Ultimate Spiderman #154… Now that’s more like it!

Brian Michael Bendis has taken my big complaint from the last issue and vastly improved upon it here. He takes what was simply an ominous plot device (OPD) and explores the consequences of its power. The big reason this works has to be our beloved wall crawler entering the scene. Last time we saw two ne’er-do-wells (Mysterio and Black Cat) fighting over the OPD and I just didn’t care who ended up with it. They both wanted it for their own selfish reasons. So what? This time the dynamic duo (Spiderman and Iron Man that is) join the scrap and everything kicks off.

What could, in another creators hands, become just an extended fight scene is so much more here. Pichelli’s art gives the issue a chaotic feel that perfectly suits Bendis’ fast-paced script. We see some wonderfully choreographed fighting punctuated by moments of sheer panic. Each character gets broken down by this fight be it emotionally or physically. As is the norm for this title, Bendis drops in some really funny one-liners (“You’re just jealous that I have a real head.”) but balances the humour and action with some genuinely touching moments. The ending in particular is moving in the way it shows Peter’s fear of his own inexperience.

Annoyingly this prelude has left me with absolutely no idea where Bendis will go next with this storyline other than continuing with Spidey’s training. If one thing can be said of The Death of Spiderman so far, it’s that it certainly isn’t predictable.

Joe Read.