I apologize for the lateness of this review. These are busy days and I am nothing if not a horrible procrastinator. I picked a bad issue to be late on though because this is the last issue of Ultimate Spider-Man! They say that very thing in the letters page. As we all know by now, Cataclysm begins in a month or so, possibly bringing about the end of the Ultimate Universe. We don’t yet know what’s to come of our hero, Miles Morales, but it’s not looking good. I’ve said before that I don’t want to see him brought over to the normal Marvel Universe, but obviously the decision is out of my hands. All I can do is enjoy the final issue of Ultimate Spider-Man for what it is: a fun superhero romp.

Ultimate Spider-Man #28

The last issue of Ultimate Spider-Man sees an end to the threat of Roxxon in playful fashion. It also reaffirms Miles as Spider-Man – while answering a few questions about his origin – just in time to close the book.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it until the end of time: Miles Morales worked, at least creatively. It was a bold move for Marvel to kill off Ultimate Peter Parker and replace him with a brand new character, but writer Brian Michael Bendis made the absolute most of it. Miles lives up to the ideals and character we expect from Spider-Man, but he’s a different sort of man than Peter Parker. He’s quieter, for one. And sometimes it feels like he has a lot more responsibility resting on his shoulders. But he’s as entertaining as Spider-Man has ever been. I would happily read about Miles from now until that very end of time. I want to read about him growing up. I want to read about Miles as an adult Spider-Man. I want him to have the life Ultimate Peter Parker never did.

But the world is unfair and Ultimate Spider-Man as we know it is probably over. This is why we can’t have nice things.

This final issue is a good one. Spider-Man and his amazing friends team up to take down Roxxon, and they make fine work of it. The story isn’t written like an ending. By all accounts, it seems like Bendis is more than ready to keep going. The villains at Roxxon don’t put up much of a challenge at all for our little team, which isn’t too bad. Climactic fights are fun, but I’m a man who likes words and dialogue more than punches, and this issue is good on those. This victory means more to the heroes than the villains. And, of course, it’s all drawn spectacularly by Dave Marquez. The man is a dream artist. I would read Bendis and Marquez on Miles Morales well into the afterlife.

But I can’t, because this may very well be it. Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!

Roxxon is sure in for it now!

Who needs Iceman or Firestar?

Spidey and his pals smash through the window on Mr. Roxxon and his security, though he was tipped off that they were coming. He stands his ground and taunts them. He asks Spider-Man if he’s sure he’s ready for this level of villainy, especially after being gone for a whole year. Roxxon tells him it can’t be easy to get over his mother’s death like that – Roxxon knows about Miles’ mother! That pisses Miles off, and he blasts a gunk of webbing into Roxxon’s face. The businessman angrily tears it off and continues berating the young heroes like the arrogant asshole he is. Roxxon tells them they should thank him for giving them all super-powers.

Not the right thing to tell this group.

First, Dagger shooters his security guards with light. Then when Roxxon insults Spider-Woman, Miles finally does something more permanent.

I love that movie

Next begins three pages of Roxxon dangling upside down by the webbing, while Spider-Man sits on the side of the building and listens to him rant. Roxxon reveals that he was the one who originally hired the Prowler, Miles’ Uncle Aaron, to break into Oscorp to steal the spider, all the way back in Ultimate Comics: All-New Spider-Man #1. Roxxon wanted to build the next super soldier, and he did so, albeit accidentally. Miles getting bit and getting powers was not the intended plan, after all. Then Roxxon says he found out Miles’ secret identity in a matter of days, and he wants the boy to know that his father used to be all manner of trouble, until he got shut down by people who do business with Roxxon.

He tells Miles that Miles is going to work for him someday. He’ll come hat in hand to Roxxon, so he might as well wise up and just do it now. Then a few police helicopters arrive, but Roxxon just laughs at the idea that they’re here to arrest him.

He may have been right, but they’re never going to find out.

Sometimes pop culture references go too far. Ed O’Neill? Really?

Jessica Drew uses her SHIELD affiliation to turn the NYPD away, leaving just Miles and Roxxon – and his science team. All those hideous science losers like Layla Miller and Samuel Sterns show up to defend Roxxon, since their particular brand of science lunacy requires deep pockets and low morals. When Spider-Woman and the others stand their ground, Layla presses a button that activates some kind of chip inside everyone’s head, giving them all horrible headaches. They were all products of her lab, after all.

So it’s a good thing not everyone was manufactured by Layla Miller and her cronies.

No harm in kicking a woman in the face if she’s evil

Spider-Man’s attack gets their blood flowing, and soon Sterns turns into his giant, muscular Hulk-form. But don’t worry, the others have that covered.

Specifically Cloak, Cloak has it covered

After that, it’s an all-out assault on the science losers. Punches are thrown, webs at thwipped and it all takes about a single page to knock them out. Spidey and his pals stand victorious as SHIELD agents burst in the door. Spider-Woman vouches for all her friends while all the bad guys are taken into custody. Spider-Woman suggests the other heroes disappear, though Bombshell wants to team up again. We can only hope.

Back at the Brooklyn Visions Academy, Miles sneaks into his pal Ganke’s room and immediately apologizes for being a jerk. When Ganke asks if this means what he thinks it means…

If only there was an appropriate Black Sabbath song

If this were the final page of the final issue, that would make for a somewhat fitting ending. But it’s not.

We immediately cut to Miles back at his dad’s apartment. He finds his dad asleep on the couch and contemplates Roxxon’s words about the kind of man his father used to be.

Elsewhere, Spider-Woman is grilled by her SHIELD superior about the move she made against Roxxon without orders. She points out that even though Roxxon and SHIELD were in business together, Roxxon was still kidnapping and experimenting on children, so she was in the right. The superior switches topics to all the young heroes, and Spider-Woman has a whole power point presentation prepared on the lot of them. She says they have the beginnings of something very special on their hands…

And that’s the end! See what I mean about Bendis writing as if his stories are going to go on? Spider-Woman is thinking of bringing together all these young heroes, and Miles has to worry about his father’s dark past. Sounds like a couple of solid subplots to me. Plus Miles just reaffirmed his status as the new Spider-Man. He’s a hero here to stay! The absolute worst possible thing would be if Galactus randomly showed up to eat his universe. How is there justice in that? How? What has Miles done to deserve such a fate? Didn’t sell much? Probably. Sometimes the world of comics just isn’t ready for something so bold. Sometimes comic book fans just really love their Peter Parkers.

As an ending to the Roxxon arc, I think this issue is fine. I still don’t think Roxxon ever rose to the level of a truly dangerous villain. Yes, Roxxon is behind a lot of characters, and apparently even behind Miles getting his powers, but I don’t think Roxxon was ever really that bad. His creations didn’t threaten the city. He didn’t try to kill anyone. Roxxon simply performed evil science experiments on innocent people. He’s a subtle evil. A low key sort of evil. Not the kind of threat that I thought worthy of Miles’ return to the webs. But I will admit that this was all an entertaining story. I like Miles, I like Spider-Woman and I like Bombshell, Cloak and Dagger. They’re a fun little group, and they got a truly righteous victory – even if they were never really threatened. Roxxon and his gang went down easy, though at least he gave up a few interesting secrets before he went.

I’m going to try to review all the Cataclysm issues as they come up. I’m eager to see what becomes of Miles Morales, though I don’t see him coming through Cataclysm in any way I’d like. But this issue didn’t feel like an ending. It felt like a strengthening. Strength enough, I hope, for whatever comes next.