While DC Comics have been busy revitalizing their entire line of books, Marvel has been doing a relaunch of their own, albeit on a significantly smaller scale. For the past ten years, Marvel has been offering a line of superhero books that take place outside of normal Marvel continuity, or the 616 universe. These books take place in the Ultimate Universe, and for the past ten years this universe has served to update certain characters and stories while changing others completely. For example, instead of Peter Parker being a photographer for the Daily Bugle, Peter Parker is portrayed as a fifteen year old that works as a web-designer for the Bugle. Hulk went from being a monster that wants to be left alone to a horny cannibal that is jealous that Betty Ross would rather go out with Freddie Prince Jr. Wolverine successfully scored Jean Grey out from under Cyclops’ nose and then tried to kill Cyclops so that he would not have any competition. Oh, and Nick Fury looks like Samuel L. Jackson. Indeed, the characters themselves were vastly different, and things just kept changing more as time went on. Now, many major Marvel characters are dead in the Ultimate Universe, including Wolverine, Cyclops, Daredevil, Magneto, Doctor Doom, Doctor Strange, and most recently, Peter Parker, the amazing Spider-man himself.
The news that Marvel decided to kill off its most iconic character is shocking in and of itself, but what came next was also much unexpected. Peter Parker was to be replaced by a thirteen-year old half black, half Hispanic teenager by the name of Miles Morales. Marvel canceled its Ultimate line only to relaunch it the next month, with the titles Ultimate Comics: the Ultimates, Ultimate Comics Hawkeye, Ultimate Comics: X-men, and of course Ultimate Comics: Spider-man. Fans have been split on the topic of Miles ever since his announcement as Peter’s replacement this past August.
The news that Marvel decided to kill off its most iconic character is shocking in and of itself, but what came next was also much unexpected. Peter Parker was to be replaced by a thirteen-year old half black, half Hispanic teenager by the name of Miles Morales. Marvel canceled its Ultimate line only to relaunch it the next month, with the titles Ultimate Comics: the Ultimates, Ultimate Comics Hawkeye, Ultimate Comics: X-men, and of course Ultimate Comics: Spider-man. Fans have been split on the topic of Miles ever since his announcement as Peter’s replacement this past August.
The main complaint that fans have is that the idea of a mixed-race Spider-man is well, gimmicky. They feel that there is only one true Spider-man, Peter Parker, and that Miles Morales seems to be more of a publicity stunt designed to generate sales rather than the natural progression of the storyline. Truth be told, in part this is actually true. Marvel has went on the record to say that Miles was chosen as the new Spider-man because they hoped to appeal to a new demographic. They also stated that since we live in a day and age where we have a President who is himself of a mixed heritage, and our culture is now one filled with such cultural diversity, this type of multi-raced character is long overdue to portray one of the most popular and well-known superheroes in all of comicdon.
It’s understandable why fans my cry afoul to this; after all, the writer of the comic Brian Michael Bendis himself has acknowledged that the idea for Miles Morales came from external sources rather than the natural progression of the story itself. Me personally, I was not to upset by this. Compared to most comic book nerds, my attitude is MUCH more lax, as it seems comic nerds love to complain and nitpick about the silliest things, and change is usually met with fear and skepticism in the land of comics.
My attitude with most things it to just wait and see how it turns out, and that extends to comics as well. I’ll give it a shot, and if I don’t like it I won’t read it (unlike those that say they will never buy an issue of Ultimate Spider-man again). So I waited, and when Ultimate Comics: Spider-man #1 finally came out, I put it at the top of my comics pile and read it as soon as I got home. While it wasn’t as good as the first issue of the original Ultimate Spider-man when it debuted ten years ago, it was still a very exceptional comic.
Similar the aforementioned first issue of Peter’s title, there is no action whatsoever in this book. Rather, it’s a gateway and introduction to the life of Miles Morales. In the first issue we learn how Miles gets his powers, his connection to Norman Osborn, and that his parents are still alive and happily married (such a novel idea in the world of comics….that the husband or wife or both does NOT get killed in some horrible accident, or go missing, or abandon their child….). We even meet an Uncle Ben type figure that couldn’t be more different from Uncle Ben.
The writer of the book, Brian Michael Bendis, has been writing Ultimate Spider-man’s adventures since issue #1, and the quality of his work has been consistent throughout. Just like the past ten years, where the focus of the book has been on Peter and his life rather than his misadventures as Spider-man, it looks as if Miles and the going-ons and his life are about to be pushed to the forefront. It’s a good thing, then, that Miles himself is a very likeable character. Already we are given a similar sense of guilt, responsibility, and good-heartedness that has always made Peter so likeable, while at the same time it is clear that Miles is a very different character. He is still thirteen, and very much in his adolescence. He hasn’t had to take responsibility for his actions and be forced to understand the way the world works like Peter has, so it will be interesting to see how his view and understanding of the world develops.
I still remember reading Ultimate Spider-man #1 when I got out of school when I was eleven years old, and to this day it remains one of my favorite single issues of a comic book ever. While this issue was not quite as groundbreaking in my opinion, it was still a satisfying introduction to a new character. It would seem I’m not the only one that feels this way as well. The week of the comic’s debut, Ultimate Comics: Spider-man #1 made its way to the very top of the digital sales chart on the day of its release. It seems controversy or not, fans have flocked towards this new Spider-man and seem to be digging it. (See, I told you comic books fans overreact about everything…)
My attitude with most things it to just wait and see how it turns out, and that extends to comics as well. I’ll give it a shot, and if I don’t like it I won’t read it (unlike those that say they will never buy an issue of Ultimate Spider-man again). So I waited, and when Ultimate Comics: Spider-man #1 finally came out, I put it at the top of my comics pile and read it as soon as I got home. While it wasn’t as good as the first issue of the original Ultimate Spider-man when it debuted ten years ago, it was still a very exceptional comic.
Similar the aforementioned first issue of Peter’s title, there is no action whatsoever in this book. Rather, it’s a gateway and introduction to the life of Miles Morales. In the first issue we learn how Miles gets his powers, his connection to Norman Osborn, and that his parents are still alive and happily married (such a novel idea in the world of comics….that the husband or wife or both does NOT get killed in some horrible accident, or go missing, or abandon their child….). We even meet an Uncle Ben type figure that couldn’t be more different from Uncle Ben.
The writer of the book, Brian Michael Bendis, has been writing Ultimate Spider-man’s adventures since issue #1, and the quality of his work has been consistent throughout. Just like the past ten years, where the focus of the book has been on Peter and his life rather than his misadventures as Spider-man, it looks as if Miles and the going-ons and his life are about to be pushed to the forefront. It’s a good thing, then, that Miles himself is a very likeable character. Already we are given a similar sense of guilt, responsibility, and good-heartedness that has always made Peter so likeable, while at the same time it is clear that Miles is a very different character. He is still thirteen, and very much in his adolescence. He hasn’t had to take responsibility for his actions and be forced to understand the way the world works like Peter has, so it will be interesting to see how his view and understanding of the world develops.
I still remember reading Ultimate Spider-man #1 when I got out of school when I was eleven years old, and to this day it remains one of my favorite single issues of a comic book ever. While this issue was not quite as groundbreaking in my opinion, it was still a satisfying introduction to a new character. It would seem I’m not the only one that feels this way as well. The week of the comic’s debut, Ultimate Comics: Spider-man #1 made its way to the very top of the digital sales chart on the day of its release. It seems controversy or not, fans have flocked towards this new Spider-man and seem to be digging it. (See, I told you comic books fans overreact about everything…)
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