Miles gets his first taste of being a hero…and doesn’t like it.
What They Say:
Miles Morals is the new Ultimate Spider-Man…but will he learn the same lesson of great power and responsibility that Peter had?
The Review:
Continuing with the origins of the new Spider-Man, Miles Morales, we don’t get a full-fledged beginning as much as we get to see Miles living HIS life. The book starts off with Ganke showering Miles with praise because of his new powers. With each new power Miles discovers the more Ganke wants him to become Spider-Man and the more Miles just wants to be normal. I still really really like this approach. Miles isn’t all about becoming a hero, he doesn’t think it is awesome that he now has all these powers, he is a young kid who just wants to be a kid. He wants to go to school and live a normal life. This takes away a lot of the pretentiousness and unbelievability previously seen in superhero comics. Miles is depicted as a real kid who more plausibly thinks like a real kid than other superheroes.
The centerpiece to this issue is Miles stepping up to the plate and saving some people from a burning building. He handles himself in grand fashion and even does the superhero signature of not standing around to be interrogated. The difference here is the fact that even after doing some good, earning appreciation…he still just wants to be a normal kid. The book then moves to Miles moving into his new charter school and moving on with his life as he wants to…normally.
The issue ends with a tie in to events that have occurred in the previous Ultimate Spider-Man series and brings us up to the present day in the Ultimates universe. It’s well structured and doesn’t seem forced in any way how Miles is interconnected with overall events. How these events will shape the story is yet to be seen but if the expertise of how this series has been handled so far is any indication, it will be handled naturally and logically.
In Summary:
The new Ultimate Spider-Man continues to be one of the best comic series out there, that I have read at least. The way the characters and situations are portrayed go against most things people associate with superhero comics. This origin story may be lasting quite a while but by fleshing out this character to the extent Bendis is, I don’t mind. If Miles was uninteresting and the story was dull and more of the same old same old, I would be begging for the villains and the action to start. But because the story is so excellent I am willing to wait. I almost feel as if once the action does start we will get a series completely different from any other in publication. This book rounds off Miles’ introduction arc wonderfully and sets up the next arc…actually becoming Spider-Man. This is a must-read series but the price is way too much for what is seemingly a bi-weekly series. Thankfully Marvel is offering subscriptions through the mail at 46% off! That is the best way to read this series on the cheap…and while the series is worth cover price is terms of quality, a lower cost is necessary so that more people can read these books.
Grade: A
