Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Penciled by Sara PichelliWho is behind the mask?
Everything relevant I have to say about this comic book is contained in my review after the jump, and I can’t think of a witty intro bit. Let’s just talk about the book — after the cut.
If there’s one story you hear a lot with most modern comic fans, it goes a little something like this: “Yeah, I stopped reading comics for a while, but ____ brought me back.” Everyone appears to go through a period of lapsed fandom, only to come back later (usually as a grumpy fan). So obviously for someone like myself, who came back to comics with Ultimate Spider-Man, there is a bit of admitted bias powered by nostalgia in regards to the title.
Or — well, there was. Then Bendis and Bagley, the team who brought me back into comics, killed the character with the same victory to his name. So now all is fair in love and war, because we’re reading a brand new book. I no longer come to every issue with a sense of googly eyes, because I’m not reading the same book anymore. I’m reading a(n ostensibly) new book about a new character. Younger Matt and his impressionable mind no longer plays a factor in my thoughts anymore; Older Matt reigns supreme, and Older Matt is tough(er-ish) to please.
So without further ado: I love this book.
Miles Morales’ intro into the Ultimate U back in Fallout was a bit of an intriguing tease, but we were given a very undeveloped character (obviously) whose main goal was to tease us into reading his new ongoing. That’s generally the Catch-22 of comics; we as fans want new characters, but most fans aren’t willing to buy books of new characters over books of ones they already like (certainly not in large numbers or anything). That’s why Miles is essentially the “have cake, eat as well” of comic characters: he’s a brand new character, but he’s also a legacy. Miles is to assume the mantle of Peter, and previous of Spider-Man (like myself) are infinitely more willing to keep following along.
I suppose that’s why it is fortunate that, for all we’ve seen so far, Miles is just so damn affable. He’s just a kid that is incredibly easy to love, offering up a plausible mix of reality and fantasy to the reader. While Marvel has always been set in “our” universe, there’s a distinct difference between seeing something like the Empire State Building and reading a comic where the character has identifiable problems (I’m just not buying, “Oohh, I’m just too cool and powerful! My life is so hard!”) Miles, on the other hand, holds an identifiable position in our own reality, going through more common place struggles of modern youth that anyone with an even remote interest in news can see. That element of the title, with Miles going through a lottery to end up in a charter school, helps make this title less of a super hero title, but really of just a hero (which makes sense outside of that for the obvious reason that there have been no superheroics, kindasorta).
On top of that, Miles is just a good kid. Bendis and Pichelli are clearly shaping him up to be a role model for modern youth, and it shows — when faced with adversity, Miles stands up tall; when given the opportunity to learn, he takes advantage of it. We’re still generally learning his ticks, but this issue finds Miles with the question of what to do with his power when he can help someone. This is assuredly the greater question of this arc and the one that will seek to define Miles in the future (I can only guess he will get his own “great power, great responsibility” mantra). However, the important lesson here is that Miles does what should be done, which is not neccesarily the same thing as what most people would do.
The solicit even plays a coy part of this, asking “Who is behind the mask?” Granted, the question can be viewed literally – it’s Miles, duh! But when thinking about the question and really asking who is Miles, with all that we’re learning about his character from reading between the lines, the solicit feels quite poignant.
Continued belowWhat ultimately makes Miles a character worth watching, however, is the lengths that Bendis and Pichelli are going to make him not Peter. Peter and Miles obviously have similar origins, even to the point of hanging upside down on the ceiling to help show synergy, but the similarties stop at a personal level. Where Peter quickly showed greed, Miles gives us humility. Miles doesn’t want to be Spider-Man; he likes helping people, but the superhero thing is not for him, and it is understandable why (especially after the events of Ultimatum and the way it changed the Ultimate universe’s political climate). Miles is generally more down to Earth than the young Peter was, and his different environment and upbringing certainly play into that. Given the average stereotype for inner city kids, it’s particular nice to see the title stray away from that and give us a kid who is concerned with making his parents proud and being a good person, even if that doesn’t involve putting on a costume and fighting crime. Again, this will assumedly tie into Miles future heavily as he will one day be Spider-Man, but the journey he’s on to get from Point A to Point B is certainly much more humble than that of Peter.
It’s fairly hard to talk about the story of the issue, because truthfully it’s still not ready to be discussed. We’re in the third part of an arc that sees the birth of a hero, but it’s a slow birth. Each issue seeks more to teach us about who Miles is, to develop his character and make the reader stick with him. On that level, it’s a tad unusual; by this time in Ultimate Peter’s origin, we already had at least a costume. I suppose part of the reasoning might be that since we’ve seen Miles don a Spidey suit and go out to fight crime, we internalize that as “already having happened,” meaning we could take a longer run through the past. However, it stands as noteworthy that if this were any other title introducing a new character, even one where the new character assumes a previously owned mantle, that most books would’ve gotten to the “point”, or at least introduced some form of arch-nemesis to act as a foil. Ultimate Spidey has none of that (yet).
However, in a sentence? Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli are doing an absolute bang-up job on the book, and I’m rather looking forward to the two having a run as long and important as Bendis and Bagley’s on the original version of the title.
Despite not playing up to stereotypes (any of them, really), Ultimate Spider-Man is the book of the Ultimate relaunch that I am fully invested in, no questions asked. Miles is a character I actively want to read about, and I barely feel satisfied reading the title on a month to month basis. I want more, I want to nkow what’s going to happen next. The book excites me, pulling me in quickly and keeping me as an avid fan even after all these years. My only general recommendation/closing thought is this: give Miles a chance. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Turns out Peter is entirely replaceable! Who knew.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Make Mine Miles
