Ultimate Spider-Man #36

“Today”

Writer – Brian Michael Bendis

Pencils – Mark Bagley

Inks – Art Thibert

Reviewed by Nick Akrivos

The Plot

Last time we saw him, Peter was lying naked in front of his family’s grave, after frying the suit, and nearly himself, in some telephone wires.  Now, after finding some dirty looking clothes out of a rubbish bin, he makes his way back to the lab to return part of the goo.  However, someone wanders in, and, as luck would have it, that someone is Eddie.  Eddie realises, from the news reports he’s seen of Spider-Man in a black costume, and now Peter returning some of the substance, that Peter is Spider-Man.

With this realisation, Peter decides to tell Eddie all about how he got his powers, what he was doing, and why they need to destroy the suit.  After a lot of persuasion, the clincher being “it would be what our fathers would have wanted”, and so Eddie agrees to let Peter take the rest of the goo and destroy it. 

Before all this, there is a scene with Gwen and Eddie in his room.  After some somewhat familiar dialogue, he tries to kiss Gwen, but she resists, and then leaves.  Eddie turns on the television, and, seeing the black Spidey new reports, hurries to the lab. 

Back to Peter, and he is standing atop a smoke stack, ready to drop the goo into it, which he does.  Then, when Peter returns home, Gwen engages into a rant about Eddie.  Finally, back at the lab, Eddie opens another locker, complete with another sample of the goo, and we end with him dipping his hands in it.

Likes

Better than last issue by far.  We’re beginning to see the other side of Eddie.  The one Gwen has seen, but unfortunately, not Peter.  First he tries to hit on Gwen, fully aware that her father had been killed just a few days earlier, and then, after peter has left, he curses him. 

One thing I really liked about this issue was the smoke-stack scene.  Now, I’m a big Clone Saga fan.  Without going into detail, I readily admit it had its rough spots *cough*maximumclonage*cough* but all in all, I liked it.  And one thing I really liked about this issue was the little echo of Amazing Spider-Man #151, only the then un-named Ben being replaced by the goo.  That and the almost purposeful setup of the previous mistaken identity storyline to be a dig at all the Clone Saga haters at Marvel makes me credit Bendis as a writer even more so than usual. 

But back to the issue, the main thing, I enjoyed it.  We are now setup perfectly for the big fight next issue, with Eddie set to wear the suit.  I like.

I’m forgetting something….oh yeah, the art is fantastic.  But then you already knew that. 

Dislikes  

Firstly, do not be fooled by the length of this section, there’s a good reason.

Okay, there is one main flaw in this, and all of the Ultimate Spider-Man, and also the majority of Marvel’s books, is that they are being written for trade-paperbacks.  This series is one of the biggest committers of that.  And this arc in particular has just felt like it’s been going on for years.  Seriously, it’s too long, and not enough happens each issue to warrant 22 pages.

On that note, this was another dialogue-less issue, at least in places.  The Peter/Eddie conversation was, for the most part, full of dialogue, but the Eddie/Gwen scene at the beginning of the book wasn’t.  It was full of those “shocked look on his/her face” panels that, sadly, we’ve come to expect from this book.  It’s just as well that Bagley’s artwork is that damn good that these panels don’t bother me as much as they would if the art wasn’t as good as it is.

Another flaw that has gotten worse and worse as the book has gone on is the alarming amount of people who know Peter’s secret identity.  Surely the driving force behind having a secret identity is to keep it just that – a secret.  But already, just 36 issues in, and how many people know Peter is Spider-Man?

Let’s make a short list:

Mary Jane.

Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin.

Harry Osborn.

Doctor Octopus.

Kingpin.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

Fantastic Four.

Wolverine.

The Wasp (and almost certainly the rest of the Ultimates too).

And now Eddie Brock.

Now that’s a hell of a long list of people who know Peter’s secret, and even that is forgetting some in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, such as Doctor Strange.  Yeah, Wolverine and the FF were in that book, but Bendis will use that Wolverine continuity in his June stint on Ultimate X-Men. 

Still, I hope this is given some thought.

Other than those things, there was nothing really wrong with the issue, and it was a solid as every other issue of this title.

Rating  

3 ½ webheads out of 5.  It was good, but too slow right now.  Here’s hoping next issue things will really begin to kick off.

Ultimate Spider-Man #35
“Legacy”  

Writer – Brian Michael Bendis

Pencils – Mark Bagley

Inks – Art Thibert  

Reviewed by Nick Akrivos  

The Plot  

We begin this issue with black costumed action.  A pop-star has been taken hostage by a group of criminals, and they speed away in a limousine.  Our hero makes his presence known by ripping the roof off of the limo, and clambering inside.  The strength of the suit is shown when one of the criminals shoots Spidey in the shoulder, and the suit heals itself with speed equal to Wolverine’s healing factor.  After (quickly) healing, Spidey webs up the criminals.  Unfortunately, at this point, the driver manages to knock himself out, so Spidey must take the wheel.  After driving erratically he manages to stop the limo before it careers into a school bus. 

And, in the school bus, Mary Jane watches in wonder (and interest) as her ex-boyfriend web-slings out of the roofless limousine.  When the cops arrive, Spider-Man exits stage left, and thinks to himself about how much the suit has enhanced his already enhanced abilities. 

Next, Spidey arrives to stop The Shocker before he hurts a lot of police, and, brushes off a full vibro-shockwave with ease and then knocks The Shocker out.  After exiting stage left once again, Spidey goes to stop another robbery.  This time, it’s just one man.  The guy has apparently shot the owner of the store, killing him, and the man’s family are left to mourn.  As Spidey floors the robber, he starts to see the face of the guy who shot Uncle Ben.  Then, Peter grows into a huge behemoth, complete with fangs and a large tongue, and nearly kills the robber, before managing to regain control.

Peter jumps away, wrestling with the suit for control of his own body.  Finally, he falls into what appears to be telephone wires, and, after being fizzled badly, falls to the ground, the suit apparently burnt off of him. 

Peter, now naked, lands right next to a tombstone bearing the names of his father, his mother and his uncle.  

Likes  

So, Peter’s is, albeit briefly, Venom.  Nice.  I didn’t see this coming.  Typical Bendis.  Not that there’s anything typical about him, but you get my meaning.  I wonder what Mary Jane was thinking when she saw Peter, clad in his new black costume.  Speaking of which, the new black costume is very interesting indeed.  Sadly, that interest, at least while it is on Peter, appears to have been cut short.  Shame.

Mark Bagley’s art, as ever, is brilliant.  His “Venom”, in particular, is astounding. 

Dislikes

Remember I said that there isn’t a bad issue of Ultimate Spider-Man?  Well, this issue wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t up to the standards set by the first two issues of this arc.

Firstly, dialogue wise, this issue was lacking.  Sure, the art was, as ever, great, and the dialogue that is there is great as well, it’s just there isn’t that much of it.

Secondly, I haven’t liked the portrayal of The Shocker in this book at all.  I remember him making a few panel appearance back in the Kingpin story, but I can’t remember what he did.  And here, he is again, used badly.  The Shocker is one of my favourite of Spider-Man’s rouges gallery, and I have anything but liked Bendis’ use of him here.  I can’t even remember his first appearance, and his second was no better.  He was beaten way too easily.  Yes, Peter was wearing the ability enhancing suit, so I’d like a future confrontation to be normal Spidey vs. new and improved Shocker.

Lastly, I thought the end, with peter falling right in front of his parent’s and uncle’s combined grave was a little silly.

And man, is it going slow.  Three issues into a six/seven part story, and the main villain, of which the story is centred, is yet to show.  Yes, yes, character development.  But still…

Rating

3 webheads out of 5.  Don’t get me wrong, this was still a good issue, but compared to the previous two, it was lacking.  Not enough dialogue, and all together it felt a little rushed.  And it’s too slow.

Ultimate Spider-Man #34  

“Inheritance”

Writer – Brian Michael Bendis

Pencils – Mark Bagley

Inks – Art Thibert  

Reviewed by Nick Akrivos

The Plot

We begin right were we left off last issue, as Eddie begins to explain what the goo, dubbed “the suit” is.  It was designed to fight, and eliminate diseases, most notably cancer, by increasing the body’s ability to counter and eliminate disease.  As well as this, the subject’s strength is enhanced also.  Also of note is the Doctor Connor’s who Eddie tells Peter has been helping him.

The suit was never finished, because Peter and Eddie’s fathers went broke, and had to take the project to Trask Industries who, much like the corporation in Alien, upon realising military potential of the suit, take it away from Peter and Eddie’s fathers.

According to Eddie, the suit was tailored to Peter’s father’s DNA.

Later, after school, we get the first meeting between the now broken-up Peter and Mary Jane.  No dialogue is exchanged, but there is a definite feeling of loss between the two.  As well as this, Gwen ends up accepting a ticket to go to a concert with Eddie.

After watching more videos of his father, Peter decides to finish the job his father started, realise “the suit”.  Breaking into the lab, Peter, as Spider-Man, takes a small portion of the goo, but he spills some onto himself.  The goo quickly spreads until it covers Peter’s entire body, and, after several distorted looks and poses, he stands erect in the suit.  

Likes

First off – black costume!!!  Yay!!!

I love the black costume, and really am disappointed by its absence from the Spider-books.  (stupid Mary Jane getting scarred by stupid Venom).  Seriously, the last page splash of Peter in the suit is simply brilliant. 

I’m liking the ultimate version of Eddie more and more, and it’ll be interesting to see his reaction to Peter’s “theft” of some of the goo.  There was also a very interesting remark about who has been helping Eddie in the project.  One Doctor (Curt?) Connors.  Will he eventually turn into The Lizard?  Well, he has done in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, issue #10, to be precise.  But then that is, not just in my, but in a lot of people I’ve spoken to, opinion, a book that is largely out of ultimate continuity.  We think. 

Anyway, I’m getting off-topic, so back to the issue at hand.  The scene with Mary Jane was great; truly showing the remorse each other is showing about the break-up.  Hopefully, this will be looked upon fully in future issues.

So, the story is setting itself up nicely.  Peter now has the suit, and I expect Eddie will get it in an issue or two.  But then again, Bendis is anything but predictable. 

Dislikes  

Absolutely nothing.  Not a thing.  Dialogue wise, it was good (at least for this series) and the art was flawless.  So I have nothing to moan about.  

Rating  

4 ½ webheads out of 5.  Yes, the issue was great, nothing was wrong, but it wasn’t excellent enough to earn to full 5 webheads