A Spider-Man Costume From the MCU Makes Its Ultimate Universe Debut

One of the more fan-favorite costumes Spider-Man wore in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been introduced to the Ultimate Universe. What fans of the MCU may not remember is how it was influenced by Marvel’s Ultimate line of comics. This can be seen with Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and the visual design of Hawkeye’s costume. The original Ultimate Universe went away with 2015’s Secret Wars, but Marvel is revisting it yet again with a linewide reboot. One of the first titles in the new Ultimate Universe is Ultimate Spider-Man, and the redesigned origin for the webslinger comes with introduction of an MCU costume.

*WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Ultimate Spider-Man #9. Continue reading at your own risk!

Ultimate Spider-Man #9 comes from the creative team of Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto, Matthew Wilson, and VC’s Cory Petit. After being visited by Iron Lad / Tony Stark last issue, Spider-Man and Green Goblin have been working on a way to remove the control that Stark tech has on their suits. More accurately, Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus has been hard at work finding a solution. And a solution is what he’s found, first with a firmware update to Harry Osborn’s Green Goblin armor. As for Spider-Man, Otto has to go the route of creating a new Spider-Man suit for Peter Parker.

After talking to his current suit’s A.I. – which is just Peter’s internal monologue – Peter decides to take a look at what’s under the sheet. Once Otto pulls back the sheet, he reveals the Spider-Armor Mark I, aka the Iron Spider costume. After hearing about all its bells and whistles, Spider-Man decides to pass on the Iron Spider. But never fear, Otto and Harry come up with an alternative solution: spandex! So for now, say bye-bye to Spider-Man’s picotech suit, and say hello to good ol’ fashion spandex.

Spider-Man’s Iron Spider costume explained

The Iron Spider officially debuted during Marvel’s Civil War event series. One of the major plot points in Civil War was Spider-Man siding with Iron Man and revealing his secret identity to the world. As a show of gratitude, Iron Man designed the Iron Spider armor for Spider-Man. The suit contains the same red-and-gold color scheme of Iron Man’s armor, with the added bonus of having spider-like armors protrude from its back. Spider-Man eventually became disillusioned with Iron Man and switched sides in the Civil War, denouncing the Iron Spider costume in the process.

The Iron Spider was then used by Avengers: The Initiative trainee MVP and his clones, redubbed the Scarlet Spiders. Following MVP’s death, several other characters have worn the Iron Spider suit, and it always seems to pop back up from time to time for special appearances.

At the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Iron Man tries to present Spider-Man with the Iron Spider armor during a public press conference, similar to how it plays out in the Civil War comic. However, Peter Parker ends up turning it down. Spider-Man does end up wearing the Iron Spider in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes battle Thanos and his Black Order. It also made a brief appearance in Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Spider-Man has his first fight with a member of the Ultimate Sinister Six

Ultimate Spider-Man #9 concludes with Spider-Man and Green Goblin having their first fight with a member of the Sinister Six. Wilson Fisk / Kingpin has gathered all the heads of New York’s burroughs and assigned them the task of eradicating Spider-Man and Green Goblin. Mister Negative, Kraven the Hunter, Black Cat (Walter Hardy), Mysterio, and Mole Man, along with Kingpin, make up the Sinister Six. Black Cat gets the first crack at Spidey and Green Goblin, but it doesn’t turn out well for the cat burglar.

Black Cat holds his own against Spider-Man and Green Goblin, even deactivating Harry Osborn’s Green Goblin armor. Harry is able to get it back online, however, and joins the fray just in time to save Spider-Man from a near-fatal attack by Black Cat. The energy blast from Green Goblin sends Black Cat flying off the rooftop they were fighting on, where he slams into the pavement below. Paramedics show up to take Black Cat for medical attention, but it’s unknown if he will survive his injuries. We do know that Walter Hardy’s daughter, Felicia Hardy, will take her father’s mantle as Black Cat in a showdown against Spider-Man.

This causes friction between Spider-Man and Green Goblin, since Spider-Man has a “no killing” policy. Green Goblin doesn’t abide by those same morals, which is something to monitor as Ultimate Spider-Man continues.