The Sinister Six's Tensions Reach a Breaking Point – And It’s a Serious Problem for Ultimate Spider-Man

Marvel's most dangerous Sinister Six are losing their grip on New York City, and it's all thanks to the Ultimate Wall-Crawler.

In a preview for Ultimate Spider-Man #19 (by Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto, Matt Wilson, and VC's Cory Petit) from Marvel Comics, readers find the members of the Sinister Six discussing the absence of one of their own members. As it turns out, Kraven the Hunter has been missing for months, and the rest of the Sinister Six don't know whether he is working with the turncoat Mysterio or if something even worse is waiting to be revealed. If that weren't bad enough, the situation at hand is beginning to divide the Sinister Six in ways that they have never before had to deal with, and if things don't turn around, they might just end up tearing each other apart.

The Divide Begins in Ultimate Spider-Man #19

• Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
• Art by MARCO CHECCHETTO
• Colors by MATT WILSON
• Letters by VC's CORY PETIT
• Design by JAY BOWEN
• Main cover art by MARCO CHECCHETTO & MATT WILSON
• Variant covers by GERALD PAREL; TRADD MOORE; and BENJAMIN SU

The Sinister Six is the oldest team of villains brought together with the express purpose of destroying everyone's favorite Web-Slinger, with the original incarnation of the group being founded by Doctor Octopus all the way back in 1964's Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The first iteration of the Sinister Six consisted of Doc Ock, Electro, Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter, Sandman, and the Vulture. In the decades since, numerous versions of the Sinister Six have been formed, with dozens of villains joining one or more variations of the team in that time.

The Sinister Six of the current Ultimate Universe (the reality of Earth-6160) was introduced in 2024 in the pages of Ultimate Spider-Man #8. This version of the team consists of the Black Cat, Mister Negative, the Mole Man, Kraven the Hunter, and Mysterio, all of whom are overseen by none other than the Kingpin of Crime himself - Wilson Fisk. While Fisk lords over the group in its entirety, each of the other five members of the Sinister Six has their own distinct borough of New York City to control.

While most members of the Sinister Six have been happy to maintain their status as crime lords and do what they can to keep The Maker's global regime intact, that isn't true of all of them. As it turns out, Mysterio was never one person, but a group of a half-dozen different figures all working to unveil the truth behind The Maker's grand illusion to the world. As such, these Mysterios are now staunch enemies of the Sinister Six, so much so that the Gwen Stacy of the current Ultimate Universe took it upon herself to murder fellow Sinister Six member Kraven the Hunter for targeting and torturing her husband, Harry Osborn, aka the Green Goblin.

Ultimate Spider-Man #19 goes on sale July 30 from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics