a huge, company-changing success.

How did Ultimate Spider-Man stand out from the crowd?

Interestingly, a key element Brian Michael Bendis included in this updated origin story was something John Byrne had also done: connecting Norman Osborn to Spider-Man’s beginnings through the scientific experiment that created the spider which bit Peter Parker and gave him his powers. (Byrne took this a step further, making the accident that granted Peter his abilities also responsible for giving Doctor Octopus his robotic arms).

The idea has a lot of potential. If you can connect your main villain to your main hero, it’s likely a good approach, assuming it feels natural. If it’s not done well, it can seem really cheesy, but a smooth connection can be very effective.

Another significant change Brian Michael Bendis made was reimagining Peter Parker’s core supporting characters as high school students. This meant Mary Jane Watson, who previously didn’t meet Peter until he was in college, was now his classmate.

Considering all these story elements, you’ll likely realize two things. First, that all these changes actually make a lot of sense, and second, that this is remarkably similar to what Sam Raimi did with Spider-Man in 2002. Sam Raimi was, of course, a talented director, but it’s clear he paid attention to how Brian Michael Bendis adapted these stories, and followed a similar approach (bringing all the characters together in high school, and emphasizing the connection between Peter and Harry, portraying Harry as the troubled, wealthy kid whose father favored Peter). As I mentioned earlier, the Peter/Harry dynamic felt particularly original…

Mark Bagley was already a well-known Spider-Man artist, and he really shined on this series with fantastic character designs and exciting action sequences. Brian Michael Bendis deliberately removed thought bubbles, aiming for more natural-sounding conversations (though it’s worth noting the dialogue isn’t *quite* at its best yet – it feels like he was testing the waters a bit with how characters spoke. It’s still very good, though!).

How did Ultimate Spider-Man alter Spider-Man’s origin?

So the genetically engineered spider bites Peter…

Osborn thinks Peter is probably dying from the spider’s bite, and he wants to prevent any future problems. So, he immediately orders someone to kill Peter. However, Peter manages to dodge the attack – a surprising turn, mirroring the famous scene from Spider-Man’s beginnings where he narrowly avoids being hit by a car…

The conclusion of this issue really highlights how drastically different this origin story will be. What originally was an 11-page story is now being extended, to the point that Uncle Ben isn’t even dead yet, and Peter hasn’t received his costume. Instead, we see Peter, who was feeling lost and upset due to being bullied, finally able to express himself and share his excitement about everything…

For Bendis, carefully planning the story in advance was incredibly beneficial. It allowed him to subtly introduce many compelling elements that ultimately delivered a satisfying payoff. From the very beginning, this first issue was exceptionally well-received, and readers immediately recognized its quality. This created a very different feeling compared to previous efforts, and it wasn’t long before the Ultimate line expanded. Ultimately, it had a significant impact on both the main Marvel Universe and, naturally, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

If you have any recommendations for comic books with cover dates in October (or any other month) from the years 2015, 2000, 1975, and 1950 that I should feature, please email me at brianc@cbr.com! Here’s a helpful guide to understanding cover dates so you can suggest books released in the correct month. Typically, comic books were released about two months after their cover date (sometimes three, but not during the periods we’re focusing on). This means a comic with an October cover date likely hit shelves in August. It’s much easier to determine release dates for books from the last decade, thanks to online coverage available at the time. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

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2025-09-29 15:37