Category: Ultimate Spider-Man
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It’s as though Bendis knew he couldn’t concentrate on Peter’s mourning, so instead of he concentrates on the rage. I don’t think Peter’s ever been so angry and so uncontrolled in Ultimate Spider-Man as he gets at the end of this issue. One reads it worried he’s going to beat Curt Conners to death. Conners’s…
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It’s as though Bendis knew he couldn’t concentrate on Peter’s mourning, so instead of he concentrates on the rage. I don’t think Peter’s ever been so angry and so uncontrolled in Ultimate Spider-Man as he gets at the end of this issue. One reads it worried he’s going to beat Curt Conners to death. Conners’s…
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I don’t even think Peter shows up in this issue. Mary and Gwen get a good scene together, something Bendis’s two month fast forward makes problematic. It’s hard to believe they haven’t seen each other in that amount of time… not with Peter giving Gwen a message for Mary Jane. But anyway, it’s a good…
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The best part of this issue has to be how little time Bendis gives Ultimate Punisher. There’s a fight scene–not a particularly good one, Bagley loses track of the criminal the Punisher is after–but there’s no personality to Ultimate Frank. It’s all from Peter’s perspective, even though Bendis could have gotten away with a little…
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Bendis doesn’t have anything this issue. Well, he doesn’t have much. He introduces Ultimate Jeanne De Wolf, but otherwise… nothing. There’s a dream fight between Spider-Man and the Lizard, there’s a way too long fight–with Bagley wasting space on double page spreads–with some villain Bendis doesn’t even bother to give a name and then there’s…
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I wonder if Bendis realized this issue makes it sound like Marvel screws people out of creators’ rights. Or at least is an analogue to that behavior. Avi Arad exploits Peter and makes millions of dollars; Peter can’t afford a movie ticket. Anyway, otherwise it’s one of the ten best Ultimate Spider-Man issues so far,…
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And then Bendis does it again. He makes up for all his crappy pacing and decompressed storytelling with this absurd issue featuring Peter trying to get back home from Brazil (by traveling in luggage compartments) and finishing with an homage to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It’s all so perfectly executed, down to Doc Ock barely…
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Well, yes, Bendis did take Gwen where I thought he was taking here but he only reveals it at the end. The rest of the issue is terrible. The dialogue, with Doc Ock explaining his evil plans because he’s crazy and making fun of Peter, is fine. But the idea of him knocking Peter out,…
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You know, when Bendis and Bagley are on, they’re really on. Though this issue is mostly just a big fight between Peter and Doc Ock, there’s a couple little things with Gwen and Mary Jane. First–and I thought foremost–Mary Jane’s mother (off panel) kicks out her father, which will have repercussions in the future I’m…
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The Spider-Man movie adventure continues with Kong getting a part, Gwen freaking out and Peter stalking the set. Oh, and Dr. Octopus storming the set during filming. It’s kind of a cheap issue, the kind of cheap Ultimate Spider-Man issue one feels a little bad about enjoying because it’s clear Bendis didn’t work very hard…
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It’s another Bendis setup issue, complete with a text piece from Peter recounting current events. Actually, he doesn’t so much recount events as explain he’s finally happy (though Mary Jane’s not allowed to see him) so what could possibly go wrong. Immediately following those happy thoughts, he finds out about a Spider-Man movie. Bendis ties…
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Bendis misses just about every chance he’s got this time. It’s not a bad issue, surprisingly good, actually, but he misses all the great chances. He doesn’t, for instance, let Peter beat the shit out of Mary Jane’s dad. It’d be a hard scene to do, but I’ll bet Bendis could handle it. Or when…
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At least there’s a lot of action this issue so one doesn’t concentrate on Bagley’s strange version of “sexy girl” art. Bendis actually spends a page, alongside Peter scaling a building, to write up a bunch of narration. And it’s the best thing in the issue, even though it’s only necessary because of the lengthy,…
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Mark Bagely’s attempts at drawing sexy, scantily clad women–Elektra and Black Cat–are mildly disturbing. He’s not good at it; he’s also not good at designing their Ultimate costumes. Visually, this issue is atrocious. As for the story, it’s not bad. Bendis is clearly setting up throughout the issue–a big fight between the three–and everything else…
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Not a good issue. The stuff at the end, with Mary Jane’s dad flipping out and May and Gwen off to the rescue, that stuff is good. The stuff with Peter and Mary Jane, kind of good. It’s all a little redundant, especially since Bendis and Bagley just got done with their terrible Ultimate Black…
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And here comes the secret identity stuff. Kingpin is going to find Peter out! But wait, doesn’t Peter know Nick Fury? Can’t they do something? Nick Fury would move heaven and earth for Aunt May but not against Kingpin? That story’s a lot more interesting than the one Bendis is going to tell, I’m sure.…
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I just love how Bendis handles Ultimate Kingpin and Peter. I know I’ve already said it, but it’s even better this issue. The relationship between the two obviously has to do with Peter’s idealism, which is just the inherent lack of reality of superhero comics. Bendis, with Bagley’s art beautifully working against it, is trying…
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Bendis introduces three new plot lines–the Kingpin is back, too many people know Peter is Spider-Man and the Bugle is backing a mayoral candidate who’s out to get Spider-Man. Well, maybe not a mayoral candidate. I wasn’t paying too much attention. To stay true to his form, Bendis will likely tie these three plot lines…
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This issue is a prelude to Ultimate Six, with Bendis focusing on Sharon Carter and her take on the last time Spidey fought Doctor Octopus. Turns out Ultimate Sandman was there too. Bendis can get a little mileage out of it being an untold tale, but the comic’s fairly limp. Spider-Man’s outgoing personality comes across…
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The famous therapy issue. I remember it was a big deal when it came out because Bendis all of a sudden treated Aunt May like a real character and not a pawn to occasionally put in danger. He does a great job with the issue, especially the back and forth with her and the therapist.…
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Bendis opens with a lot of action–resolving the previous issue’s falling out of a plane cliffhanger–but Bagley does a couple double page spreads and it flops. It’s not tense, it’s not exciting. And it seems perfunctory. This issue isn’t about action, it’s about Peter meeting the X-Men. On those lines, Peter hanging out at the…
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Bendis redeems himself (for now) with this issue. He turns the X-Girl guest stars into a decent story. Peter’s shocked to discover other superheroes–more famous ones, maybe–admire him. It makes for a good realization. But Bendis also drops him into what’s more of a present day sci-fi adventure. It helps he and Bagley still have…
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Thanks a lot, Bendis, I was really liking this issue–even with Geldoff’s eurotrash hair–until it turned out the whole thing’s just a set-up to bring in the X-Men. Or the X-Girls. Whatever. The issue opens with Peter heading over to confront Geldoff, who he’s heard is blowing stuff up. It then turns into Peter (in…
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In some ways, less than nothing happens this issue. Bendis resolves the previous issue’s cliffhanger, but without a Geldoff confrontation. The name’s a Pink Floyd reference, right? Anyway, Peter, Gwen, Liz and Mary Jane run for it and basically have a talking heads adventure. It’s a comic about nothing and it’s utterly fantastic. Bendis gets…
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What’s a Geldoff? Bendis skips Peter’s angst this issue, which still deals with the aftermath of the Venom arc. Instead, he concentrates on the practical. What’s Peter going to do about a costume? For an Ultimate Spider-Man comic, there’s actually a lot of scenes. There’s stuff at school, stuff with Peter trying to get a…
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It’s a talking heads book and not a bad one at all. First Peter talks to Nick Fury (either Nick lies to him or Ultimate Origins is a retcon),then he talks to Eddie’s roommate, then he talks to Curt Connors. Peter’s unhappiness and indecision doesn’t make much sense until you remember he’s just a teenager.…
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It’s a lackluster finish. The issue reminds of the big fight issue with the Green Goblin, only with–in addition to Peter’s self-depreciating narration–Peter’s dad narrating it from a video tape journal. Now, the video tape journal thing was big in the eighties. It’s a perfect device for a movie or TV show; I’m not sure…
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How many scenes do this comic have? I think four. But the second is a continuation of the first. Peter wakes up from a nightmare–one where Bagley’s art seems like Clayton Crain has CG’ed over it, which is a nightmare in and of itself–and goes to Mary Jane’s. They talk. So, scenes one and two.…
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And, almost immediately, it gets less impressive. Bendis wastes an entire page on a really bad monologue of Peter revealing himself to Eddie (and lying to him, which at least implies Bendis wasn’t napping through the scripting this issue). It’s not a bad comic, but it’s more of Bendis taking an issue to do what…
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Bendis compresses about two years of eighties Spider-Man comics into this issue. Peter likes the black costume, he goes on varied night out of crime fighting, then discovers the costume’s dark side and zaps himself with electricity. The zap causes the suit to release him. He ends the issue passed out, in a painful coincidence,…
The Stop Button 