General Information

Title: Ultimate Spider-Man: Power And Responsibility (Vol. 1)
Credited To: Primarily Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley, Art Thibert
Original Publication Date: February 2001 reprint of issues originally published from 2000-2001.
ISBN: 0-7851-0786-X
Cover Price: $14.95 US, $23.95 Can
Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

About The Ultimate Line

Marvel's been around in its current incarnation for over 40 years. That's a lot of background for the more popular characters. The "Ultimate" titles were designed to recreate the Marvel Universe from scratch, providing alternative versions of the classic heroes. Spider-Man, being the most popular hero, was the first to get Ultimate Treatment. The X-Men followed, along with various individuals in the "Marvel Team-Up" line (which has since been shut down to make room for other titles.) The Avengers have also been souped up as "The Ultimates."

Thus far, Marvel has kept to their promise of publishing no more than four Ultimate titles per month. However, there are rumours that something (like "Secret Wars 3") will come up in the next few months and turn the current Marvel Universe into the Ultimate Universe, much like DC's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" line did for them. The only confirmed word is that a line called "Ultimate Adventures" is coming out this September, and that at least one more title will appear some time next year. ("Ultimate Adventures" is part of the "U-Decide" initiative. That's a revolutionary idea where Marvel will use sales figures to decide whether or not they should continue to make new issues of new titles. They say the three are in competition, but since all three will stay if they sell well, I really don't see how that works.)

There are three Ultimate Spider-Man trade paperbacks like this one. They are:
Power And Responsibility: collects issues 1-7
Learning Curve: collects issues 8-13
Double Trouble: collect issues 14-21
The fourth volume (which doesn't have any subtitle I know about) is due out in November. It should be ordered on the current (August 2002) Diamond Comics Order Form and should ship in October if you're interested. (It's item 1566 on page 186 of the current "Previews" if you want to skip to the short order form.) You'll have to bring the order form to a local comic shop to get it filled, since Diamond doesn't deal directly with the end consumer. There's also a hardcover collection that contains issues 1-13, along with concept art, planning notes, and a reprint of the original Spider-Man's first appearance, Amazing Fantasy #15.

There are trade paperbacks of other Ultimate titles, too. There are two "Ultimate X-Men" books so far, with a third due out in October (item 1567 on that same order form.) The hardcover with the same issues as the first two paperbacks is due out in August. "Ultimate Marvel Team-Up" has had both paperback and hardcover treatment. "The Ultimates" will see its first trade paperback in August, assuming it wasn't delayed along with the monthly issues.

Premise

A normal teenager is bitten by an abnormal spider, and starts down the path to becoming a legendary superhero.

High Point

The flow is mostly fixed! Spider-Man still cracks wise, but he waits for a break in the action, so that it's not as plagued as the past incarnation has been. He doesn't deliver eight seconds of dialogue in a panel that elapses in exactly two seconds, for example.

Of course, it was hard to choose between this and all the other high points. It was great to see that Uncle Ben is established far better than the three panel "Wake up! Here's a microscope!" Uncle Ben we had the first time. The Green Goblin is much easier to fear this time, even if there isn't the fun involved in trying to figure out who he is. It's also great to see that Mary Jane is still thrilled with Peter, but she's not the "any male is good" flaky party animal she used to be. Aunt May's a lot more developed and likeable than the old "Peter's too fragile to hear about my latest life-threatening illness" Aunt May that we're used to.

I suppose five high points is pushing it. I'll force myself to stop now.

Low Point

The trade paperback doesn't include the cover art from the original issues. I realize they would break up the story, and cause complications in the placement of the two-page art spreads, but there's no reason they couldn't have reproduced the original covers in the back like in this Astro City collection.

Yes, that's right. My biggest complaint is that it left me wanting more. It's a complete story, but I want to get right on to the next one.

The Scores

It's hard to stay original when you're revamping what has been done before. Brian Michael Bendis has written a story that feels familiar, but doesn't feel like a retread. If he keeps writing the title, I'll keep buying these collections. It's the Spider-Man we all know, but this time, he's a lot easier to love. I give it 4 out of 6.

The artwork is, for the most part, good. The Green Goblin always looks fantastic. Spider-Man usually looks good, but I haven't quite warmed up to the ultra-thin version they've got here. That's the only artwork I can complain about, but it's the title character, so it counts for a fair amount. I give the art 4 out of 6.

The story is very well done. What was originally done in 11 pages is now done in the first five issues, and yet it still moves very quickly with tight pacing and great characters. The plot is familiar, and the details are exceptional. This Peter acts the way you'd expect him to act in school. Still, the story is a re-telling of something that's been around 40 years. I give it 4 out of 6.

Characterization is the category where the Ultimate Spider-Man really starts to pulverize the original. Peter seems like a geek with a lot of power and not enough common sense to apply it properly. (In short, he's a teenager.) Mary Jane is a person, not just the dance addict who seemed to me like she was high throughout the entire two years collected in Essential Spider-Man Vol. 3. Aunt May is still old, but she's younger than she used to be. Uncle Ben is, well, a kind and caring human, as opposed to a human alarm clock that brings gifts. Harry Osborn is more developed after these seven issues than he was after his first three years in the original continuity. Norman Osborn is clearly evil from the first page. (Peter doesn't show up until page five.) Flash Thompson hasn't changed much, but the others have shown enough development that I'll forgive that one point which hasn't overtaken the original. I give the characterization 6 out of 6.

For the emotional response, I found it was hampered by the fact that I already knew, essentially, what was going to happen. There were some great moments, like the Ferris Beuller moment, Harry's assessment of Flash's future, or the banana bread scenes, that made me laugh out loud. I give it 4 out of 6.

As I said above, the flow has been fixed. The scenes blend properly, with the exception of one really bad panel. I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, this is an excellent way to rewrite Spider-Man. If you're interested in the character, I'd suggest picking up this title instead of the other titles. (Except, perhaps, for Kevin Smith's "Spider-Man / Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do" miniseries which will see its second issue hits the stands next Wednesday. Originally billed as a four issue series, this month's Diamond Order Form would seem to indicate that it's now a five issue series.) It brings you in on the ground floor, and spends enough time developing characters that you won't have huge amounts of background material to catch up on, even though the title is two years old. I give it 6 out of 6.

In total, Ultimate Spider-Man: Power And Responsibility receives 33 out of 42.