Ultraman: Along Came A Spider-Man Chapter 15 & 16 Review

Ultraman: Along Came A Spider-Man Chapter 15 & 16 Review

Ultraman: Along Came A Spider-Man chapters 15 and 16 are now available on the VIZ manga app and website for free. If you’re not already caught up, make sure to binge your way up to speed because things are getting down to the wire! 

Immediately, Alien Mefilas is delivering on his promise to prey on Ultraman’s partiality to humanity and favor for kindness. He turns Gango, the impressionable alien, into a giant clone of Fuji, weaponizing her image against Ultraman. 

In what seems to be a recollection shared by both Shin and Ultraman, Fuji confides in Shin. She tells him she believes there’s something more to Ultraman’s actions. He wants to protect humanity, but he also wants to protect Kaiju when he can. Sometimes he is forced to put them down, but Ultraman is not a ‘Kaiju exterminator’. Harm is a last resort. It begs the question, does Ultraman feel remorse for the Kaiju he cannot spare? 

From Fuji’s perspective the Monster Graveyard is a physical manifestation of Ultraman’s remorse for taking the lives of Kaiju. It serves as a purgatory for his penitence to reside alongside the wandering souls of defeated Kaiju. 

Fuji does not judge Ultraman. In fact, she finds nobility in Ultraman’s sacrifice of Kaiju for the sake of Earth.  There is a balance that must be kept in this world, but it doesn’t have to be kept mercilessly or antagonistically. 

Shin is snapped back into reality, where he is toe-to-toe with the same person who made him feel truly seen. It’s psychological moments like these when Ultraman must lament fighting a brawny Kaiju like Gomora! 

Shin is filled with too much compassion for Fuji to fight her, even if it is only a mirage. Ultraman’s sensitivity and genuine love for humanity is a result of his close bond with his host and his centuries long relationship to Earth. To hurt a human is completely antithetical to Ultraman’s intuition. Mefilas has successfully paralyzed him through his most vulnerable point. 

Ultraman pulls a never-before-seen battle move… A hug. He literally hugs his adversary. And in a surprising moment of tenderness, through Fuji’s eyes, Gango cries. His heart beats in synchronicity with Ultraman’s as they stay embraced. Gango can feel Ultraman’s truth and it’s the same truth as his own: Causing harm does not have to be the only way. 

Onita sees that Gango’s deepest desire is to grant wishes that fill people with joy, not to be used as a weapon. Onita suddenly feels the crushing weight of his decisions. He believes he is the only one who can make things right but, before he can atone, Alien Mefilas takes on Ultraman directly. 

Doctor Doom returns to Alien Mefilas’s side and Spider-Man returns to Ultraman. The four break into a dynamic multi-scale battle; Tumbling through each other’s trails as they struggle against each other. 

Large sweeping motions characterized by rushing action lines crash into each other as the fight crescendos. Billowing impact clouds envelop Ultraman as he crashes onto the ground in defeat. 

Faced with immensity, Spider-Man sees Ultraman up close, completely still for the first time. Suddenly there is an equally immense weight of dread hanging in the tall shadow of Ultraman’s defeat. 

By the end of chapter 16, Spider-Man is left immobile, unconscious, and left entirely in the hands of Doctor Doom and his magic circle. I believe it’s fair to say this is the most screen-gripping cliffhanger we’ve gotten with the manga so far.

 Will Doom use Ultraman to commit heinous actions against humanity? Will his power somehow be extracted? Will Spider-Man have to answer to this crisis alone? Find out next Tuesday on the VIZ manga app or website