Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson are a married couple once again in writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Marco Checchetto‘s new Ultimate Spider-Man series.
Marvel Comics has revealed new promotional images for January’s Ultimate Spider-Man #1, featuring variant cover artwork by Elizabeth Torque and Ryan Stegman. Torque’s piece — which shows Peter and MJ enamored with one another — is one of four variant covers by the artist that will adorn issues of Ultimate Spider-Man in 2024. Meanwhile, Stegman’s variant cover artwork depicts Peter and MJ posing for a family portrait with their kids. (Yes, their kids!)
Check out Elizabeth Torque and Ryan Stegman’s promotional artwork for Ultimate Spider-Man #1 below:
Peter Parker isn’t just a swinging man – he’s a family man
Hickman and Checchetto’s Ultimate Spider-Man relaunch takes place on Earth-6160. According to Marvel, the new series centers on a “very different Peter Parker — an older, wiser web-slinger who balances his super hero duties with his responsibilities as a husband and a father.” This is a significant departure from Marvel’s original Ultimate Universe, Earth-1610. In that reality, Peter died when he and MJ were still teenagers, leaving Miles Morales to take up the mantle of Spider-Man.
“When we decided that we were going to do a book about an older Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man, we really wanted to lean into him starting his super hero life from a very different place than what’s traditionally expected,” Hickman explained. “Peter and MJ being married is one of many decisions we made that underline this being quite a ‘different’ kind of Spider-Man story.”
Peter Parker and Mary Jane married in Marvel’s main Earth-616 continuity all the way back in 1987. However, the couple infamously sold their marriage to the demonic Mephisto during the “One More Day” storyline in 2007. While Marvel has explored the idea of Peter and MJ staying married and having a family in out-of-continuity stories (such as Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows), their relationship in the main Marvel Universe remains a complicated subject to this day.
Ultimate Spider-Man is part of a new universe
Hickman and Bryan Hitch’s recent four-part limited series Ultimate Invasion saw the birth of a brand-new Ultimate Universe (that is, the aforementioned Earth-6160). Ultimate Universe #1 — a one-shot by Hickman and Stefano Caselli — arrives next Wednesday, November 1 to lay the foundation for Marvel’s new Ultimate line of comics.
Things kick off proper in January 2024. Hickman and Checchetto’s Ultimate Spider-Man is one of three announced launch titles for the rebooted Ultimate line. The lineup also includes Ultimate Black Panther by Bryan Hill and Caselli, as well as Ultimate X-Men by Peach Momoko.
Ultimate Spider-Man #1 goes on sale January 10, 2024 from Marvel Comics. The issue features a main cover by Checchetto.
