Chip Zdarsky was the first pick to write Ultimate Spider-Man

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Chip Zdarsky revealed on the Off Panel podcast he was the first pick to write Ultimate Spider-Man. The fact is, he turned it down, and for good reason.

“The funny weird secret is, I was offered Ultimate Spider-Man,” Zdarsky said. “Couple reasons why I didn’t take it. One, I was doing Batman. But two, because the whole idea that was pitched–I got to read all the Ultimate Universe stuff that Hickman had already written and he had the plan for other books and stuff–I just read it and was like, oh this is so Hickman. Hickman should be writing this.”

Pointing out Hickman has never written Spider-Man, Zdarsky admitted, “Selfishly, I wanted to write it. I want to be that guy. With Marco on a Spider-Man book? Like obviously. But when I was reading that outline, I was just like, ‘It’s gotta be Hickman.’”

He went on to say anyone trying to write for the Ultimate Spider-Man pitch would be “trying to be like Hickman.” He said months later, he had a call with Hickman, and in that call, Hickman thanked Zdarsky for turning the pitch down because he was having so much fun writing it.

I think fans can agree Ultimate Spider-Man #1 is proof enough that Hickman is the right guy for the job. As I said in my review, “Ultimate Spider-Man is like a warm blanket to the reader who wants to see Peter Parker have a great possible future.”

For even more from Chip Zdarsky, listen to our podcast interview spotlighting the creator!

What do you think Spider-Man fans? Would you like to live in an alternate dimension when Zdarsky took the gig? Let us know in the comments.

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