The single characteristic of the Ultimate Universe is a decompressed sense of storytelling, why tell a tale in one issue when you can spend six instead? That sort of thing. Granted, so far, it hasn’t annoyed me too much at all….. here’s another couple….

Ultimate Spider-Man #3

By Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli

By now, after reviews/mentions of #1 and #2, you should know the score here. 21 pages, not a lot happens. But we knew that from the original Ultimate Spider-Man series anyway, where Peter Parker didn’t don the suit till issue 7, so the fact that we’re up to issue 3 of this new series and we’re barely at the stage of finding out the new kid even has powers shouldn’t be much of a surprise.

And in truth, just like I talked about with issues 1 & 2, Bendis and Pichelli make the whole slow lead up a lot of fun to read anyway. There’s part of me enjoying this slow build up so much I could do without seeing the costume for a lot longer.

Quick recap – young Mile Morales gets bitten by a spider, “a stolen, genetically altered spider that gave him incredible arachnid powers“. So far poor Miles has kept the news from mom and dad, and confided in his brilliantly geeky, ever-so excited friend Ganke:

I’ve always enjoyed Bendis’ way with dialogue, although I will admit that there are times it just gets a little too clichéd, a “Bendis doing a Bendis” sort of thing. But not here, here he seems to get the mix just right, seems to get the kids to-and-fro stuff just right.

It’s great fun, and like I say, it was almost a disappointment towards the end when we realise we’re getting to the point where Miles realises he may be the only kid with Spider-Man powers, and the costume countdown clock starts ticking in my head. I hope, genuinely, that Bendis can keep the innocence and fun going when he has to throw the supervillains in the way.

Ultimate X-Men #2

By Nick Spencer, Paco Medina

So, here we go, complete mutant game changer dropped in the rather enjoyable issue 1 – mutants aren’t naturally occuring and turn out to have been created by some secret government project sort of thing. All the X-Men are on the run with Kitty Pryde, Iceman and The Human Torch in New York, Wolverine’s son on a roadtrip looking for dad, Fury is involved, Quicksilver turns up to offer his turncoat services to the US….

In the end, this reads as a very well done, very interesting superhero tale of old. It’s not as decompressed as the rest of the Ultimate line, and because we’re dealing with familiar themes from Claremont’s X-Men run (Sentinels chasing mutants, a world against them, potential internment – Days Of Future Past anyone?) plus the youngsters with some snappy banter going into battle, this feels really rather old-school. And that’s not a criticism. I say old-school, you should realise that means a load of fun, simple, superhero nonsense.

Sure, there’s a modern spin, and a brutality that would have been out of place back when I’m thinking of, but the theme, the tension, the lightness and the doomladen foreboding sense – pure Claremont-esque X-Men.

Very good stuff. Again, artwork doesn’t set my world alight, but doesn’t offend the eyes either. I’m enjoying this. Next issue, did Rogue really talk to God? And if she did, what’s he/she doing in a cave in Egypt?

I really enjoyed the first set last month (Ultimate Spider-Man #1, Ultimate X-Men #1, Ultimates #1, Ultimate Hawkeye #1&2), so here we go for a Spider-Man sans costume…. part 2.

Ultimate Spider-Man #2

By Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli

Slow and steady, slow and steady. See that picture of the costume above. That and the trailer for the cover of issue 3 right at the back is all your going to see of it. And, just like issue 1 and it’s near complete lack of Spider-Man, it doesn’t matter in the slightest.

In the first issue, very little  happened, but it did so in such style that it was a hugely enjoyable very little …. essentially young Miles Morales got bitten by a spider, recently escaped from a secret “lets try to make another Spider-Man” project run by Norm Osborne. It ended up in Mile’s neer do well uncle’s apartment, and by the end of the issue poor little Miles is wondering why the hell he seems to be turning slightly translucent.

This time round we do get to see Miles use a few of these new powers…. speed, agility, some kind of venom strike (handy for the neighbourhood bullies) and the chameleon effect again:

After that, it’s talk, talk, talk, talk…. a lot of this issue is a conversation between Milo and his dad talking about his Uncle, and just why his dad is forever in his debt and yet wants Milo as far away from him as possible. And the rest of the issue is the ongoing “what the hell is wrong with me” conversation between Milo and his best friend Ganke.

And they’re the highlight of the whole thing, with Gank proving himself every bit a science nerd, first thinking Milo’s a mutant, then digging a little deeper and coming up with this:

So, very little happens true. But like really good Bendis books of old, his dialogue is lovely, tone just right whether it’s the deep shame, difficult to get out confessional of his father , or the excited, need to figure it out chat between the friends.

It’s shaping up to be a real slow burn, and we’re lucky that Pichelli handles basic people sitting and talking very well, because I figure there’s a fair bit of it still to come. I’ve got no problem with that at all.

By Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli

I remember when the first issue of Ultimate Spider-Man came out in 2000. The whole let’s start everything from scratch and tell all these great stories again idea was fresh and exciting. Like the rest of the Ultimate line from Marvel Comics it really flourished for a time, but then managed to get itself bogged down in stupid continuity, daft crossovers and increasingly silly stories. So, pretty much like the regular Marvel Universe.

Now we’re seeing the whole thing start up again. I’ve already looked at The Ultimates and its spin-off mini-series Ultimate Hawkeye. But this is the one they’re all talking about, this is the big news story of a comic. Or at least it was until DC did that whole New 52 thing.

I finally got around to reading it. And it’s good. It’s very good. Reminds me of Bendis starting out the first time round with Peter Parker. Just as then, he’s taking this one slowly, introducing the whole storyline gradually. This isn’t going to be a sudden, let’s get this kid into costume and fighting crime, spinning a web any size, sort of thing. It’s more a meet and greet. Hell, so far, one issue in poor little Miles has only just been bitten by the radioactive (or whatever) spider. Heaven knows when Bendis will get him dressed up properly. It took about 7 issues the first time around.

And I like that. I like that we’re more interested, for now, with the young kid who’ll eventually be the face behind the mask. It’s why so many young Marvel fans really got into Spider-Man in the first place – the thrill of seeing some young kid, a little geeky, science-smart, socially inept, get great powers and still have trouble at school with the other kids, and still be incapable of getting a date. That’s what made Peter Parker a favourite. The Spider-Man thing was the extra.

Bendis seems to be following the right path so far. Hey, it’s early days, but lets play along. The spider-formula gets introduced courtesy of a very, very insane Norman Osborn shortly before his secret is out. In a lovely nod to Douglas Adams – the spider is experimental sample 42, and it scuttles around Oscorp for a while before it finds its way into a prowler’s bag and out the door. The prowler just happens to be the uncle of Miles Morales. A wrong place, several wrong times sort of thing.

Then it’s into the harried, hassled life of Miles Morales, the young man who all the newspapers have been talking about recently. Half Black, half Hispanic. I saw all the fuss and just wondered why they made such a big deal. It doesn’t matter. I love that it’s so empowering, I love the story that Bendis did it to give his own adopted kids a role model. But all the fuss over it, all those idiots coming out the woodwork to condemn the destruction of their Spider-Man. Please. Get over it. Whatever (and countless other stupid sayings my daughter loves to annoy me with every single bloody day).

Miles Morales is perfect in the role. He’s got the youth, he’s got the problems. I imagine these problems are only going to get worse when he finds his place in that new school his parents (particularly pushy mom) have manoeuvred him into (and it’s ridiculous lottery entry system throws up another “42″ – Bendis trying to tell us something or just enjoying sticking a little Adams in again?). He’s going to be really bad with the girls. And then there’s this whole spider problem……

Although for now, I imagine young Miles just wants to get home, and lie down. He’s having a really weird sort of day.

Bendis does great stuff here. Sara Pichelli’s art looks very nice indeed, very much in the spirit of the Ultimate line, that kind of thin pencil line, digital (maybe?) inking process. But her figures look natural, maybe a little too perfect yet, but her Miles certainly looks every bit the part – meaning he doesn’t look anything like a superhero. And that’s exactly how Spider-Man should be. A welcome, a worthy, and hopefully a very long-lived addition to the Marvel Universe.

by Bendis, Lafuente (Spider-Man), Millar, Pacheco, Miki (Avengers)

Marvel Comics

I really haven’t followed what’s been going on in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe for quite a while. In fact, aside from the odd Ellis written thing, the last time I visited the Ultimate Universe was Ultimates Volume 3 #1, the abysmal comic by Loeb and Madureira. And my parting shot on that one was this: “Ultimates Volume 3. Let’s all pretend it doesn’t exist. Maybe we can wish it out of existence.”

Well, essentially, that’s what seems to have happened here. Because it seems that Ultimates Volume 3 and the subsequent Ultimatum series can be quickly and simply referred to as the huge event that wiped out most of Manhattan and a goodly number of superheroes along the way after Magneto got pissed about his children being killed. And if that sounds callous try reading the summary of Ultimatum on Wikipedia like I just did, seems Jeff Loeb’s got more than enough callous and gratuitousness for all of us. (And I know just looking it up on Wikipedia is hardly good research but you really couldn’t afford what I’d charge to actually read Ultimatum.)

So Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Spider-Man just pick up where they left off, 3 weeks and six months later respectively. There’s a few less heroes and New York looks a bit different, but that’s about it. Thank God. Because when the Ultimate Universe idea first started I really enjoyed these modern, accessible tales of Marvels icons. Worked a treat at getting new readers on board as well as I recall. Ultimate Spider-Man catered for a younger audience unwilling to trawl through decades of stories and who wanted just those key elements of Peter Parker that they’d discovered through the films. And Ultimates was essentially Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch doing the big widescreen cinematic style comic where the heroes got to be a little more edgy and nasty than usual. Both worked, at least at first. Ultimate Spider-Man I gave up on after the first few volumes, as it became more and more confusing and apathy on my part set in. Ultimates I enjoyed right through Millar’s first two volumes.

(The new Ultimate Spider-Man – same as the old Ultimate Spider-Man really. From Ultimate Spider-Man #1, art by David Lafuente)

Which means in Ultimate Spider-Man we’re back to Peter Parker, the 16 year old kid, Aunt May, Gwen Stacey, MJ and the rest, all picking themselves up after the devastation that’s mentioned a few times and then exists as merely the new status quo, with Spidey a genuine hero of the city following his rescue efforts.

And in Ultimate Avengers it’s like Millar never went away. Straight away we’re back to the basics of what made The Ultimates great: Nick Fury (no longer SHIELD boss, but still with a role to play), being recruited by Hawkeye into a black ops team to stop a rogue Captain America. Cue flashback to last mission where Hawkeye and Captain America are taking down some AIM goons. Iron Man was meant to be there, but depression and alcohol got in the way.

(The new Ultimates. Pretty much the same as the old Ultimates. Except this time they’re called Ultimate Avengers. And the art isn’t as good as Bryan Hitch’s. From Ultimate Avengers # 1, art by Carlos Pacheco.)

Both issues set up the storylines nicely, both introduce the big bad guy at the end, both reintroduce us to the cast of characters from before. And both are incredibly quick reads. Okay, perhaps that’s what I should have expected, but these comics are $4 / £3 each. And that works out to about £1 a minute or £60 an hour. When the comics are costing about the same as my plumber there’s something horribly wrong.

But despite the expense and lack of value, the actual comics themselves are pretty good returns to form. Both writers are just doing what they always did, although I couldn’t help thinking that Millar’s voice on Ultimate Avengers seemed just a little tired and old now. (Maybe widescreen superhero action is so last year?) As for the artists, they all hold up well. Lafuente’s Spider-Man pages are nice but nothing too dazzling and Pacheco was never going to outdo Bryan Hitch, but what is on show does actually look quite pretty.

They’re both certainly good enough that I can see myself paying enough attention to both to pick up the first collections in a few months time. Next up in the new Ultimate Universe is Warren Ellis’ 4 issue series Ultimate Armor Wars. Ellis writing a drunk, obnoxious Iron Man. Seems perfect.

Marvel Comics Ultimate Universe. Kind of nice to have it back.

Richard Bruton.