Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man #6 Review
The big secret behind Peter Parker’s return is revealed in Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man #6! Read my recap and review of the cop-out of his epic death and more proof that the Ultimate Universe is coming to an end! But despite that I did like it!
The comic begins with JJJ having a moment of guilt over shooting Osborn before calling Ben Urich about it. Let’s face it, sometimes you have to put the monsters down and he could argue self-defense. Unfortunately for him, Osborn is apparently immortal now ad believes he’s responsible from creating new gods like Spider-Man. Then he kills JJJ.
Meanwhile Miles finally wants answers if Peter is real or not. MJ tries covering for him, but he wants answers from the man himself. Peter believes that he came back from the dead because he remembered his life and death, waking up in an abandoned lab in Atlanta and then making his way back to Queens, where he ran across MJ. They dug up his coffin and found it was empty, realizing that someone would have stolen his corpse for being a wonder of science.
Seeing how MJ broke down at seeing him again after years he decided he couldn’t show his face to the others since they had closure and Miles was out there. He only wanted the web-shooters since they were the only connection he had to his dad, who made the original formula. But Aunt May and Gwen state otherwise as they appear, stating that they could figure out he would be there because where else would he go?
Unfortunately Osborn thinks the same way and shows up for Round Two, stating they are his Spider-Men as Miles goes in alone. Osborn demands his respect as he gave birth to his powers, but Miles zaps him until he submits. As the comic ends, Osborn tells him that without him around he’ll never know where his powers came from and who his father really is.
Okay, review time.
Begrudgingly, I have to admit Peter has a good reason for not telling the others he was back. I mean, they had closure and were being left alone now that he was gone. Him being alive again would put targets on his family and friends back since everyone knows who he was. It’s fucked up in how much sense it makes.
But with Peter Parker and Osborn coming back, it’s safe to say that Marvel is crapping on their own rules when it comes to ‘Dead means Dead’ and are circling the drain in the grand scheme of things. Since Peter’s death was a turning point of epicness and meaningfulness, having both him and Osborn come back sets a bad precedence, especially if he ain’t a clone, and with the other Ultimate Titles being canceled it doesn’t bode well for them.
That being said, 5 out of 5.
Ultimate Spider-Man #200 Review
It’s been a long time coming, but Ultimate Spider-Man #200 is here, making way for Miles’ own series alongside the All-New Ultimates. I’ll probably review them both when the time comes, but until then you’ll get this one.
It begins with Ganke and Miles making their way to Aunt May’s home by Bus, which Ganke complains about since if they took the webbing they could have been their sooner. Miles points out that’s not what it’s for and it’s expensive to make, before asking why Ganke bought a gift possibly made of Legos. He reveals that it’s for Gwen Stacy, who he’s crushing on hard. We can’t blame him for it since she’s hot and older than him. But Miles tells him not to get his hopes up as they arrive.
Mary Jane arrives after them, but her boyfriend ducks out because he figures it would be all kinds of awkward. She tells him not to get hit by a car as he leaves and he nearly does get run over by Lana and Jessica who were also on the way. We then cut to Bobby, Johnny Storm, and Liz Allen, having a moment before we gaze upon the gathering inside May’s home.
To everyone’s surprise, Gwen likes whatever Ganke got her and gives him a kiss that leaves him probably the happiest geek in the world. Way to go for chubby lego geeks everywhere! We then get a visit from Tony Stark’s Girl Friday, Pepper Potts. He couldn’t make it so he sent over a gourmet meal that will last for days judging by the amount.
Kitty Pryde arrives after that and gets warm greetings all around. She gives Miles a hug as thanks for helping her during Cataclysm and received a medal from the President for her actions during that event. Kong shows up, who apparently ran away with her sometime before and it didn’t work out considering how close she is with Wolverine Jr. Jameson is there as well, but decides to go back to the city since there’s nothing he can do there after Peter’s loss.
Once they’d all eaten, they start discussing their dreams about what it would be like if Peter grew up (note that they’ve met an adult version of him from Earth-616). MJ saw him as the leader of the Ultimates in the future, possibly the greatest hero of all time, while May saw him combining being a hero with advance tech to make the Spider Corps, and Gwen saw him as a reporter…which is pretty much what his 616 counterpart was before going the scientist route. Miles wishes that he had gone to see Peter when he first gained his powers and imagines being a team, as a side-kick or partner. Kitty saw them being married and forming a team with the X-Men, while Bobby just ripped off the cartoon loosely based off the series.
In the end they all feel like doing something good in Peter’s name and goes to the Mission to give to those in need and there is a lot of people after Galactus showed up and ate New Jersey. When they get done the group parts, with Ganke getting another kiss (go Ganke!), Kitty being escorted by Kong, Jessica taking Lana home, Liz, Bobby, and Johnny taking flight, and it ends with Gwen and MJ hugging while a mysterious person watches from the shadows.
Okay, review time.
This…this is a damn good issue, a tribute to Peter Parker even after his death. The art, the story, all of it was perfect. For once I have no complaints and can’t wait for the first issue in Miles’ new series.
It’s not a 5 out of 5, it’s a damn 10 out of 5, 200% and a must buy.
Superior Spider-Man #28 Review
THE WILD CARD APPEARS!
Well, it’s going down as the Green Goblin has declared war on the Superior Spider-Man in issue #28, so let’s get it on.
The comic begins with civilians in the distance watching Spider-Island burn as the attack begins. The Green Goblin gave him a chance to join up, but since he refused all he can do is retreat or die, which he reluctantly does after his favorite henchmen, #23, gets killed off in an explosion while the rest of the Spiderlings up top are getting slaughtered. He orders the ones still alive to hold the line while he escapes with his robot, so they’re all dead I’m sure.
Inside his noggin we have Peter Parker, who tried hiding in his memories and got sucked into seeing just what type of life Otto has lived. An abusive father and a smothering mother, bullies outside and only science as a bastion against the world, it’s really no wonder he turned into a villain. But for all their similarities, Peter had Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and that allows him to hold onto his sense of self as he continues to ride out Otto’s memories…for now.
Back to the Goblins, they destroyed Spider-Island in less than ten pages and the Goblin King has come in for a report. When they report Otto has gone missing, he’s not really worried since he knows his every weakness and orders his men to seek out the people important to him in order to draw him out. Namely the people important to Spider-Man, since he doesn’t know that Otto is wearing Peter Parker’s skin, as you may recall when he first got his hands on the journal and questioned Carlie one it.
At Alchemax, Mayor Jameson has called together the media and informed them that he’s transformed the Anti-Spider Patrol into Goblin Slayers, to which MJ states he’s out of his mind from her living room. She’s with her new boyfriend, who isn’t part of the inner circle, so he doesn’t see why it’s a bad thing. Before she can explain why, the little goblin kids who threw her off a roof and then bombed her club make a third play for her and she busts out the web-shooters.
MJ proved goddamn genre savvy after being the damsel in distress enough. She knows what’s going on and knows what her role in this is, the Wild Card. So the first damn thing she going to do is remove all the pieces off the board.
Back to Otto, he finally arrives at Parker Industries, where his partner is waiting and furious that he’s been missing for a month and tells him the police have been harassing them since Carlie went missing. That’s when Wraith showed up and tried to make him talk, but he knows about her tricks with fear gas and lets her get knocked out by Carlie, who has arrived for him just as a couple of the Ninja Goblins try to kidnap Aunt May and Jay Jameson, only for them to have been take away to safety by MJ already as Peter Parker loses himself in the memories of Otto in the mindscape.
Carlie chases Otto around, making it clear she knows who he is without saying his name as she cuts through the robot butler and defense system of mechanical tentacles. To this end he splits up with Sanji Jaffrey and confronts her alone, willing to defend his legacy now that Spider-Island is gone and kill all the Goblins. Luckily he kicks her right in the earpiece, which allows them to talk in private. Carlie reveals she’s still somewhat sane and needs Otto’s help in holding onto it before she loses control again, cryptically mentioning that he has no idea what the Goblin King has in store for him and the world.
As the comic ends, we see that Carlie’s sister was the only one who managed to get a piece on the board as she finds and kidnaps Anna Maria without her even knowing it by claiming to have been sent by MJ to retrieve her….crap…
Okay, review time.
So the plot moves again as Otto’s first line of defense has been breached. We see a good portion of the people who have been involved in Otto’s time as Spider-Man acting reasonable with more on the way, including MJ doing a magnificent job as the Wild Card. As for Carlie and Anna…well, damn. One’s going to have to live with the fact that she has killed people while on the Goblin Formula, so I feel bad for her, and the other is getting the Gwen Stacy treatment like I feared because the Goblin King wasn’t an idiot. I’ll give the dude credit, he plays hardball.
The art didn’t pop as much as it did in the past, at least to me, but the darker tone probably matches the mood as this is taking a dark turn already. So I won’t hold it against the artist.
A perfect, must have issue that gets a 5 out of 5.
Twilit Dreams Circle 