Stephanie Kay
Oct 13, 2007, 10:42 pm
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/4images/details.php?image_id=10265" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/marvel/ultspiderman102t.jpg" hspace=10 align=left alt=" Ultimate Spider-Man #102"></a>Reviewer: Mike Sangregorio, darquehex@aol.com
Story Title: Clone Saga: Part 6
You may be the next Captain America. Can you imagine? An army of a hundred, two hundred Spider-Men launching a ground assault?
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inks: Drew Hennessy
Colors: Justin Ponsor
Letters: VC’s Cory Petit
Associate Editor: John Barber
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor in Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published by: Marvel Comics (http://www.marvel.com)
After one hundred plus issues, you’d think it would be difficult to believe that everything since Ultimate Spider-Man’s inception has only been a few months worth of time in continuity. Then you step back and realize that Brian Michael Bendis, an avid proponent of the idea that “deconstructive storytelling” is an ill-defined myth in his work, and realize that the eight issues which comprise the Clone Saga will probably only encompass one day in Peter Parker’s life. For better or worse this makes for an interesting frame of reference in which to tell a story. The story so far has included Aunt May kicking Peter out of the house after he revealed his secret identity to her, her having a heart attack, his ex-girlfriend having been kidnapped, his other kind-of-ex-girlfriend apparently coming back from the dead and turning into Carnage, his being cloned and let us not forget that his father is also alive and well working for some generic branch of the CIA. Oh yeah, and Nicky Fury had a Spider-Slayer hissy fit on his front lawn. Good times!
Still, this arc has been filled with promise from the start, having wrapped up many dangling plot threads that were buried amongst often confusing, yet seemingly trademarked, dialogue. I also enjoyed marveling at Mark Bagley’s work. He’s come a long way since Maximum Carnage but, really, not as far as I think he could have come since his days on Thunderbolts. Bagley is known for his unique style and ability to meet deadlines but the quality of his art may have suffered from his stagnation. He has drawn the Webslinger for so much of his career. Feel free to check out some of his later work on Thunderbolts, around the “Scourge” storyline. He was trying new things and going outside the box there, but here he simply draws the same mopey Peter Parker face with varying levels of shade across it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed his run, I just have to wonder as to what he else he could have accomplished if he spent more time outside the world of the webs. Maybe we’ll get the chance. Hey Marvel, let’s see Bagley draw Nextwave!
This issue, part 6 of 8, reveals that Cassandra Webb was going to psychically convince the female clone of Peter Parker that she was actually a super-soldier named Jessica Drew. She was then going to work for the government as codename Spider-Woman. I don’t know what to make of that. Is it crafty? Is it proof that Bendis does not actually like 616-Spider-Woman at all? Is it one more forced excuse to have every single arachnid themed character of Marvel’s show up before issue 104? Yes to all of that, but still “it seems like a good idea.”
On another note, something of an epiphany did occur to me while reading this issue. Usually when I read an issue of USM I nod my head and say “ok, I like the idea of the story” without having any real desire to re-read the issue or rave about it to my friends. One scene finally codified that mild wave of vague indifference for me. Ultimate Spider-Woman (who is both Peter Parker and Jessica Drew…wait for it) and a costume-less Peter Parker are sitting on top of a speeding truck with their mouths open in teen ridden angst and eyes closed in one last act of emo-y defiance. He’s telling her about his day and she’s complaining about not only being a female with the memories of a boy (she was cloned from him, after all) and at the same time is aware that she has only been alive for around a month. Reading this it just became apparent, even though I guess I always knew the truth: This kid annoys the ever loving hell out of me.
I know that we all love Peter Parker. He’s the classic hard case, and Bendis has not pulled any punches over his run. Even when Peter finally got to nail an X-Woman, he was captured by Deadpool and air-dropped onto Genosha to be hunted on live TV. By accident. Not to say that I t want Peter to be the recipient of nothing but good things in his life. Even if you like New Avengers, it was hard for me to continue reading Amazing Spider-Man when Peter was living in Stark Tower and Aunt May was dating Jarvis. Things were too good for him.
Yes, Ultimate Peter has his jokes too, but he complains more than any other fictional character I have ever read. Really go back and read some of the arcs. This kid is at times a pastiche of 616-Peter, with the over dramatization. Maybe Bendis wants to enhance the teenage drama of the book, but I just want Ultimate Scarlet Spider to show up and kick him in the mouth. Maybe that’s just me. For those of you saying that there will never be a hooded-sweatshirt wearing ultimate clone, I have to agree with you. We do get Ultimate Tarantula whose takedown of Ultimate Kaine (You hoodie-haters do know who that is, right?) is more than a little reminiscent of him.
This issue also has the various subplots of the Clone Saga try desperately to collide in an attempt to not have the plot develop any further over the next two issues, so that there can be even more exposition! We do get a glimpse of Oz-infected-super-powered-naked-and-furry Mary Jane Watson and Spider-Man taking on his erstwhile clone in one hit wonder of a brawl. One more thing, we also get the return of Ultimate Ben Reilly.
I’m a big fan of the original Ben Reilly. He was one of my favorite characters and his presence helped convince me to read comics on a monthly basis. Looking back it is easy to see why he has yet to make a true return. In the ideal sense, Ben, whose first name was taken from Uncle Ben Parker and whose last name was taken from May Reilly Parker thus making the ultimate version nonsensical, was everything Peter could never become. His powers were not a burden to him. He had hit rock bottom already, as a fake person that had all the memories of a life he technically never lived. In time in became the type of guy you could see hanging in the back of a Fight Club. He had nothing you could take away from him, and nothing to want for.
After returning to a life that was never really his, when his Aunt May was on her death bed, Ben never left the city, having been impaled by Norman Osborn several in-continuity-months after his return. The story he was the centerpiece of was handled and received so poorly that it facilitated the return of the original Green Goblin and subsequently made him into Spider-Man’s primary enemy. Go back and think about it. Before Peter Parker Spider-Man #75, what was Norman known for? Pretty much just killing Gwen Stacy.
As important an event as that was, look at what has been credited to his name since then in stories such as “Sins of the Past” and Mark Millar’s “Marvel Knights Spider-Man”. We can look at the movies and the ultimate line for further proof. Maybe he was always destined for greatness (I know I can’t wait to see him leading the aforementioned Thunderbolts) or maybe his fame was an accident brought about by the return of the clone no one cared for.
Back to the story at hand, it turns out that it was Ultimate Ben who gave the CIA Parker’s blood to clone in the first place. His blood, by the way, would not have provided his clones with his memories. Both in the original story and today a sample of Peter Parker’s irradiated blood has caused numerous super-powered people to show up with dead-on recollections of what Aunt May’s wheatcakes taste like. In the 1970s they may not have known any actual science but Brian Michael often tells his fans of his readings into genetics to back his story up. Did I miss something? I guess this is forgivable, seeing as how we accept the “genetically altered spider.”
Now, you may be asking how Kaine got his hands on the Oz to mess with MJ’s DNA? You’re going to have to read and find out! Or just check the solicitations for the next issue. At the point I’m too confused to care. This issue wasn’t bad, but stick around for the next arc when the Ultimate Knights show up in what will hopefully be more than just “a good idea.”
OVERALL:
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Buy Ultimate Spider-Man online now from X-World and save! ( http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=77&cat=ULTIMATE+SPIDER%2DMAN)
Story Title: Clone Saga: Part 6
You may be the next Captain America. Can you imagine? An army of a hundred, two hundred Spider-Men launching a ground assault?
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inks: Drew Hennessy
Colors: Justin Ponsor
Letters: VC’s Cory Petit
Associate Editor: John Barber
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor in Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published by: Marvel Comics (http://www.marvel.com)
After one hundred plus issues, you’d think it would be difficult to believe that everything since Ultimate Spider-Man’s inception has only been a few months worth of time in continuity. Then you step back and realize that Brian Michael Bendis, an avid proponent of the idea that “deconstructive storytelling” is an ill-defined myth in his work, and realize that the eight issues which comprise the Clone Saga will probably only encompass one day in Peter Parker’s life. For better or worse this makes for an interesting frame of reference in which to tell a story. The story so far has included Aunt May kicking Peter out of the house after he revealed his secret identity to her, her having a heart attack, his ex-girlfriend having been kidnapped, his other kind-of-ex-girlfriend apparently coming back from the dead and turning into Carnage, his being cloned and let us not forget that his father is also alive and well working for some generic branch of the CIA. Oh yeah, and Nicky Fury had a Spider-Slayer hissy fit on his front lawn. Good times!
Still, this arc has been filled with promise from the start, having wrapped up many dangling plot threads that were buried amongst often confusing, yet seemingly trademarked, dialogue. I also enjoyed marveling at Mark Bagley’s work. He’s come a long way since Maximum Carnage but, really, not as far as I think he could have come since his days on Thunderbolts. Bagley is known for his unique style and ability to meet deadlines but the quality of his art may have suffered from his stagnation. He has drawn the Webslinger for so much of his career. Feel free to check out some of his later work on Thunderbolts, around the “Scourge” storyline. He was trying new things and going outside the box there, but here he simply draws the same mopey Peter Parker face with varying levels of shade across it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed his run, I just have to wonder as to what he else he could have accomplished if he spent more time outside the world of the webs. Maybe we’ll get the chance. Hey Marvel, let’s see Bagley draw Nextwave!
This issue, part 6 of 8, reveals that Cassandra Webb was going to psychically convince the female clone of Peter Parker that she was actually a super-soldier named Jessica Drew. She was then going to work for the government as codename Spider-Woman. I don’t know what to make of that. Is it crafty? Is it proof that Bendis does not actually like 616-Spider-Woman at all? Is it one more forced excuse to have every single arachnid themed character of Marvel’s show up before issue 104? Yes to all of that, but still “it seems like a good idea.”
On another note, something of an epiphany did occur to me while reading this issue. Usually when I read an issue of USM I nod my head and say “ok, I like the idea of the story” without having any real desire to re-read the issue or rave about it to my friends. One scene finally codified that mild wave of vague indifference for me. Ultimate Spider-Woman (who is both Peter Parker and Jessica Drew…wait for it) and a costume-less Peter Parker are sitting on top of a speeding truck with their mouths open in teen ridden angst and eyes closed in one last act of emo-y defiance. He’s telling her about his day and she’s complaining about not only being a female with the memories of a boy (she was cloned from him, after all) and at the same time is aware that she has only been alive for around a month. Reading this it just became apparent, even though I guess I always knew the truth: This kid annoys the ever loving hell out of me.
I know that we all love Peter Parker. He’s the classic hard case, and Bendis has not pulled any punches over his run. Even when Peter finally got to nail an X-Woman, he was captured by Deadpool and air-dropped onto Genosha to be hunted on live TV. By accident. Not to say that I t want Peter to be the recipient of nothing but good things in his life. Even if you like New Avengers, it was hard for me to continue reading Amazing Spider-Man when Peter was living in Stark Tower and Aunt May was dating Jarvis. Things were too good for him.
Yes, Ultimate Peter has his jokes too, but he complains more than any other fictional character I have ever read. Really go back and read some of the arcs. This kid is at times a pastiche of 616-Peter, with the over dramatization. Maybe Bendis wants to enhance the teenage drama of the book, but I just want Ultimate Scarlet Spider to show up and kick him in the mouth. Maybe that’s just me. For those of you saying that there will never be a hooded-sweatshirt wearing ultimate clone, I have to agree with you. We do get Ultimate Tarantula whose takedown of Ultimate Kaine (You hoodie-haters do know who that is, right?) is more than a little reminiscent of him.
This issue also has the various subplots of the Clone Saga try desperately to collide in an attempt to not have the plot develop any further over the next two issues, so that there can be even more exposition! We do get a glimpse of Oz-infected-super-powered-naked-and-furry Mary Jane Watson and Spider-Man taking on his erstwhile clone in one hit wonder of a brawl. One more thing, we also get the return of Ultimate Ben Reilly.
I’m a big fan of the original Ben Reilly. He was one of my favorite characters and his presence helped convince me to read comics on a monthly basis. Looking back it is easy to see why he has yet to make a true return. In the ideal sense, Ben, whose first name was taken from Uncle Ben Parker and whose last name was taken from May Reilly Parker thus making the ultimate version nonsensical, was everything Peter could never become. His powers were not a burden to him. He had hit rock bottom already, as a fake person that had all the memories of a life he technically never lived. In time in became the type of guy you could see hanging in the back of a Fight Club. He had nothing you could take away from him, and nothing to want for.
After returning to a life that was never really his, when his Aunt May was on her death bed, Ben never left the city, having been impaled by Norman Osborn several in-continuity-months after his return. The story he was the centerpiece of was handled and received so poorly that it facilitated the return of the original Green Goblin and subsequently made him into Spider-Man’s primary enemy. Go back and think about it. Before Peter Parker Spider-Man #75, what was Norman known for? Pretty much just killing Gwen Stacy.
As important an event as that was, look at what has been credited to his name since then in stories such as “Sins of the Past” and Mark Millar’s “Marvel Knights Spider-Man”. We can look at the movies and the ultimate line for further proof. Maybe he was always destined for greatness (I know I can’t wait to see him leading the aforementioned Thunderbolts) or maybe his fame was an accident brought about by the return of the clone no one cared for.
Back to the story at hand, it turns out that it was Ultimate Ben who gave the CIA Parker’s blood to clone in the first place. His blood, by the way, would not have provided his clones with his memories. Both in the original story and today a sample of Peter Parker’s irradiated blood has caused numerous super-powered people to show up with dead-on recollections of what Aunt May’s wheatcakes taste like. In the 1970s they may not have known any actual science but Brian Michael often tells his fans of his readings into genetics to back his story up. Did I miss something? I guess this is forgivable, seeing as how we accept the “genetically altered spider.”
Now, you may be asking how Kaine got his hands on the Oz to mess with MJ’s DNA? You’re going to have to read and find out! Or just check the solicitations for the next issue. At the point I’m too confused to care. This issue wasn’t bad, but stick around for the next arc when the Ultimate Knights show up in what will hopefully be more than just “a good idea.”
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/umfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/umfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/umfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/umnone.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/umnone.jpg
Buy Ultimate Spider-Man online now from X-World and save! ( http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=77&cat=ULTIMATE+SPIDER%2DMAN)