Well THAT was Unexpected: A Review of Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man #1

(writer) Brian Michael Bendis
(artist) David Marquez
(colorist) Justin Ponsor

In this issue, Miles Morales, the ultimate universe version of Spider-Man, grapples with the fact that his father has basically abandoned him after learning his secret identity during the invasion of Galactus which nearly resulted in the extinction of all humankind. He contemplates telling his girlfriend, Katie Bishop, his secret. In the meantime, significant characters long thought dead make an appearance.

I had originally conceived of this post as spoiler-heavy, but even though I have no idea how many of my readers actually follow "Ultimate Spider-Man," this issue has two major surprises for anyone who knows what has been going on, both of which, to my mind, are worth preserving.

Having skipped "Cataclysm" I was saddened but not necessarily surprised to learn that Jefferson Davis had skipped out on his son Miles; Bendis had put his cards on the table fairly early in the series by having Davis declare his feelings about superheroes, mutant or otherwise, in no uncertain terms, so I suppose it was an inevitability, especially after the death of Miles' mom sometime ago. I am disappointed that Bendis didn't stretch the tension out a little further but I suppose he has his creative reasons. Bendis' scripting here is solid, and the interaction between Miles and MJ on the question of whether or not he should come out to Katie is some of the best dialogue I have seen from him in a while.

For me, however, the star of this book is David Marquez, whose artwork seems to get better every time I see it. I realize now that I missed a whole chunk of his tenure on Miles Morales' adventures by skipping out on the "Cataclysm" miniseries (which I will most likely get in trade paperback someday) and I have to say his work, which I already admired, has improved immensely since last I saw it in a full comic book, as opposed to the interstitial nature of his art in Ultimate Spider-Man #200.

It's hard to really discuss this issue without risking spoiling things, so I'll stop there, but suffice it to say that this new iteration of the long-running "Ultimate Spider-Man" title is off to a hell of a good start.


8.5/10