Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 20:
Ultimate Spider-Man and His
Amazing Friends (v. 20) by Brian
Michael Bendis
Is This Series Ever Going To Slow Down?
Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends! Things are changing in the young
life of Peter Parker: Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four is now his buddy -
and the hot-headed super hero has taken a liking to Peters classmate, Liz
Allen! But something is horribly wrong with Liz - something that will soon
affect the life of every student at Midtown High - including Peters ex-
girlfriend, Kitty Pryde! Collects Ultimate Spider-Man #118-123.
Personal Review: Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 20: Ultimate Spider-
Man and His Amazing Friends (v. 20) by Brian Michael Bendis
- Shocker (as he takes out a police car during a chase): "Hey, I got one!! I
got one!!"

- Spidey (whilst kicking Shocker's mug in): "I got one, too! Awww, but
mine's a big tool!"
Having just re-read these two trades back to back, I thought I'd try for a
two-fer, double dipping on both ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN Vol. 19: DEATH
OF A GOBLIN and Vol. 20: ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN & HIS AMAZING
FRIENDS. Firstly, I harbor mad friggin' love for this series. With his
Ultimate Spidey stories, Brian Michael Bendis has managed to reinvent
and reinvigorate the Spider-Man mythos, and shiny-domed dude has even
managed to stick with the thing for over 130 issues now. Artist Mark
Bagley also gets massive golf claps for his extensive run, and it's no lie
that his take on Ultimate Spidey has become THE definitive rendering.
Having said that, Stuart Immonen, not exactly a scrub himself, has been
doing righteous things with the artwork. I dig that Immonen keeps Spidey
looking like a kid in tights, instead of some over-muscly bloke all of a
sudden.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN Vol. 19: DEATH OF A GOBLIN collects issues
#112-117 and features the escape of Norman Osborn, a.k.a. the Green
Goblin, from the Triskelion's maximum security compound and the
resultant wigging out of Peter and Mary Jane. As Osborn goes about his
machinations to take down Nick Fury (who, following the goings-on in the
Ultimate Power mini-series, isn't around much anymore), interim
S.H.I.E.L.D. director Carol Danvers tries to catch up with all the crazy
going down. And, lest you forget that this is a certain teen wall-crawler's
book, you best believe the Goblin's not forgotten Peter Parker.
What I probably relish best in the Ultimate Universe is the sense of
freshness it invokes. Not only do longtime Marvel characters get a do-over,
but there seems to be more immediacy to the stuff that happens to them.
And, importantly, while still steeped in outrageous fantasy, Ultimate
Universe somehow feels closer to reality than the mainstream 616.
Whenever an Ultimate character dies, it feels more permanent. All this
leading to me saying that DEATH OF A GOBLIN is one of the best story
arcs in this series.
Bendis is very good with the superhero stuff, starting off with Spidey and
the newly costumed Shadowcat early on taking out the Shocker in what
feels like a throwaway sequence. The stakes quickly go up with Osborn's
prison breakout because, as long time readers know, Osborn knows
Spidey's civilian identity and evil dude's even flung Mary Jane off a bridge.
With Pete ensuring that Aunt May and Mary Jane skedaddle the eff out of
town, his bump of responsibility makes him stay on.
Pete's taken on the Kingpin and Venom and sundry wacky clones, but let's
face it, the Goblin has always been Spidey's traditional nemesis. Ultimate
Goblin is immeasurably more powerful than Spidey, and more intelligent,
and I like that Spidey always has to struggle like epic crapcakes just to eke
out a win. Here, it's not even Pete who finally takes the Goblin down.

Bendis's gift for funny and insightful dialogue is on display again. Ultimate
Spidey, I think, is hands down funnier than 616 Spidey. Bendis balances
the colossal fighty fights with very well done character moments, with the
Midtown High sequences proving to be enthralling bits. Pete and Kitty are
paired up with one of those baby doll monitoring assignments (and, as one
panel reveals, Kitty still isn't quite over Pete's break-up with her). I'm also
getting a kick out of the school dynamics with specifics to Kitty Pryde's
identity being public knowledge. On the Triskelion side, Spidey and Carol
Danvers trade in some hilarious banter, the funny mostly coming from
Pete's end. Things climax tragically (all you have to do is peek at the title of
this trade) and there's a coda which takes place in Pete's classroom, in a
moment tinged with poignancy. A great story arc.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN Vol. 20: SPIDER-MAN & HIS AMAZING
FRIENDS collects issues #118-122 as, in the wake of the traumatic events
in DEATH OF A GOBLIN, Bendis takes it down a notch and focuses on the
personal lives of Pete and his circle of pallies. A fun story arc.
***SPOILER alert for this next paragraph***
Midtown High is still mourning the passing of Harry Osborne. To get out of
their funk, Pete and his friends decide to hang out at the beach,
accompanied by Johnny Storm (Human Torch) and Bobby Drake
(Iceman). Night falls on the beach and the kids are chillin' around a
campfire, when, shockingly, dot dot dot...
Old fogeys may get that the three-part "Spider-Man and His Amazing
Friends" is a fond callback to the awesome 1980s cartoon show of the
same title (ah, anyone remember Ms.Lion?). So it makes sense that this
arc features Iceman (come to apologize to Kitty), as well as the debut of
Ultimate Firestar. And, predictably, the manifestation of a new mutant gets
a "Hruh?" not only from the X-Men but from Magneto. Bendis effectively
serves up his decompression style of storytelling, as these three issues
generate tons of cool dialogue, with Spidey and Iceman trying their best to
talk down a frantic and frightened Firestar. Not much of a superhero
throwdown in this one, which is okay, as I found the conversations among
the cast so much more involving. Also, seriously, Peter just ain't competent
with keeping his secret identity secret. Seriously.
The last two issues in this trade are kinda one-offs. First, we learn how
Pete and Kitty fare with their classroom project. It involves an arduous
explanation from Peter (to his teacher, in front of the class) as to why their
assigned fake baby doesn't exactly end up unscathed. However, when that
farfetched explanation features Omega Red and the epic destruction of the
Daily Bugle offices, well, someone's G.P.A. is bound to drop.
Issue #122 starts off sunnily enough, as Peter video-records Mary Jane as
she tries to conduct Man on the Street interviews but can't even say her

name right. Things take a deadly serious turn when the Shocker, "the
biggest loser in Loserville," surfaces and surprisingly beats holy heck out of
and then kidnaps Spider-Man. Which goes to show, even the most
ridiculed supervillain is still someone not to be effed with.
As these issues demonstrate, there's more gravitas now to young Peter
Parker. Wallcrawling guy has fought monumental battles and experienced
wondrous things and has incured hurtful losses, but, thru all this, Brian
Michael Bendis has been able to preserve the core of Peter Parker,
keeping him on point while sustaining that lighthearted flavor. Nothing
probably encapsulates this as much as this following bit:
- Firestar: "You're an amazing friend. You ran to help me. I won't forget
this."
- Spidey: "Well, just remember that with great power there must also come
great responsibility."
- Firestar: "Now you sound like a tool."
Hah! And you got her "amazing friend" reference, right?
The Ultimate Universe was built on the success of this title, thanks to
Bendis's ability to generate pathos and to put a fresh spin on age-old
Spider-Man tropes. Ultimate Peter Parker, terrific in all his teenhood and in
the infancy of his superhero career, is nowadays my favorite version of the
web-spinner. Mark Bagley has put in serious work, as has Stuart
Immonen. With Ultimate titles getting shut down left and right and
characters getting killed off everywhere (thanks, ULTIMATUM) and with
#133 projected as possibly the last Ultimate Spidey issue (#130 is currently
what's on sale), I'm just trying to soak it all in, brother. All the while hoping
that this doesn't put a moratorium on this little corner of Marvel. That would
suck immensely.
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