Ultimate Spider-Man (2024-) #5

Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) (Single Issues) ##5

by Jonathan Hickman, David Messina (artist), Marco Checchetto (cover_art)

THE SECRET HISTORY OF HARRY OSBORN! How does the heir apparent of Oscorp become a masked vigilante? And what does Green Goblin know of the true status of the world he lives in? All and more will be revealed!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Spider Man, Graphic Novels Comics, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Superheroes

26 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 29, 2024

About the author

Jonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for creating the Image Comics series The Nightly News, The Manhattan Projects and East of West, as well as working on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, FF, and S.H.I.E.L.D. titles. In 2012, Hickman ended his run on the Fantastic Four titles to write The Avengers and The New Avengers, as part the "Marvel NOW!" relaunch. In 2013, Hickman wrote a six-part miniseries, Infinity, plus Avengers tie-ins for Marvel Comics. In 2015, he wrote the crossover event Secret Wars. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Vinicius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mudando um pouco a ótima em que acompanhamos a história de Ultimate spider-man, essa edição a partir da perspectiva do Harry Osborn, mostrando ao leitor como ele adquiriu o status em que o vemos na edição passada, além de acrescentar ainda mais mistérios acerca da origem desse universo.

É uma edição totalmente focada no Harry e explicando um pouco a sua relação com esse universo, dando uma explicação inicial diante suas ações e falando um pouco sobre Tony Stark.

Além disso, é apresentado um personagem famoso do universo do teioso, que no momento, ainda não recebeu destaque, mas já deixa o leitor instigado.

Estou gostando do universo até agora e estou ansioso pela leitura da próxima edição para ver o embate contra o Rei do Crime. Espero que em breve também apareça o Demolidor 😅

[Raymond Paquette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Green Goblin I can get behind even if he’s not very nice. I would like some more action though. Two chapters of backstory is enough.

[zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok Harry’s drama < Peter’s drama

[sud]

i have mixed feelings about this. i don’t know how to rate it, but i like the world-building and exploring Harry's origin as the green goblin. also, this issue's bar scene felt more important than the one in the last issue. im always open to other characters' perspectives because i love spider-man's supporting characters. additionally, this issue introduces this universe's otto octavius.

[Greg S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice pencil and ink by David Messina and beautiful color by Matthew Wilson.

[Myles Gerber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic issue!! Such a unique origin story for Harry!! I loved how the attention was shifted to him for this instalment!

[Leo Kessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

great development for harry this book is amazing

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great world building, this new Ultimate Universe is already starting to reward the people who’ve read everything so far. This also worked perfectly as a penultimate issue for the finale of this arc in #6. Excited for what’s to come!

[Rahul Nadella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ultimate Spider-Man #5 is a world building issue centered around Harry Osborn's Green Goblin origin story. 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. Though 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 ultimately a dull comic with no Spider-Man in sight. However, I imagine with the next issue this will truly ramp up the storyline.

[grimbamreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

admittedly not as engaging as the others, however the added layers to this version of harry osborn. in the first scene alone with his conversation with norman of what his favorite memory with harry is paralleling harry's introduction on HIS favorite memory with norman. also showing how harry is morally ambiguous as hell too. also otto octavios!!!

[Joey Amorim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been missing my Spider-Man in this "Ultimate Spider-Man" book, but at least the character and world building are still solid. Harry has always been a character that I don't feel gets enough love in the comics, so it's nice to see him get the spotlight here. USM stays winning.

[Amazing_Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simplesmente amei ter visto a origem do Duende Verde desse universo. Essa versão do Harry é um ótimo personagem que poderia facilmente ser o protagonista se visto por outro ângulo, curto muito essa vibe Katniss Everdeen nele, de alguém que sabe o que esse sistema tá fazendo de ruim e quer fazer o possível e impossível pra mudar, e se preparou pra isso, o que contrasta bastante com o personagem do Peter, o protagonista em si. Que personagem foda e que edição foda pra contar sobre ele, mal posso esperar pra ver mais da participação dele e saber se ele continuará como um herói ou vai se tornar o Duende que conhecemos

[Machiavelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ultimate Spider-Man #5 by Jonathan Hickman is a standout issue that adds real emotional weight to the series. We finally get some much-needed backstory on Peter and Harry, and it delivers—layering in depth, history, and stakes that make everything hit harder.

Hickman balances the personal with the super-heroic so well here. The dialogue is sharp, the pacing is tight, and you can feel Peter stepping more fully into who he’s meant to be. The character work is really starting to shine, and the relationships feel lived-in and meaningful.

This issue raises the emotional stakes without losing the clean, thoughtful tone that’s made this reboot work.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una pausa en este arco argumental para exponer algo más a este Harry Osborn que de momento se alza como una figura superheroíca más "aventajada" que Peter. Con una "historia de origen" devastadora (y conectada con la pérdida personal de Parker) que le lleva a meterse de lleno en "la verdad oculta" de este Universo que está despertándose de la duermevela del Hacedor. El artista invitado daba más margen para realizar más escenas costumbristas que superheroicas (se recuentan eventos ya vistos en los primeros números).

[Saad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This issue was pretty cool. We get Harry’s backstory, which is fairly interesting, but it really picks up at the end of the issue where we see him and Peter go for drinks at the end of issue #3. I can see his inferiority complex building from his father’s last words and Tony Stark’s apparent ignoring of him. He can handle himself as seen with the Shocker and Bullseye, but I can see him being more of an antihero given the last page of the issue. Like he might be antagonistic to Peter, but they’ll both be working for the greater good, which could be interesting. Great issue (8/10).

[Colin Post · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a smart move for the penultimate issue of the arc, telling the story of what’s happened so far from Harry’s perspective to both recap and set the stakes while filling in some of the blanks. This book continues to be a slow burn, so I’m hoping we get many more issues with the core creative team for this careful character work and world building to payoff.

[No_One · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personally, I would have removed that whole dinner sequence from last issue, put the bar scene with Peter and Harry in last issue instead, and kept the Harry flashback and other events that moved the plot along in this issue. Definitely felt like the bar scene in this issue was more important than the dinner.

Still very good though.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this rather chatty Kathy issue which is essentially the Harry Osborn origin story setting the table moving ahead with his team-up with Peter/Spider-man against the Maker’s minions.
Hickman plays the long game often and this series is no different. Messina provides decent fill-in art similar to Checchetto.

[Shevek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un número para rellenar huecos sobre el personaje de Harry Osborn y cómo ha llegado al punto en que lo conocimos en entregas anteriores. Es, por tanto, otra grapa en la que la trama no avanza, pero que sirve para seguir construyendo el tapiz en el que se sitúa esta versión de Spiderman. Messina bien, aunque se echa de menos a Checchetto.

[Emiliano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harry is so cool in this series.

The intro of this issue alone is amazing just showing the hostility between Normal and Harry with their relationship and how it all fades away in a blink of an eye. Seeing what led to Harry being the Green Goblin is super interesting and ultimately seeing how he’s a good guy (for now?). This series is sooooo good.

[Arch Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Becoming a “fan” of the Green Goblin was not in my bingo card for 2026, but here we are.

This dude is intense. Still alot of backstory with no action, but this issue was very deep with the substance so it made up for the lack of action.

Also, the artwork is getting better/growing on me. Doesn’t seem as sketchy from issue 1.

[Omar Guetfa · Rating 2 out of 5]

further dives into convoluted, overwritten schlock that’s benefiting off the goodwill of a previous, far better written series. shame that they would invoke the “ultimate” title for this. at least the art is great

[firewokwithmee · Rating 4 out of 5]

love that hickman’s whole thing is like taking existing ideas for spider-man from older comics and running with it but now doing it with the disney movies. take the stark tech idea/the alien tech in that first holland spider-man movie but going even bigger with it

[luciddreamer99 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only loses a star for the back-up artist, who is passable enough, but not as good as the regular artist. An intriguing story of the history of this new Ultimate universe. As always, Hickman provides an excellent story. Recommended for any Spider-Man fan, as is this entire series.

[Jason Holtzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This probably continues to be the best book on my pull list at the moment. This was great character-driven background issue on Harry's character in this book, and I think Messina is doing great on art fill-in duties.

[Gab Andrade · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 estrellas

La dinamica que hay ahora entre Harry y Peter es curiosa.

Estoy acostumbrado a verlos peleando, y ahora siendo "amigos" y peleando juntos, aunque también tengo muchas sospechas de Harry, aunque Gwen sigue siendo el foco de mis preocupaciones.

[Ushnav Shroff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very very cool! Wish there was more.

[J.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Otto! Nerds Rule.

[Ryan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A slow USM issue, but still better than most things dropping rn