Back in business and ain’t it grand? Mile Morales has suited up again as Spider-Man, and he’s back to web-slinging and joking around, just like the good old days. He really takes to it well, with some snappy banter and a good heart. That he gets to team up with Spider-Woman is a real treat, as is the fact that they’re going after Bombshell! I am very excited to see her again too!

Ultimate Spider-Man #26

Ultimate Spider-Man is back in business, with Miles suited up and ready to face the evils of the Roxxon Corporation. Ultimate Spider-Man #26 is a fun return to form, with the promise of more fun down the line. Though let’s hope there is a ‘down the line’.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

Back before Peter Parker was killed, the storyline I was enjoying most in Ultimate Spider-Man was that of the teenage Bombshell. She and her mother are original characters for the Ultimate Universe, and the story went that the daughter started going to Peter Parker’s school. In fact, Bendis started building up a friendship between the two, possibly even a romance. The loss of that Peter/Bombshell storyline was the thing I miss most from when Peter was killed, so it’s really cool to see her show up again, even if it’s not the same.

I don’t know if a relationship with Miles would be as good as a relationship with Peter. There was something about Peter and his love life that I thought Bombshell fit into perfectly, and I wanted to see explored. But Miles hasn’t had the relationship drama that Peter did, so I don’t know how I’d feel about that kind of story. But Miles could always just be friends with Bombshell. We’ll see where it goes.

Also, this issue introduces Ultimate Taskmaster, so that’s pretty badass.

Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!

The issue starts with a flashback to Lana Baumgatner in Rykers Island 15 years ago, where she accepted an offer to become a guinea pig for the Roxxon Corporation.

In the present day, Lana’s daughter Lori is Bombshell, and she’s on the run after her fight with Cloak and Dagger. She calls her boyfriend for help, but he blows her off, leaving her with few options – especially since the Spider-People have already found her.

They heard everything

Bombshell panics and explodes, blowing the two of them back. They recover quickly, banter among themselves and swing off after her as she escapes onto the rooftops. But Miles is a little rusty.

It’s probably harder than it looks

Spider-Woman snags her with a webline and pulls her down. They approach Bombshell, but not as enemies. They tell her they know she’s in trouble, and they know her real name. They work for SHIELD and they want to help her. She can barely believe it.

Flash back to 15 years ago again ,and Lana is put into a Roxxon science experiment. They explain they are trying to create the next Captain America, which is part of established Ultimate Universe continuity. It seems everybody was trying to recreate Cap in those days, and I think that’s what led to Spider-Man, the Green Goblin, the Hulk and possibly even mutants.

Lana gets stuck with some science liquid and she gets juiced up with some ‘splosion powers. She tries them out in a secure facility, with some scientists monitoring her progress. But there’s something wrong…

Or something is totally right!

With that information, Lana uses her exploding powers to escape the facility and run off into the woods.

In the present day, Cloak and Dagger are huddling together on a rooftop. They got Bombshell’s name off a list at Roxxon, but she was a dead end. They’re not sure what to do. They don’t want to go see their families, because as far as they know, their families sold their bodies for science. Now they are determined never to let Roxxon hurt anyone ever again. Also, they are adorable.

They would have easily won ‘Cutest Couple’ at the prom

In the Roxxon lab, Mr. Roxxon is pretty pissed. His lab results – as successful as they may be – have run off. Layla Miller and Mr. Sinister are  still rather pleased at the success. They believe that Cloak and Dagger represent a new pinnacle of unlocked human abilities. They’re better than any Hulk or Symbiote. But Roxxon doesn’t care about all of that. He’s more concerned that this super-powered couple is trying to bring his company down around him. So Roxxon has brought in a specialist: Ultimate Taskmaster.

It’s been awhile since we had an old-fashioned, qualify Ultimatization

He looks pretty badass.

Meanwhile, back with the Spiders and Bombshell, they have a nice chat about where she got her powers and what she’s trying to do. Bombshell mentions how she knew the original Spider-Man. It’s a nice little conversation, but then a whole bunch of Spider Senses go off, and an electricity shock disc lands on the rooftop next to them.

Apparently Taskmaster wasn’t looking for Cloak and Dagger after all.

He’s more like Ultimate Casey Jones

So yeah, pretty cool issue. Nothing spectacular, but still as highly entertaining as always. Miles is back to his old self, and it’s fun. But this issue was more about Bendis setting up some more of his Roxxon plot. That’s fine. Bendis is definitely building towards something, even if I don’t particularly care. Layla Miller and her gang of Ultimate cronies bore me to tears. Ugh. I would have much preferred Bendis to just create brand new characters, or find some Spider-Man characters to Ultimatize. I don’t care about these rejects from The Ultimates or wherever they’re from. At least Roxxon fills a strong enough role as the big, villainous corporate entity.

Though I have to ask, was this really worth Miles putting on the costume again? This was his big oath-breaking moment? Miles gave up the costume for a whole year, after the death of his mother, and the reason he puts it back on is to have a nice chat with Bombshell? It feels very anti-climactic, considering any other possibility.