Marvel Penguin Picks: April 2026
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Ultimate Spider-Man by Jonathan Hickman vol. 4: One Last Day
As if I could put anything else here after giving the top spot to this title in my Best of 2025 podcast. It’s not just that I’m looking forward to seeing how Hickman wraps up his Spider-saga, or the fact that I’m expecting it to be really good. No, this will be the rare superhero title that is bowing out gracefully on its own terms before it had a chance to wear out its welcome. You just don’t see that happen at Marvel or DC. Ever. Yes, I’m a little concerned by the fact that there’s probably going to be some obligatory“Ultimate Endgame” setup in here to distract from things, which I’ll remind you that Hickman should be but isn’t writing. However, we’re still getting a full-on battle with the Sinister Six and – possibly even more thrilling – the promise of one last dinner between Peter, MJ, Harry, and Gwen. Regular artists Marco Checchetto and David Messina are back to kill it on art duties one last time and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Spider-Man/Superman #1: The Marvel half of the crossover makes its debut with a somewhat less inspiring creative team. Mind you, I’m sure Pepe Larraz is going to knock it out of the park with his art as he’s been doing for years now. It’s just that I’m less sold on having Brad Meltzer write it. A bestselling author of prose novels who made his comics debut with the infamous whodunit “Identity Crisis” at DC before going on to do other projects, including a twelve-issue stint relaunching the “Justice League,” all of his work has always come with a mixed reception that has me wondering how he keeps getting high-profile work like this. Maybe he has a really good story involving Lex Luthor and Norman Osborn teaming up, but I think I’ll be able to wait until this one-shot is collected before I find out.
Meanwhile, the rest of the lineup here sounds unimpeachable. Dan Slott and Marcos Martin give us the retro team-up we didn’t know we wanted between Spider-Man Noir and the Golden Age Superman. Geoff Johns and Gary Frank have the Super-and-Spider-families teaming up against Mysterio, with an ally losing control in the process. Symbiotes invade Metropolis as Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman try to top the Jimmy Olsen/Carnage meet-up on the DC side. Louise Simonson and Todd Nauck have Steel facing off against the Hobgoblin. Current spider-writer Joe Kelly and Humberto Ramos stage a meet-up between two first loves: Gwen Stacy and Lana Lang. Finally, the creators of Miles Morales, Brian Michael Bendis and Sarah Pichelli show what happens when he meets the Man of Steel.
Ultimate Universe Finale #1: This is a one-shot arriving the same month as the last issue of “Ultimate Endgame” and when I heard that Hickman was writing it, I was hyped for the fact that the creator of this iteration of the Ultimate Universe would be sending it off. Then I found out that he was only contributing to part of it with the creators of the other “Ultimate” titles also delivering stories here. It’s essentially “Ultimate Epilogue” and will hopefully be included with the collected edition of “Ultimate Endgame,” even though the current Amazon listing says that’s not happening. I’ve already professed my love for Hickman’s “Ultimate Spider-Man,” but I’m not going to pay $8 to read the last sliver of content for that series – which is why I have Marvel Unlimited.
The Amazing Spider-Man: Spider-Versity #1 (of 5): What do Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Silk, Arana, Spider-Boy, and Spider-Girl all have in common? They’re all younger, untrained heroes who aren’t ready to face the next major threat. I’d take issue with lumping Miles Morales in with that group, but since the person doing the lumping is Norman Osborn I’ll assume that the point is to make him eat his words by the end of this. Not that I’m particularly keen on the solicitation’s hints that Osborn might be the next big threat since I’ve been enjoying his efforts in trying to be a good guy for the past several years. Current “Amazing” writer Joe Kelly co-writes with Jordan Morris, which means that this may have some significance to his current run, while Pere Perez provides the art.
Eternals 50th Anniversary Special #1: Well, it’s nice that they’re getting something. Despite efforts from the likes of Neil Gaiman and Kieron Gillen, as well as a MCU movie, to try and make the “Eternals” happen over the years, they’ve remained a part of the Marvel Universe with limited appeal. So it’s probably not surprising that they’re just getting a one-shot to mark the half-century they’ve had since being created by Jack Kirby. Ralph Macchio (the Marvel Editor, not the actor), Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan, and Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump write stories about the characters with art from the better-known likes of Phil Noto, Dale Eaglesham, and Michael Cho.
Alien: King Killer #1 (of 5): A planet has been overrun by Xenomorphs with the last dregs of humanity under the thumb of sibling rulers known as the Three Kings. There used to be a fourth one, and now they’re out for revenge of the most brutal kind. Billed as one of the darkest “Alien” stories yet, this comes from writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Carlos Nieto. Whether or not that’s the case remains to be seen, but I like to think it’ll turn out to be a decent read with this creative team doing the telling. However, it does look like “Alien” as a comics franchise at Marvel has now reached the series-of-miniseries (by whoever has a good idea for it) that the license had reached at the end of its tenure at Dark Horse.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge #1 (of 5): “Bounty Hunters” and original “Galaxy’s Edge” writer Ethan Sacks returns to tell a tale that is also somehow inspired by the Disneyland themed attraction. Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca head to Batuu in search of valuable intel and wind up with a dangerous relic instead – one that the Empire has had its eye on. Jethro Morales and Roi Mercado illustrate, with all of this sounding… fine. Yet the real news for the “Star Wars” line this month isn’t in the debut of this miniseries…
Star Wars: New Republic: …it’s in the fact that the current “Star Wars” series ended with its tenth issue. Yeah, I was shocked to find this out too as NOBODY was talking about it. I know that excitement about the franchise has cooled over the years, but Marvel appeared dedicated to producing regular “Star Wars” comics with an ongoing series anchoring them. To have their latest one wrap up after ten issues, following ones that went to 75 and 50 issues, respectively, implies something has gone VERY wrong with the publisher’s handling of the comics. I don’t necessarily want to point the finger at the writer of this series, Alex Segura, who delivered the decidedly underwhelming “Battle of Jakku” storyline before he took over. Yet there’s no way I won’t be able to go into this series now without thinking, “How did this only last ten issues?”
Additionally, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra – Chaos Agent gets collected this month as well and while I can’t recall this explicitly being solicited as a miniseries, it’s nice enough to see the good Doctor have one last hurrah for now. Writer Cherish Chen takes Aphra into the New Republic era along with artists Gabriel Guzman, Kieran McKeown, and Stephen Cummings. As for her last solo adventure (for now)? She’ll be teaming up with the Rebellion to help out the likes of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca track down relics, provide security, and bring order to the galaxy. Say what now? My gut tells me this is certainly nothing more than a front for Aphra to enrich herself while working on the side of the good guys for once.
Ultimate Black Panther vol. 4: Destiny & Destruction: T’Challa takes on the Vibranium progenitors for the fate of Wakanda! That would normally be enough drama for this concluding volume, but he’s probably going to have to deal with Killmonger’s anger after he finds out what the king got up to with Storm. Which will probably be evened out when T’Challa learns about Okoye’s scheming with the mercenary. Maybe they’ll engage in a wife swap and everyone will live happily ever after? Probably not as writer Bryan Hill brings the story he’s been telling with Stefano Caselli and Carlos Nieto to a close with hopefully a few surprises (and some style) along the way.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day: This was the name of the period after “One More Day” that saw “Amazing Spider-Man” become a weekly title staffed by a series of rotating creative teams that included the likes of Dan Slott, Joe Kelly, Mark Waid, Zeb Wells, Bob Gale, Marc Guggenheim, Chris Bachalo, Marcos Martin, Paolo Rivera, AND MORE! By all accounts, it left the series and character in a better place than he had been in for a while, and I’ve never actually read any of the stories from that era. So even though this selection of a “Best of” grouping of stories is clearly intended for casual fans – with its small trim size, $10 price point, and 300+ page count – it’s the rare one that I actually want to pick up now too.