Ultimate Spider-Man #91
Title: Deadpool Part 1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: John Dell
Plot:
We start in mid-battle between Spider-Man and the Ringer.  Spidey’s having a tough time until Kitty Pryde appears in her new costume to assist.  The two young heroes take down the Ringer and then flee the scene as the cops arrive.  Back at an abandoned warehouse, Peter and Kitty talk about their relationship.  They both want to date in real life, but realize the problems that it would cause with Peter’s secret identity.  The X-Plane arrives to pick up Kitty, and so they part with a kiss.  When Kitty gets back to the X-Mansion, she is surprisingly met by Logan.  Unexpectedly, Logan lunges at Kitty, and so she runs.  She manages to send the X-Plane out once again, jut before Storm zaps her unconscious.  Back at the Parker residence, Aunt May is getting ready to leave and go out with some friends from work.  Peter notices the X-Plane hovering over the warehouse again, and decides to go investigate as Spider-Man.  After climbing on board, the Plane flies back to the X-Mansion, which only takes twenty minutes.  Spider-Man approaches the front door of the X-Mansion where Kitty is standing.  Suddenly, Spidey’s spider sense goes off, and Kitty zaps Spidey to the ground with some sort of electrical weapon.  We then see that it wasn’t Kitty at all, it was Ultimate Deadpool.
Likes:
This issue covered a lot of ground in my opinion.  We had the introduction of two new Ultimate characters, and one good fight.  Kitty’s new costume is pretty cool, and realistically a good idea to protect Peter’s identity.  Also, I like the pace that Peter and Kitty’s relationship is moving in.  They seem to be a good couple, but it looks like there are going to be bumpy roads ahead.  Furthermore, it’s good to see Aunt May getting out of the house.   

Dislikes:
I really hat to say it, but some of the art seemed rushed.  It must be because this is a double issue month.  At least I hope that’s the reason.  Bagley’s been my favorite Spidey artist since his work on Amazing in the nineties.  I really hate to give him a bad score, but what’s necessary is necessary.  The art in this issue could have been better.

Favorite Quote:
Spider-Man:  Hello?  Hello Kitty?  (I just said Hello Kitty out loud.  I’m officially a four-year-old girl.)

Rating: 4 out of 5 webs.  Minus one web for the poor art work.  This does however look like the beginning of an awesome story.

Reviewed By: Michael Heitkemper

Ultimate Spider-Man #90
Title: Silver Sable Part 5     
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: John Dell 

Plot:

This issue starts out with a double splash page of Spider-Man in pursuit of the Vulture.  SHIELD agent Sharon Carter observes and records the fight.  Through what she records, Nick Fury and Tony Stark also watch from headquarters.  Through the video, SHIELD is able to identify the Vulture as Blackie Drago, and ex-SHIELD agent.  As the fight continues, Roxxon gets a call on his cell phone.  The person on the other end of the phone call reveals that all he wants is to see Roxxon fail.  SHIELD traces the phone call.  Silver Sable shoots Vulture in the back, and Spider-Man then easily brings him down, and webs him up for SHIELD to take into custody.  Later, Iron man and Nick Fury arrive at the destination of the traced phone call.  The man behind all of the attacks on Roxxon turns out to be a man named Elijah Stern, who calls himself a Tinkerer.  Stern was fired from Roxxon for some dumb reason, and decided to get revenge.  Fury makes an offer to Stern to work for him, Stern accepts.  Our attention is then brought to a shadowy figure in a corner that Stern calls the Slayer.  Next Roxxon has a run in with Silver Sable, who says that she never wants to see him again.  Then Peter is at home watching the Flash Thompson story on TV, and talking to Kitty Pryde on the phone.  The X-Men are laughing at the show in the background. 

Likes:
This turned out to be a good ending to the arc.  Everything wrapped up in a good nature.  Bendis didn’t over use any of the characters in this story, nor did he use them too little like the Warriors arc.  Also, the Ultimate introduction of some classic characters is always great.  The Vulture and the Tinkerer both appear like they are going to play big roles in the future.  Also, we can’t help but wonder what Fury is up to. 

Dislikes:
This whole story arc could probably have been done in four issues instead of five.  I say this only because of the massive use of splash pages throughout the arc.  I’d count them to make a point, but it’s just not that big of a deal.

Favorite Quote:
Spider-Man: Unless you need to find a park statue to poop on... Then by all means.... I’ll wait. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 webs.  We have the introductions of some new characters, and an awesome webslinging battle.  What more could you want?   

Overall Story Rating: 4 out of 5 webs.  This story started out slow, but turned out to have a descent ending.  All and all, it was a good fun read. 

Reviewed By: Michael Heitkemper

Ultimate Spider-Man #89
Title: Silver Sable Part 4
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: Scott Hanna 

Plot:

This issue starts out with a view into Silver Sable’s early life.  As a child her mother drank a lot, and her father was never home.  When she was older, a big bald man came to tell her that her father was on his deathbed.  She went to see him, and he told her that the reason he was never home was because he was a Nazi hunter.  He had dedicated his life to tracking down war criminals all over the world.  Realizing that her father had his heart in the right place, she wanted to follow in his footsteps after he died.  She declared that she would do whatever it took to find men who don’t want to be found.  We then skip to the present, Sable is handing a shackled Spider-Man over to Mr. Roxxon.  They unmask Spidey, and ask him what he knows about the attacks on Roxxon’s company.  When Peter reveals that he knows nothing, they decide to find out who he is by running his fingerprints.  The print run immediately notifies S.H.E.I.L.D.  After triangulating the location of Spidey, Nick Fury sends a team that way.  Back at Roxxon, the Wild Pack notice that they are being traced and decides to split.  We then find out that Mr. Roxxon was once just a rich stupid kid, who inherited his fathers business.  Now he has no idea what he is doing.  Spidey manages to break free of his shackles while no one is looking.  Then suddenly there is an explosion.  The explosion throws Mr. Roxxon out the side of the building, but Spidey catches him.  When Spidey gets back to the top, we see that one of the Wild Pack members have been killed.  Then after a few more small attacks, we see the attacker... Ultimate Vulture. 

Likes:

This issue was just absolutely amazing.  I like the way that the origins of the characters were written and drawn.  Even though the panels were large, and appeared like space fillers they were still entertaining and added so much personal feeling to the story.  Mr. Roxxon, who I was thinking was a smart man, turned out to be nothing more than a coward with his daddy’s money.  This was unexpected, but enjoyable.  And of course, the introduction of Ultimate Vulture was awesome.  Next issue is sure to be better than this one. 

Dislikes:

The only thing I can really pick on in this issue is that yet another group of people have seen Spider-Man unmasked. 

Favorite Quote:

Spider-Man: Yeah, I wonder why people would be dressing in bad costumes and attacking you.  Now I want to and I’m the good guy... (in a bad costume).

Rating: 5 out of 5 webs. I’m not bothered by the continuity of the game thing anymore... I guess.  This issue was really a good read, and it truly deserves the rating that I gave it.

Reviewed By: Michael Heitkemper

Ultimate Spider-Man #88
Title: Silver Sable Part 3
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: Scott Hanna 

Plot:

Picking up from last issue, Peter has no choice but to hand his bag with his costume in it over to the police.  Luckily, Mark Raxton runs by dressed as Spider-Man trying to make a scene and promote his band to the press outside.  Peter, now frightened that he will be caught, leaves school and rushes to his aunt May’s work.  Peter is about to tell May that he is Spider-Man, but before he can, May starts to talk about how she believes Spider-Man is a coward in a mask.  May reveals to Peter that she has been seeing a therapist, and suggests that Peter maybe see her also.  Peter answers with a maybe.  Deciding not to tell her the truth, Peter goes home and is speaking with Kitty on the phone.  Kitty encourages Peter to go out and catch the guys that are after him.  We then skip to the Thompson household where Flash’s dad is turning down a $100,000 deal to make a TV movie over Flash’s kidnaping.  Flash is told to excuse himself after speaking his mind, which takes him to his room where Spider-Man is waiting.  Flash tells Spidey everything that he told the police.  Next, Spider-Man is at the warehouse where the Wild Pack took Flash.  As Spidey is trying to figure out why he is wanted by the Wild Pack, he is attacked by them.  After four pages of fight panels, Spidey has the Wild Pack webbed up.  Enter Silver Sable who explains that they were only following orders.  Spider-Man webs her up as well, and then takes her cell phone from her so he can call the police.  Spidey’s spider-sense flares off when he is about to press the call button, but he ignores it.  As he pushes the button, he is electrocuted and thrown to the ground unconscious.   

Likes:

Looks like Mark Raxton is going to continue being a part of the cast, that’s good.  Peter is finally acting less depressing, and I have to say it’s all because of the new girlfriend, Kitty.  Things appear to be working out great between them.  But how would Peter feel if MJ got together with Mark?  Hmm.... just a thought.  We still don’t know what Omega Red attacked Roxxon for, so there’s a bit of anticipation building, very good.  The fight with the Wild Pack was pretty good..... 

Dislikes:                                                                                   

....except for the cheap way that Spider-Man was taken down.  How did Silver Sable know that Spidey would try to use her cell phone?  I know he’s done it before in “Warriors,” but how did Sable know?  Also, the continuity thing with the game is still bothering me.  I’m slowly getting over it though.

Favorite Quote:

Spider-Man: I mean, there is not one area of this whole thing that you tried here that you don’t suck at.  Maybe hair care.  That you seem to have down. 

Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 webs.  This issue was very well written and drawn from cover to finish.  I just wish that it was in perfect continuity with the game. 

Reviewed By: Michael Heitkemper

Ultimate Spider-Man #87
Title: Silver Sable Part 2
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: Scott Hanna 

Plot:
We find Peter in the library at school thinking about Kitty Pryde.  Just then, Kong shows up and asks Peter if he’s seen Flash.  Peter says no, and Kong again tries to call Flash, but we only see Flash’s cell phone lying in the alley with seven missed calls.  Skip to Silver Sable and the Wild Pack arguing over what to do with Flash after they mistakenly kidnaped him. 
   While they are arguing, Flash takes the opportunity to get away.  We then go back to Midtown High School.  Peter has just gotten out of school, and he finds Kitty Pryde there to surprise him.  Mary Jane watches, with a heartbroken expression, as the couple walks away.  Sable and the Wild Pack are in a bar watching the news.  Flash’s kidnaping and escape is all that is talked about.  We then see Mr. Roxxon getting into his car, only to be met by Silver Sable.  Roxxon no longer wants her to do the job, but Sable says she is going to do finish the job, no charge.  Roxxon gives her three days. Meanwhile Peter and Kitty are hanging out at his house. 
     MJ calls and asks if Peter he is watching TV.  When Peter says no, MJ hangs up.  The next day, there are news crews and police officers surrounding Midtown High for upped security since Flash’s abduction.  When Peter shows up he is shocked to see it.  MJ approaches him and they joke a little about what happened to Flash.  Peter asks why she hung up on him last night, and she says in an upset way  “You had company.”  All the students are then called to class.  As Peter is walking through the hall, a few police officers stop him for a random bag check.  To be continued.... 

Likes:
Much better than last issue, complete with an awesome cliffhanger.  Peter and Kitty getting together was a very cool thing for Bendis to do, even though I hope it doesn’t last.  It opens up such a enjoyable story plot where you can really understand what the characters are feeling.  Also, I can’t wait to see what Sable is going to do now.  Plus we don’t know why Omega Red attacked Roxxon in the first place.  Lots to look forward to. 

Dislikes:
There’s still no clear explanation to the continuity problem with the game.  It’s rumored that Sable doesn’t know who Spider-Man is simply for the people who won’t get to play the game.  If that’s the case, then what was the point of putting the game story in continuity in the first place.  This is my only problem with this story. 

Favorite Quote: Kong: Peter, you seen Flash?
Peter: Well... I don’t have an atomic super wedgie, so I guess that means I haven’t seen him. 

Rating: 4 out of 5 webs. The continuity thing still bothers me, but the way that I could feel the way each character was feeling made up for that somewhat.  This issue was written and drawn very well, and I can’t wait till next issue.

Reviewed By: Michael Heitkemper

Ultimate Spider-Man #86
Title: Silver Sable Part 1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: Scott Hanna
 

Plot:
One month ago: Damage Control is cleaning up a mess at a ship dock.  A witness explains that when the SS Roxxon arrived it exploded.  The explosion was obviously caused by Omega Red, but then Spider-Man showed up and kicked his butt.  We then see a mysterious woman eves-dropping on the witnesses story.  She calls her boss, Mr. Roxxon, who we only see as a shadow figure of a man.  Mr. Roxxon wants to know why Omega Red attacked his business, and asks the mysterious woman to find out from Spider-Man.  Two Weeks Ago:  We go through five pages of the Wild Pack, tracking Spider-Man and trying to find out who he is.  They are shocked when they are led to Midtown High School.  Now to present time: The Wild Pack is hot on the trail of Spider-Man and see him fall into an alley beside the school.  When the Wild Pack moves in to apprehend him, they find a teenager in a hooded jacket, who we can not clearly see.  They take him back to Silver Sable, where we find out that they have actually abducted Flash Thompson.  Sable believes that Thompson is Spider-Man, but Flash denies it.  Sable tests him by kicking him in the face.  After Thompson falls to the ground, she knows that he is not Spider-Man after all, and that they’ve got the wrong guy. 

Likes: The art is great as usual, especially in the case of the introduction of Ultimate Omega Red, and his fight with Spidey.  This story arc seems to have the potential of being a good one, but it’s off to a rough start.

Dislikes:  Shouldn’t Silver Sable already know who Spider-Man is?  The USP Game is supposed to be in continuity with the comics.  In the game Sable appears to find out Spidey’s identity, although it is not really stated.  It bothers me a lot when continuity is in jeopardy, even when this problem can be fixed.  My only hope is that they will fix it soon. 

Favorite Quote: Omega Red: Can’t Believe I got sideswiped like that!
Spider-Man: You can’t believe it... I almost wore that exact same outfit today... boy, would that have been embarrassing. 

Rating: 2 out of 5 webs.  There may not have been, but at this point, I feel like there is a terrible continuity error with this issue. 

Reviewed By: Michael Heitkemper

Ultimate Spider-Man #85
Title: Warriors: Part 7
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: Scott Hanna

Plot:
Picking up from last issue, we find Spider-Man laying on the top of the police car, and the police are gathering.  Inside Hammerhead’s place, Hammerhead is getting nervous about the cops being right outside and says that he has to leave town.  Elektra, knowing that her employment to Hammerhead is no more, she stabs him in the chest and throws him out the window.  Outside, Spider-Man wakes up just as Captain Jeanne DeWolfe arrives on the scene.  Spider-Man sees Hammerhead falling and webs him up real good so he doesn’t hit the ground hard.  Back inside, Elektra is about to flee, but is met by the Black Cat.  After a short scuffle, Elektra falls to the ground, and we see one of Moon Knights blades in the back of her head.  Moon Knight, having his revenge passes out.  Elektra is then thrown out the window and lands on a car.  Black Cat frees Iron Fist and Shang Chi from Spider-Man’s webbing and they all get out just before the police make it in.  Atop another building, Spider-Man runs into the Black Cat.  Black Cat says she wants to kiss him, and removes his mask to reveal a teenage Peter Parker.  Black Cat is disgusted and throws up, then walks away.  Peter obviously feels stupid.  We now find Kingpin in his office speaking with a mysterious person.  This person reveals that Hammerhead, Moon Knight, and Elektra have all survived and are in comas, or in bad shape.  We then find out that this mysterious person in Kingpin’s office is none other than Captain Jeanne DeWolfe.  Finally, we skip to Peter returning home.  Aunt May meets him at the door and tells him that if he skips school again, she’s kicking him out.

Likes:
The art was great.  I think that it really set the tone for this whole issue.  The story for this entire arc was great, and was leading into a fitting ending.  And lastly, Jeanne DeWolfe has a dark side, and this was something that I didn’t even expect.

Dislikes:  Elektra may need to find herself a new weapon, because her sais  are proving to be quite  ineffective .  So far, all the people that she has stabbed with them in USP have survived except for Mr. Dini, and who knows, I may have spoke too soon.  Moon Knight’s part in this story arc was not fully explained.  I didn’t like to be left hanging like that.  I’m glad that Black Cat now knows how old Peter is, but I was hoping for a little more in that confrontation. 

Favorite Quote: Black Cat: Hey!  I’m trying to tell you... I just had a life-changing experience!

Spider-Man: Good.  Go do it over there.

Rating: 3 out of 5 webs.  This was by far the best story arc from USP since the Carnage arc, but the ending was a little cheap.  A lot of people got stabbed, and they all survived.  If Bendis wanted to use the characters again in another story arc he could have just had them get away or something.  He didn’t have to stab them in the chest and then let them survive.  

Reviewed By: Michael Heitkemper

Ultimate Spider-Man #84
Title: Warriors: Part 6
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: Scott Hanna 

Plot:

We pick up from the end of last issue.  Everyone is ready to fight, but first Hammerhead attempts to turn the tables in his favor.  First, he turns Elektra to his side by offering to double what Kingpin pays her.  Then, Black Cat steps up and offers to join Hammerhead because of her hatred to Kingpin.  Now that the teams are picked, the fight begins.  Then, after four pages of great fight scenes, Spider-Man gets fed up and goes nuts with his webbing, and webs everyone up.  He then grabs Montana’s cell phone and calls Captain Jeanne De Wolfe and explains his situation to her.  The phone call is cut short when Spider-Man starts naming names.  Everyone breaks loose, and the fight is on again.  During the fight, Elektra manages to stab Moon Knight through the chest.  Hammerhead takes that opportunity to unmask Moon Knight and get a picture  with his picture phone.  We then pan over to see Spider-Man getting a butt kicking from Elektra, that throws him out a window and lands him on the roof of a police car that has just arrived.  It appears that Spider-Man has taken a hard fall. 

Likes:

I really liked the art.  I thought is was perfectly drawn, and the tone of the fight scenes were nothing more than right on.  Spider-Man’s humorous phone call was pretty good too; it just puts the comic in the comic book.  I feared that the story was going to be cramming in an ending, but it really looks like it’s going to end in good timing.  Also, through this whole arc, the story hasn’t really slowed down, I think it’s moved at a smooth readable pace.

Dislikes:

Why did Spider-Man get his butt kicked by Elektra?  Spider-Man can dodge bullets, why couldn’t he dodge Elektra’s blows?  Furthermore, Spider-Man doesn’t even get a good hit on her, Elektra is able to block it.  I just feel like Spider-Man can do better than that.  Maybe he went easy on her because she’s a girl; I don’t know.  Also, it doesn’t look good for Moon Knight, bleeding through the mouth and all.  I was really hoping to see more of him, seemed like an interesting character. 

Favorite Quote: Captain DeWolfe: Where are you?

Spider-Man: I’m in Hammerhead’s apartment.

Captain DeWolfe: Right now.

Spider-Man: You wanna come over?  We’re going to rent a movie and snuggle up on the couch...

Rating: 4 out of 5 webs.  Everything looked good in this issue until Spider-Man’s fight with Elektra.  I know that Ultimate Spider-Man isn’t the greatest fighter, but we’ve seen him dodge several things, including flying fists.

Reviewed By: Michael Heitkemper

Ultimate Spider-Man #83
Title: Warriors: Part 5
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: Scott Hanna 

Plot:
This issue starts at the Tokyo Club where some mob members await the arrival of Hammerhead.  Suddenly, Elektra bursts in with a warning from Wilson Fisk to those who would break their word to him; It’s your dead body.  Skip to the odd schizophrenic world of Moon Knights personalities.  Among those personalities are, Steven Grant, Mark Sector, and some creepy looking little red head girl.  They all agree that Hammerhead must go down first, then the Kingpin.  Suddenly, Moon Knight appears stating that it’s time.  The personalities appear to combine leaving only Mark Spector who comes out of his daze during a business meeting.  He proposes a lunch break, and then gets ready to suit up as Moon Knight.  (Hope everyone followed me there.  If not, pick up the comic and read it yourself.) 
     Skip to Capt. Jean DeWolfe who is interrogating Ox.  Ox realizes that he is screwed, and appears that he is going to give up some answers.  Now we go to Midtown High, where Peter is eating lunch alone and day dreaming about the Black Cat, until MJ approaches him.  MJ appears to be in denial about them breaking up, but Peter is firm that they are over, because she is always putting herself in danger.  Peter gets fed up, and leaves to do some web swinging.  Next, we find Shang Chi, and Iron Fist beating the crap out of some Russian mobsters, and looking for Hammerhead.  One of the Mobsters gives up an address, the same address where Spider-Man has just arrived.  Spider-Man watches Hammerhead getting out of a car from a nearby roof top, when suddenly the Black Cat sneaks up on him.  Black Cat urges Spider-Man to stay out of this fight, but he refuses. 
     After the duo hear a few gun shots from inside Hammerheads building, they both swing through a window only to find themselves in the middle of a brawl.  Surrounded by Hammerhead, Elektra, Moon Knight, Shang Chi, Iron Fist, the Enforcers, and a whole bunch of other guys, Spider-Man wonders; “Who’s the good guys, and who’s the bad guys?” 

Likes:
Everything! The art was terrific.  I have to say that it’s some of Bagley’s finest work.  The multiple personality thing with Moon Knight was really cool, and I have to say, perfectly written.  I’m glad we finally got to see more of Moon Knight, but I still don’t completely understand his motives.  Peter and MJ’s talk was great also.  I really like it that MJ is still head over heels for Peter, and I can’t wait to see her reaction, after this arc, when she finds out that Peter is now seeing Kitty Pryde.  Further more, the Black Cat is still nuts about Spider-Man; wonder what her reaction will be like when she finds out he’s only fifteen.   

Dislikes:
Not a thing.  This is a perfect fun comic, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Favorite Quote: Spider-Man: “That head on him is freaking me out?  What is he?  A mutant?  Was he bit by a radioactive hammer?  How do you do that?”

Rating: 5 out of 5 webs.  Perfect.  I can’t wait until next issue to see how the fight turns out. 

Reviewed By: Michael Heitkemper

Ultimate Spider-Man #82
Title: Warriors: Part 4
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: Scott Hanna

Plot: The story picks up from last issue.  Spider-Man webs up Hammerhead’s gun just before he fires it causing it to explode in his hand.  Spider-Man, now free, steps back only to have a grenade thrown at him.  Spider-Man and the Black Cat quickly swing to the top of neighboring building.  Spider-Man runs to the edge of the building and looks down to see cops start shooting at him.  As Spider-Man backs away, Captain De Wolfe shows up and gets onto the cops that were shooting at Spider-Man, saying that no one saw Spider-Man doing anything wrong.  Across the way, a man is video taping the discussion in his taxi cab.  His drivers licence reads, Steven Grant.  Back to Spidey and the Black Cat on top of the building.  Black Cat, a.k.a. Felicia Hardy, pushes Spidey against a wall and kisses him through his mask.  Spidey is speechless but manages to ask about what had happened to her.  Felicia tells Spidey that she didn’t die, she only got hurt.  She goes on to say that she is still after the Kingpin and says that she cares about Spidey.  Spidey is confused and says, “Are we dating and no one told me?”  But before the situation can get cleared up too well, Spidey realizes the time and swings away quickly. 
      We then find Steven Grant entering a building where a woman named Marlene is acting very paranoid when she pulls a gun on him.  Marlene asks how it went against Hammerhead, and Steven says he just observed the fight, and then he starts to walk away as she asks about Spider-Man.  Marlene then says, “ Just for the record: Are you Steven Grant now?  Or Marc Spector?  Or Moon Knight?  Guy should tell his girlfriend which personality she’s talking to.”  Spidey finally gets home and changes to Peter Parker.  He can’t quit thinking about the Black Cat.  Then Aunt May gets home and they decide to order out.  Peter listens to the answering machine to hear his principal trying to inform May about Peter’s absence.  Peter quickly erases the message.  We then find Kingpin being very disappointed with Mr. Dini.  Elektra walks up from behind and stabs Dini through the back.  Kingpin then says it’s time to clean this up.

Likes: Mr. Dini is dead; I never like him too much.  I like that the Black Cat is back, but she seems a little cooky to me.  I can’t wait to see her reaction when she finds out how old Spider-Man really is.  Finally, Peter has been letting Spider-Man come in between himself and school, now he’s hiding more than just his secret identity from May.  This will be a great future conflict.

Dislikes: I was hoping that in this issue, being the fourth part of the arc and all, that it would start winding down.  I mean we’ve hardly seen any of Moon Knight or what his motives are, and just a little of Shang Chi and Iron Fist.  I’m just a little worried that Bendis is going to squeeze way too much character explanation into the final issues.

Favorite Quote: Spider-Man: “You shot a bullet into my web.  Or did I shoot a web into your bullet?  (I always get those two confused.)”

Rating: 5 out of 5 webs.   This was a really good read, I just hope that it the next three issues are as good with out hurting the story.                   

Reviewed By: Michael Heitkemper

Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Brooks
Inker: Jaime Mendoza
Additional Finishes: Scott Hanna 

Plot: We first see Kitty Pryde having a not so thrilling time in the danger room with some of her fellow X-Men.  Kitty excuses herself and leaves.  We next find Spider-Man, also not having a good day, in the middle of a fight with the Rhino.  Spider-Man wins the fight only to catch some crap from some army soldiers.  We go back to Kitty who is sulking about how she is the loser of the group.  Back once again to Peter in the school lunch room who is also sulking about how he is the loser of the school.  Back to Kitty, who is pondering about calling Peter and talking to him.  Jean Grey doesn’t think that it is a good idea, but Kitty does anyway.  After a bit of an awkward phone conversation, Peter and Kitty agree to go out for fun the next day after he gets out of school.  During their little date, Peter tells Kitty about his trouble with MJ, and why he can’t date anybody.  Then Kitty tells him about Bobby Drake. 
    After a few disturbances, the two decide to go to a building top where the have a little talk.  Kitty asks Peter if he could date someone with super powers.  Before Peter can answer, she gets embarrassed and phases through the roof.  After building her courage back she returns to hear Peter tell her she had an excellent point.  The two are about to kiss when there’s a loud boom, and they can see smoke from the building top.  After changing to Spider-Man, they both swing down to find the trouble.  The trouble turns out to be Shocker who is easily defeated.  Spider-Man webs up Shocker for the cops and then Kitty and him swing away.  Finally, on another building top, the two kiss, and then Kitty is picked up by the Blackbird.  When Peter gets home he quickly turns on his computer to find that he has an email from Kitty saying: “We made Yahoo.”   

Likes: With a new girlfriend, Peter may finally start to get out of his whining state.  He now has a companion that he can share everything with, including being a super hero; something he couldn’t do with MJ.  I also liked the way that Bendis showed the similarities between Peter and Kitty’s lives.  On another note, I’m glad we finally get to hear a little bit about how the Rhino got his suit, even though it’s very vague.  Lastly, thirty-seven pages of reading was great.  I wish that all of the issues were this long.

Dislikes: Don’t get me wrong, Mark Brooks is a great penciler, but I’m just so use to Mark Bagley’s work that I had to constantly remind myself that I was reading Ultimate Spider-Man.  Mark did a very fine job portraying the Ultimate style though. 

Favorite Quote: 

Kitty: “This is high school, huh?  I’ve been here four seconds and I hate everyone.”

Rating: 3 out of 5 webs.  The story was great, and the art was great, but the art wasn’t Bagley which made it hard to feel like Ultimate.  Sorry Brooks.

Ultimate Spider-Man #81
Title: Warriors: Part 3
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: Scott Hanna 

Plot: Peter Parker is forcing himself through another miserable day of school.  To escape from the madness, he becomes Spider-Man and does some webslinging.  He slings his way over to the police station where he speaks with Captain Jean DeWolfe on the roof.  Spider-Man tells the Captain about how the Kingpin wants him to take down Hammerhead.  Captain DeWolfe has heard of Hammerhead before, and tells Spider-Man that he should do as the Kingpin insisted.  Spider-Man is shocked.  About that time, DeWolfe gets a phone call about a disturbance in Chinatown, and asks Spider-Man to take care of it.  Seven minutes earlier, Danny Rand reunites with his old friend Shang-Chi in Chinatown.  The two are having lunch together and talking about how bad the neighborhood had become, when Hammerhead steps up.  Apparently, Shang-Chi has been keeping some people from making payments to the Kingpin.  Hammerhead shows the people how take care of such problems by shooting Shang-Chi.  But surprisingly, Shang-Chi is unharmed as he catches the bullet in his hand, then proceeds to throw Hammerhead out the window.  Then everyone in the room begins to attack Shang-Chi and Danny Rand, but they do very well in defending themselves.  Outside, Hammerhead finally has a clear shot at Shang-Chi’s head, and is about to take it until Spider-Man swings in and hits Hammerhead in the face.  Hammerhead quickly retaliates and grabs Spider-Man by the mask and puts a gun to his head.  But before Hammerhead can do any harm, the Black Cat appears out of no where, and demands that her boyfriend be set free.  

Likes:  After seeing the Hobgoblin arc, I’m glad to see that Bendis hasn’t lost his touch.  I’m also glad to see that Peter is becoming to like being Spider-Man more than ever, and losing the whinyness about him.  Spider-Man’s relationship with Captain DeWolfe is getting better also, so that’s something to look forward to in future story arcs.  The best thing about this issue, is that the story continues to flow without any dead spots.

Dislikes: The only thing that I can really pick on in this issue is that the fight scene was that the fight scene in Chinatown was far too stretched out.  I just feel like it took up an extra page because they were one short on the story. 

Favorite Quote: Woman dressed as Scarlet Witch: “I’m not crazy!!!  I’m not craaaazzzyy!!”

Rating: 4 out of 5 webs.  This issue loses one web for the unnecessary long fight scene, but all and all, I think that this story arc is building to be one of the best.

Reviewed By: Michael Heitkemper