Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #23

Hey comic fans, JT here with my second review of the week, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man. In the last issue we saw Miles proclaim he would be "Spider-Man No More!" after losing his mother due to a battle with Venom. Let's see how Miles copes with no longer being the Web Slinger.

 Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #23

Summary: Surprisingly, this issue starts off a year after the Venom story arc. We quickly learn that Miles is older, taller, and looks more like Donald Glover. We also see that he's still afflicted by his mother's death due to him being Spidey, and we also learn he's dating a girl by the name of Katie Bishop. (Shout out to Hawkguy and Hawkeye!) We also see that Ganke hasn't changed much, as he's upset because he's missed out on Limited Edition Legos, and he's also waiting for Miles to take the mantle of Spider-Man once again, but Miles says he's done. Miles is thinking of telling Katie who he was and Ganke is against that idea, but the argument is cut short when he Miles gets a text from Jessica Drew asking where he is. Miles meets up with Jessica as she tries to give him something and asks when he's going to be ready to return, but Miles says he's done and she needs to respect that, before leaving. Miles heads home and meets with his dad, who seems way more calm and less uptight since losing his wife, Rio. They decide to go out for dinner, and when Miles heads to his room to get ready, he finds a briefcase on his bed. He opens it to find a new costume for him as well as some S.H.I.E.L.D. issued web shooters and a note that says "A year is a long time. How many people could you have saved? You fall off a horse, you get back on." Miles puts the suitcase up as Jessica Drew watches on from an outside rooftop. As Miles and his dad walk to a Chinese restaurant for dinner, they discuss the settlement their lawyer expects they'll get since Miles' mom was shot by an officer while trying to help people, and Jefferson is already planning to use it to pay for Miles' college and take a vacation. At the restaurant, Miles and Jefferson talk about Miles' girlfriend, as Jefferson says Miles' mom thought he and Ganke may have had something going on, not that there's anything wrong with that, when they're interrupted by the waitress, Gwen Stacy. Miles excuses himself and he and Gwen talk about how Miles has stopped texting her and if she needs help, she's there for him. Miles says okay, and his dad notices he's upset and asks if he wants to leave, and Miles says yes. They get ready to leave when Miles' spider-sense goes off and there's a huge explosion. Miles and Gwen run to the window and see Bombshell (throwback from Ultimate Spider-Man!) fighting with Cloak and Dagger!

Thoughts: Wow... I expected to be done with this series once "No More" started because that storyline seems rehashed and never lasts. But the idea to jump ahead a year was great, because now it seems like that decision was important, plus there's been so much character development and things we missed, I'm interested to see what happened. I loved seeing the change in Miles' demeanor, seeing how different Jefferson was after losing his wife, as he's clearly trying to be more of a friend to Miles and have a closer relationship. This is probably my favorite issue of this series in a while because everything feels so new and reinvigorated, plus Cloak and Dagger seemed pretty damn interesting here, and that's the first time I've EVER said that!

Score: 9/10

Best of the Rest! April 24th edition.

X here with the final Best of the Rest post of April.  Yep, we're almost in May!  Which is kind of surprising, because it seems like the winter JUST ended...  But yeah, summertime and all that stuff.  Anyway, this isn't a weather report, it's a comic post, so I should probably get to that.  As always, I'll toss a few thoughts on the various comics I picked up this week, followed by JT the Great, who will post a few reviews as well, only in blue text.  Um, other than that, get ready for a new Throwback Tuesday coming up tomorrow, typed up by none other than JT himself.  I'm sure he'll have something more to say on that coming up.  Okay, enough delaying, here's the first comic.

Teen Titans #19: Wonder Girl leads the Titans against Trigon, who's attacking New York.  This surprises Raven, since she was randomly brainwashing Beast Boy(seriously, where the hell did THAT come from?!), and hadn't been told an attack was coming.  Raven and Beast Boy join up with Trigon and attack the Titans, while Trigon gives Psimon(who was caught in the crossfire of this fight) enhanced powers.  The army shows up to deal with Trigon, and somehow this all leads to Psimon killing the army guys with a mind blast.  Trigon then magically disappears, while Raven seems pissed that he committed murder...  As for the Titans, they seem to think Trigon did all this to make them look bad in the court of public opinion...  First off, a confession...  I read this comic right after I read Young Avengers #4, and in plain English, the writing in YA makes this series look like crap.  Literal crap!  But, even if I hadn't read a series that's everything THIS series SHOULD be, I'd still call this issue garbage.  It made NO SENSE!!!  Trigon, the ruler of his own dimension, staged a fake attack on Earth to discredit the Titans?!  And Raven was angry that this led to murder?!  Wasn't she just mind controlling Tim a few issues back?!  In a battle between Trigon and the Titans, PSIMON is the guy who's instrumental in the finish?!  What the hell is wrong with Scott Lobdell?!?!?  Score: 3 out of 10.

Invincible #102: Thragg attacks Nolan, and we learn that Nolan was the rightful ruler of the Viltrumites by blood.  However, Nolan tries to tell Thragg that he has no interest in the throne.  That falls on deaf ears though, as Thragg is determined to kill Nolan.  However, the other Viltrumites randomly appear on the moon and attack Thragg, having heard his admission of guilt.  Nolan tells the Viltrumites to let Thragg go, and he takes over as their king.  Plus, Mark proposes to Eve.  What a weird issue...  SO MUCH happened!  I was chatting with JT, and he said it best, imagine if you missed this issue?!  You'd be SO lost come issue #103!  So yeah, Nolan is suddenly king of the Viltrumites(where did THAT come from!?) and Mark is getting married...  Okay then.  Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.

I, Vampire #19: Last issue!  Mary comes back to life empowered by Heaven(I think...) and helps Andrew defeat Cain and Lilith, as well as save the planet.  Cain ends up with Lucifer, who intends on tormenting him for the rest of time.  Tig is still alive(WHY?!?), and still evil, and leaves with another evil vampire.  Mary dies, having fulfilled what she had to do, and redeemed herself.  Andrew pledges to go after the evil vampires with his vampire dog.  I liked this issue.  Everything wrapped up kind of quick, but this was the last issue, and that happens in finales   I'll miss this series, and I'll definitely miss Andrew and Mary.  Joshua Hale Fialkov did a good job here giving us some interesting characters.  Score: 7 out of 10.

Morning Glories #26: So I was going to review this comic, but when I was done, I legit had no idea what I had just read...  And I don't mean in a "It sucked so bad I was confused" sort of way, I mean I literally don't know what I just read...  This is a series I should probably start reading 6 issues at a time instead of monthly, 'cause it's confusing as hell!  Score: NA

FF #6: Dragon Man realizes Bentley and Medusa are gone, so Scott sends She-Hulk and Ahura to inform the Inhumans.  Meanwhile, Scott and Darla humble the Yancy Street Gang.  This one ends with the Baxter Building being teleported to the Negative Zone.  I liked this issue.  It makes me feel like I kept the right Fantastic Four series.  I like the main characters, I finally like one of the kids(Ahura), and I'm hoping this Yancy Street Gang junk goes way on the back burner now.  Score: 7 out of 10.

A+X #7: First story sees Iron Man and Beast have to face an out of control Hulkbuster(that was reprogrammed by a slick Bruce Banner), while story #2 has Iceman and Thor battling Frost Giants.  Hey, you know what?  This issue?  It was actually GOOD!!  Like, both stories!  That may be the first time that's happened since this series kicked off!  I personally liked the Beast/Iron Man tale more, but both were solid, so hey, a win for this series!  Huzzah!  Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Injustice: Gods Among Us #4: This issue starts with Superman confronting Batman about not helping find his parents in the last issue, with Superman ripping the cowl off of Batman's face in a moment of rage. Their conversation ends when Aquaman starts attacking some hunters that are hunting whales. Green Lantern, Shazam and Wondy show up, but so do the Atlanteans, and they make the major mistake of attacking Wonder Woman. They engage in a fight which leads to Aquaman calling the Kraken to deal with his allies, but Superman shows up and makes Arthur call it off, while holding him by the neck. Aquaman calls it back but makes a power play bu having his forces stand at every beach around the world, to show Superman who runs the sea. Superman retaliates by having Hal encase Atlantis in an orb which Superman, Shazam and Wonder Woman lift and move to the Sahara desert. Well damn. Aquaman meets with Wonder Woman and agrees to pull his forces back if they return Atlantis, and asks her to tell Superman he's sorry about what happened with Lois. The issue ends with Wonder Woman telling Superman of Aquaman's deal, but not mentioning his condolences for Lois, further driving a wedge between the two men. I enjoyed this issue, it really goes a long way in showing how unreasonable Superman has become, how powerful Aquaman is, and how far this Wonder Woman will go to get what or should I say who she wants. Score: 8/10

Scarlet Spider #16: This issue opens with Madame Web, Julia Carpenter's letter to Kaine from a few issues back that he never received. It basically says he should leave and go to Mexico like he planned because "she" is going to kill everyone, whoever that is...maybe Aracely? The rest of this issue takes place at the Rodeo with Kaine and his wacky cast, with Kaine mistakenly hurting Annabelle's feelings by saying they can't be together. This is interrupted by a drunk hero-turned-villain named The Armadillo (Think Rhino...but as an Armadillo..) who shows up, breaks down the walls (Jericho style!) and cries about how his girlfriend, Daisy, left him. Scarlet Spider tries to stop his reign of terror by telling him he needs to let her go, because sadly the monster's never get to be with the girl, but she surprisingly runs up and takes him back, saying she didn't think he loved her anymore because he was distant. This inspires Kaine to try to be with Annabelle, which he does after knocking out her meathead ex-boyfriend and plants kiss on Annabelle, but unbeknownst to Kaine, Kraven and his daughter are watching from afar. The issue ends with a flashback to two days ago, as we see Annabelle burning the letter for Kaine from Julia. I really enjoyed this issue, they're still doing the monster card but this was better and we got some growth for Kaine, but we see Kraven is still in the game, and Aracely's powers are being used more. And I didn't see the ending coming at all, maybe Annabells is bad news. Man, these are supposed to be short reviews!!! Score: 8/10

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #22: In this issue, Miles tries to convince Maria Hill that he's not Spider-Man, but once word comes in Venom is attacking the hospital where his dad is, she tells him he'll get there first, and to save people but wait until the Ultimates are there to face Venom. He takes off, scaling a building in front of her and pursues Venom while his mom watches on. Venom manages to absorb Spidey but Miles' mom, Rio, starts shooting Venom with a gun she picked up off of a unconscious officer, telling Venom to give back her son. Venom grabs Rio but that upsets Miles enough for him to power out, sending the symbiote flying everywhere, leaving the man in the suit vulnerable as he's gunned down by police. Surprisingly, Venom is not Eddie Brock, but a black man named Marcus Conrad. Miles checks on his mom but finds that she's been shot very close to her heart, she's clearly proud of Miles but with her dying words tells him not to let his father know, as she dies in his arms. The next day Miles wakes up at Ganke's house as reality sets in that his mother is gone. He cries and rips up his suit, yelling "No More!" as the issue comes to a close. I really enjoyed this issue, with Hill knowing Miles' secret, seeing how proud Rio was of her son, you could see her face, excellent job by Sara Pichelli. The only problem I had was the fact that the villain was basically a no one but held a grudge against Spider-Man and his family, that seemed...odd but I'm sure they'll explain why he hated them so much. We've seen Peter throw the costume away a few times, but this seemed different, although we know Miles will stay Spidey. Score: 9/10

 Man.... I really gotta make these reviews more brief! Ah, what can I say, I like to paint a picture with my words. Anyway, that's it for this week's best of the rest post. I'll be back tomorrow with a comic picked by mi hermano, X, for Throwback Tuesday, and If you thought Perry White's Magic Cigars were crazy...wait until you see what the Man of Tomorrow was doing like sixty years ago. Anyway, til then, this is JT, signing off!

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #21

Hey X-Maniacs, the final review of the comic week is by yours truly, JT, and we're gonna check in with the Ultimate Universe Spider-Man. The last issue ended with Miles' dad being taken to the hospital after an attack by Venom, so let's get to the fallout!

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #21

Summary: We pick up this issue with Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane, after seeing the footage of Venom's return, running off to meet up with Miles. Miles is still beating himself up about how this is his fault because he's Spider-Man and how that villain came after him and hurt his dad. Miles' pity party is interrupted by Gwen and MJ's arrival, and they go into his building to discuss some things about Venom, something Det. Maria Hill notices. We also see Venom has dragged himself back together, and wastes no time in absorbing/eating civilians. Back with Miles, Ganke, Gwen and MJ catch the boys up on Venom, the symbiote, and they tell them about how Gwen was a symbiote, since she's basically a clone of her dead self from the other Ultimate Spider-Man series. (Seems kinda odd they'd bring up that extremely convoluted story, but whatever.) The story time is cut short when Detective Hill shows up in Miles' apartment, and basically says she finds it weird that Miles' dad was attacked by Venom, Miles' uncle, The Prowler, was recently killed in a battle with Spider-Man, and now Miles is talking to Peter Parker's ex-girlfriend and the girl that lives with his Aunt, and says if he has anything to share, he should, before someone else gets hurt. Gwen and MJ run interference and get Hill o leave, since she doesn't have a warrant or anything, leaving a conflicted Miles. The issue comes to a close as the Doctors come to get Rio Morales and take her to her husband, but before they she can learn anything about his condition, Venom bursts through the doors of the hospital as this issue ends.

Thoughts: This issue fell kinda flat for me. I get why Miles was feeling sorry for himself and everything but it seemed like it went on too long, and it kinda took the wind out of the sails for Ganke's story about when his dad died. I did like seeing MJ and Gwen as Miles' support system though, since I really like those characters after reading the entire Ultimate Spider-Man series over the past few months, especially Gwen. Like I said above, I didn't get why they mentioned the whole Gwen was dead and was part symbiote thing unless it comes into play in the future, because it would've just confused me had I not read that series. Also, it seemed like Miles is really trying to get found out as Spidey, talking about it with Ganke in public when there are civilians, medics and police around. All in all this seemed like an issue where not much happened, Miles and Ganke talked with MJ and Gwen, Venom attacked the hospital. Pretty forgettable overall.

Score: 5/10

Gwen Stacy: It took my...my life juices... (Because out of context, that's hilarious.)

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #20

Hey comic crew, JT here with my last review of the week, Ultimate Comics Spidey. We left things off with Miles' dad, Jefferson, face to face with a monstrous Venom, so enough jibber-jabber, let's do it!

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #20

Summary: We start things off with Venom about to kill Jefferson, referring to himself as the "Angel of Death", because he thinks Jefferson is Spider-Man. He's clearly surprised when he's attacked by Spider-Man, since Miles heard the commotion and headed outside, but not before getting some web fluid from Ganke, since he's learned how to make it from Pete's old designs. Spidey distracts Venom as well as he can, but considering he doesn't know how to face someone like Venom, and Ganke's web-fluid doesn't work the way it should, he doesn't fare too well. Jefferson knocks out the nearby cameraman that's recording the fight and takes his video camera,  throwing it at Venom to distract him and give Spidey some time. Venom, obviously pissed at Jefferson's interference, backhands (back-tendrils?) him into a nearby vehicle, causing him to lose consciousness, as Miles' mom watches on and cries. Seeing his dad get hurt amps Miles up, and he takes the fight to Venom, and also leads him away from his house so the paramedics can get to Jefferson and try to help him. Miles eventually remembers his Venom blast and zaps Venom, causing him to screech and fall apart, but he escapes through a sewer drain. Spidey tries to pursue him but the Police want him to surrender, and when he doesn't, they open fire and he escapes using his speed and his camouflage ability. Miles arrives back home and changes clothes, then comes outside just in time to see his Dad being loaded into a nearby ambulance, and one of the paramedics says he may not make it. Miles' mom tells him to go over Ganke's house, as she cries and gets in the ambulance with her husband, and the issue comes to a close with Miles crying to Ganke that this is all his fault.

Thoughts:I had mixed feelings on this issue, I enjoyed seeing Venom but him slinking away through the sewer was weird... is he no longer a person, is he just all symbiote now? I also wish Miles' mom had a bigger role, so far all she ever does is calm Jefferson down, cry, cook, or ask Ganke to go home...A few questions were presented in this issue though, as Venom spoke about the Spider that bit Miles and the "others", so we're left to wonder if he meant other spider or other people that'd been bitten by different spiders. Also, we're to wonder if Miles dad will make it through, which i think is pretty obvious he will, if only because he hates Mutants and masked heroes so much, you know he eventually has to find out Miles is Spidey. Other than that stuff, I enjoyed seeing Miles and Venom face off, but him thinking about how Peter beat Venom instead of just trying to beat him kinda annoyed me. I did like the line he said about how when Peter fought someone in front of his house it leaded to his death though. All in all this was a pretty average issue, It wasn't bad but it wasn't perfect either.

Score: 6/10

Spider-Man: I just reminded myself that fighting super villains in front of his house is exactly how Peter Parker ended up dead. I have to get this away from my house.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #19

Hola comic fans, JT here and my second review of the week is none other than Ultimate Comics Spider-Man. After getting web shooters a few issues back, becoming a member of the Ultimates and seemingly winning over Spider-Woman, what's next for Miles? One word, Venom.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #19

Summary: We start this issue seeing Miles swing around the city, still getting used to web-slinging when he runs out of web fluid and falls onto a lamp post, which is seen by a crowd. An embarrassed Miles hightails it out of there. in class, Ganke asks him about it and Miles says he's out of fluid, but Ganke's got this covered, according to Ganke, as a young girl who is clearly infatuated with Miles smiles at him, unbeknownst to him and Ganke. From there we see Venom blow up what is now the abandoned Oscorp building for some reason, and we then jump over to the Daily Bugle as we see Detective Maria Hill asking J. Jonah Jameson questions about Betty Brant, who was murdered in 16.1 issue by Venom. Jameson tells her he doesn't know who killed Betty and explains tha the last time he saw her she was trying to sell the info of who Spider-Man was but he wanted no part of it, because he realizes they need Spider-Man and if his identity is out then there is no Spidey. Back with Miles and Ganke, Ganke has figured out what they need to make web fluid, using money he saved to buy the exclusive Lego Death Star but Ganke says this is for a better cause, and now the two just have to figure out how to actually make the fluid. Back at Miles' home, their dinner is interrupted by a camera crew and reporter who want to interview Miles' dad, Jefferson, about killing the HYDRA agents and saving civilians, but he wants no part of that and makes them leave. Ganke comes over as Jefferson makes the camera crew leave, and Jefferson decides to go out for some fresh air as Miles, his mom and Ganke stand there confused. Jefferson walks up to the reporter and asks how they got his address, and she says from the internet, but he says he's unlisted and he wants to know how they got his address but before the woman can reply she's stunned silent. The issue comes to a close as the conversation is cut short when Jefferson turns around and is face to face with Venom.
 
Thoughts: Venom! Man, Miles finally gets to fight a big name and it's none other than Venom. This issue was pretty good, I really liked the stuff with Jameson and the respect he has for Spider-Man, as well as the respect he has for Peter Parker now. I also really liked that Ganke used his money to buy Miles the stuff he needs for Web fluid and is really trying to help, he's kinda become the Richie to his Static Shock for anyone who ever watched that awesome cartoon, and that's a great role for Ganke before their inevitable argument and breaking up, because that has to happen at some point. I'm curious as to Venom's motives though, he seems to be randomly attacking people and places, as I'm not seeing the connection to Betty, Osborn Inc. (or whatever it's called) and Jefferson. I am wondering what Jefferson's deal is though, why not be on the news as a hero, unless he's hiding from something... all in all I thought this was a good issue and I'm interested at Miles reaction to his dad's run in with Venom.

Score: 7.5/10

J. Jonah Jameson: Because I learned a lot from Peter Parker. I learned a hero should be left to be a hero.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #18

Hey blog fans, JT here for day numero dos of X-Man's Comic Blog, starring JT! Today's review is the latest issue of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man. After the last issue Miles was left along in a desert, trying to make his way back home. Same thing happened to Aquaman a year ago, anyway, let's get to it shall we?

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #18

Summary: In this issue, Miles wanders the desert until he runs into Giant Woman, who proceeds to lay the smackdown on him. Miles, not wanting to hit a girl since he knows his mom wouldn't like it, eventually decides he has no choice and lays out Giant Woman. Miles, a teenage boy, lands on the stomach of a knocked out giant woman, and before things can get weird (teenage boy, giant woman, very close to... her upper mountains), Spider-Woman shows up with a few army guys and they save Miles, as Spider-Woman is proud of him, hailing him as the guy that saved President Captain America, which he did in the last issue and has now become big news, She takes him back to the city, telling him he needs more training but she's proud of him, and he should go home to his family, and she says she's very jealous that he has the chance to do that. Miles asks about her, and she says she promises to tell him some day, but not today. Back with Miles' parents, his dad tells his wife what happened with S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA, and how HYDRA murdered the SHIELD agents in front of him then gave him a gun and offered him a spot. Apparently, Jefferson then killed the HYDRA agents, and since people saw, he ran home, so now he's afraid he may have ruined his families lives. Miles' mom is shocked, but still curious where Miles is, so they head to Ganke's house and ask him. Before Ganke can answer, Miles shows up, saying he was held by SHIELD at location until they deemed it safe enough for him to leave. Miles mom hugs him and Miles asks his dad if he's okay. Miles' mother says he's had a big day, and he fought some terrorists. Miles says how cool that is, as Jefferson looks worried and the issue ends.
 
Thoughts: This was a interesting issue. It was cool seeing Miles fight Giant Woman, and I laughed at his comments on him finding I kind of got to fight a giant woman, as well as him staring at her breasts when he knocked her out... I mean he's a teenager, what teenage boy WOULDN'T have done that?! The stuff with Miles' dad is weird though, it has to go somewhere, I'd imagine maybe he's lying and he did join HYDRA? Either way, I'm slightly interested now. I do like the relation between Miles and Jessica Drew, and now that she's not standing over him saying how inept he is over and over, I'm looking forward to seeing how she takes over as his mentor.

Score: 7.5/10 

Giant Woman: I think it's Spider-Man. He's not what you think he'd be at all...
Miles (thinking): Whatever, racist. Or she's talking about that I'm a kid.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #17

Hey crew, JT here on the Sunday before Cyber Monday (I gotta buy a 3DS...) with my second review of the week, Ultimate Spider-Man. With Miles having taken on a few threats over the last year and a half, coming out on top, and becoming a member of the Ultimates, what's left for your miniature web-slinger? How about entering the battlefield to take on a bunch of HYDRA agents in War Machine super suits? So let's see how Miles deals with his latest obstacle in this issue of Ultimate Spider-Man.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #17

Summary: We start things off with Spider-Man in a field somewhere, obviously tired and hurt, walking somewhere when a SHIELD carrier flies above him, but he can't get their attention and is out of web fluid so he can't attach to it. We jump back four hours to see Hawkeye giving a speech about how he and the heroes have to stop the Americans that joined HYDRA, and how it's their job to end this, he also teams up Spider-Man and Spider-Woman, as he says it was a order from Captain America personally, which of course gets under the skin of Spider-Woman. As Miles experiences a war close-up, we see his Dad is being taken somewhere along with two other people that were arrested and thrown in the paddy wagon. The van is knocked over and the SHIELD agents are held at gunpoint by HYDRA agents, who free Miles and the other two prisoners, and ask if they wanna join. Miles' Dad contemplates it until the HYDRA agents kill the SHIELD agents in cold blood, leaving him stunned. Back on the battlefield, Spider-Woman repeatedly tells Miles to leave, but he stays and does his thing, which allows him to take out a few War Machine's, until Spider-Woman tells him to get out of there, which leads to Miles snapping and asking what her beef is with him. They decide to put a pin in the conversation when more War Machine's descend upon them, so we jump back over to Brooklyn and see Miles' mother arrive at the blockade trying to get home, but the SHIELD agents allow everyone to go past once the area has been marked as clear, so she heads inside and finds her husband, Jefferson, sitting on the couch holding an assault rifle (I think, I'm not good with guns.) and she asks if he's okay, but then starts to cry as she asks where he got that gun. Back with Miles, Spider-Woman offers Miles a thousand bucks to just go home, saying this is too dangerous for him, but Miles wants to help. The War Machine's take their attack from the Spider's and pursue Captain America as he flies overhead, and Miles webs one of the WM's to tag along. While oon top of the War Machine, Miles covers the pilot's eyes which causes them to crash into Giant-Woman's shoulder, and they both fall to the ground below. Miles hits the ground and passes out, and awakes hours later in the field, hurt and walking home, ending this issue where it began.
 
Thoughts: This was a fine issue. I liked that Miles wanted to stick around and help but Spider-Woman wanted him to leave, thinking he'd end up like Peter. Considering there's been almost twenty issues you forget how green and new to this Miles is, so it makes sense for her to worry about him, even when he is handling his own. I also really enjoyed Hawkeye's opening speech, but I just like Hawkeye in general, so yeah. The stuff with Miles' dad was weird though, I mean, I guess their hinting that he joined HYDRA or something but his dad has been a pretty odd character, I guess I could see him joining HYDRA since he's anti-vigilante/mutant and whatnot, and it would add another dimension of awkwardness between him and Miles, but the look on his face when the SHIELD agents were killed did not look like a man who'd turn around and say "I'm in!" All in all this was a good issue, I'm interested in what happens from here with Miles and his father.

Score: 7/10 

Hawkeye: And Spider-Man and Spider-Woman, you two stick together. You are a tag team.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #16.1

Hey guys, JT here a surprising .1 issue review. I didn't expect a .1 for Ultimate Spidey and this one came out of nowhere really, here's hoping it's a good read and I didn't waste three bucks! Let's see shall we?

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #16.1

Summary: We kick things off seeing Reporter Betty Brant watching the amateur footage of the fight Miles had with his uncle, The Prowler, before his suit backfired and burned him into ashes.She overhears him say to Spider-Man "You're just like me." and mentions it the next day during a staff meeting with other reporters at the Daily Bugle, as well as her boss, J. Jonah Jameson. She comes to the conclusion that the Prowler amped up when the new Spider-Man debuted and she thinks they may have been working together and may be related. Ben Urich asks if they've learned nothing from the Death of Peter Parker, and Jameson tells Betty to find out the facts before he brings her any more information on the story, as of now she just has bits and pieces of alleged info. Betty shows her tenacity by heading to the Police Station and getting The Prowler's file, she then heads to his now empty apartment, after he up and left one night and moved all his things, according to his landlord. After looking around, Betty finds a big dead Spider with the number 43 written on it before leaving. She heads to Roxxon Industries, and after being told to go to hell in a couple hilarious ways by Dr. Marcus, she shows him the dead Spider, which surprises him. He explains he was working on a project at Oscrop to duplicate Spider-Man's powers but it failed, and that spider probably escaped during a SHIELD raid. He and Betty both realize that the Spider could have given this new Spider-Man his powers as well, and Betty takes off with the Spider and Dr. Marcus yells at her to come back with it. After staking him out and getting a picture, Betty tells Jameson that she knows who the new Spdier-Man is, Jefferson Davis, the brother of the Prowler. Surprisingly, Jameson says he's not running the story. He says if he is Spider-Man, which he doesn't believe based on Betty's track record, then the town has one less hero and his family's lives are ruined, and all Betty wants is to make money. She tells Jameson she'll take her story elsewhere, and makes a few phone calls. She arrives home when suddenly she's confronted and impaled by.... VENOM?!


Thoughts: This issue was good until Betty's stupid discovery that Jefferson was Spider-Man. ANYONE can see that Spidey is a very slender, short person, and Miles is much shorter than his dad, so that alone should've tipped her off that Jefferson is not Spider-Man. I mean sure, you can't measure the guy but come on. Spider-Man was shorter than The Prowler! Anyway, I loved seeing Jameson stand up for Spider-Man, I don't know if the Ultimate Jameson has always been this great or if it happened after Peter's death like I suspect, but his reply to Betty was amazing. Also, any time someone calls out the fact Jameson has a Hitler mustache, I am a fan. And last but not least the surprise of Venom was great, I'm wondering what he's doing since he seems to be helping Spider-Man in a perverse way, and I'm also curious to see who this Ultimate Venom is, considering I'm kinda new to the Ultimate Universe.

Score: 7/10 

Robbie: How long have you lived in New York, Ms. Brant?
Betty: All my life.
Robbie: And am I the first person to tell you that not all African-American people are related?

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #16

Hey guys, JT here with a change from our regularly scheduled program, I've decided to review Ultimate Spider-Man instead of Nightwing, I'd been holding off on reviewing this series since we skipped so many issues but I think this is a good series and it should be reviewed, so why not start here?

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #16

Summary: We start things off with Miles' dad, Jefferson, trying to get home to find out about his family, but the government has his street blocked off due to the United We Stand drama which has been going on for the last few issues. Because he's belligerent and worried about his family, he tries to go past the barricade, and ends up getting sent to a detention area, Meanwhile, Miles is trying to help Captain America and says he wants to join the Avengers. Cap verbally decimates Spidey by telling him that he's too young, he's not ready and etc. and to leave before he arrests him. The argument is ended when a HYDRA attacks and Spidey saves Captain America from falling to his doom with some quick webbing skills. From there, Cap and Spidey, accompanied by a few Hulkbusters take on HYDRA agents galore, and Miles even helps re-direct a rocket that was aimed at a building of civilians. Captain America things Miles may be in trouble but is shocked to see miles handled his own and stopped the rocket, and even helped Cap get the drop on the last HYDRA agents. Surprisingly, Captain America tells Miles he was wrong, and that Miles is in fact ready, and offers him a spot on The Ultimates, which Miles quickly accepts. He's then introduced to his new teammates, Iron Man, Thor and his old-pal Spider-Woman. Miles puts a hold on the festivities and calls his mom to tell her that he's okay, and says he's safe over Ganke's house. His mom says she hasn't heard from Miles' dad and Miles says he hasn't either, but his mom says that's him on the other line and she'll call Miles back. Miles is then told by Tony Stark to come on because he's not going to want to miss what's about to happen. The issue ends as Miles and the rest of The Ultimates watch on as Captain America announces that he's accepting the position of President of the United States of America.


Thoughts: This issue flew by man, It was full of so much fighting and action it didin't take long to read at all. I enjoyed the reasons Cap said Spidey wasn't ready, but I also liked that Spidey got to prove himself to captain America and earned his respect and a spot on the team. I can see this more as a training exercise than Miles being a full-fledged member, but I guess we'll see. Miles' dad being an idiot and acting like he doesn't know you can't cross police barriers really annoyed me, I get that he was upset and whatnot but there's a barrier for a reason, if his family were in their home, I'm sure they would've been escorted it and past the barrier... him acting like an ass came off as more of him being an idiot than a worried husband and parent. Overall, this was an average issue, but with the invitation to the Ultimates, that saved it from being forgettable, which definitely helps. I'm interested in seeing what happens now though, with Miles as a member of the Ultimates, his Uncle dead and his father in a detention area, there's a few ways this could go, I'm interested in seeing what happens to Miles next.

Score: 7/10 

Iron man: Welcome to the Ultimates, kid.

JT's Take: Spider-Men #1

Hey Former X-Maniacs, and current unwilling members of the Todd Squad, JT here with another requested review. Today we're gonna see how The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker, meets up with our newest Ultimate Spider-Man, Miles Morales. So let's check in with our friendly neighborhood Spider-Men.

Spider-Men #1

Summary: Things get started with The Amazing Spider-Man (Parker) swinging around New York, talking about how much he loves his city, he's prideful just like most New Yawkers. (Right X?) While proclaiming his love for the city, Spidey stops a crime in progress and is confronted by the police, but he leaves before they can do anything and continues to sing his praises about New York. Spidey continutes until he see's a strange beam shooting into the sky, so naturally, he goes to investigate. He's led to an old abandoned building where he finds some kind of portal but he's suddenly attacked by Mysterio. Spidey takes down Mysterio who is behaving more like a nutjob talking about the first time Spider-Man died, and he's able to shoot off a laser that hits the portal, causing everything to pretty much blow up and transports Spidey to another world. Spider-Man is clearly confused since it was night-time and now it's clearly daytime. Spidey returns to the formerly abandoned building to see it's populated with people that have clearly lived there for a while. While looking around the city for clues, Spidey drops in and saves a guy from muggers, the guy is thankful but says the costume is in terrible taste since it's the same as Peter Parker's. Naturally, Spidey is taken aback by this comment and leaves to find more clues, now even more confused. The issue comes to a close with Spider-Man shocked that he's now face to face with Ultimate Spider-Man.


Thoughts: This issue was a bit slow, it made sense as they had to set up the whole "How do we make them meet?" storyline, but I could've done without Peter's I love New York mentality, just because it's so often re-hashed. Also, I could have done with a little more Miles in this issue but that's just my personal opinion. Aside from that stuff, I'm very curious to see how this goes, as well as what will happen if Pete learns about the Ultimate Universe Reed Richards, as well as the former Ultimate Spider-Man, and maybe even Aunt May, MJ and Gwen Stacy?

Score:  7.5/10

Civilian: I appreciate you saving me, man, but can't you come up with your own costume?

Ultimate Spider-Man #3

Well here's an easy introduction... If this comic scores under a 7 I'll be dropping this series. How's that for getting straight to the point?

Ultimate Spider-Man #3:

Summary: Miles'(aka the new Ultimate Spider-Man) friend, Ganke, stops by to tell Miles that he should probably head over to his uncle's place to see why Miles uncle had a radioactive spider wandering around his apartment. After some convincing Miles agrees to go, and the two boys discover that Miles uncle had cleared out. On the way back to Miles' apartment, they happen across a building fire and see a woman trapped in one of the upper floors. Ganke practically begs Miles to help save the woman with his spider-powers, but Miles doesn't want to make a scene. Once again Ganke gets his way and Miles manages to rescue the woman(sort of) and then enters the burning building and saves a little girl and her puppy. Miles makes a quick getaway, not wanting to draw any further attention to himself and after vomiting, swears to Ganke that was the first and last time he did something like that since he wasn't a hero. From there some time passes and Miles and Ganke end up becoming roommates at the charter school the two were accepted to. Everything is normal until one night the students at the school are woken up and told to evacuate to the school gym. It's there that they're told that there was a disturbance not that far from the school and that reports were saying that Spider-Man had been shot.

Thoughts: You know, a big part of me was hoping that this comic would have sucked so that I could say, “This comic sucked! I'm dropping it!” and be done with it... Instead this was a surprisingly good issue... My favorite of this series by far actually... And that puts me in a bit of a quandary... I'm still not sure if this series is worth sticking with... If this was one of Marvel's $3 series, I'd be more willing to keep picking it up, but for $4, I'm just not sure I should keep this series on my pull list... One of the problems is the writer, Brian Bendis... One issue he writes something that I could barely get through because of how boring it was, and then the next issue he writes something enjoyable... So I'm STILL at a crossroads with this series. I'd say more than likely I'll be dropping this series before #4 comes out, and when I get myself a job and have some more discretionary income burning a hole in my pocket I'll give it a shot again. Or maybe I'll keep picking this series up on an issue by issue basis... Who knows!

Score: 8 out of 10.Worst rescue ever!

Ultimate Spider-Man #2

I was lukewarm on the introduction of Miles Morales as the new Ultimate Spider-Man last issue, but I'm still willing to give him a shot. He's a likable character, but some of the story elements from last issue just didn't work for me. With Miles origin out of the way, here's hoping things pick up this issue.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #2:

Summary: After being bit by a spider last issue, young Miles Morales has suddenly gained various super-powers. After using a few of these powers(shock powers and invisibility), Miles runs to his friend's house and confides in his friend that he may be a mutant. Miles and his friend talk and talk and talk and talk... Then Miles dad comes by to pick Miles up and they talk and talk and talk and talk and... Okay, to be honest, by this point I began to just flip through the pages of this comic because I was bored nearly to tears. This one ends with Miles friend texting him that Spider-Man got his powers from a spider-bite, and Miles realizes that he wasn't a mutant was was a... um, Spider-Man.

Thoughts: Good GOD does Bendis LOVE useless dialogue!!!!!! It's horrible!! Where a normal writer would have Miles simply tell his friend, “I was bitten by a spider!” and Miles friend would respond with something similar to, “Wow, that sucks, are you okay?”. In Bendis-land, that conversation goes on for several panels and ends with Miles friend REPEATING, “You got bit by a spider?” at the end of the conversation... After it had been established, PARAGRAPHS ago that YES, he was bitten by a goddamn spider!!! And then there was the conversation between Miles and his father... It went on for six pages and those pages? They were FULL of useless dialogue... What could have been said in maybe 2 pages(Miles Dad: “I used to be a small-time crook with your uncle, but after having you, I stopped with the crime, but my brother is still stealing stuff.”) took SIX pages!!! Listen, a good comic book has three main facets... #1 is a great story. #2 is great dialogue. And #3 is great art. In that order. Terrible dialogue or awful art can kill a good story, and sadly, I think that's what's happened here. The dialogue just ruined this series for me. I'll give this series one more issue, and if Bendis can't control himself? I'll be dropping it.

Score: 1 out of 10.Did you ever wonder how somebody could say something but not really be saying anything? Read a Bendis written comic book and you'll understand.

Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #1

Annnnd we're back to the old review style... I'm still undecided on the style I used for Grifter #1, so it's back to the basics for now. Maybe I'll use the other format to review the new DC comics and just be a bit briefer with the reviews for the other books in my regular reviews... Oh well, who knows. I'm sure whoever is reading this could care less, so here's the review I assume you're here to check out.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1:

Summary: We start things off 11 months ago with Norman Osborn in one of his secret laboratories trying to recreate the spider that gave Peter Parker all of those Spidery powers he wound up with. Fast forward several months where we find a thief sneaking into the now closed Osborn lab to steal some mystery item. While the thief is swiping the item, one of Osborn's experimental spiders crawls into the thief's bag. From there we meet Miles Morales and his parents, who were attending a lottery to see if young Miles would get selected to a new charter school. As luck would have it, Miles' number gets called, meaning he'd get to attend the fancy school, hopefully giving him a way out of his neighborhood. While Miles' folks are happy, Miles isn't quite as thrilled as he feels bad for all the kids who didn't make it. From there, Miles heads off to tell his Uncle Aaron's apartment to tell him the news. Aaron is happy for Miles and goes to get the kid a popsicle to celebrate, at which time Miles begins to admire the item that was stolen from Osborn's labs earlier this issue. While Miles is checking out the mystery item, the spider from the lab crawls out of Aaron's bag and bites Miles, causing the boy to pass out. Miles eventually comes to, much to the relief of his worried uncle and angry father, who had been called by Aaron after Miles collapsed. It seems Aaron and Miles dad don't see eye to eye, and the two men begin to argue. While they are arguing, Miles slips out of the apartment and is surprised to learn that he had gained some sort of camouflage powers.

Thoughts: Yep, that was this entire issue... I have to say, I was kind of expecting something more here. Instead we got a basic introduction to Miles(who Brian Bendis was trying REALLY hard to make likable, as evidenced by the scene when Miles was accepted to the charter school), the obligatory spider-bite(really? We couldn't get a different origin?!), and that's pretty much it. I guess I should be glad Miles' Uncle Aaron wasn't an uber-goody-goody who started lecturing Miles on great power leading to great responsibility... Now here's the thing. Although nothing much happened here, I was never REALLY bored with this comic. I mean some of it was a bit eye-rolling(come on, ANOTHER spider bite leading to powers?!), but I never wanted to stop reading. As a bonus, Bendis' at times ultra-wordy dialogue style never reared it's ugly head. So yeah, while this issue WAS a bit boring, and the fact that Miles received his powers in a near identical way as Peter Parker DOES leave me wondering why Peter was killed in the first place, I didn't hate this one. I'll definitely pick up the next issue due out at the end of the month, but I'll be hoping we get a bit more action to make things a tad more interesting.

Score: 6 out of 10.Damn those radioactive spiders and their constant biting of teenage boys!!!