Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #5 Review

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: David Lafuente
Colorist: Justin Ponsor
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit

Kitty Pryde’s mother argues with Midtown High’s principal via her cell as she walks in the house about expelling her daughter because she’s a mutant when she’s startled by how cold it is in the house. She finds Bobby Drake, aka Iceman, hiding down in the basement, begging for a place to stay.
Back on the Queensboro Bridge, Mysterio deactivates the Hulk hologram and prepares to deliver the killing blow to Spider-Man when the mysterious Hood ambushes him from nowhere. While he manages to overpower the caped figure, Spidey gets a second wind and reengages the criminal. However, Mysterio again gets the upper hand and again is upstaged by the Hood. This time, however, the vigilante’s kick deactivates the head disguiser on his collar and his face is revealed. In a panic, he unleashes a maelstrom of lights and explosions to cover his escape. Spidey catches him on the beam above, but the guy manages to teleport out. He tries to question the hooded figure as to who this is and whose side he/she is on. The interrogation is interrupted by Peter distracted by a piece of the villain’s costume on the ground, allowing the Hood to escape. Spidey’s suprised for the fourth time…with an attractive girl asking for his autograph.
At Kitty’s home, Mrs. Pryde is trying to tell Kitty that having Bobby stay with them is not a good idea, especially since she herself is close to expulsion. She stops everything with an idea…
At the police precinct, Spider-Man shows up to talk to Captain Quaid about what he found. However, Quaid is a little stern with him because he violated police procedure by removing evidence from a crime scene. There’s no one in the building who can analyze the device, and because Mysterio killed Kingpin, he’s now the business of the FBI. Quaid believes that Spidey will run into him again because he is deliberately targeted by Mysterio.
Later at the Parker home, Gwen greets Peter at the door excited over some new development. Peter walks in and finds Bobby Drake, Johnny Storm, Kitty, and her mom in the family room. Aunt May takes Peter aside and tells him the situation: Bobby’s parents kicked him out because of his mutantcy, and because it’ll cause nothing but trouble for Kitty, she wants to take him in like she has Johnny, who he can bunk with till something more permanent is established. May tells Peter she needs to make a difference in the world as badly as he needs to be Spider-Man. So, reluctantly, he agrees to the living arrangement.
At his hideout, Mysterio’s in a rage at how much work he put in to that holographic projector from the bridge…until he discovers a stain of Spider-Man’s blood on it…and brainstorms the possibilities…
TO BE CONTINUED…

LIKES:

• More revealed about the hooded figure
• The reality of mutants and their parents
• Spidey gettin flack from the cops again (somewhat)
• Mini-Avengers forming under the Parker tent

DISLIKES:

• Tease battle on bridge
• Too quick on plot and subplot
• Hulk design

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Brian, Brian, Brian…how do we solve a problem like the fight-tease factor? Okay, we’ll go in sequence. The good, the bad, and the questionable.
THE GOOD. For the past four issues we’ve seen Spidey on the cops have a relationship that’s on the level of Superman and Metropolis. Now we see Peter get owned by the Police captain. This is not a Batman-Jim Gordon relationship, where Gordon ALLOWS Bats to remove evidence from a crime scene so as to offer an unbiased, uncorrupted analysis with his own technology. Peter’s not a forensics expert, nor does he understand any police procedure outside of “Get down on your knees!” This gives people a sense that’s been missing from the books since it was relaunched. Peter is a fledgling hero. He’s still learning from his mistakes. And it’s good to see a cop that’s not as starstruck as the rest of the city’s finest. This is not George Stacy, but Bendis has written him within the same vein of regular Marvel George. I don’t foresee a deepening relationship as that, but you never know with BMB.
Now for the subplot involving Kitty Pryde and Bobby Drake. Kitty and Bobby are on interesting sides of the same coin. First we start out with Kitty. She’s trying to lead a normal life but because she is known as a mutant, she is oppressed not just by the students at school, but by the very principal threatening to expel her when she uses her non-lethal abilities. She has a protective mother who’s got the ferocity of a jungle cat on the phone with her principal. Then there’s Bobby. His parents want nothing to do with him because of what he is. He is along and oppressed like Kitty, but without the safety net of a stable, family environment. This is not the Iceman of regular X-books, where they were supportive of their son regardless of his genetics. Any parent reading this book will recognize the compromising position that having Bobby in the house would pose to the mother’s fight with Midtown High. She’s trying to tell them Kitty’s not a threat and the idea of having a mutant armed abilities that are both defensive and offensive will derail her efforts. Again Bendis captures the essence of a realistic situation. You can relate Mrs. Pryde’s situation to a mother of a daughter with gang history trying to keep her daughter in school. Bobby’s like the kid with a loaded gun in the house.
THE BAD. This is focused on the fight. I was expecting a long drawn out brawl-for-all between Spidey and Mysterio and what did we get? Intervention on the part of this Hood (for lack of a better name). It became this guy/girl’s fight moreso than Peter. Got a few good shots in, granted, but Spidey’s like the hackey-sack in the sequence. Brian’s trying to sell this new mysterious figure with every possible vehicle in the shop – voice disguiser, questions of gender, elusiveness on the level of Batman – and it feels like overkill. Is it Jessica Jones? At least THAT would make sense; the newswoman trying to CREATE news. Then there’s the shameless cameos of regular Marvel heroes like Firestar. It works sometimes but if overused it’s a stale joke. Brian, it’s like you’re trying to cram so much into the eight page battle, it loses some of the excitement. Didn’t you watch the third Spider-Man film? Yes you had some good points in this fight, like seeing baldy’s face under the smoke, and his getting a sample of Peter’s blood to track him with, but it just went too fast.
THE QUESTIONABLE. This focuses on May’s decision to take another teenaged hero in. Her motivation – to make a difference in the world with the same selflessness as her nephew – is understandable. But let’s think about this for a second: a woman in her fifties with a minimum wage job is taking in three minors, each requiring food, school tuition, and clothing. Again Brian’s trying to establish a connection with a regular continuity character; May Parker opened her doors to seniors when Peter moved out, which helped with the bills and introduced her to Nathan Lubensky. Becuse this is a younger, hipper May, Brian’s filling her house with teenagers. Peter’s the only one other than his aunt holding down a job, which pays considerably less than the Bugle (or maybe more becuase this is the Bugle we’re talking about, Ultimate version or not). They are also registered in the government as mutants, a race that’s technically banned thanks to Ultimatum. This might work, and it might not. I just feel like it’s taking away the formula that’s worked best for USM up to this point; the lone superhero. Now he has a safety net comprised of the Human Torch, Iceman, and Kitty, with MJ and Gwen bringing up the rear. In short, it’s like Brian’s trying to construct a Spider-Family for Peter. Time will tell if this new formula will work. I’ll reserve my judgment for after a few issues.
So there you have it. The good, the bad, and the questionable. It was good on subplot but REALLY BAD on the fight in my opinion. Thankfully, based on the preview cover and the last part about Mysterio now tracking Spidey with his blood, we may finally have a payoff.

RATING: 2.5 out of 5 Webs

COVER: 4 out of 5 Webs
This is the only near top rating you get on this book because it’s relevant to the plot. Peter’s battle ravaged, scared out of his mind, and explosions are all over the place. Ponsor’s coloring on this cover is great; the cracked lenses have substance. Though you would’ve done better with the Queensboro Bridge than webs. And no Mysterio.