David Santee
Mar 26, 2004, 06:40 am
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ultspiderman55.jpg " target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/ultspiderman55t.jpg " align=left alt="Ultimate Spider-Man #55"></a>Reviewer: David Santee, davesantee@hotmail.com
Quick Rating: Great
Story Title: Hollywood: Part 2
As Gwen deal with the death of her father, Doc Ock stops by the movie set to have a little ‘talk’ with the ex.
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciled by: Mark Bagley
Inked by: Art Thibert
Colors by: J. D. Smith
Letters by: Chris Eliopoulos
Assistant Editor: Nick Lowe
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
The second issue of the five part tie-in to this summer’s Spider-Man 2 movie has been a pleasant surprise. When I first read the blurbs about this arc, I just couldn’t see how this could be good. A tie-in with this summer’s movie? Lame! But instead of the rip-off most movie tie-ins are, we’ve gotten a complex study of two important people in Pete’s life, Gwen Stacy and Dr. Octopus, a look at one of the bit players, and the first appearance in of a very influential villain. If this arc continues at this excellent rate, it will top my list as my favorite comic book tie in. I admit it is a very short list, but an elite one! (http://www.billandted.org/pics/comics/comicbj.jpg)
Gwen Stacy and the progression of grief over her loss of her father is one of the major themes of this arc. I am not the biggest fan of Gwen, but I’m glad Bendis is spending some time developing her beyond just possibly somebody Pete dates in the future. Issue #54 saw her grow as a character by examining her relationship with Peter and Aunt May, while #55 saw her express her grief through anger.
Bendis’ version of Otto Octavius just gets creepier. His little ‘talks’ with his arms are some of the most entertaining psychotic episodes since Smegol’s discussion with Gollum in LOTR: The Two Towers. What really makes the scene is that ‘Otto’ knows that it is in his best interest to lay low, yet the ‘Arms’ want to seek revenge on Peter Parker and Roselita Octavius. ‘Otto’ is the superego, to the ‘arms’ id.
Any issue with a scene involving Kong automatically, in my modest opinion, is a better book. Bendis has taken the usual school bully and made a complex character of him. He’s stepped out of the roll of Flash’s toady to a point where I am enjoying seeing his abused soul get a little satisfaction from just one line in the movie. At some point I would love to see what Bendis could do with an arc or mini-series just on the high school.
Issue #55 sees the introduction of another classic villain that is . I won’t spoil who, because I don’t want to destroy the surprise, but after reading the scene, I have to wonder how Bendis is going to handle this character, even if he handles it at all. Bendis obviously has favorites when it comes to Spider-man’s rogue’s gallery. Green Goblin and Doc Ock have both benefited from Bendis’ favor, while such perennial villains like Shocker, Electro, and the Enforcers, have become complete jokes. The new villian’s introduction is completely open, yet I fear that already a fan favorite may join that joke group. On the other hand, it is so appropriate that this particular villain is introduced in this particular arc. At the very least, his choice of actor to play this part is brilliant. Hail to the King, Baby! Sony, if you won’t use the jail break scene from last issuein Spider-Man 3, then at least think about using Bendis’ choice for the villain.
There are some points to this issue that I must criticize. For the second issue in a row, S.H.I.E.L.D. is shown to be a bunch of idiots. Last issues lack of security guarding Ock’s arms was topped in this issue. One just doesn’t flood an area with black vans when one is trying to keep an eye on our favorite web-head’s house. I understand Bendis has to get out the fact that Gwen can spot the surveillance, but Gwen is the daughter of a police officer, you would think that she wouldn’t need such obvious signs. These are suspose to be professionals. Another minor point is the final splash page. I think there should be a moratorium on having creepy villains start up a conversation with the the hero with the line “Mr. Parker…”. Let’s let the Matrix clichés rest for a while, O.K? Whenever I hear or read that, I keep imagining Hugo Weaving, morphing from Agent Smith to Elrond. It’s a great cliffhanger, and sets up the next issue brilliantly, but by using that cliché, much of the impact of the scene is lost. Another minor irritant is Otto’s choice of couture. The trench coat, in both the movie previews and in this book, just doesn’t look very good on a man who walks around on four metal arms. I certainly don’t need the return of the green spandex body suit, but that duster has to go. These are real small and minor points, but they did distract me from an otherwise magnificent story. The only more infuriating item are those silly cards advertising those Saturday morning cartoons. Ugh! My biggest problem with the direction this book is heading is that everybody seems to know Spider-Man’s alter-ego. MJ, Professor X and all the X-Men, S.H.I.E.L.D, and now all the members of the Ultimate Sinister Six, including Doc Ock, all know Peter is Spider-Man. With that many possible leaks, it is incredible that the knowledge hasn’t become public. In Just fifty-five issues of Ultimate Spider-Man, more people know who Spider-Man is than the combined total of people who know after thousands of issues of comics in the regular universe.
Bagley yet again shows why he is the premier talent at Marvel. He handles the mercurial moods of Doc Ock with ease, while giving us a treat in the action scenes involving Ock’s arms. He moves Gwen through grief to anger over her father’s death. He even gives us an excellent shot of…..nope…ain’t gonna tell you. If you want to know who makes an appearance, you will just have to read down and check out the posts. I’m sure somebody will put the character’s name in spoiler brackets. The splash page at the end of the issue needs to be made into a poster, provided the cliché and trench coat can be removed.
So far, this arc has not only set me up for an excellent fight issue in two weeks, but it has wetted my appetite for the movie. If Doc Ock is half as demented in the movie as Bendis and Bagley make him out to be in this issue, then I will be very happy. If you are looking for something to keep yourself satified until June 30th, then Dr. Dave prescribes an issue of Ultimate Spider-Man, once or twice a month. Even if you are opposed to the whole concept of the Ultimate Universe, I believe that this book is the strongest material Marvel is producing that is tying into the movie.
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpg
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpg
OVERALL:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-WORLD and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopexd.asp?id=10512)
Quick Rating: Great
Story Title: Hollywood: Part 2
As Gwen deal with the death of her father, Doc Ock stops by the movie set to have a little ‘talk’ with the ex.
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciled by: Mark Bagley
Inked by: Art Thibert
Colors by: J. D. Smith
Letters by: Chris Eliopoulos
Assistant Editor: Nick Lowe
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
The second issue of the five part tie-in to this summer’s Spider-Man 2 movie has been a pleasant surprise. When I first read the blurbs about this arc, I just couldn’t see how this could be good. A tie-in with this summer’s movie? Lame! But instead of the rip-off most movie tie-ins are, we’ve gotten a complex study of two important people in Pete’s life, Gwen Stacy and Dr. Octopus, a look at one of the bit players, and the first appearance in of a very influential villain. If this arc continues at this excellent rate, it will top my list as my favorite comic book tie in. I admit it is a very short list, but an elite one! (http://www.billandted.org/pics/comics/comicbj.jpg)
Gwen Stacy and the progression of grief over her loss of her father is one of the major themes of this arc. I am not the biggest fan of Gwen, but I’m glad Bendis is spending some time developing her beyond just possibly somebody Pete dates in the future. Issue #54 saw her grow as a character by examining her relationship with Peter and Aunt May, while #55 saw her express her grief through anger.
Bendis’ version of Otto Octavius just gets creepier. His little ‘talks’ with his arms are some of the most entertaining psychotic episodes since Smegol’s discussion with Gollum in LOTR: The Two Towers. What really makes the scene is that ‘Otto’ knows that it is in his best interest to lay low, yet the ‘Arms’ want to seek revenge on Peter Parker and Roselita Octavius. ‘Otto’ is the superego, to the ‘arms’ id.
Any issue with a scene involving Kong automatically, in my modest opinion, is a better book. Bendis has taken the usual school bully and made a complex character of him. He’s stepped out of the roll of Flash’s toady to a point where I am enjoying seeing his abused soul get a little satisfaction from just one line in the movie. At some point I would love to see what Bendis could do with an arc or mini-series just on the high school.
Issue #55 sees the introduction of another classic villain that is . I won’t spoil who, because I don’t want to destroy the surprise, but after reading the scene, I have to wonder how Bendis is going to handle this character, even if he handles it at all. Bendis obviously has favorites when it comes to Spider-man’s rogue’s gallery. Green Goblin and Doc Ock have both benefited from Bendis’ favor, while such perennial villains like Shocker, Electro, and the Enforcers, have become complete jokes. The new villian’s introduction is completely open, yet I fear that already a fan favorite may join that joke group. On the other hand, it is so appropriate that this particular villain is introduced in this particular arc. At the very least, his choice of actor to play this part is brilliant. Hail to the King, Baby! Sony, if you won’t use the jail break scene from last issuein Spider-Man 3, then at least think about using Bendis’ choice for the villain.
There are some points to this issue that I must criticize. For the second issue in a row, S.H.I.E.L.D. is shown to be a bunch of idiots. Last issues lack of security guarding Ock’s arms was topped in this issue. One just doesn’t flood an area with black vans when one is trying to keep an eye on our favorite web-head’s house. I understand Bendis has to get out the fact that Gwen can spot the surveillance, but Gwen is the daughter of a police officer, you would think that she wouldn’t need such obvious signs. These are suspose to be professionals. Another minor point is the final splash page. I think there should be a moratorium on having creepy villains start up a conversation with the the hero with the line “Mr. Parker…”. Let’s let the Matrix clichés rest for a while, O.K? Whenever I hear or read that, I keep imagining Hugo Weaving, morphing from Agent Smith to Elrond. It’s a great cliffhanger, and sets up the next issue brilliantly, but by using that cliché, much of the impact of the scene is lost. Another minor irritant is Otto’s choice of couture. The trench coat, in both the movie previews and in this book, just doesn’t look very good on a man who walks around on four metal arms. I certainly don’t need the return of the green spandex body suit, but that duster has to go. These are real small and minor points, but they did distract me from an otherwise magnificent story. The only more infuriating item are those silly cards advertising those Saturday morning cartoons. Ugh! My biggest problem with the direction this book is heading is that everybody seems to know Spider-Man’s alter-ego. MJ, Professor X and all the X-Men, S.H.I.E.L.D, and now all the members of the Ultimate Sinister Six, including Doc Ock, all know Peter is Spider-Man. With that many possible leaks, it is incredible that the knowledge hasn’t become public. In Just fifty-five issues of Ultimate Spider-Man, more people know who Spider-Man is than the combined total of people who know after thousands of issues of comics in the regular universe.
Bagley yet again shows why he is the premier talent at Marvel. He handles the mercurial moods of Doc Ock with ease, while giving us a treat in the action scenes involving Ock’s arms. He moves Gwen through grief to anger over her father’s death. He even gives us an excellent shot of…..nope…ain’t gonna tell you. If you want to know who makes an appearance, you will just have to read down and check out the posts. I’m sure somebody will put the character’s name in spoiler brackets. The splash page at the end of the issue needs to be made into a poster, provided the cliché and trench coat can be removed.
So far, this arc has not only set me up for an excellent fight issue in two weeks, but it has wetted my appetite for the movie. If Doc Ock is half as demented in the movie as Bendis and Bagley make him out to be in this issue, then I will be very happy. If you are looking for something to keep yourself satified until June 30th, then Dr. Dave prescribes an issue of Ultimate Spider-Man, once or twice a month. Even if you are opposed to the whole concept of the Ultimate Universe, I believe that this book is the strongest material Marvel is producing that is tying into the movie.
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpg
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpg
OVERALL:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-WORLD and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopexd.asp?id=10512)