Ultraman: Spider-Man follows This is a solid start for Superman and Spider-Man, which hits most of the notes you expect.
The premise here is simple enough and is completely consistent with such crossover stories. When some multidimensional robbers follow, Spider-Man is fighting alongside the Avengers and he is driven to another world – a world inhabited by Ultraman and Mortros Kaiju. Dr. Doom is also taken to the Ultraman Universe and begins to work towards his purpose, gathering power in the shadows as Spider-Man tries to grasp the new reality he has been pushed. This is a classic water. While the concept won’t win any creative awards, it’s a genre’s staple, and there’s good reason. We started and ran relatively fast, and Peter Parker and Shin Hayata would interact with each other soon, which is the most important thing.
I’m an avid fan of Cape Camics and Kaiju Media, so the premise has attracted my interest in both. Although I admit I’m a Superman fan, not Spider-Man, I appreciate everyone’s favorite online priest. I think fans of both characters will find many interesting outlines of this particular piece, which makes it fun beyond the sheer novelty of the team.
The timing and characteristics of Peter Parker and Shin Hayata are very interesting. Spider-Man and Ultraman have had many iterations in the media over the years, so the version the author chose is as important as the character itself. This version of Ultraman was his original 1966 iteration, and Shin Hayata was the subject of light. Spider-Man is Peter Parker of the recent iteration of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, young and a member of the Avengers.
Which version of these heroes is interesting in and out of text. Peter has no experience because he is a very young man because he is no longer in the family dimension because he is no longer in the world. Peter must know the world he lives in, know Japan, and try to fight Kaiju (they are a little bigger than his usual opponents). Hayata stands out, is stronger and more professional, and in the strength of Homefield, he can get his place and time with the support of groups like Science Special Search Party (SSSP) and Friends/Friends/Clients/Clients/Cliends/Cliends/Cliends/Cliends/Cliends/Cliends/Cliends/Cliends/Cliends/Cliends/Cliends/Works. It’s obvious why this setting works in the narrative when Hayata and her friends try to guide Peter to help him get familiar with his new situation.
Outside of the text, it also provides delicious food for thinking. The characters are very close in age, both appearing in the 1960s, but Spider-Man predated Ultraman about four years and had many iterations in the decades that followed. Peter Parker is an effective young hero who was appointed as a permanent young man, which seems to be under the permanent guidance of an experienced mentor. Plus, the comics portray him as an Avenger without any preface, which is obviously the result of modern movies, but as a longtime comic reader, I still find myself hit by Spidey almost defaulting to being Avengers. Note that this is not a criticism at all, just an interesting observation of how these characters transformed over the years – Spider-Man is one of the perfect solo heroes, a friend of many, but for the most part his own. For modern audiences and creators, his status as an Avenger is at least non-controversial, and for many, it is just a presumptive norm.
There are also some great character interactions between Ultraman and Spider-Man that see it as their own unique work. First, when Peter got Tat, he experienced some recognition of “Oh, wow, look at that”: Mount Fuji, mistakenly thinking it was a magical girl, etc. Now, this may be my own editor, but I never quite thought of Shin Hayata Ultraman as a samurai.
He always seems to me to be more connected with the science fiction aspect of the world and is more like a conflict protector and explorer, meeting unknown people and being forced to fight with it to protect others while also learning to learn about other creatures. Shin Hayata is not completely human after all, because he is the host of one of the living beings in the Land of Light, and therefore, the important theme of Superman has always been this interaction between humans and other creatures or species they do not understand. In my case, this could lead to incompatibility of misunderstanding and violence, or perhaps combined with learning and integration, which is one of the definitions in the series. Of course, none of these are inherently incompatible with the concept of samurai. But it’s a surprising angle, at least from a literal outsider perspective.
As far as trying to save everyone, it’s nice to see the wavelengths of Spider-Man and Ultraman. In the beginning, there is a clear distinction between the grim math of the practical and acceptable losses suffered in the beginning, from Superman’s desire to protect everyone, even at the expense of his own safety. In this case, Spider-Man and Ultraman are kind-hearted spirits and I’m not quite sure what they expect their connection to be, but I like this angle as a way to bridge these two very different characters.
The art and rhythm are great, too. I’m not familiar with it Tomo Hirokawawork, so this is my first time on an outing in their style. I have to say that it is clear, clean, and elegantly interpreted by a perfect and beloved character. Their rendition of Ultraman is particularly compelling, and I think this is probably my favorite version of the comic-form character. There were some fragments everywhere – Uncle Ben looked a little too soft and almost adorable that it hurt his death scene – but it was a very small complaint. The truth is that whenever an artist has to draw a well-known character that he hasn’t created, there will always be a question of how one or more characters intersect. Overall, the art looks great, the movements move quickly, the scenes and regions are all sorts, and it looks crisp.
The only real drawback I can think of is that there are only three problems with this volume. This is not a bad value proposition. There are a lot of things here. It was just once the team had all the necessary setups, had some big fights, and helped build the bets…it was over. This is a “so far everything is fine” situation and I certainly look forward to more. But it’s a small sample of the comics and there’s all the time necessary to devote yourself to building the world and characters, which means there aren’t many opportunities to really distinguish from the norms. For now, I feel like I’ve watched a 30-minute opening for a superhero crossover movie – maybe general universal, but all the pieces can take off and do something great. Only time will tell, but I’m eager to check out the next volume.
