Ultimate Avengers vs. New Ultimates #6

After one wild ride it seems a shame to end my coverage of the Death of Spider-Man on a low point. But here it is all the same. After much confusion the Ultimate Avengers and New Ultimates finally team up to take on Gregory Stark and save the world but what should be a bombastic climax completely underwhelms.

I can best compare this series to the bus from Speed. While racing along it can deliver all the thrills and laughs the audience want but if the pace slows down for whatever reason, the weaknesses of the writing becomes so obvious that the whole thing blows up. Or in this case just looks stupid. So once again the attempts to pull drama from characters that haven’t been fleshed out enough, such as the new Black Widow, fall limp. What seemed like an amoral satire tries to grow a conscience at the last minute. I understand that it needed to get in line with the other Ultimate titles in time for the reboot but the way it happens here feels too forced. I wish I didn’t have to resort to clichés but I can’t help that ‘too little, too late’ sums up this issue perfectly.

Bring us the next Superior. Bring us the next Kick-Ass 2. We need to be reminded that Mark Millar is a writer who can push boundaries and still take the time to develop his characters and stories. Otherwise I’ll go and pull out my back issues of Superman: Red Son.

Joe Read.

Marvel says:

Marvel is pleased to present your first look at Ultimate Comics X-Men #1, from rising stars Nick Spencer & Paco Medina! Iceman, Kitty Pride and the Human Torch discover the true history of the x-gene as the divide between Mankind and Mutantkind grows deeper than ever before! Who are the X-Men and how will they handle the fallout of this universe shattering discovery? Find out in Ultimate Comics X-Men #1 this September, as Ultimate Comics Universe Reborn continues!

ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #1
Written by NICK SPENCER
Art by PACO MEDINA
Cover by KAARE ANDREWS (POLYBAGGED)
Variant Cover by PACO MEDINA
ON SALE – 14/09/11

This series has been the definition of hit-and-miss for me. But I’m happy to write that this issue is a fantastic return to form…because it’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s downright ludicrous and that has to mean something when you read comics about men dressed as bats or silver surfers from space on a weekly basis.

I know I can’t judge this as a normal comic book anymore. I can’t relate to any of the characters or sympathize with their problems or feel that strongly about the ‘issues’ that this storyline is dealing with. When it really flies it’s an action packed satirical cartoon, cracking jokes and skulls with equal aplomb. My problem is that Mark Millar’s first two volumes of the Ultimates did this with heart and brains that made the reader care a little more when the fists weren’t flying. Was it Bryan Hitch’s epic artwork? Was it the 13-issue format that took time to develop characters and story? It’s a mystery.

Now that the secret villain of the series has been laid bare the fights come thick and fast and they are loaded with some startling surprises. Hulk pills! Korean Spiderman! Ultimate Ultimate Team-Up! I was grinning from ear to ear reading this wondering how it could any more absurd. I just hope that the conclusion is big and noisy enough to distract me from its shortcomings.

Joe Read.

Marvel says:

Marvel is pleased to present your first look at Ultimate Comics Ultimates #1, from the critically acclaimed creative team of Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic! Iron Man, Hawkeye, Nick Fury & Thor are back together after the monumental events of Ultimate Comics Fallout! One of the biggest villains that ever faced the Ultimate Universe has returned. But with a teammate out of action, can the remaining members save the world as they struggle to find their place in the Ultimate Universe?   Ultimate Comics Universe Reborn kicks off this August in Ultimate Comics Ultimates #1!

ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #1
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art by ESAD RIBIC
Cover by KAARE ANDREWS
Variant Cover by ESAD RIBIC
ON SALE – 24/08/11

Ultimate Spiderman #160

And now the end is near and so I face the final curtain. As I write this I look up at my canvas print of the Amazing Spiderman #40 with a muscular Spidey standing over the Green Goblin beside the caption, “SPIDEY SAVES THE DAY!” I can’t help but notice the ironic parallels between that classic cover and this finale as we join our hero taking a final stand against his arch nemesis to protect his friends and family.

If you tore open your super secret polybag expecting to find a huge spectacle or some shocking twist then no doubt you will finish this issue feeling disappointed. However if you have any love for Spiderman, Ultimate or otherwise, then you may agree with me that this is a damn fine ending to a stellar series.

To avoid spoilers please look away now…

I’ll admit that I’d begun to accept the title of this storyline as some kind of macabre red herring. But as the issue drew to a close I felt like a bit of a fool. All this time I spent second-guessing them and they get me with the old double bluff. I believe I was in so much shock that I couldn’t take in the magnitude of this event.

Peter Parker, the Ultimate Spiderman is dead. Bereft of life he rests in peace. Now I know that superheroes die all the time these days so it really is a rarity to read one with this much dramatic weight to it. It would be very difficult to undo the impact of this story with any quick-fix resurrection that might be around the corner. And that certainly shouldn’t be a priority for Marvel because what they have is that rare example of a hero’s journey coming full circle. We can see just how much he has grown in these last moments and with his last words he seems to find a sense of closure that few of us could expect.

One of Mark Bagley’s greatest strengths is that he can put as much manic energy into his action scenes as his smaller character interaction. While the conflict almost approaches Tom and Jerry levels of violence, the sight of Mary Jane hitting the Green Goblin with a truck lifted my spirits. In spite of all the blood and fire, it was Aunt May’s hysterical reaction to the death of her nephew that really sold that pivotal moment to me.

So Brian Michael Bendis tops off his record-breaking run and he has every right to be proud. While edgier writers like Garth Ennis and Mark Miller taunt that the classic superheroes would be psychopaths and dickheads in the real world, Bendis seems to offer Ultimate Spiderman as a mature reply that our favourite wall crawler would not. His is a story of true heroic sacrifice…with webs.

Joe Read.

Ultimate Spider-Man #158

The Ultimates are dickheads and even Spiderman thinks so. He wakes up in shock here and that could be because the Ultimates as written by Brian Michael Bendis have usually tried to look out for him. They may be rougher around the edges but deep down they’re as noble as their Earth 616 counterparts. They certainly wouldn’t leave him buried under rubble. Unfortunately the satirised pricks created by Mark Millar would and they’re the ones he tried to help.

I may have been too hard on this in my last review but my point that this crossover seems to only exist so that Spiderman could be shot is just plain silly. I’m not playing favourites but it’s obvious that one writer cares more about the characters they’re writing than the other.

It’s a credit to Bendis that the more understated moments of this comic always have the biggest impact. There’s a funny exchange between Bobby Drake and Johnny Storm that conveys a lot of frustration about being delegated to supporting players in someone else’s story before they get pulled into the action. On the subject of underplaying things, the gradual portrayal of the Sinister Five as super-powered thugs instead of megalomaniacs makes their appearance here and their simple plan (Find Spiderman. Kill Spiderman) uncomfortably believable.

Mark Bagley really nails the emotional beats of this issue. In particular, he blew me down with a wordless moment early on that perfectly encapsulated Spidey’s selfless nature. He has done a great job of setting the scene for the High Noon style showdown to come and that last moment really helped to stir me up for the endgame.

Joe Read

After checking off eight issues from my Death of Spiderman checklist, the question of when he will die looks like it may soon be answered. It’s difficult to think of a character in the Marvel Universe less deserving of death than Spiderman. Except for Howard the Duck. But in the words of Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven, ‘Deserves got nothing to do with it.’

This time we join our hero darting around New York trying not to freak out. Meanwhile the Sinister Six (or Ultimate Six?) are struggling to get their act together. It is a fact we’ve all learned from bad action films that a super villain cannot handle rejection. So it was nice to see that little convention played out between two of Spidey’s most notorious villains even if the result felt a little abrupt.

Brian Michael Bendis clearly has big plans for the character from the deft way he keeps the plot racing and emotions flowing in equal measure. A moment between Peter, Aunt May and Gwen is only a couple of pages long but proves very sweet amid the calamity.

Mark Bagley is on great form once again, easily rising to the challenge of unveiling this big story on a small scale. I will say that his recent depiction of the Green Goblin looks a little rushed compared to his previous work on the character.

Which brings us to the elephant in the room. To avoid spoilers please look away now… It may be undeserved, but you couldn’t come up with a way of offing Spiderman that is more befitting to his character. I’ve observed that superheroes have different techniques; Batman is a detective, Superman is a godlike sentinel, and the Fantastic Four are scientific explorers. Spiderman is a well-meaning teenager. He leaps into the fray with naught but his moral compass to guide him. More often than not it works in his favor. It has nothing to do with ego or bravado but an innocent desire to help. If this leads him to his demise then I can appreciate it.

But I may be jumping the gun if you’ll pardon the expression. I’m not sure yet if I’m taking the title of the storyline too literally or not literally enough. You may have heard that issue #160 will be sold in a plastic bag. This means there’s a big twist coming up and it must be something other than his death. It seems cruel to let a gunshot wound last for three issues.

Joe Read.

Ultimate Avengers vs. New Ultimates #3

The injection of humour in this chapter makes it a big improvement on the last. Millar’s ‘Balls to the Wall’ style works best when satirizing the kind of Michael Bay blockbusters it appears to imitate. If he forgets to put that tongue in cheek then we get what happened in issue 2. The ridiculously rapid pace of the action here completely disregards any cloak and dagger subtlety that could be explored in the mystery of who the traitor is. However rather than being a hindrance this element helps drive the story towards a brilliant twist, which I will not spoil here.

My gripes with this one are not huge. The jokes about Tony Stark’s alcoholism had worn thin after the first six issues of the Ultimates but Millar insists on flogging that dead horse. It’s a shame to see it after writers like Warren Ellis have proven the character can be developed in interesting ways and not just sidelined for comic relief. While we’re on the subject, why does the Iron Man armour now look just like it does in the movies? It should be the other way around! Then again how can I expect common sense in a comic where Captain Britain and the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. are gushing over David Cameron?

For more on the shocking ending of this issue, stay tuned for my review of Ultimate Spiderman #157, coming soon!

Joe Read.

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.

I have always had a huge fondness for the Ultimate Spiderman series. The idea of taking the character back to his roots as a teenager made him the best possible candidate for a ‘reboot’ and Brian Michael Bendis has done great things with it. His writing has remained funny and fresh for over one hundred issues. In that time he has found new and exciting approaches to old characters and storylines while maintaining snappy banter and believable drama. He even withstood the onslaught of the infamous ULTIMATUM (The convenient ‘event’ that killed off half of the Ultimate universe) and guess what? He used it to make the series even better!

So why on earth did this issue disappoint me so much? It isn’t that the issue is poorly written or drawn. It’s more that after such a sustained run of greatness Bendis turns in such a tired, average chapter. The problem I have with it is the Zodiac key. It’s basically a magic artifact that grants wishes. Objects like this have been seen a million times in comic books and for that reason I found it hard to take most of the issue seriously. Now I’m willing to go along with mostly any far-fetched concept you can imagine providing someone makes an effort with it. However Bendis expects the reader to automatically accept the mysterious power of the key because we know it’s from Egypt and the villain wants it. I’m not sure if I can call it a deus ex machina because I have no idea how big a part it will play in The Death of Spiderman. All I do know is that it looks and sounds like a lazy idea from a Tomb Raider film.

But the issue wasn’t entirely about the prop. I love that Spiderman has been made to undergo super hero training because he’s been considered a public hazard. It’s a clever development for a character of that age to be put through and the insecurity he exhibits with Iron Man here is very convincing. The artwork is light when it needs to be but helps to create an appropriately ominous atmosphere for the coming storyline.

I really hope that Bendis has some tricks up his sleeve and he’s saving them for when The Death of Spiderman takes off. I accept that this is a prelude and only providing a setup for events so I’m holding back my judgment for now.

Joe Read.