Ultimate Enemy 1-4
Ultimate Mystery 1-4
Ultimate Doom 1-4
This is how you do an event. Brian Michael Bendis and Rafael Sandoval knock this one out of the park. It’s basically a Spider-Man/Fantastic Four crossover. Someone’s killing all of the smart people in the Ultimate universe. It turns out to be Reed Richards, in one of the best heel turns in comics ever that continues to pay dividends today.
I knew this was coming and it still gave me chills.
This feels epic while managing to stay self-contained, and Bendis still manages to fill it with plenty of character moments.
Peter's asking legit questions.
Plus, Sue Storm and Ben Grimm get engaged, which is a pretty cool departure from the 616.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: Yes
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Really good
Ultimate Spider-Man 151-155
This is labeled as “Death of Spider-Man: Prelude,” but it’s really got nothing to do with it. Mysterio, Black Cat, Iron Man, and Spider-Man fight over the Zodiac Key, which supposedly grants wishes, but really just destroys everything around the wielder.
But the important things are that Gwen and Kitty both come back:
 |
| Alas. Goodbye, Kenny. |
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| Hee. |
JJJ and Peter have a nice moment after so many years of animosity:
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| Sigh, it won't matter. |
And MJ and Peter get back together. Just in time for Peter to die, of course. Sigh.
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| So sweet. So unfair. |
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: Yes
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Good (Really good for 155)
Ultimate Spider-Man 156-160
This is the comic book version of “The Body” episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I absolutely hate that Bendis killed Peter. Such a sweet kid doesn’t deserve to die, not when he’s shown such bravery, moral strength, and perseverance. Not when he has so many people who care for him. Not when he had so much ahead of him to look forward to.
It’s such a testament to Bendis and everyone else who worked on this title that I care so much, feel so much for this character. I legitimately have never wanted to read a comic book less in my life than issue 160. The first time around, I kept holding out hope; There’s no way he’d actually spoil the ending of the story in the title of the arc for the last 12 months, right? This was going to be the kind of thing where Peter hangs up the tights and lives happily ever after, right?
Nope. He dies. And it’s horrible. And I’ve been walking around in an emotional haze for the entire day. Over a comic book character. This is by no means my favorite comic story, but it may very well be the one that’s affected me the most. I couldn’t possibly give it the Pure Joy rating, as I got zero joy out of reading this. But it wholeheartedly earns the Major Feels rating that I’ve only used for nostalgia purposes up until today.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: Yes
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Major feels
Ultimate Fallout 1-6
The aftermath. To my surprise, this doesn’t just deal with the Peter Parker side of things; A bunch of other writers show up to tell tales of various Ultimate characters, usually three per issue. Also, Miles Morales makes his first appearance.
Basically, anything written by Bendis is excellent. Everyone else is pretty useless. I really wish Bendis could have devoted all six issues to Peter’s family and friends. That’s the story I want to read.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: Yes
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Didn’t suck. (Major Feels for 1, Stupid for 5, Fine for 6)
Ultimate Avengers vs New Ultimates 1-6
The only thing this contributes to “Death of Spider-Man” is the scene where Punisher mistakenly shoots Peter. (He was aiming for Captain America.) Nothing else is related to it. This is otherwise an Ultimates story at a time where the titles were really not that interesting to me. That applies to this as well.
Tony Stark’s brother pits Nick Fury’s team against Carol Danvers’ team. His plan fails and Thor fries him. Seeing everyone roided up with Hulk serum is pretty stupid.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Didn’t suck
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