August 21's Ultimate Spider-Man #8 ramps up the drama for Peter Parker with the introduction of the new Ultimate Sinister Six, as well as the first hints at what could be the origins of the new Ultimate Venom.
It all starts with none other than Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, who is shaping up to be the new Ultimate Spidey's first true arch-enemy, right down to founding the new Ultimate Sinister Six - which arrives just in time for the 60th anniversary of the debut of the original team.
Spoilers ahead for Ultimate Spider-Man #8
Ultimate Spider-Man #8 by writer Jonathan Hickman, artist Marco Checchetto, color artist Matthew Wilson, and letterer Cory Petit opens with Peter Parker heading to a joint birthday party for his children, Richard and May Parker (who share the same birthday month). But as he's leaving his costume behind - since his family has a rule that he can't bring it to the party - it speaks to him in his own voice.
The fact that it speaks in Peter's voice isn't the surprising part. Peter himself programmed its onboard AI to mimic his speech and thought patterns. It's the fact that it's speaking out loud which surprises Peter, as it tells him to wish his kids a happy birthday.
There's an ominous, HAL-9000-esque feeling to the suit's AI, which troubles Peter but also may be hinting that the suit, which is stored in a small black sphere when it's not being worn, could take on a life of its own as a jealous copy of Peter, perhaps leading to a new Ultimate Universe take on Venom.
In a flashback to a few weeks prior, Peter and Harry Osborn have a fateful meeting with Tony Stark, who gave Peter his powers and costume and whose father Howard Stark's armor and company were sold to Harry's father Norman Osborn.
He reveals that he gave Peter his father's most advanced tech in his Spider-suit, because among all the superhumans whose origins were prevented by the Maker (who engineered the conditions and history of the new Ultimate Universe), Peter is among the most special - and therefore the most dangerous to the Maker. He also says that, although Harry was never among the candidates to be a superhero, he can keep the armor.
This seems to rattle Harry, who appears to feel upset that he was never expected to be a hero like Peter, and was never even on the Maker's radar - or Tony's. Could this be the crack in the armor that leads Harry, currently operating as a heroic version of the Green Goblin, to become a villain? Or will this lead to an even stronger resolve to have an impact as a hero?
One person we know has villainous designs on both Harry Osborn and Peter Parker is Wilson Fisk, who is gathering his enforcers together to take down the two heroes, forming the new Ultimate Sinister Six.
This version of Spidey's classic villain team is led by Kingpin himself, who is not only the crime boss of Manhattan, but the overboss of all the five boroughs of New York. It includes his super-powered lieutenants from the other four boroughs.
From Queens, there's Mister Negative, who seems to have a very similar origin as the mainstream Marvel Universe version. In the Bronx, Walter Hardy, the elder Black Cat and father of Felicia Hardy, who will soon join the title as the younger Black Cat.
Then there's Kraven the Hunter, an unparalleled stalker and killer who is exiled from Russia, and who sits atop the criminal underworld of Staten Island. And finally, Mysterio is the boss of Brooklyn, whose secrets are a mystery even to Kingpin, though it's hinted that there may actually be more than one person who claims the mantle.
You may notice that's only five, since New York only has five boroughs. As the sixth member, there's the Mole Man, who claims all of New York's sewers, subways, and subterranean spaces as his territory.
Though Kingpin's specific plans for Harry and Peter aren't spelled out, he tells his gathered lieutenants that they "could make a game of it." This seems to hint at a plot not unlike the one from the original gathering of the Sinister Six way back in 1964 (exactly 60 years ago) in which the gathered supervillains all challenge Spider-Man one by one, competing to be the one who takes him down.
We'll likely see how that works out for them in September 25's Ultimate Spider-Man #9, which will feature the first of the six villains taking their swing at Harry and Peter.
The Sinister Six are one of the best supervillain teams of all time.
