Ultimate Spider-Man #18
Background
Spidey just dropped into the middle of Justin Hammer's opening of a brand new mixed-technology power-plant off the coast of Manhattan. When I say 'dropped', I mean just that. He swings in off a helicopter through a hail of police gunfire (don't they know he's the good guy?) and crashes through the roof, at the feet of the new-look Doctor Octopus. Ouch, this boy is in trouble!
Oh, and the story has a title this time. Looks like issue #17 was a bit of an aberation on the nominal front. So, welcome to Ultimate Spider-Man #18... The Cycle.
Story 'The Cycle'
Ultimate Spider-Man #18
| Editor: | Ralph Macchio |
| Writer: | Brian Michael Bendis |
| Pencils: | Mark Bagley |
| Inker: | Art Thibert, Erik Benson |
| Cover Art: | Mark Bagley |
| Reprinted In: | Komikai Ultimate Spider-Man (Promo Reprint) #18 |
| Reprinted In: | Ultimate Spider-Man Reprints (Hardcover) #2 |
| Reprinted In: | Ultimate Tales Flip Magazine #10 |
| Reprinted In: | Ultimate Spider-Man (Reprint TPB) #3 |
Spidey immediately sets to, checking out the wounded... but Doctor Octopus turns out to be far more of an immediate problem. They have a great little scrap (love that computer-enhanced artwork). The bad news is that Spidey is just a little outclassed, and that means... Lights Out, Petey!
Lights back on, and Spidey is on the dockside where Ock tossed him... surrounded by SWAT guys, and a couple of SHIELD agents for good measure. SWAT and SHIELD scrap over who's gonna score the bug-man, and Spidey slips away in the mess. He heads back home, in time to discover that Justin Hammer on TV is blaming Spidey for everything that happens.
Pete's not a happy guy. He goes in to help, takes the lumps, and gets the blame. On the bright side, MJ is there to kiss it better. Oh, but back on the minus side, Aunt May is coming down the stairs into the basement, and Peter is sitting there in half a Spidey costume!
General Comments
Woohoo! A decent scrap at last. And this is a doozy. It just goes to show that you don't need a cast of hundreds. Spidey vs. Doc Ock, when it's done right, can be just what the Doctor ordered! Plus, all the stuff between Peter and MJ is really touching... just how it should work... I hope that JMS and Jenkins are watching this, maybe they might think a little harder about bringing back Mary-Jane in the main storyline?
Overall Rating 
Sex and Violence! Just what it's all about. OK, the violence was a little one-sided, since Spidey got trashed... and the Sex was more like a hint of some off-camera petting... but hey, it's not what you do... it's how you do it, and this is done just fine! Four shiny new webs for Mr. Bendis.