Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #12 Review

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

The Chameleon, in the guise of Peter Parker, rides back to Forest Hills with MJ via cab from the Daily Bugle. He makes advances on her, which she initially doesn’t object to, but comes to her senses for Gwen’s sake. He notes “you girls are all the same”, causing MJ to tell the driver to let her out, leaving him to figure out where to find Peter’s house. Upon arriving at May’s home, Chameleon immediately assaults the driver and takes his money. Immediately disgusted, Chameleon doesn’t understand the integrated family dynamic, especially in terms of Peter’s relationship with Gwen. He thwarts her advances on him by lying about Mary Jane kissing him and not the other way around. Alone in the attic, he phones an unknown contact and reports that assuming the boy’s identity has thus far been a major disappointment.
The next day, Johnny, Bobby, Chameleon, and Gwen walk to school when they come across the cab that Chameleon was riding in…and the remains of the driver being investigated. At Midtown, Chameleon sees MJ in the hallways, who turns and leaves at the sight of him. He bumps into Flash Thompson, who gives him the brush off…until “Peter” slams him against the locker in retaliation and puts him in his place…in addition to a death threat. All are stunned.
Chameleon catches up with MJ and tries subtly to press for more information about Peter. She says she thought he was perfect until last night. This time Mary Jane kisses Chameleon, and it’s witnessed by Gwen, Bobby, and Johnny. Gwen runs off while the boys are in disbelief and MJ in shame.
Chameleon returns home to get a tonguelashing from May, who claims that Gwen is so distraught she’s contemplating leaving the house permanently. He couldn’t care less what she has to say…until she mentions the “no costumes” policy that’s in effect. He leaves her screaming to get back to finish the discussion. Alone in the attic, he becomes fixated on Peter’s trunk. Busting the lock open, he stumbles on Peter’s Spider-Man suit and equipment and puts two and two together. He phones his contact again and claims he found out a “jackpot” of a secret…
TO BE CONTINUED…

LIKES:

• Flash gets OWNED!
• Chameleon fulfilling every USM fan’s fantasy regarding the new MJ-Peter dynamic
• No real Peter
• Chameleon bumbling through Peter’s life
• FINALLY! Someone complains about Pete and Gwen’s “living arrangement”

DISLIKES:

• Kitty’s storyline fallen to the wayside
• Overuse of “evil” expressions on Chameleon’s face
• No consequences for “Peter” for uttering death threats?

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
I apologize  for the lateness of this review. TBH, I’d read this numerous times and had writer’s block. I didn’t know how to assess “Hurricane Chameleon’s” plow through Peter’s new status quo. Now that the block’s been demolished, let’s get to what worked and what didn’t work…
I think a smart move on Brian’s part was to exclude any interludes as to where the real Peter is being stashed. The Chameleon’s storyline basically takes you into his world. He does this for a living: copies a living person, stashes him somewhere or kills him, and weaves through the person’s life without any regard for who he hurts or lines he crosses. In essence, Chameleon is an individual in search of an identity at the root of it all, for he has lost his own by his own hand. People wonder what it would be like to be in Spidey’s shoes for 24 hours. Here we have a villain in the role of Peter Parker for 24 hours and he already hates it. Hell, he lives the dream that EVERY USM fan has been contemplating since seeing the Peter-Gwen relationship come out of nowhere with issue #1. Guess he’s not that into blondes. And then there’s how he handled Flash Thompson; how many of us who were bullied in high school just wanted to shut that clap trap up? And after the way he harassed Kitty before she went on the lam, he deserved it and then some. Also a good nod to the Lee-Ditko days, Bendis alludes to an unknown contact on the other end of the line. Could it be an employer? Or a co-conspirator? Time will tell. And I think what worked best was the suspense conveyed by Bendis’ choice to keep the whereabouts and fate of the real Peter up in the air. The last time someone did that was in regular Marvel when Chameleon took over Jameson’s life in much the same way as this Chameleon did. You didn’t know it was him until the big reveal after a said number of issues. Good move, buddy! You kept us guessing! And also FINALLY someone makes an observation about Peter living with his girlfriend. Does any parent allow this kind of arrangement? Whatever happened to the “no hanky-panky” Aunt May from Ultimate Spider-Man #13 from volume one?
Now true there were plenty of moments to either cringe at or roll your eyes at as well. Speaking of, the way he tossed Gwen aside makes little sense. He has eyes; can’t he tell there’s no physical resemblance between she and Peter? So why would he think she’s his sister?! Then there is the matter of the cabbie. He’s in a suburban neighborhood, and he just violently murders him in cold blood and no one hears the shattered glass or possible cries for help? That just doesn’t fly. It would make sense if he had some sort of covert training that would enable him to kill this man without making much noise. But this was just brutal and violent and loud. And the death threats uttered at Flash would get him suspended from school; even if Thompson didn’t report it, word of mouth would.
As for the art…it worked in some areas, but didn’t in others. “Peter’s” facial expressions are what did NOT work. It’s not always necessary to facially tell the reader that this is not the real mccoy. The smirks work when it comes to his cocky attitude and interactions with the ladies, BUT it’s not always important to show that attitude through constant grimaces when no one is looking. It worked back in the silver age books, but not here. Not when the internal dialogue tells the tale. David’s art is fluid as always and the splash reveal of Chameleon’s discovery of Pete’s “secret stash” is one of the things that DID work. But  again the manga-esque style works against the plot in others.
Overall, a lot of “WTF” moments kept this story’s momentum in terms of writing, and a few pieces of art that stand out, but it just seemed cartoony and unrealistic in some parts. Still, the intrigue of the fates of the real JJJ and the real webhead keeps the reader engaged and anxious to find out what happened. And after that cover preview on the back page, I can see “Threat or Menace” making it in the headlines once more!

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 Webs

COVER: 2.5 out of 5 Webs
Although they DO kiss, this scene between Chameleon and MJ never takes place. I know the golden rule of comics is write it as if it’s the reader’s first issue, hence the reason why you have the allusion to Pete’s current relationship with Gwen in the photo. His body language tells the tale that he’s not acting like himself; when have you seen Spidey grab a girls wrist and dipping her like he’s Yule Brenner? Anyway it would have worked if it had been a different take on the Midtown High kiss. It’s good art and coloring, just bad composition in terms of location.