Ultimate Spider-Man: Death of Spider-Man


By Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley, Andy Lanning, Andrew Hennessey & various (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN: 978-1-84653-498-0

There’s no way around this and Spoiler-Warnings are pointless so you’ll just have to bear up. It even made the papers…

The Ultimate Comics Spider-Man dies. It says so on the cover. However Writer Brian Michael Bendis and returning artist Mark Bagley end the adventures and young adventurer they began in 2000 in a spectacular, thoroughly action-packed and deeply moving manner and Marvel promises that a new hero will arise from the ashes of this tale…

Marvel’s Ultimates imprint began in 2000 with major characters and concepts re-imagined to bring them into line with the tastes of modern readers – a different market from the baby-boomers and their descendents content to stick with the delights sprung from founding talents Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Stan Lee – or possibly – one unable or unwilling to deal with the five decades (seven if you include the Golden Age Timely tales retroactively co-opted into the mix) of continuity baggage conglomerated around the originals.

Eventually this darkly nihilistic alternate universe became as continuity-constricted as its predecessor and in 2008 the cleansing event “Ultimatum” culminated in a reign of terror which apparently (this is still comics, after all) killed dozens of super-humans and millions of lesser mortals.

The era-ending event was a colossal tsunami which inundated Manhattan after which a number of new compendia continued the superhero soap-opera of young Peter Parker and his fellow survivors daily readjusting to a braver, cleaner new world.

Parker is the perennial hard-luck loser kid: a secretive yet brilliant geek just trying to get by in a world where daily education is infinitely more trouble than beating monsters and villains. Between High School and slinging fast food he still finds time to fight crime although his very public heroics during the crisis made him a beloved hero of police and citizenry alike – which is the creepiest thing he has ever endured.

He lives in a big house with his Aunt May and despite his low self-esteem has stellar lovelies like Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson and others seemingly hungry for his scrawny tuchus. He even briefly dated mutant babe Kitty Pride…

Many kids were homeless after the deluge, with schools and accommodation stretched to breaking point. May Parker opened her doors to a select band of orphaned super-kids like the Human Torch, Iceman and even Gwen, all living anonymously in the relatively unaffected borough of Queens.

Oversight agency S.H.I.E.L.D and their representatives Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, were assigned to teach Parker how to be a proper hero, whilst once-nemesis Jonah Jameson became an unexpected ally. With so many fortuitous events in place it could only be a prelude to disaster for the original hard luck hero…

This volume collects the five-part conclusion to the Ultimate Spider-Man saga from 2011 with issues #156-160 of the monthly comicbook and then defuses the tragedy somewhat by ending with a reprinting of the 2002 Ultimate Spider-Man Super Special.

The main story is basic, primal and unforgettable: Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, escapes from S.H.I.E.L.D. custody whilst the Ultimates and Avengers are otherwise occupied and, freeing fellow prisoners Electro, Doctor Octopus, Kraven the Hunter, Sandman and the Vulture – all of whom know Spider-Man’s civilian identity and address – rampage their way across New York determined to slaughter Parker and everyone who knows him.

After a cataclysmic conflict with echoes of Gotterdammerung and the fall of Beowulf the young warrior sacrifices everything and goes out the way a hero should…

Tense, breathtaking, evocative and even funny in the right places, this is the way a true champion should fight his final battle…

With a gallery of alternate covers by Kaare Andrews, Ed McGuiness & Morry Hollowell, Steve McNiven, Frank Cho, Michael Kaluta and Joe Quesada this epic volume concludes with a giant collaborative and life-affirming venture both in terms of Ultimate Comics co-stars and impressive guest artists from happier, more hopeful times.

Ultimate Spider-Man Super Special was basically a travelogue of the alternate Marvel Universe held together by Spider-Man examining his motives for being a hero. If you’re not that bothered by who drew things, feel free to skip the next paragraph and jump to the summing up.

Working on a pretty ultimate jam-session, a number of creators all drew a slice of the story. In order of presentation they were Alex Maleev, Dan Brereton, John Romita Sr. & Al Milgrom, Frank Cho, Jim Mahfood, Scott Morse, Craig Thompsom, Michael Avon Oeming, Jason Pearson, Sean Phillips, Mark Bagley & Rodney Ramos, Bill Sienkiewicz, P. Craig Russell, Jacen Burrows & Walden Wong, Leonard Kirk & Terry Pallot, Dave Gibbons, Michael Gaydos, James Kochalka, David Mack, Brett Weldele, Ashly Wood and Art Thibert illustrating cameos from the other Blade the Vampire Hunter, Elektra, Daredevil, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Human Torch, the Ultimates/Avengers, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Black Widow, S.H.I.E.L.D., X-Men, Wolverine and Punisher.

Although not the edgiest of tales or most effective in respect of story-telling, the bold creative choices make it an art connoisseur’s delight and, of course, most dyed-in-the-woollen-long-johns comics fans will love all the hitting and kicking.

Comics as a medium and superheroes as a genre are infamous for raising the dead, so if you are inconsolable about the demise of a minor legend there’s comfort to be had there, if you wish. However if you like a little closure with your drama and spectacle this is a modern epic to wallow in and thoroughly adore…

™ & © 2002 and 2011 Marvel & Subs. Licensed by Marvel Characters B.V. through Panini S.p.A., Italy. All rights reserved. A British Edition published by Panini UK, Ltd.