Writer: Brian Bendis
Artists: David Marquez and Pepe Larraz
Ultimate Spider-Man Miles Morales, already a veteran of crossover comics such as the Spider-Men miniseries, this time gets to team up with several other players in the "ultimate" Marvel Universe in the "Divided We Fall; United We Stand" line-wide crossover.
Some interesting things happen in this story that push Miles' character forward: he acquires the late Peter Parker's webshooters and the chemical formula to make the web from no less than Peter's Aunt May, he joins the Ultimates, and fights alongside them in a civil war, in which the ultimate version of the Marvel Comics' staple bad-guy organization HYDRA is attempting to overthrow the government. Not only that, but there appear to be some interesting developments involving Miles' father Jefferson.
With Peter Parker having swapped minds with a dying Doctor Octopus in the pages of the flagship Spider-Man title Amazing Spider-Man in a storyline that culminated with the apparent death of Doctor Octopus' body and therefore Peter Parker's mind, Miles Morales is now Marvel's "senior" Spider-Man, having held the mantle for over two years now. Considering a well-meaning kid is certainly easier for me to swallow as Marvel's flagship superhero than a murderous supervillain, at least while that particular gimmick lasts, this is going to be my Spidey book of choice for the time being.
The problem with this particular storyarc is that it does not, unlike the first two arcs and, to an extent the Spider-Men miniseries, make a hugely compelling argument for Miles Morales stepping into Peter's shoes, save perhaps for a couple of pretty cool action sequences, including a climactic confrontation with a H.Y.D.R.A. agent possessing what is known as in the ultimate universe as "height multiplication" abilities. Apart from the moment when he receives Peter's webshooters, Miles does not have any particularly character-defining moments, certainly not the way he did in the first dozen issues of this new series. One could argue that writer Brian Michael Bendis was hobbled by the need to service the "Divided We Fall" storyline which played out mainly in The Ultimates, but overall this just didn't feel nearly as visceral as Miles' first few steps as the new Spider-Man. It's to be expected, I suppose that the novelty of a different Spider-Man would peter off, but I didn't think it would happen quite so early.
If the art had been handled solely by David Marquez, who has, as of writing, already left this title to work with Bendis on All New X-Men, I would have nothing but praise for it, but unfortunately, Pepe Larraz had to spell Marquez for two issues, and the shift is jarring, not just because of the difference in style but because, to my mind, Larraz really isn't anywhere near as talented. No sense in being diplomatic here. At least Marquez handled the crucial web shooters issue and wrapped up the storyline with the exciting Giant-Woman fight. This guy is really quite talented and will be a most worthy successor to Stuart Immonen when he takes over the art duties on Bendis' X-Men book.
I take some consolation knowing that series co-creator Sara Pichelli is due back next issue, in time for what looks like a very promising story as Miles crosses paths with ultimate Venom. This is presaged in issue 16.1, which doesn't actually have Miles in it, and is unrelated to the "Divided We Fall" storyline, but which features very good, character-driven writing by Bendis and some fantastic art by Marquez. This story is actually more compelling than most of the main story arc from which it takes a break.
All told, this run of issues deserves some praise for its mostly-great artwork, at least one defining character moment, and some pretty impressive action sequences, but considering that individual comics issues nowadays cost $4 for only 20 pages of story, I honestly think we're entitled to expect a little bit more.
At any rate, things should pick up a little as, starting next issue, Miles goes toe-to-toe with fan-favorite bad guy Venom.
Rating ("Divided We Fall" storyline): 3.5/5
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