Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Retelling the story of Spider-Man for the 21st century, 10 Mar 2003
By A Customer
I started reading "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "Peter Parker: Spider-Man" again when I started doing a unit on comic books for my Popular Culture class and had ignore "Ultimate Spider-Man." Seeing that the first seven issues were collected in "Ultimate Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility" I thought I would check it out and was more than pleasantly surprised. The idea here was to update Spider-Man for the 21st century, specifically by going back and starting over from the beginning, doing so fully cognizant of where Stan Lee and Steve Ditko started off the comic book and where the character would end up in terms of super villains and future bride. There is certainly a sense in which this version is compatible with the blockbuster "Spider-Man" movie, but that is more in terms of having Mary Jane Watson there from the start than anything else. Ultimately, the point here is tighten the original Spider-Man story and give the characters some twists."Power and Responsibility" takes its time in developing the origin of Spider-Man. The original story by Lee and Ditko in "Amazing Fantasy" #15 was eleven pages long. Here it takes six issues to get to the same point in the character's history. Of course, since we know where things are going, we can take time to appreciate the journey. At the same time, there is a concerted effort to bring various elements more into the mix. That infamous radioactive spider is the creation of Osborn Industries, the pet project of Norman Osborn and one of his chief scientists, Dr. Otto Octavius. Osborn is extremely interested in why young Peter Parker does not die after the bite and the creation of the Green Goblin becomes a direct consequence of the fateful spider bite. In time I am sure we will see the birth of Doctor Octopus will come from this as well. The stories here are by Bill Jemas and Brian Michael Bendis (who does the script), with pencils by Mark Bailey and inks by Art Theibert and Dan Panosian. In many ways I am reminded of when John Byrne had the responsibility of restarting Superman; there is a sense to be a bit more realistic. It is not that Peter Parker is an absolute scientific genius; it was his father who did most of the preliminary work on what would become the formula for Spider-Man's web. Once he gains his spider powers, Peter Parker does what just about any persecuted high school nerd would do; he goes out and becomes a super jock. When he starts web slinging he makes a lot of initial mistakes. I even like the way Peter snaps back at Uncle Ben and Aunt May as things start to get to him, both before and after the spider-bite. This jut increases the pathos of the tragedy that unfolds. I like the fact that "Ultimate Spider-Man" is divorced from the two "real" Spider-Man comic books. Going back to the original stories by Lee and Ditko (later John Romita, Sr.) in either "The Essential Spider-Man" or "Marvel Masterworks" series are not going to be really helpful to younger readers of the character. It was well worthwhile for those of us who started reading "The Amazing Spider-Man" in the Sixties to go through Betty Bryant and the death of Gwen Stacy to eventually get to the day when Mary Jane confronted Peter with the fact she knew he was Spider-Man, but those are hundreds of issues to go through. Starting over again with full knowledge of where the characters are going to end up is a worthwhile approach, especially given how good of a start we see in this first collection (the next three are already out for those who want to continue the journey). Besides, how can you not be happy that Aunt May is alive again? I might have to check out some of these other Ultimate titles from Marvel as well, because this one is pretty impressive.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Spiderman all over again yet different enough, 24 Jun 2001
By A Customer
What we have here is the 'Peter Parker/Spiderman' story retold from the very beginning (the origin) only now crossed with 'Gen 13' and 'DC's Elseworlds Tales'. It's the story from the origin because you get to see all over again how Peter is in highschool, being 'tortured' because of his nerdity by people like Flash Thompson and eventually is bitten by the famous spider which turns him into Spiderman. Secondly it's crossed with 'Gen 13' in the fact that Peter and all his "friends" and relatives are updated to this day and age. They wear modern clothing and they talk 'modern-kid-slang' as they do in highschools in the 21st century. Finally it's also crossed with 'DC Elseworlds Tales' because it ISN'T the story as you know it exactly. Vital AND subtile points in the story have been altered in such a degree that you never get that deja-vu feeling and which turns this story in a very enjoyable experience on it's own. Not just a re-telling. You don't grow bored easily with it and you find yourself keeping on reading, having fun noticing the more subtle differences there are with the original thing. What also is very nice about this book is that there's no knowledge REQUIRED of the original Spiderman storyline, since it's an alternative time-line, so that newcomers to Spidey-comics can just as easily enjoy it as well. It stands very well on it's own. The only point of criticism I DO feel I have to mention is that the character Green Goblin really isn't handled well to my liking. Both in intelligence level as in outer appereance it doesn't seem right to me. Apart from that it's all good and not many people will dislike it.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The new benchmark for FOOM, 3 Mar 2006
I originally bought the Ultimate Spiderman books for my kids, to give them a fresh and new way into the ludicrously overworked world of the Amazing Spiderman. They loved it. I read the books when they were finished... and I loved it. Bendis doesn't put a foot wrong. You can feel the respect and enthusiasm and excitement that he has for the character, for the mythos, for Marvel... for comic books. He obviously loves, and admires the Lee-Ditko webslinger but doesn't let that get in the way of striking out with a fresh and exhilirating world of his own. This Peter Parker is confused, conflicted, resentful and overwhelmed. His emotional and familial strifes are as troubling and traumatic as his superhero run-ins. As the series progresses Bendis isn't afraid to take chances and play with the characters and our expectations of them. Most of all the books are very tender and full of humour. there's real fondness and real love in these books. Don't get me wrong. This isn't schmaltz. Love and tenderness are good things. Tough, lycra-clad, superheroish things. Honest. Buy these books and enrich your life.
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by Brian Michael Bendis
by Brian Michael Bendis
