Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #25

The Creative Team:

Writer:  Brian Michael Bendis

Art:  Dave Marquez, Justin Ponsor

Get Caught Up...

Welcome to the Ultimate Universe, where Peter Parker is dead and Miles Morales is Spider-Man.  At least, he was.  Then his mother died in the crossfire during a battle with Venom.  After that, he took a year long reprieve from superheroics.  Will he put the mask back on?

What’s Good?

A lot.  The Ultimate books are flying under the radar for the most part.  I recently trade binged on the Miles Morales era, as I left after Ultimatum and the death of Peter Parker.  Solid word of mouth has brought me back around, and I’m glad I came back.  Some of Bendis’ best work is when he isn’t writing for a giant event, or a tentpole title.  This is a simple story, and it’s a welcome break from the life-and-death buildup to major events that we’re currently enjoying the 616 universe.

Bendis has a simple writing style that reminds me of everything that was great about his initial run on Ultimate Spider-Man way back in the early 2000’s.  It is emotional, clever and direct.  The interactions Morales has with his friends and other heroes feel real.  I do not even mind the seemingly constant tie-ins to Peter Parker’s friends and family.  Bendis presents them all in a way that feels natural enough that I don’t question it.  He actually makes the kids we are dealing with here feel like kids.  There is a lot of pressure put on Morales after the fight with Venom.  This is how a kid would deal with things.  It is a foregone conclusion that Morales will return to his Spider-Man identity.  The conversation he has with Jessica Drew puts him down that path in great fashion.  Bendis has always been a “talky” writer, but it fits in well with this storyline.

The art is gorgeous to look at.  I love the character design of Morales’ costume.  

Marquez’s work on facial expressions is outstanding.  There aren’t many masks in this book, and a lot of heavy conversations.  Nailing the expressions of the character really helps to drive home the story.  And I loved the cover.  

What’s Not So Good?

 

Adding in 616 characters just for the heck of it.  Morales has a young lady friend.  Does it have to be the Ultimate version of Young Avengers’ Kate Bishop?  No, not really.  This is a separate universe that is doing plenty of interesting things with the established characters.  Let’s get some new blood into the book and see what happens.

The Verdict...

I’m sticking with this title.  Not sure if I can say the same for the rest of the line.  Everything is believable and I didn’t wind up missing Peter Parker as much as I thought I would.  It was a gutsy move killing him off, but, hey, if you can’t do it in the Ultimate universe, where can you?

Oh, Yeah, And...

I’m not sure where things are going with the Ultimate universe as a whole.  Rumors of its impending demise run pretty strong these days.  Can’t wait to see where things are going with Ultimate Hunger whenever it winds up being released.  There’s talk of Morales coming over to 616, but I’d really like some closure from the end of the Spider-Men miniseries where 616 Peter Parker Googles that universe’s Miles Morales.