Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man #1

Background

Miles Morales is the Ultimate Spider-Man. Following in Peter Parker's footsteps, Miles has had his fill of tragedy. His Uncle was killed fighting him and his mother was killed in an altercation with Venom. When his father found out about his life as Spider-Man he left. His best friend, Ganke, Peter Parker’s “family” and several other heroes know his secret identity.

Story Details

A federal official enters a secret SHIELD containment facility. SHIELD is being shut down in the wake of the Galactus attack and all of its prisoners are being handed over… including the presumed dead Norman Osborn! From his containment cell, Norman repeats “You’re all going to burn.”

In Brooklyn, two armored criminals, dressed slightly like Spider-Man and displaying similar agility and strength, attack a shipment and beat up the guards.

Miles Morales and his girlfriend, Katie Bishop, make out at Brooklyn Visions Academy. She asks him where he was last night, wondering if his dad came back. Miles checks their old apartment every day for signs of his return. Miles can’t tell Katie the truth and he is presumed missing during the Galactus attack. A teacher finds them, but tells Miles not to take advantage of everyone’s sympathy.

Norman Osborn is being transported on the Long Island Expressway when he repeats his line “Yrl gna brn”. Suddenly the armored car carrying him explodes and he emerges as the Green Goblin!

At Ganke’s House, where Miles currently lives, they discuss his new team The All-New Ultimates. Miles wants to share his secret with Katie, but Ganke advises against it. Miles decides to go to the expert on being Spider-Man’s girlfriend…

He meets Mary Jane in the city and they discuss her relationship with Peter and how he telling her his secret affected her life. It had its ups and down, but she believes Peter did the right thing. MJ warns Miles not to rush into this big decision and to be sure.

Miles swings to his old apartment, catching a news report on the twin Spider-Man attackers. He reaches the apartment, calling out for his dad, and hears some rustling. He finds Peter Parker rummaging through his things, ready to return as the original Spider-Man!

General Comments

Another restart is far from welcome, but Brian Michael Bendis continues the story without really missing emotional beats and character progression. All well and good… until he digs up the past with no other reason than to shock.

Miles and his previous story is powerful and good enough to survive and keep readers without resorting to the cheap tactics of bringing Norman Osborn and Peter Parker back into the fray. I wonder if Bendis feels he has to do this because he is restarting yet again.

The newest feeling sequence is the twin Spider-Man debut and David Marquez absolutely nails this with the cracking page layout that mimics their masks. In fact, he nails everything Bendis asks of him and I’d continue to argue that these pencils are some of the most consistent and understatedly wonderful on the stands.

Miles remains a character worth investing in, though I fear that continued prodding with the legacy-of-Peter-Parker stick may take away from his development as a hero. I’d like to see some slow burning developments for a while, much like the original Ultimate Spider-Man series, and less reactionary events and dredged up villains and clones.

Overall Rating

It looks great and it is a nice intro but there's nothing really new here and the final page is not "a shocker"!