Ultimate Spider V.9 (#46, Ultimate Six#1-7) - Ultimate Six

Brian Michael Bendis/Trevor Hairsine (Ultimate Six), Mark Bagley (#46), with Joe Quesada

This collection takes a break from the ongoing title to collect the seven-issue Ultimate Six mini-series, a take-off on Spider-Man’s traditional fights against the Sinister Six. Going in expecting something similar to that would be foolish, though. I remember this getting lukewarm reviews when it came out, but maybe it helps to read it all in one setting, because I really liked it. I can imagine the monthly installments felt slow, as there are some thin chapters. Reading it in one go, it’s an exciting story that really brings some new dimensions to the Ultimate Spider-Man world and a nice variety in story, tone, and character focus.

In fact the Ultimate Spider-Man issue that opens the collection is the weakest part of it. It’s a flashback story where SHIELD Agent Sharon Carter participates in a raid on Justin Hammer’s facility after the Doctor Octopus battle from volume 3. She finds Sandman, another human experimented on by Hammer. The whole set up is a bit of a rush job. I just don’t like this Carter character – there’s no flair or energy to her tough spy act. She’s just a dull, angry character. It seems like the whole issue is done to get another villain into the mix to fulfill the “Sinister Six” numerical requirement, and it’s rushed in doing so. However, there is a fantastic battle sequence here, with Spider-Man fighting Sandman. Bagely pulls off a great display of the latter’s powers and some striking panels of his face when powered-up. It does feel like a perfunctory set up issue to get one more player onto the board, but it’s an opportunity for Bendis to continue to build the tapestry of the Ultimate Universe (as Hammer’s experiments were competing for the same government contract to recreate the Super Soldier formula that Norman Osborn and Dr. Octopus were) and the battle scene is stellar.

We then move onto the seven-issue mini. It opens with a short piece that I guess may have been promotional material. Joe Quesada draws it, and it features Electro awakening in a hospital after the fight in volume 2, attempting to escape, and being recaptured by The Ultimates. I liked it. Quesada does a good job conveying Electro’s disorientation upon awakening and his unique style is a treat to see.

The mini-series then properly begins, and the first two issues are centered around an idea that is executed to near-perfection. SHIELD and Henry Pym have five villains hostage on the Triskelion – Doctor Octopus, Electro, the Sandman, Kraven, and Norman Osborn. In an effort to rehabilitate them, there is an experiment being conducted where they are trapped in a giant energy sphere and led through group therapy sessions. Some of them break down and show emotion, while Osborn tries to remain above it all. There is a wonderful atmosphere of oppressive captivity, with the tables turned on the villains, who are powerless in this set up and reminded of it regularly.

Their crimes relate less to their violent public attacks and more to the genetic experimentation they all participated in. It’s all tied to the US government’s bid to recreate the Super Soldier formula that created Captain America in the 1940s. Both Osborn (working with Ock) and Justin Hammer were working to win this government contract, experimenting on people (and, in Osborn’s case, on himself). There’s almost a hint of jealousy or anger in Nick Fury’s attitude towards this – a sense that he let this get out of government control and now has to clean up a mess he’s partly responsible for commissioning. The crime isn’t because these men are super villains, per se, but because they performed genetic experimentation on themselves and others. It’s very interesting territory to get into.

The story alternately gets underway, and stalls, at the end of the second issue, when Ock deceives his captors, gets access to his mechanical arms, and uses them to free his fellow prisoners. The third issue is a tour de force, with the villains’ escape and Fury and The Ultimates reacting and trying to hold the situation together. Bendis shows these heroes as soldiers, with Fury commanding them and trying to control the problem. This is where Spider-Man enters the story. Osborn has been mentioning finding his “son,” assumed to be Harry, but revealed to be Peter, and Fury moves to protect him. Bendis achieves a sense of excitement, tempered by the danger of Osborn and what he might do to Aunt May and Mary Jane. The third issue is a taut, compelling thriller and all parties pull it off wonderfully.

The problem at this point is that the villains don’t really have a solid plan or motivation. They basically just want revenge on Fury for holding them hostage. Osborn and Ock want to acquire Peter as a sixth member, as they created him (but, acquire him for what purpose, I don’t know). The villains are just hiding out, making threatening phone calls to the president. This bit didn’t really work. While I love the idea of Fury having to answer for his actions (was the villains’ imprisonment, without trial, lawful whatsoever?), it feels a little unconnected from the main narrative. Bendis gets a lot of points for keeping the action moving, despite the fact that the villains have no motivation. There is genuine tension around the fact that the heroes have no idea where the villains area and the call between Peter and May is a touching moment that reinforces the danger he puts his loved ones into.

Once Osborn does capture Peter, some sort of master plan still doesn’t emerge. He blackmails Peter into helping him by threatening his aunt and girlfriend and that’s about it. They then attack the White House and, as soon as Peter finds out May is safe from Captain America, he joins the fight against the villains. So the plan basically amounts to fighting Fury/the President. It just doesn’t have the weight that Osborn has brought to his previous conflicts.

The last segment of the book is largely action-based, and, similar to the first Goblin fight and the main Venom fight, it’s where the narrative is kind of put on hold. The fight scenes, however well-drawn, just seem too thin to take up this many pages. Harry Osborn inexplicably shows up for the final issue to talk his dad out of fighting. Similar to his appearance in volume 4, he is wasted here. He makes a speech to his dad, the fight continues, the villains are defeated, and he disappears. The aftermath of the fight is rather good, though – each of the villains try and talk their way out of punishment, while Osborn lies half-alive. May and Peter are reunited, with her none the wiser as to what really happened.

The Ultimates make a strong showing here. I did feel like Bendis went too far trying to capture Mark Millar’s ‘kewl’ dialogue in some of the group scenes (like Janet casually mentioning her multiple doctorates), but the individual portrayals are largely strong. I like the use of Pym, at this point demonized in The Ultimates, trying to help SHIELD where he can. Cap and Fury have a strong scene where Cap reflects on his the Super Soldier serum in his veins that caused all of this trouble. This is ultimately more Nick Fury’s story than Spider-Man’s, and he holds it together well as the lead character.

Trevor Hairsine draws the mini and it’s certainly a departure from Mark Bagely. His figures resemble some other artists’ styles – Bryan Hitch, Whilce Portacio, Mike Deodato, even Greg Land’s tracing – but I liked the look overall. He created a lot more drama and grittiness than Bagely could have. The menace and tension as the villains escape and wreak havoc owe a lot to the mood and sense of danger his art creates. His faces and expressions are generally quite good. He makes the final action issues come to life, with expansive panels and splashes. It livens up those two thin issues and looks great.

Overall, Ultimate Six is a very worthwhile excursion from the main title. Even at seven issues, I still felt Bendis told a tight, exciting story, with tension and drama at the right points. I was expecting a mess due to the number of villains, which Bendis can struggle with, but that never happened. The lackeys are designated as such early on, and Osborn and Ock ascend as the main antagonists. There’s an odd bond between these long time friends that emerges in their quest to unite all genetically-modified people, and bring Peter, their joint son, into the fold. It is uncharted territory to position Spider-Man as the inadvertent creation of a much bigger project, but it allows him to interact with different corners of the Ultimate Universe in new ways. It’s an unlikely success from Bendis, and I hope some of the ideas here can make their way into the main series.

Ultimate Spider-Man V.8 (#47-53) - Cats & Kings

Brian Michael Bendis/Mark Bagley

This volume is so vastly superior to volume 7, Irresponsible, that it leaves me with no worries for this title’s future. Bendis revisits, to varying degrees, the Kingpin arc from volume 2 in an excellent fashion. There are plot lines aplenty being juggled here, and it all fits together nicely, even introducing some new elements into the title. Most importantly, Bendis proves that he doesn’t have to up the character-anguish stakes to get rewarding character work from Peter. He can mix the two less-serious stories here with scenes of Peter questioning his resolve to remain a hero without bringing the title to the depths of despair (like in v.4-6, which I do love) or into too frivolous or unfocused a territory (v.7). There can be a middle ground and balance in tone, where Peter’s character can be kept at the heart of the book without dragging him down into depression too excessively. There are two short arcs here, both tied together by the return of the Kingpin, back in New York after a video of him killing someone surfaced in volume 2.

The first arc begins with J. Jonah Jameson endorsing Sam Bullit, a rabid anti-Spider-Man candidate, for mayor of New York. Bendis has Fisk stand at the outskirts, as an almost powerless foe – he can’t act out too much for fear of losing whatever public credibility he’s managed to rebuild for himself. So the heavy lifting is left to other characters, such as Ben Urich, who gets Bullit to reveal his ties to Fisk in a fantastic scene. Jameson also takes on his largest role yet. Bendis shows the true integrity at the heart of the character’s bluster when he finally relents in his support of Bullit. Yes, it takes a near attack from Fisk’s henchmen to get this to happen. But the true journalist at his core re-emerges. His later apology to Peter is a great scene, where we learn more about his deceased son and his dedication to helping Peter learn about journalism.

There’s a strength of will to Peter’s character here that we haven’t seen yet either. He is beyond outraged at Fisk’s release and asks why JJJ would endorse Bullit, who was Fisk's lawyer. JJJ yells and fires him, and Peter’s ability to stand up for himself as he leaves is even better. It’s great to have Peter finally speak up so strongly for himself.

In this opening arc, Bendis shows great skill in balancing the various character threads that compose the story. Mary Jane plays a balanced role here, and it’s welcome. She provides Peter with a list of everyone who knows his secret identity, and it’s a humourous idea. Jameson, Urich, and May all play strong roles as well , progressing the story and giving it energy by taking all of the weight off of Peter’s shoulders. The Fisk-Bullit story isn’t a complete storyarc, but it feels organic and thoroughly enjoyable and it’s built upon strong character work from the leads.

The second arc is a bit fluffier, but finds grounding by remaining tied to the Kingpin’s machinations from the first arc. It opens with a very lengthy theft by the new Black Cat character, a sequence almost free of dialogue. There’s a great interplay between she and Peter once he finds her, and a fun sense that he is just amazed to see a costumed female like her. Bagely expertly choreographs these scenes, and they make for a nice break from this sometimes dialogue-heavy book.

At the centre of this arc is Peter questioning his future as a costumed hero with Mary Jane. It’s a completely realistic decision for a teenager in his position to ponder and I applaud Bendis for having this question realistically weave itself through multiple stories. This is a question Peter has faced many times, and it’s understandable that the events he’s been through would make him constantly second-guess his superhero lifestyle.

A large part of this arc also centers around MJ’s father, who cheated on her mother and has been a tyrant in their household ever since. This allows for some great moments of May being plucky and pushy, but this is a less engaging story than some of the other plot lines here. MJ eventually runs away, Peter finds her at their secret hangout, and it’s a sweet scene. It all feels a little superfluous to the main action, but works just fine.

The Black Cat story centres around her stealing an artifact in order to get revenge on Wilson Fisk, who framed her father for a crime (and he later died in prison). She puts out a newspaper ad to have Spider-Man meet her, and Peter is enticed to do so, almost as an escape from MJ’s family problems. They meet for a rooftop dinner, in an excellent scene, where Peter is not only attracted to a girl who pursues the superhero life, but another girl besides MJ in general, and must face these feelings.

Their date is interrupted by Elektra, hired by one of Fisk’s goons to retrieve the artifact. The rooftop battle between the three is quite lengthy, but, again, Bagely does a great job with the night time fight scenes. It’s a bit hard to get invested when the two females are such new quantities for us. Still, it’s a nice change of pace from the talkier opening arc. The story ends with Fisk attacking Black Cat, and Elektra apparently killing her. It’s a strong final fight because Fisk, finally in action, makes for a crushing, oppressive foe. But I can’t help but wish we got more from Black Cat. Like Gwen, who’s nearly absent here, she’s an opposing female figure for Peter, who brings out the types of feelings in him that MJ doesn’t. Still, it’s hardly certain that she died and I’m hopeful to see more of her. The final page reveals that Fisk wanted the ancient artifact because its text could help revive his comatose wife. This doesn’t quite work. It smacks of Bendis trying to insert too much story into a volume that hit a nice groove (shades of volume 3’s plot overload). It’s such a jarring development to tack onto the final page.

Still, there is a lot to like in both

of these arcs, including the fact that both are short, taut three-parters. They are nicely connected, grounded in Peter’s development as a character, and show a good balance of many compelling plot and character threads. This volume proves Bendis doesn’t have to wallow in too much doom and gloom for the book to feel like its moving places. At the same time, he adds a lot more substance than the previous volume had, while keeping things fun. A strong return to form.

Ultimate Spider-Man V.7 (#40-45) - Irresponsible

Brian Michael Bendis/Mark Bagely

Well, the high drama couldn’t be kept up forever, I guess. Bendis has continually been upping the personal and heroic stakes for Peter, taking his life through a gauntlet of traumas and having him question the value of his heroic career after recent crises. Then comes this volume, where the weight of previous stories hangs around the edges and Peter faces a fairly scattered conflict against a mutant named Geldoff. It takes a more light-hearted tone that doesn’t work and feels like a trifle affair after the rollercoaster Bendis has brought us through. I suppose I’m weaned on wonderful runs like Bendis and Ed Brubaker on Daredevil, where the model of storytelling was to continually up the stakes and make things worse for the lead character, through deep, long-form character arcs. Bendis has expertly done the same thing up to this point on this book. I’m all for more light-hearted fare, but it doesn’t feel earned here and this isn’t nearly a strong enough story to derail the drama we’ve had up to this point.

The strongest elements of this volume deal with the characters, even if the character work is not as uniformly strong as usual. Surprisingly, the strongest thread here is Peter’s quest to replace his destroyed costume. It has a humour that rings true and is in line with this Peter as a do-gooder still in over his head. He has no plan for when a costume gets ruined and struggles with what to do next. It’s a story thread that is amusingly continued over several of these issues and works much better as an attempt at levity than the general tone of this volume did, as it rung true for the character and felt earned – it was a natural problem that this Peter would face and stood out as one of Bendis’ better ideas here, despite how simple it was.

Peter and Mary Jane’s reconciliation is also a major plot point. There’s good fun had when she tries to change type and wear an over-the-top outfit to a party, and their talk on the bus ride home from that party is amusing. All of this leads up to a letter that she writes him, one that, for all its sappiness, shows the heart that this book wears on its sleeve and is a nice turning point for Peter. I really like how Peter’s narration later on, when faced with the Geldoff problem, is still full of elation over being back with MJ.

There are other character bits here. Flash continually tries to talk to Peter alone, only to be rebuffed because Peter doesn’t want to walk into a bullying attempt. Liz Allan reappears, and continues her discomfort with mutants/superheroes. Having Gwen live at the Parker home remains a strong choice for this series. Gwen is easily the most interesting of the supporting cast. The interaction between her and Peter is full of life, because she brings out the inner miserable, anti-social outcast within him. It’s refreshing to have Bendis acknowledge those qualities within Peter, instead of glossing over them with the ‘loveable loser’ label, and Gwen is key to us seeing that different side to Peter.

So the set-ups here with the characters are largely pretty good. It’s when Geldoff enters the story that things take a turn for the dull. He’s a mutant who causes explosions and destruction at a party and Spider-Man later confronts him when he takes this behaviour to the streets. The point here, according to the description on the back of the trade, is that Geldoff is the opposite of Peter’s “great power, great responsibility” mantra – he feels no responsibility, or any sense that he should have greater concerns, when he uses his powers. Unfortunately, the back of the trade conveys this message with more power and weight than the actual story does. There’s nothing wrong with Peter’s rooftop lecture to Geldoff on power and responsibility, it’s just lifeless in how perfunctory it is. It doesn’t sound like Peter speaks from the heart, no matter how much Bendis has him scream. Given his recent trials, he should really feel the weight of this mantra. Yet here, it’s a dull speech to a guy with a badly-written accent. Geldoff is such a nothing character that I have to wonder what the whole point of this exercise was.

The X-Men then enter the story, and, unfortunately, things don’t get better. In their early scenes, Bendis goes way overboard with his quippy dialogue from the X-females. There’s a lot of fluffy talk, centering on the inane Geldoff. Now the idea of Peter being excited to visit the X-Mansion and meet other youth with powers really worked for me. But Bendis doesn’t seem to know where to take the story after Peter leaves in the X-Men’s jet. Geldoff has another freak-out on the jet, eating up some pages with aerial fighting, and May tries to look for the absent Peter (which is admittedly much better material).

Once in the presence of the full team of X-Men, Bendis still fails to inspire. Xavier learns that Geldoff’s mutation was the result of genetic manipulations, which is at least a direction of some sort to take that story in. Peter is less than happy about Xavier’s proposal to turn Geldoff over to the UN and investigate the issue, feeling his basic human rights will be stripped from him if he’s treated as a pawn in investigating this scheme. This is all well and good, but I badly lost interest at this point. The drive of this entire series has been Peter as a character. This conflict feels so removed from him and his life, and the fact that he just drops his opposition to Xavier’s idea so quickly makes the whole trip to the X-Mansion seem pointless. It’s the first major interaction Peter’s has had with heroes outside of Nick Fury and it badly lost its potential.

The final issue spotlights Aunt May, and is also fraught with problems. The build up to her confrontation with Peter on his whereabouts had been quite good. The resolution is hokey and illogical. First, May drops her anger at Peter when he reveals he’d skipped class to read a book of his mother’s. Of course, this is all a lie, so who do we feel bad for – May for lashing out at Peter and realizing the error (it wasn’t an error) of her ways? Peter for being yelled at, even though he’s lying and, inadvertently, guilt-tripping his aunt? Then May gets into her hatred of Spider-Man, and, to me, the majority of her reasons seemed completely illogical and at odds with her character. She feels he’s been around her life too much, wonders if he had anything to do with Ben’s murder, and worries that he’s hurting Peter when Peter goes missing. In the midst of what I feel is a completely botched character study are moments of clarity and truth – May admits guilt over feeling attracted to Captain Stacy, she feels she’s keeping Gwen around as a crutch for her own loneliness, and the video of the Parker/Brock picnic from volume 6 is brought up as a moment that really made her feel alone. It’s these naked moments of emotion that cut to the heart of the character, not her forced hatred of Spider-Man. She tries to relax and be warm with Peter at the very end, and it’s a great moment, but these wonderful character insights are wrapped around some truly bizarre character choices that seemed forced and illogical.

I can’t deny a disappointment with Irresponsible. The book feels like it has lost gravity in its plotting. The strength is in the character moments, which are currently holding the book together. The last few arcs thrived because characterization was woven into some highly dramatic plotlines. This volume almost completely divorces them, and the plotting reveals itself to be lightweight, weak, and hollow. The character moments are good, despite some hiccups, but the story really faltered for me.

Ultimate Spider-Man V.6 (#33-39) - Venom

Brian Michael Bendis/Mark Bagely

Bendis changes things up slightly with this volume, with a story that is largely self-contained. That’s not to say the other volumes haven’t told stories in that way, but Venom as a threat seems distinct from the general narrative of the book so far. It doesn’t all work perfectly, but it’s another bold entry in this series.

The most striking thing about this story is how wholly the Venom character is changed from the version we’re more familiar with. The general ideas behind this revamp are quite good. Bendis sets the stage well, with Peter discovering a tape of the Parker and Brock families having a picnic together. Through that, he opens us up to the world of young Eddie Brock and the work their fathers did together. It makes sense to give the Parker parents a bigger role in the Spider-Man mythos. And the basic idea of Venom, that he’s not an alien suit, but a medical advancement Peter and Eddie’s fathers made to help humans combat disease, is certainly a daring change, one that I feel is explored quite well throughout this story. There’s also a lot of potential to starting fresh with such a simple idea; some of these concepts have grown too big in the main Marvel Universe, and here, Venom is brought back to basics, with a strong foundation.

Bendis puts a lot of work into the Eddie Brock character, who is now a university student whom Peter tracks down after learning how close their families were. Prior to Eddie's transformation into Venom, Bendis sharply draws the character, and he provides a nice contrast to the Peter we’ve been reading about. The discussion he has with Peter about moving on from high school is a great scene – made even stronger when we find out he gave Gwen the exact same speech. So we see someone that, for all his confidence about moving on in life, still has issues with how he presents himself to people and perhaps with his self-confidence. It’s also nice to see Peter and Gwen hanging out with him, experience something outside of high school life. Gwen also fits in well in this role. I can’t imagine Mary Jane being so gung ho on riding off with Eddie, and it's nice to see Peter and Gwen hanging out.

The bigger story almost goes on hold for an issue when Peter gets the venom suit attached to him. Bendis uses that issue for a very fast-paced action piece where Peter tests the capabilities of the suit against various criminals in the city. Bendis nails the voice of this excitable Peter, so taken with what the suit can do, but also overwhelmed by it. The moment where he lashes out at an innocuous criminal and transforms into the more familiar-looking Venom we’re used to is very good, as is his attempt to get rid of the suit. He and Eddie’s confrontation after that is gripping stuff, with Peter divulging his secret identity as no other choice presents itself and explaining the disgust he feels with himself over how the venom suit made him act.

Eddie quickly turns after this, double-crossing Peter and putting on the suit himself, transforming into the Venom appearance we are familiar with. His initial transformation is a powerful sequence, as he unknowingly kills a cleaning woman and struggles to understand why he can’t feel his feet, his heart beats, and his body movements. It’s a wonderful example of Bendis putting a realistic spin on superheroes; comic characters go through these superhuman transformations regularly, and here we get a human voice showing what it must actually be like. A fight with Peter quickly follows, livened up by interspersing scenes of Peter watching a fairly ominous video of his father discussing his scientific work through the fight scenes. The desired effect is achieved – this feels like a well-done, suspenseful movie. As much as I’m not interested in a big slugfest with a snarling monster (shades of Peter’s first battle with Norman in volume 1), this fight is grounded in Richard Parker’s narration, which hits on the wider points of the story without being intrusive or heavy-handed.

Bendis wisely includes a seventh issue for some decompression. Peter confronts Nick Fury on why he didn’t intervene this time to help. It’s a decidedly interesting take on Peter’s growth as a hero and I like how it connects Peter to the wider Ultimate Universe. I’m getting a little annoyed with Fury/SHIELD cropping up in the final issues of each story to mop up (or, in this case, to not mop up) the problem Peter faced, but there’s still potential to this idea. Next, he learns that Eddie, whether dead or alive, is gone from his dorm. Finally, he confronts Eddie’s professor, mentioned throughout the story, Dr. Curt Connors. I’m not crazy about plot elements that are introduced in the closing act of a lengthy story, but this is ok. Bendis strongly ties it to the story’s wider themes and the bigger story of the Ultimate U – did Richard Parker’s experiments lead to the superhero uprising, and has this influx of superheroes been a good thing? Peter predictably lashes out, defending his father’s attempts to help people, and is left standing in silence, contemplating if his father, or he himself, have helped anyone. Like the previous two volumes, it ends on a dramatic note, with the lead character left to wonder where things went wrong.

This is the most irregular volume so far in that the Venom story is fairly self-contained and takes up the vast majority of the story. There are no other plotlines running alongside it, and although the Nick Fury stuff shows up at the end, this is basically all about Venom. Bendis does still make some room for the supporting cast, though. Gwen is getting more comfortable living at the Parker’s. Aunt May has a wonderful moment, where she is in a state of shock after seeing the family picnic video, which her husband appears in. And MJ gets quietly jealous about the developments in Peter’s life since their break-up. In both his personal life and Spider-Man career, she feels like she is missing out. There’s a great reunion with her after Peter has his experience with the venom suit that really feels like he’s trying to reach out to the one person he can talk to about this sort of stuff. Bendis choosing to have Peter tell one of his friends his secret identity so early in the series remains a strong decision.

There are some uneven moments here. The story becomes less interesting when it moves to action. But, the heart of the Peter character is preserved through it all, as he makes bad choices, acts out, and learns from his mistakes. It asks bigger questions about the value of heroes and has guts in doing so. Peter’s success rate is not consistent and the toll his actions have taken on real people has been large. So is this all worth it? I don’t think the established Marvel Universe would have the guts, or ability, to ask such ballsy questions and keep them as running story threads. It may not be Bendis' absolute strongest story yet, but it is gutsy and dramatic and has a strong voice. I quite liked it.

Ultimate Spider-Man V.5 (#28-32) - Public Scrutiny

Brian Michael Bendis/Mark Bagely

This is the shortest volume of the title yet, at five issues, and the main story itself is only four. But those four pack an emotional punch at a level unseen in this book so far, which is really a feat given the focus Bendis has put on the characters so far. It’s quite excellent stuff throughout, even if the plot lightly strung behind the character drama is a bit thin at times.

This volume opens with a single issue story, intended as a light humour piece that explains exactly how Peter gets out of his daily situations to go off and fight crime. There’s a lot of good here. The best scene is when Aunt May pops up at school because a teacher is concerned that Peter’s attention is drifting. There’s another strong scene where Peter runs into a distraught Gwen, upset that her mother walked out on the family. The villain Peter is after here is the Ultimate version of the Rhino, who makes his first appearance in a rushed way, similar to the Shocker and Electro. Still, this is an enjoyable issue, even if it feels out of place with the high drama of the remaining four issues. The rules of the trade paperback world dictate that single issue stories, even those intended as intentional breathers between arcs, like this one, don’t always fit seamlessly into collections. That’s certainly the case here, but, in monthly format, it makes sense that Bendis would allow for a light-hearted break between the anguish of the previous and following arc. And he certainly can’t be accused of ignoring the supporting cast in this issue.

The wider plot of “Public Scrutiny” has a Spider-Man imposter performing minor robberies and crimes around New York. J. Jonah Jameson runs with this story, as Ben Urich tries to prove this is the work of an imposter. This story never fully clicked for me or felt like the problem it should be for Peter. Quite frankly, it very quickly gets overshadowed by the various personal events in his life. In the end, it serves as the place where Peter gets his anger and tension out after recent personal events. He relentlessly beats up the imposter, who ends up being a guy just looking to making some money, getting out his frustrations over everything that has been happening. The plotline serves a dramatic purpose in that sense, but it’s certainly one of Bendis’ lesser storylines so far.

Thankfully, everything going on in Peter’s life is riveting, and some of the most compelling work Bendis has done yet on this title. It wholesale takes over as the main plot, and displays how well Bendis has crafted this world for Peter and his friends and family.

Once again, Bendis makes the book shine when he focuses on Peter as a young, inexperienced hero. Peter’s initial reaction to the imposter leads into an inner monologue where his mind wanders through mistakes he’s made, starting with telling MJ that he’s Spider-Man; in other words, an entirely human reaction to a crisis. The somewhat less-interesting imposter story is immediately livened up when Peter is shot while trying to apprehend him. This propels the story into an exciting new direction, where Peter must deal with a real wound. He calls MJ for help and evades being discovered while getting himself to a hospital. The moment where MJ finds him hiding under a pile of trash is particularly effective. Peter’s initial reaction to the injury and his breakout from handcuffs had me on the edge of my seat. This reminded me of some of the best parts of The Ultimates – seeing the true devastation behind their fight with Hulk and a funeral for victims of that fight. Peter’s gunshot wound is treated with equal realism. This Peter is completely in over his head in the whole hero endeavour and this incident acted as a harrowing, taut reminder of that, with an underlying tone of despair for his situation.

There’s one bit here that builds on what happened in the previous volume, when Nick Fury confronted Peter. Here, the Wasp is sent to tend to his gunshot wounds. This is adding an interesting layer to the book and it doesn’t come off as a cheap resolution to the gunshot story that it might sound like. In fact, Bendis did such a good job presenting the wounded Peter as in over his head, that I kept expecting something bigger than him to arrive to help. It doesn’t feel like a cheap deus ex machina; Fury is monitoring Peter’s activities, but the latter is still given free reign to make mistakes. The remainder of the story pivots around Gwen Stacy, in several ways. First, her mother walks out, and her father asks May to let her stay with the Parkers. This creates a nice moment where those two adults connect over what they’ve lost, with faint hints of an attraction between them through the art. It also brings out jealousy in MJ, who is, frankly, a bit annoying in these scenes – yes, Gwen is no saint, but MJ apparently can’t see the trouble she’s in and why it’s good for her to live under May’s roof.

Gwen’s police officer father then gets caught in an altercation with the imposter Spider-Man and is killed in the process. This is of course happening much earlier than it did in the main Marvel Universe, but it works here as a shocking moment. The fallout leads Peter to brutally attack the imposter, questioning his own actions and anger afterwards. As I mentioned, that’s the part that works best about the imposter story. The rest of this has May deciding to take Gwen in permanently, resulting in some scenes of great strength from her and a very nice part where she formally invites Gwen to stay at the Parker home.

Of course, this all pivots back to

the Peter and MJ relationship, which deteriorates as Gwen takes a larger role in the story. Another running thread here is that MJ is still traumatized by her abduction by the Green Goblin, constantly reminding her of the danger Peter puts himself in. It’s a realistic direction to take and weaves its way in naturally throughout. This tension culminates in a fairly raw and emotional breakup scene, where it’s the stress of Peter’s lifestyle that causes Mary Jane to break up with him.

So, just as Bendis showed guts in having Peter reveal his secret id to someone so early, he’s equally skilled in showing how Mary Jane would cope with this knowledge and the dangers that come with it. Where volume 4 ended on a gut wrenching emotional note, with Peter and MJ surviving the Goblin fight, the breakup scene ends this volume in an equally painful way. Even with some questionable plotting choices, the character arcs were fantastic and really sold this volume for me. Combined with strong art, it’s another stellar collection of this series.

Ultimate Spider-Man V.4 (#22-27) - Legacy

Brian Michael Bendis/Mark Bagely

This is my first foray into issues of Ultimate Spider-Man I haven't yet read and I was incredibly impressed with the direction the series moved in. This fourth volume is much more focused than the previous entry. All of the action takes place over the span of a couple of days and the emotions and anxieties are right on the brink throughout. The antagonists are thankfully pared back to one prominent one, Norman Osborn, and even the supporting cast drama (which I usually enjoy) is focused onto only a couple central threads. This approach helped keep a brisk pace and heavy drama throughout.

That said, the opening scenes did stretch my capacity for Bendis-speak a bit. They cover Spider-Man's take-down of some common criminals and his banter with Mary Jane over lunch. It was quipy to the point of annoyance for me. As soon as Harry Osborn walks onto the scene and interrupts their lunch, though, the book is launched into dramatic, tense territory for the rest of the story, and the excesses of Bendis' dialogue were soon forgotten.

The story in this volume lives and dies on the strength of its antagonist. Norman Osborn is not only refreshing to have back after volume three's confused Doc Ock/Justin Hammer/Kraven mess, but he's a much stronger opponent than he was in his first foray as the Green Goblin. It makes sense that, in the Ultimate universe, at this early point, Norman has no lifelong vendetta against Spider-Man (which we’re so used to in the regular Marvel Universe). Here, he just wants Spider-Man to stop operating and get out of the picture.

It's refreshing to be free of the weight of Peter and Norman’s regular Marvel Universe relationship, and have it pared down to this. The threats Norman makes against Peter and his family are direct and dangerous and truly set Peter into new territory as a superhero. Once again, Bendis thrives when depicting Peter as the green, untried hero, facing threats and dangers well beyond his years and experience. Immediately after seeing Harry, Peter's mind goes into a tailspin, with all manner of worries and possibilities running through it regarding Norman knowing his identity, and it’s a realistic and effective portrayal of a teenaged superhero.

Bendis also does a wonderful job building the tension of this conflict throughout the story. At points in Peter's first visit to the Osborn home, things feel like they could go ok for him and the situation seems benign enough. We're then completely thrown off guard when Norman launches into Peter with his new proposal and threats, and it sets the tone for the rest of the story.

On the supporting cast front, there's good work done here with the emerging character of Gwen Stacy, but, beyond that, it's limited to MJ, May, and Harry, and their involvement in the main story. In Gwen, I see potential in exploring this clearly damaged girl, crying out for some family and companionship. Bendis continues building the thread of MJ's jealousy over Gwen, but

keeps it at an appropriate level and never lets it overwhelm the main story. There's also some great work here with Aunt May and her relationship with Peter. We see her as almost fallible, willing to admit that perhaps the punishment she issued him in volume three was too swift and not understanding enough. There's a tenderness to their relationship, so that when Peter cries in her arms after Osborn's threats, even though she doesn't know why he's upset, we feel catharsis as readers.

I just really appreciated how stripped back the story was. Outside of short appearances from Miles Warren, there are no new characters or elements from Spider-mythos piled on here. It's a focused tale, building on the groundwork Bendis has previously laid, and not concerned with wowing audiences with a new Ultimate version of a character. There's potential to Miles Warren in his role and his screen time is kept to what is necessary.

That said, there is a very unexpected aspect to this story,me, in Nick Fury's involvement. In one sense, I like the idea that he and SHIELD know all about Peter's heroic and personal life, including everything down to conversations that he's had with Osborn. I love how Osborn is tied into one of the Ultimate Universe's main overarching stories, that of the Super Soldier formula that created Captain America, in a natural and obvious way. Oscorp was one of many groups who have tried to recreate the formula for SHIELD, a thread that ties right into The Ultimates series and so many other Ultimate U stories. It adds motivation for Fury to get involved and ties Peter's story into the wider fabric of this universe. The whole deal Fury makes not to get involved in Norman's threats against the Parkers is a little convoluted. But I suppose it works to create urgency for Peter and tear down Fury's "ultra cool" facade - underneath it all, he's just a coward and a slave to bureaucracy. SHIELD knowing about Peter's secret identity is another twist on things, so soon after letting MJ in on it, but I do see possibilities here, and more importantly, I'm impressed Bendis is able to wrench things in new directions with apparent fearlessness.

Once all of these elements are set up, the volume does launch into an extended action finale, albeit one that works much better than the first Goblin battle in volume one. There is much more emotional urgency and danger to these proceedings. And, most importantly, Bagely absolutely nails it on the art. The panels are large and expressive, allowing for wide action that is dynamic and space for the characters to really move and emote (a problem he still has on the talky, crammed panels). There's an extended sequence here devoted to the voices in Norman's head talking to him after he consumes the Goblin formula that perhaps goes on a page too long; but it's one segment in an otherwise exciting fight scene. MJ being thrown off the bridge, ala Norman's famous killing of Gwen in the main Marvel U, works because it isn't dwelled on as a nostalgic moment and because Bagley's art just looks spectacular on it.

The finale of the fight has Harry helping Spider-Man take down his dad, and it's a strong moment, even if Harry never feels fully formed here. As the victim of brainwashing, he's more a bit player than a rounded character in the drama. SHIELD also plays a big role in taking Osborn down, and the interplay between them and Spider-Man is interesting. Fury reveals his plans to take Peter in, forcefully, at age 18, adding an entirely new spin to the title as a whole. This Ultimate world is policed, strongly, and those police see themselves as doing a good job of it. They won't let this or other incidents slide. Again, this is a big change from the often scattered main Marvel Universe, and one made allowable by a smaller shared Ultimate universe.

At the end of the battle, Peter and MJ can only express anger, then silence, showing the toll this lifestyle has taken on both of them and the far less glamorous side of superheroics. By focusing on such a young, new hero, Bendis gets the most out of this, ending this powerful volume on a devastating note of exasperation for the lead characters.

Ultimate Spider-Man V. 3 (#14-21) – Double Trouble

Brian Michael Bendis/Mark Bagely

This is the last of the arcs I read back when Marvel.com was experimenting with free comics on its site, and it's the one I remember the least. It's also my least favourite so far. There are a boatload of strong and well-executed ideas here, but there were too many times when reading this that I felt Bendis has overloaded this arc with too many elements and characters. When reading volume 2, I thought adding Electro to a strong Kingpin story was too much, but that's nothing compared to the deluge of new characters and situations presented here. I'm so conditioned to the slow pace of Bendis' Spider-Man origin, which worked so well, that I think he would have been well-served by building the character's world at an equal speed.

The overload of characters and plotlines hurts because the concept behind Dr. Octopus and his motives is so strong. Bendis creates an effective and creepy vibe to the introduction of the character and his mechanical arms. The character is so familiar that I applaud Bendis for making the moment he wakes up and discovers his condition so haunting and powerful. This ominous vibe is continued when Ock kills the resident of his former home. The early thread of reporter Ben Urich investigating the case and trying to figure out what is behind Ock's rampage contributes to the danger behind the character. I like the concept of Ock being created by Norman Osborn's actions, strengthening the threads that connect to Peter's origin. When Peter worries that Ock may figure out who Spider-Man is because of their shared origins, the threat feels real and viable. Bendis has crafted a strong web to connect these formerly disparate characters.

But suddenly, in an admittedly great monologue, the Ock story takes a turn. Ock is suddenly directing his anger towards a new character, Justin Hammer, not Norman Osborn. The rage and feeling of a ruined life he's projecting works really well, but it seems misdirected. Similar to how Peter began investigating the Kingpin in volume 2, the crux of the story's action now feels off-kilter. I know Osborn is believed dead at this point, but it feels strange from a story point of view to have Ock so angry at a new character we've barely met. As the central conflict of an eight-part story, it does feel off. Hammer himself has interesting elements (particularly when he's connected to the creation of Electro and a new Sandman); but there's suddenly a lot of effort put in to building him up as a corrupt businessman, and it begins to run counter to establishing Ock as a threat, which the story had been doing so well up to that point.

The battle scenes between Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus and generally good stuff, with Bagely ably pulling off the acrobatics and Bendis presenting Ock as a credible threat in battle. The strongest element of the first battle scene is the legitimate threat of Spider-Man being apprehended by the authorities. It's these moments of Peter's inexperience that Bendis most shines with, and the extended, underwater chase scene worked because it feels like Peter's predicament with the police, usually such a minor problem in the main titles, is a real threat. The final battle, with Ock, Hammer, and a makeshift press conference, is a little much. But it's again well choreographed and Ock comes off as a dangerous opponent.

Added into this main conflict us the Ultimate introduction of Kraven the hunter as an Australian adventure-type personality who has a reality show. As a ratings ploy, he's traveled to New York to taken down Spider-Man. There's actually some really interesting stuff in one of his early scenes, regarding raising interest in his flagging show in order to get enough episodes filmed to go into syndication. But none of this really fits into the already troubled Ock/Hammer story and it feels superfluous. It doesn't help that we don't get much of a read on Kraven himself, who possess little of the cavalier attitude or danger that has at least given him a personality in the main universe. The only consolation regarding this weak plot line is how it ends, which is perfect. When Kraven does finally confront Spider-Man, as the final Ock battle is winding down, he is quickly dispatched of with a single punch. Whether this is Bendis commenting on the empty celebrity of reality tv personalities or realizing there was nowhere else to go with this story, it fits perfectly. Kraven had been nothing but a diversion in this story, and it's fitting that he's dispatched of so quickly and effortlessly. But even with that perfect ending, the Kraven story didn't need to be crammed in to this already busy volume.

Into this mix is also added two persistent SHIELD agents, one of which is Sharon Carter, investigating Ock's actions and his connection to Hammer and Norman Osborn. They leave with Ock at the end, but end up as nothing than yet another element in the mix here. Instead of creating an exciting vibe, these multiple elements just make the story feel to cramped and busy at points, stifling some of the more interesting stories, like Ock's struggle to accept his predicament.

The strongest material in volume 3 comes from Peter and his high school life. Bendis puts a spotlight on Kong, who is portrayed as a Spidey-worshipper. There's a great subplot where Kong believes he's pieced together Spider-Man's identity (in a wonderfully paced scene by both creators); it's a really good twist on what we've typically gotten out of Peter's high school life. Liz Allan continues to be portrayed as slightly uncomfortable with the superhero craze, given the danger at the school. There's also strong interaction between Peter and Mary Jane, as the latter helps him with sewing his costumes and disguising his wounds. There's the beginnings of inevitable jealously between Mary Jane and a new female character, just as she and Peter are getting physically intimate.

That new character is the Ultimate version of Gwen Stacy, a radically different character than I'm used to. She's a new student who comes off as mysterious and strange to her new classmates, waxing about the nature of powers and superheroes in her first scene, then brandishing a knife on Kong when he bullies Peter. Bendis doesn't play that for the expected commentary on high school violence; instead, he uses it to present us an instantly interesting and damaged Gwen, making me question throughout what drove this teenage girl to behave as she did. Her father, police captain Arthur Stacy, also plays a role, investigating one of Ock's murders (yet another character thrown into the mix, but he's fairly minor). I quite liked the scene where Gwen apologies to the class for the knife and questions why Kong hasn't been asked to apologize to Peter for what he did. She's an interesting addition to the book.

Thankfully, Bendis keeps focus on Peter throughout everything going on here. There's good material with him volleying through the challenges of Ock and Kong discovering his identity, as well as finally getting a moment of public adulation at the end. At the very end, May confronts him for his disappearance, is a very good scene. Bendis has added a real complication to his life as Spider-Man, by having May exist as more than just a doting, worrying aunt, but a younger, more vital member of the cast.

Bagely continues to be a valuable member of the creative team, particularly on the action scenes. There were times when his work got cramped here, reflecting the nature of the story, and I'm worried that his angular style might be too harsh for some of the more emotional character scenes, but it's still a strong looking comic.

The final twist, of Ock revealing that he knows Peter is Spider-Man, is a great scene, but it caps off an overly busy story that volleyed and shifted focus too many times from it's interesting central villain. I'm beginning to wonder if Bendis is rushing into this world too quickly, as the pieces he set up in the opening arc created a real and vibrant world. Even with the many strengths of this volume, I don't see the need to throw this many elements into the world this early.