Can I trouble you for a glass of warm of milk? Anybody guess what movie I was watching when I wrote this review? Feels like it’s been ages since I put a review up here, but have no fear, here’s the latest issue of Ultimate Spider-Man. And you’re in luck cause I have the latest New Avengers review coming up this weekend as well. Now, normally I’m not one to shamelessly plug my own side projects, but in case anyone cares what I’ve been up to in the past month, I’ll direct you to a new podcast that Nathaniel Collins (the new Avenging Spider-Man reviewer) and I are putting together. The Mixed Marvel Arts Podcast focuses on all forms of entertainment that come out of the House of Ideas, from comics and video games, to movies and television. Anybody who enjoyed our Ultimate Death of Spider-Man review is welcome to check out our first two recordings here or here, and hey if you like what you hear, feel free to subscribe via iTunes here. Okay, plug over, enjoy the review!
Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #4
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Sara Pichelli
Colors: Justin Ponsor
Lettering: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover: Kaare Andrews
Plot: The students of the Brooklyn Visions Academy are gathered in the school gymnasium as a battle rages on in the middle of Queens with the life of Spider-Man hanging in the balance. Miles tells Ganke to cover for him so Miles can slip away and go to Spider-Man’s rescue. Miles arrives in time to see Spider-Man finish his battle with the Green Goblin and is part of the crowd as Spidey dies.
Back in his dormitory, Miles fills Ganke in on what he witnessed. Miles blames himself for Spider-Man’s death saying that he should have been there to help instead of hiding his powers. Instead, Ganke suggests that maybe Miles gained his powers to take over for the fallen hero. Later, the two friends attend Peter Parker’s funeral. Miles calls out to Gwen Stacy and asks her why Peter became Spider-Man. Gwen explains the history of Uncle Ben and the lesson he taught Peter – that great power brings great responsibility.
Inspired by Peter’s heroics and sacrifice as a costumed hero, Miles decides to become the next Spider-Man. Ganke provides his friend with an old Spider-Man Halloween costume and Miles sets out in his baggy outfit for his first rooftop adventure as the new Spider-Man. It’s not long until Miles is confronted by his first challenge, a battle with a criminal called the Kangaroo. Things don’t go as well as Miles planned and he is lambasted in the Daily Bugle the following day for the tasteless impersonation of Spider-Man.
Miles is still in the makeshift costume while talking with Ganke in their room. Their roommate, Judge, returns to find a locked door and roommates behaving in a suspicious manner. A teacher comes by to remind Ganke and Miles that locked doors are against school policy. Miles is in his bed with the covers pulled up to his chin and Judge asks what his deal is. Miles thinks to himself that he needs to come up with a better system. The next time he ventures out in costume, Miles is questioning the buzzing sensation in his head when he is attacked by Spider-Woman. She stands over Miles and asks him just who he thinks he is.
*
Doin’ the Bull Dance. Feelin’ the flow: The best part of this reboot remains the fantastic work of Pichelli and Ponsor. I’ve read a lot about how well Pichelli handles the facial features of her characters and she once again nails that aspect of the art. In the beginning of the issue, when the students are told the news about Spider-Man, the wide-eyed look on Miles’ face sells his shocked emotions perfectly. Again, later in the issue when Miles is beating himself up over Peter’s death, you can tell just how pained he feels for his lack of action.
Another one of Pichelli’s strengths lies in her ability to draw wardrobes. I loved the red and blue jacket Miles wore in the beginning when he snuck away from the school, and Ponsor should be credited as well for giving the jacket the spidey color scheme. I also liked the attention to detail in that she made the Halloween costume not fit Miles perfectly, especially since it was worn by his heavier friend Ganke in the past so it should have been a bit stretched out. Showing Miles sketch a very rough draft of the new Ultimate Spider-Man costume was a nice touch as well, instead of having him draw a perfect, professional-looking drawing.
The other highlight of this issue was seeing the events that transpired during the Death of Spider-Man story and the Ultimate Fallout mini from Miles’ point of view. It was a nice way to recap those stories for any new readers or anyone who just didn’t pick up those issues. The way it was handled made you really feel like you were just another person in the crowd with no relation to the Peter Parker supporting cast. It was also nice to see people in the crowd crying.
The only problem I had with these recap scenes, which were basically a panel-for-panel recreation of Bagley’s work in the former comics, was that Mary Jane was wearing a different outfit. If Pichelli was going to make the effort to copy the fight scene so closely, why not make sure the clothes being worn by the characters are the same?
*
The price is wrong, Bob: I was really glad to see Miles get out of the school to go witness the fall of Peter Parker. One of my problems in the last issue was the thought that Miles wasn’t going to be anywhere around when Peter died. But the problem is I am still not sold on the idea that this event would have that great of an effect on Miles. It seems like a big Spider-Man-sized leap that Miles would blame himself for Peter’s death. Because of this, the story continues to feel a bit too forced, like the spider bite that resulted in Miles gaining his powers.
One of my biggest problems with Bendis’ writing is his constant use of censored swear words. I don’t mind swearing in general, but censoring it just draws attention to it and derails my reading. It’s like watching an R-rated movie on basic cable and hearing the sound drop out whenever a character swears. It’s jarring to hear, but it’s even worse when it’s in print, for example, when Gwen says Peter wore a mask because it “looked @#$@ cool.” I don’t need these teenagers and superheroes running around cursing as much as they do.
*
It ain’t over, McGavin. The way I see it… we’ve only just begun: I’m glad we’re finally getting into the Spider-Man phase of Miles’ story. I especially like how he’s starting to talk to himself with the use of narration boxes. However, I still don’t see a lot of different angles in Miles’ story compared to Peter’s story, which still makes the reboot seem unnecessary in my eyes. I like how the Peter Parker supporting cast, like Spider-Woman, start popping up though, and seeing how they interact with this new Spider-Man. Like me, they seem a bit skeptical.
*
Rating: Good, art and story. Meh, characterization and writing. Poor, action. 3.5/5 Hole in Ones
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Person 1: What’s this I hear about you breaking a rake and throwing it in the woods?
Person 2: What? I didn’t *break* it, I was just testing its durability, and then I *placed* it in the woods because it’s made of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
I believe you were watching Inglourious Basterds
Great Review
Well I’m back! Sorry, but I was catching up on my beloved FairyTail Manga, playing my video games (Yeah, I got GOW3), and doing some work setting tile. Anyway, usually I get my Marvel Comics through the Marvel App until it became a crashing abomination that robbed me of my paid comics. I deleted the peice of [bleep] and went old school, hitting up the local comic store. When I was looking around I came upon Ultimate Comics Spiderman. I gave it a quick look through and began pondering on whether or not to buy it.
After all, I gave up on the Ultimate Universe after Ultimatum.
I’ve decided to play the waiting game and see where the series is going before I make any decision to buy it.
Now excuse me I have some Skyrim to play…
————————————
Spidey: “Norman Osbourn is a hero now?”
Cage: “No.”
Spidey: “Sure he is. I saw it on T.V. And now I’m going to take off all my clothes and go run through the streets screaming.” (This is what I see all the time in comments at DeviantArt and I thought ‘Ehh, let’s see if it works at Crawlspace.’)
Also, nobody with an answer to what movie I was watching based on the title sections? I’m a little disappointed.
@5 Jack… I agree, if I saw something like that happen to someone who had been doing it for some time, I would not want to suddenly jump in there and take his place. Maybe I’m just a coward.
@6 Styleshift… thanks, glad I’m not the only one who is bothered by the censoring, really drives me crazy
@7 Nathaniel… I think you know what I really want to say about Gwen in this issue and about things being forced or smooth… whoa, that was creepy even by my standards, I apologize
@8 stillanerd… dropping a psychologists bomb on me… i can’t compete with that. I get what you’re putting out there though. Just can’t tell if you’re agreeing with me or disagreeing with me 🙂
Actually, I don’t think it’s all that far-fetched that Miles would blame himself for Peter’s death in this instance. What Miles undergoes is what psychologists call the “bystander effect” in which a person for whatever reason refuses to intervene in helping someone even if they are in a position to help. Just as we might be like Peter Parker initially used his powers to better himself, we might be like Miles Morales in that we can be too afraid to act.
That being said, if Miles’ “Uncle Ben” moment is the result his “bystander effect” in not helping Peter when had the chance, I think Bendis wound up undercutting this. How? Look at Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #3 and see what Miles does–he uses his powers to save a little girl from a burning building. Granted, this does show that Miles is indeed a good and selfless kid, and, given how the firefighters praise him, highlights his sense of embarrassment and fear of being labeled a freak. But it also makes Miles do something heroic prior to his “Uncle Ben moment” in watching Peter die. Prior to his Uncle Ben being killed, Peter never used his powers to help others because of his own desire for personal gratification and revenge. But Miles already did use his powers to help someone else, thus momentarily overcoming his own fears and insecurity in having these powers.
If watching Peter die during his fight with the Green Goblin was truly supposed to be his “Uncle Ben moment,” then the only time Miles should have been able to use his powers to help others was after that moment, not before.
This issue really wasn’t the best one so far in this series. I don’t want to say the Gwen scenes with Miles were “forced” into but it didn’t feel… what’s the word I’m looking for… “smooth”? It just didn’t fit properly is all I can think.
I am of course interested as to how the talk between Jessica and Miles will go.
FANTASTIC review. I agreed with everything you said. Especially with Gwen cursing. Yuck.
C’mon Bendis this stuff should be acceptable for kids. 🙁
@Brian — a character like Miles, who didn’t want the powers and managed to go nearly a whole year without using them, could just as easily have looked at Peter’s death and drawn the lesson, “Yep, that could have been me. I don’t wanna die like that, and what would that do to my Dad?” Seeing the death would have been more coherent if he had been recklessly having fun with the powers, and Peter’s death sobered him up. It sounds like Miles goes from extreme reluctance to conviction, due to an event (the death and funeral) that should have cemented his reluctance in place even harder.
@1 Sarcasmic… Sounds like the solicit did its job if it got you to pick it up based on what you saw 😉 I’m sure next issue we’ll see plenty more of the Fem Parker
@2 Donovan and @3 Sthenurus… this issue definitely picked up from the rest of the series and I believe was my highest rated one so far. The only thing that held it back was the fact that most of this story was just recapping events that we’ve already seen, and Bendis’ writing again didn’t win me over. I like geeky references but I don’t see where Ganke’s “Frodo” line came from. Compare that to the Yoda/Luke line used in Avenging Spider-Man that seemed appropriate in the given situation. And like I mentioned in the review, everybody’s need to swear despite this being a story more directed for a younger audience. Just because kids do it in real life, doesn’t mean it needs to be perpetuated by throwing it in the comics all the time, and it’s distracting.
The decompression has been killing me too because I personally don’t feel enough is different and it just seems like a story we’ve already read dozens of times before. I like that he feels Peter’s death influenced him and I can see where he’s coming from, but it just didn’t win me over. Sure it’s different from an uncle or someone closer to him dying, but I think it’s a bit of a stretch to have a 14 year old think that way about someone he doesn’t even know especially after he said he didn’t want the powers, responsibility or the danger that comes with them. A very legitimate reason for not wanting to taking up the powers. And even though Peter was only like 2 years or so older than him, I would think that even Peter would think he is too young to be running around and wouldn’t train him even if he did try to help out.
I’m liking it too. Sure, you probably could reduce the 5 or 6 issues origin story into 3 books but that’s Bendis, king of decompresion. And to me Miles reaction do make sense. He had his power for 11 months or so and never tried to do anything with them. Now a guys with the same powers, who could have been you friend and mentor, died in front of you. I think i’d feel a bit responsible for not helping too.
Ohhh, I disagree with both you guys. I’ve been digging the hell outta this series. It was pretty dang decompressed, but what we’ve been given IMO has been great.
I picked up this issue, because the preview had Jessica Drew in it and I liked what Bendis did with the female Peter Parker and well… she is a female Peter Parker, which is who I want to read about.
I hated it. The Gwen scenes felt so bloody forced, Miles conclusion to be Spider-Man was even more forced, and Jessica Drew showed up on the last bloody page, talk about misrepresentation in the solicits.