In this review of Ultimate Spider-Man #22, Everyone is working hard to protect their identities and reveal the truth, but Harry and Mysterio are planning something behind the scenes!
Ultimate Spider-Man #22
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist & Main Cover: Marco Checcheto
Variant Covers: Taurin Clarke, Declan Shalvey, Marguerite Sauvage, Javi Fernandez
Page Count: 22 pages
Release Date: October 22, 2025
This review contains spoilers
After picking up dinner for everyone, Otto, now with spider powers, checks in on Jonah and Ben, who are preparing to broadcast the truth to everyone. In the meantime, Peter and Harry finish fighting more Bullseyes before Harry sends Peter home and reveals that he has more plans up his sleeve that don’t involve him.
Otto creates a device that will erase the information about everyone’s identities, and convinces Richard to find a thief who can plant it in one of the Maker’s nodes. Outside, Peter and MJ spend some time together, and Peter admits he feels like something terrible is about to happen.
Richard manages to locate Black Cat, and Harry reunites with Mysterio, planning to attack their target together.
Analysis
The time skip in this issue has positives and negatives. On the positive side, we don’t have to spend time watching Peter and his family repeatedly ask, “What do we do?” or go through the process of settling into their hiding place. However, this also means some events are glossed over or unexplained.
For example, in the last issue, the building that Jonah and Ben were working in was blown up. While their continued collaboration in this issue is a surprising reveal, there’s no explanation for how they survived, leaving readers to miss both the immediate reactions to the explosions and the relief over their safety.
Otto is another casualty of the time skip. His new identity as a new Spider-Man isn’t surprising, considering he showed Harry that he had the Spider in the previous issue, but it’s unexpected to see him fully established as Spider-Man, casually interacting with Peter’s family. A downside of the timeskip is that readers never get to see how these changes came about, leaving a gap in the narrative that hasn’t been explored yet.
As for the rest of the plot, Peter feels strangely disconnected from the main storylines. Richard and Otto are devising a plan to protect everyone’s identities, Harry and Mysterio are planning a strike, and Ben and Jonah are working to get the truth out. But Peter is sent away by Harry, and then he spends some time with MJ
Despite his disconnection, the moments between Peter and MJ still felt genuine. In recent issues, there haven’t been many moments where Peter and MJ truly feel like a couple. This issue provides much-needed banter and intimacy, reaffirming their bond both for the readers and for each other.
Even with the previously mentioned gaps, the characterization in this issue is strong across the board.. Every character feels like they belong there, and that’s no small feat when there are so many characters involved in the story.
The art also does a great job of highlighting each character and distinguishing between scenes. The calm lighting of the house contrasts with the intense background in motion during the action sequence, and the soft lighting of the city casts shadows on the characters that give off the sense that they are still hiding parts of themselves.
Final Thoughts
Ultimate Spider-Man #22 delivers a strong setup for what’s coming next with impressive character work and visuals, but is held back by missing story beats and leaving Spider-Man out of its main plot.
