And another half issue. Probably takes about three minutes to read. It’s not like Bagley’s art is something to be examined either, so Bendis and Marvel must have been pretty darn clear about what they were doing with this format. I mean, nothing happens… the fight finishes.

Again, some interesting elements, of course. I mean, the NYPD trying to murder Spider-Man (it’s attempted murder when you try to kill someone right?) is a little shocking; unfortunately, it doesn’t appear Bendis is going to follow up on it at all.

The Peter narration returns (they’re thought balloons, why can’t the thoughts just be in balloons) and there’s a nice wrap-up to the whole issue and event. Bendis tries very hard to give the comic book a cast, which is nice, but I just wish… there was more to it.

These issues are better read without pause in between them.

Oh, man, it’s half the best issue so far. Then it stops.

How did people stand reading this comic monthly? It’s so frustrating….

Very amusing is the open at the Bugle, however, with a full Superman: The Movie homage. It immediately softens the reader, maybe so he or she doesn’t realize there isn’t a story, just half a fight scene and a couple narrative details (Spider-Man now has his webbing and Peter quits the basketball team, impressing Mary Jane).

Harry does show up again, for the first time in a while apparently (Bendis is pretty loose with the timeline details–neither Harry nor Peter took any time off school due to family tragedies?), and hints at being very disturbed.

The Goblin’s scary looking, but in a big monstrous sort of way, not an intelligent one… which is another interesting move by Bendis. The smart villain starts out really stupid.

A two minute read. I mean, I suppose Lee and Ditko did this part of the story in two or three pages, maybe less, so it’s only appropriate it should read fast….

There’s a big logic hole here. Not really for the characters, but in what Bendis is trying to present. He flashes back to Peter remembering not stopping the robber after Uncle Ben had the talk with him. But events didn’t occur in that order. The two, in the way Bendis is trying for a connection, are somewhat unconnected.

Still, it does work, though opening with the Goblin attacking the Osborn house (so we never–Ultimate or not–get to meet Harry’s mom?), distracts from the real story.

The close with Mary Jane is solid as well, establishing a much different Peter Parker than the one Lee and Ditko created.

Tastes great, I just wish it was more filling.

Bendis recovers this issue. Maybe not in terms of pacing (when am I going to get used to “decompressed” narrative again–it’s been way too long since I read mainstream ongoings), but definitely in terms of content.

He kills Uncle Ben right after the speech, right after the “great power, great responsibility” speech. Maybe more importantly, he introduces Peter’s internal dialogue (they aren’t called thought balloons, they’re present tense narration). It goes far in making Peter likable, though his racing after Mary Jane already does some of that work.

Again, problems with the Bagley talking heads, especially during Uncle Ben’s speech. The reaction shots on Peter too, they’re way too artificial, way too static. If it weren’t for the dialogue, the scene would fail.

Oh, and interesting choice on the robber… Peter’s not in costume, he, Peter Parker, is expected to be the hero in that situation, not Spider-Man.

How many pages of ads ran in these things? Because I really do not feel like I got a full issue’s worth of story.

In Ultimate, Bendis has Peter wrestling as Spider-Man to earn money to pay for Flash Thompson’s hospital bills, anonymously helping Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Bendis juxtaposes this effort with Peter getting on the high school basketball team (in Flash’s place) and winning a game.

Also included is Mary Jane asking Peter out to a geometry “thing”–but it’s a date.

Norman Osborn shoots up the super-serum with Harry in the other room–and Doctor Octopus is there. But it’s really just two pages, one without any talking.

I think I covered everything going on in the entire issue. Except it ends with Peter getting his Spider-Man costume.

It’s not really a story. Some stuff happens.

Amazing how different it reads in issues.

200

I have an affection for Mark Bagley, based on Ultimate Spider-Man, but apparently it’s an overall thing. I mean, when I think of teenage Peter and Mary Jane, I think of Bagley’s rendition of them. However, his art is far from flawless, as this issue frequently shows. His faces are often way too rough and hurried–I’m thinking of Norman Osborn and Uncle Ben in particular.

Otherwise, a very good issue. It’s interesting how Bendis sets Doctor Octopus up as a villainous jerk before his accident (something Lee didn’t do, much to the detriment of the character).

There’s no Spider-Man yet. No mention of it. Black leotard Peter is as close as we get here. Bendis is taking his time with certain elements, but I can’t help but notice it’s a rather fast read. For all the decompressed storytelling, not much happens–not even in dialogue.

But good.

What Bendis does, right from the start–which Lee didn’t do–is make Peter Parker the hero; sure, Bendis is dealing with more pages so he has more time, but it took Lee issues to form Peter Parker. Bendis does it right away here. Maybe he does it a little easily–I mean, the scene in the mall with Peter getting bullied while mooning over Mary Jane, it does the trick immediately.

I remember the first time I read Ultimate Spider-Man, I was just shocked how much of Uncle Ben we got to see. Uncle Ben rarely hangs around in any retelling, so having him be a character–one to care about past an innocent victim–is a fantastic move on Bendis’s part.

The issue sets a lot up–Peter, Mary Jane, Harry, Norman Osborn… but never overdoes the set-up.

It’s no wonder it was such a sensation.