10 Comic Stories You Should Read Before Phase 3 Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe

7. Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 1: Power And Responsibility

For those who follow comics, it€™s obvious that when Marvel Studios began to plan their films, they essentially took the best parts of both the main Marvel 616 universe and the Marvel 1016 Ultimate universe to form the cinematic universe (Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Furry is a prime example of this argument). Therefore, when Marvel Studios finally stuck a deal with Sony concerning the use of Spider-Man in the Marvel CU, Marvel Studios once again turned to the Ultimate line for inspiration. Marvel recently announced that Tom Holland will be taking up the mantel of Spider-Man and that these films will focus on Peter Parker€™s high school years. Now, considering that the Marvel 616 universe Peter Parker hasn€™t been in high school for a VERY long time, and that the only high school aged comic book incarnation of Peter Parker published in the past 15 years has been the Ultimate version, it€™s a safe bet that Marvel Studios will be using Ultimate Spider-Man as a template for their new films. Although Marvel Studios announced that the upcoming Spider-Man film will not be an origin story (praise God!), Ultimate Spider-Man: Power And Responsibility (written by Michael Bendis and illustrated by Mark Bagley) does a great job updating Spider-Man€™s origin while situating him in a high school setting. As a rule of thumb, the Ultimate Spider-Man series streamlines and retells the Spider-Man classics, while focusing on Peter as a teenager dealing with teenager issues. Overall, it€™s a great place to start for anyone who wants an introduction to Spider-Man.