Book of the Week- 6/22/11: Ultimate Spiderman #160

Ultimate Spiderman #160

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: Mark Bagley
Inker: Andrew Lanning with Mark Hennessey

Colorist: Justin Ponsor
Letterer: Cory Petit
Cover Art: Mark Bagley and Justin Ponsor

Assistant Editor: Sana Amanat
Editor: Mark Paniccia

Death of Spiderman: Part 5 of 5


The opening scene with Mary Jane sets the forboding tone for what is to follow.

Peter makes his literally final stand against Norman Osborn with the help of his friends and loved ones.  The battle was epic as Peter showed that at his core when the chips re down that he cared more for the safety of those he cared about than his own safety.  Even with the help of The Human Torch and Iceman  Spidey is not faring well against the Goblin.

Help arrives offering a very brief reprieve for Peter as MJ runs into Norman with a truck.  Peter is able to  have a final moment with his love before returning to face Norman.  With a surge of energy Peter manages to end the fight with Norman, but in the process he lost two things.  He lost his secret identity as he was publicly unmasked during the battle and he lost his life after ensuring the safety of those he cared about.

The scale of the conflict and the emotion seemed to have been taken almost directly from the Death of Superman, in fact you can almost see where the scrap of cape should go in the panel below.  Despite the lack of any originality and almost direct concept plagiarism, I did enjoy the issue and am curious to see what comes next in the Fallout.

Having saved Aunt May, Mary Jane, and Gwen Peter Parker closes his eyes for the last time, knowing his family and friends are safe.

Reunited with Uncle Ben, Peter finds peace. 

COMING SOON:

Marvel has announced that there will be a new Spiderman in the Ultimate Universe and someone new under the mask, but who it is we have to wait to find out, but popular rumors point towards one or more clones. 

Deadman and the Flying Graysons #1

Writer: J.T. Krul
Penciller: Mikel Janin
Inker: Mikel Janin

Colorist: Ulises Arreola 
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau
Cover Art: Cliff Chang & Jared Fletcher

Assistant Editor: Sean Mackiewicz
Editor: Pat McCallum

The Show Must Go On

This was by far my favorite of the Flashpoint companion books.  In a world where Bruce Wayne never became Batman Dick Grayson also never became Robin.  


You get to see the life that Dick would have had if his parents were never murdered and raised him themselves.  It was also interesting to see Boston Brand in the mix.  The character has really come to prominence recently.  Some things must subconsciously bleed through from the original reality as Dick is garbed in a Nightwing-esque costume as his stage attire.

Doctor Fate plays a prominent part as well as his helmet seems to be of great interest to Diana and the Amazons.  In fact the Amazonian search for said artifact leaves us with a foreboding feeling about the fate of Dick Grayson and family.

Legion of Doom #1

Writer: Adam Glass
Penciller: Rodney Buchemi
Inker: Jose Marzan Jr

Colorist: Arthur Fujita
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Cover Art: Miguel Sepulveda & Jose Villarrubia

Assistant Editor: Sean Mackiewicz
Editor: Pat McCallum

Hot Blooded




For the most part I was bored with this issue.  Not much interesting happens.  Even the death of Jason Rusch had no build up and left me not really caring.

For the most part the issue is Heatwave in prison after he kills Jason Rusch and is captured by Cyborg.  The fight between Cyborg and Heatwave is very cliche, complete with the 'just in time' arrival and the classic 'stopping a train'.  Cyborg seems so far to have more build up than substance.

There was one thing however that did manage to grab my interest at the end.  Plastic Man, Eel O'Brian, was smuggled into the prison inside of Cluemaster and proceeds to exit his host... painfully.  The last two pages and especially the last one made the book worth reading.  Plastic Man had a very cool and sinister look to him and I really want to see what this version of him does next.

Wonder Woman and the Furies #1

Writer: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Penciller: Scott Clark
Inker: Dave Beaty

Colorist: Nei Ruffino
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Cover Art: Ed Benes with Pete Pantazis

Assistant Editor: Darren Shan
Editor: Brian Cunningham

Part 1- The Arrangement




An interesting new take on Wonder Woman.  In the altered timeline rather than going out into the world to be a champion of justice Diana and her amazonian furies wage war against Aquaman and the atlanteans.

Rather than Steve Trevor in need of rescue being Diana's first contact with the outside world it was Aquaman saving her from a kraken.  The amazons are grateful to the king of atlantis for saving Diana and both civilizations decide to help the world with their wisdom and advances.  To solidify their effort the two nations would be joined by the marriage of Diana and Arthur.

There are traitors on both sides as an assasination attempt on Diana's life is carried out by Artemis, who instead accidently kills Hippolyta.  She frames Garth for the murder and kills him before he can reveal the truth that Arthur's brother Orm is in league with Artemis to stop the union.

We've seen the seed that the war between the amazons and the atlanteans sprang from, I'm intrigued to see the rest of its evolution.

Grodd of War #1

Writer: Sean Ryan
Penciller: IG Guara
Inker: Ruy Jose

Colorist: Stephani Rennee
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Cover Art: Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato

Assistant Editor: Kate Stewart
Editor: Joey Cavalieri

I have always been a fan of stories told from the point of view of the villain.  Grodd of War lived up to my hopes for it.  The story addresses the question of what happens when the conquerer has nothing left to conquer and the warrior has nothing left to wage war on.  

I suppose in Grodd's case, getting there was more than half the fun.  Grodd seems to have come to the realization that it's the conquest, the fight, the violence that fuels him and makes life worth living.   Old soldiers are not meant for peace and the boredom that comes in a life after struggle and combat. 

Grodd has an attempt on his life that he believes to have been coordinated by his aide, Malavar, but he lets him live and does not let on that he is aware of the treachery.   Grodd is tired of life without a worthy fight and hopes that Malavar will try again and succeed.  Grodd also allows one of the young humans who tried to assassinate him to live after mind controlling him into killing his friends.  He tells the boy to grow up hating him and to one day kill him.

Grodd, hoping to die in a blaze of glory, decides to take on both Wonder Woman and her Amazon Furies and Aquaman and the Atlanteans.  The book started off on solid footing and I am looking forward to the next issue.

Teen Titans #96

Writer: J.T. Krul
Penciller: Jose Luis

Inker: Sandro Ribeiro & Jonad Trindade

Colorist: Jason Wright

Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual

Cover Art: Scott & Hazlewood with Wright

Assistant Editor: Ricky Purdin

Editor: Rachel Gluckstern

Beast of Legend

While overall a straight forward slugfest the issue shines a spotlight on an underrated character as Beast Boy takes center stage against demon king Rankor and his hoarde of demons.    Beast Boy demonstrates a level of power never before hinted at and manages to go to toe with a demon king and hold his own.

Beast Boy has help from newbie Solstice, whom Raven gets a bad reaction from, and manages to free his friends.  Solstice realizes it is her destiny to face Rankor the demon king.  I couldn't help but think of Return of the Jedi every time I read that name.

The issue leads up to the climactic battle between Solstice and Rankor and leaves us waiting to see who wins.

Overall it was an entertaining read and I really enjoyed seeing Beast Boy shine.  He has been an underrated character for a long time and its good to see him use his potential.  I'm looking forward to next issue.