Cover: Marco Checchetto

Ultimate Spider-Man #4

Jun 2024 · Marvel · 4.99 USD

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“April”

About this Issue

Issue #4 marks the first appearance of the Earth-6160 incarnation of Gwen Stacy — reimagined not as Peter Parker's ill-fated love interest but as Harry Osborn's wife and a co-executive of Oscorp Industries — a radical inversion of one of Spider-Man's most emotionally weighted relationships. The entire issue is structured as a double date between the Parkers and the Osborns, a bold formal choice that uses domestic realism to establish character dynamics and lay groundwork for the series' long-game plotting. Alongside this, Ben Parker and J. Jonah Jameson babysit the Parker children offstage, deepening the series' running motif of an alive Uncle Ben as an active, morally engaged figure in Peter's adult world. Taken together, the issue crystallises what makes Hickman's run historically distinct from every prior Spider-Man title: a world in which virtually every tragedy of the classic mythology has been reversed, forcing readers to encounter utterly familiar faces inside entirely unfamiliar lives.

writer Jonathan Hickman · artist, inker David Messina · colorist Matthew Wilson · letterer VC's Cory Petit · cover Marco Checchetto

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $5

CGC 9.8 · 1206 in census $76

CGC 9.6 · 63 in census $41*

CGC 9.4 · 9 in census $35*

CGC 9.2 · 6 in census $30*

CGC 9.0 · 4 in census $29*

CGC 8.5 · 2 in census $23*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

The series was launched in January 2024 as the flagship title of Marvel's revived Ultimate Universe imprint (Earth-6160), itself born out of Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch's prior miniseries Ultimate Invasion. Regular series artist Marco Checchetto stepped away for issues #4 and #5, with David Messina serving as guest penciller and inker for both chapters; Checchetto returned with issue #6. Editor Wilson Moss oversaw the issue, and colorist Matthew Wilson and letterer VC's Cory Petit maintained visual continuity with the established series aesthetic. Marvel's own first-look announcement confirmed the two-issue guest-art arrangement and simultaneously revealed Gwen Stacy's presence in the story, a decision that drew some fan criticism for spoiling what had been set up as a genuine in-issue surprise.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Gwen Stacy (Earth-6160), reimagined as Gwen Stacy-Osborn: Harry Osborn's wife and co-executive of Oscorp Industries, rather than Peter Parker's romantic partner.
Written by Jonathan Hickman; interior art by guest penciller/inker David Messina (filling in for regular series artist Marco Checchetto, who returns with issue #6); colors by Matthew Wilson; cover by Marco Checchetto; lettered by VC's Cory Petit; edited by Wilson Moss.
Published April 24, 2024, as part of the Earth-6160 Ultimate Universe line — the third volume of Ultimate Spider-Man and the imprint's debut ongoing series.
The issue's narrative is structured almost entirely as a dinner double date between Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson-Parker, Harry Osborn, and Gwen Stacy-Osborn, with no traditional superhero action depicted.
A parallel scene features Ben Parker (alive in this continuity) and J. Jonah Jameson babysitting the Parker children, reinforcing the series' core premise of an Uncle Ben who survived into Peter's adult life.
Harry Osborn's Green Goblin is presented in this continuity as a heroic armored vigilante rather than a supervillain, with his and Peter's new alliance as Spider-Man and Green Goblin forming the spine of the arc.
Messina's artwork employs extensive nine-panel grid layouts throughout the dinner sequence, a pacing choice that critics noted was unconventional for a mainstream superhero title at this stage of a new series.
The issue was collected in Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 1: Married With Children (2024), which debuted at number one on the ICv2 monthly graphic novel chart upon its September 2024 release.