The origin of the new Spider-man continues
What They Say:
You’ve seen the new Spider-Man, now see what he does next! Will Miles follow in the footsteps of Peter Parker or will he choose a different path?
The Review:
The first issue of the new Ultimate Spider-Man was a fantastic piece of sequential art. While light on story and absent of action, it presented a new character that had depth, a character whose surroundings and family were exceptionally realistic, and a character who is just a child and is dealt with appropriately. With that issue ending just as Miles was bitten by a genetically altered spider, this issue spends the entire time focusing on Miles understanding what has happened and dealing with real concerns and personal developments.
I’ll be up front and tell you, there is NO action in this issue at all. It is purely a character drama and one that I applaud for its approach and handling of surreal situations as a real person would. The fact that Miles is only 13 years old plays a huge part in his development as Spider-man. With the character development made in the first issue we understand that Miles feels separated from the rest of the world. He feels undeserving and reserved. With these new powers that he doesn’t understand, he only feels more alienated from society. This isn’t your standard ‘reluctant hero’ scenario, Miles isn’t reluctant as much as he is un-wanting to be different. He doesn’t want to be more of an outcast than he already is and with people calling him a mutant, he wants to just hide away. In this world mutants are viewed negatively among the general public because of past events. To suddenly find out he isn’t ‘normal’ adds a feeling of persecution to Miles.
Miles ends up going to his best friend Ganke’s house to tell him what has happened. Here, Ganke is a typical pre-teen/teenager, he is fascinated by Miles’ new powers and finds them cool. This is a good contrast to Miles’ insecurity and fear. Again, very real characters behaving and feeling just like real people. The real meat of this issue however, is when Miles’ dad finds him and has a talk with him on a park bench. This is an extremely touching, real conversation that expands Miles’ family life into something that we can all relate to. The dialogue is one of remorse and caution, but it is written in a way that doesn’t make excuses for the characters. One of the few complaints I heard about the first issue was that about Miles’ uncle being a thief. Some people felt that was a negative stereotype and reacted defensively. In this issue, Miles’ father’s speech takes personal situations, situations people generally blame on nature and negative nurturing, and turns them into positive outlooks showing that no matter who a person is, there have a choice and must have the proper vision to see and understand the choices that lay ahead. It is a very Uncle Ben type of speech but is very subtle in its context. Uncle Ben speeches were always blunt and forceful in there message; here they aren’t intended to preach to a burgeoning superhero and show him the right path, they are intended to have the character grow as a person so that they can make the right decision based off of logic and knowledge.
The book ends without completing Miles’ origin story but rather moves it to the point where he realizes the connection he has to the current (previous) Spider-Man. With how this character has been developed so far, the depth and range of emotions and thoughts, the conclusion of this origin story is going to be an interesting one to see. How does he embrace his destiny and cope with everything he has suddenly been thrust into? While there has been no action yet in the series I am in no hurry to get to it. The new Ultimate Spider-Man is class-A character drama that strikes personal chords unlike any Spider-man origin I have seen thus far.
In Summary:
With the artwork and story telling remaining extremely strong through both issues of the new Ultimate Spider-Man, I think it may just be safe to say that this series is a real winner. The lack of anything really happening is not a hindrance but a rather a blessing. Being able to spend so much time with a character, fully developing them and taking the journey with them, is invaluable. It is something I would rather spend my time with than a quick 3 page origin and being thrust into action scenes. The only real issue with this series is the cost. $3.99 an issue is too steep for a standard length comic. These aren’t double size issues or anything, 20 pages…that’s it. Plus, with it appearing that this will be a bi-weekly series as opposed to monthly makes the price even steeper. If it weren’t for the extra dollar in price compared to DC comics I would completely urge people to pick up this series regularly. Heck, I recommend people to start reading this series anyway, but if the price is too much of a hurdle…you definitely should pick up the trades as they are released!
Grade: A+
