History
Ultimate Spider-Man was the first series to be published in the Ultimate Marvel line. Publisher Bill Jemas wanted to reinvent the Marvel Universe because he felt that, with over 40 years of back-story, it had become inaccessible to new readers, and he wanted to start with a reinvented Spider-Man. Initially, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada was skeptical because 1998's Spider-Man: Chapter One, a previous attempt at re-envisioning Spider-Man's early adventures, had failed both critically and commercially.
Though Spider-Man's original origin story in Amazing Fantasy #15 was only 11 pages long, Bendis's retelling of Spider-Man's origin was seven issues long. Bagley was at first wary of Bendis' notoriously slow pace in advancing plot, describing it as a "real shock" at first. Previously, Jemas intended the comic to feature single-issue stories only, but Bendis chose to make each story roughly six issues long.
The first several issues were greeted with enthusiasm from fans and critics, sold well, and gave Ultimate Marvel a boost in credibility. After the release of Ultimate Spider-Man (along with Ultimate X-Men), Quesada and Jemas broadened the Ultimate Marvel line with The Ultimates (a re-imagining of the Avengers) and Ultimate Fantastic Four. Ultimate Spider-Man #1 was voted the "ninth-greatest Marvel Comic of All Time" in 2001 by readers of Wizard: The Guide to Comics. In addition to critical success, Ultimate Spider-Man grew to outsell the flagship Spider-Man title, Amazing Spider-Man. Bendis would later describe issue #13, in which Peter tells Mary Jane his secret identity, as his favorite issue because it showed the trust that the Marvel editorial had in him.
As the series progressed within the next two years, reception and sales stayed strong, helped by the fact that Bendis and Bagley quickly found chemistry and enjoyed working together. Over the years, many 'mainstream' characters were introduced, often with different origins, costumes, or personalities.
On August 16, 2006, Mark Bagley announced he would be leaving the book as of Ultimate Spider-Man #110. Bagley and writer Brian Michael Bendis had worked on the series together since it began. Artist Stuart Immonen, already familiar with the Ultimate Universe from his work on Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, took over after Bagley. Issue #111, named "The Talk", featured Immonen's art for the first time. The issue was divided into two parts, with Bagley covering the art for one section, and Immonen doing the other. Issue #133 was the final issue of the series before a two-issue follow-up entitled Ultimatum: Spider-Man Requiem was released, revealing the status of the title's characters after the events of Ultimatum. Despite the book's apparent cancellation, in August 2009 Ultimate Spider-Man was relaunched as continuing to be written by Brian Michael Bendis and being drawn by David Lafuente, who provided the art for the third Ultimate Spider-Man Annual. The book finished its run with #160 and subsequently was relaunched as Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man with art by Sara Pichelli.
Further information on story arcs can be found in List of Ultimate Spider-Man story arcs.
Read more about this topic: Ultimate Spider-Man
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