Sara Pichelli is back and ain’t life grand! This is it folks, the first perfect grade Ultimate Spider-Man comic since I started reviewing the Miles Morales saga. This issue has everything! Some serious drama for Miles, a fun and funny fight with a super-villain, growing storylines, fantastic art and a random visit with Aunt May and Gwen Stacy! Even the cliffhanger is kind of exciting, even though it’s almost identical to last issue’s cliffhanger.

Ultimate Spider-Man #8

Still, this book is riding high on a plateau of pure awesome!

Comic rating: 5/5: Great!

Last issue’s cliffhanger with the sudden appearance of Uncle Aaron at Miles’ school does not disappoint, and writer Brian Michael Bendis gives us a wonderfully wicked wrinkle in Miles’ new life as a superhero. Not only does Uncle Aaron threaten Spider-Man, but he provides a double whammy with the possibility of shattering Miles’ personal life as well. These are serious stakes facing our hero, which are long overdue in this series. As I said in my last review, so far Miles has mostly just had a few easy fights with a couple of lame super-villains. Kangaroo? Omega Red? Please. Well now the Prowler is going to prove to be a real thorn in our hero’s side.

But that’s just one part of this stellar issue. Miles’ may have a lot on his mind when it comes to Uncle Aaron, but the whole rest of the world seems to be conspiring against him too. Bendis is playing quite the game of chess with this comic. Spoilers and synopsis after the jump!

While I’m very happy to have Sara Pichelli back drawing Ultimate Spider-Man again, I’d first like to say that they should have kept Chris Samnee on the title, at least for this story arc. Ultimate Spider-Man comics are usually sold as collected volumes, and I’m sure they get a lot of traffic that way. So even though Pichelli is much better than Samnee, his style wasn’t terrible, and it would have made this storyline artistically consistent when it gets bound into one volume. Ultimate Spider-Man is too marquee to bounce from artist to artist issue by issue.

But that’s a minor gripe, because Sara Pichelli is back! Yay!

The issue opens in Paris, of all places, where Aunt May and Gwen Stacy have been living since the death of Peter Parker. Billionaire Tony Stark (Iron Man) had offered to take them anywhere they wanted to go and help them set up a new life after Peter was killed, because Spider-Man and Iron Man were pals and Tony Stark is as rich as God. Gwen and Aunt May chose Paris, and now they’re galavanting around enjoying a nice day. Grief still rests beneath the surface, but at least they seem content.

She’s masking her old person farts

That is until they see a French newspaper announcing the appearance of a new Spider-Man! The two ladies are appropriately freaked out.

I’m luke warm towards this scene. On the one hand, having Peter Parker’s family react to a new Spider-Man is good storytelling. It will provide some nice emotional conflict for Miles. Plus he’s already had one run-in with Gwen in issue #4 outside Peter’s funeral, where she imparted on him the creed: “With great power comes great responsibility.” On the other hand, much like I said in my last review about Ultimatum, Miles’ time as Spider-Man would be a lot smoother if it didn’t get buried in old stories. Bendis definitely needs to address the fact that Miles is a new Spider-Man in a world where the old Spider-Man mattered to a lot of people, but that past continuity should not become suffocating.

Fortunately, we jump straight back to Miles and his own family drama: the dastardly Uncle Aaron has randomly shown up at Miles’ school! And he knows that Miles is Spider-Man!

Poor uncomfortable Miles

Miles meets with his uncle, but he’s completely freaked out by the guy – and for good reason. Uncle Aaron here is smooth as butter and clearly wants to use Miles and his spider-powers for something criminal. He doesn’t come right out and say it, but Aaron definitely has more on his mind than just a reunion with his favorite nephew. Frankly, he’s very different from the Aaron we met in the first two issues. Back then, he just seemed like a nice uncle happy that his nephew got into the good school. But back then, Miles couldn’t get Aaron rich, so I suppose he had no reason to use the boy.

Since then, Miles’ parents have told him all about Aaron’s criminal ways, so Miles is rightly freaked out by the man. Still, Aaron doesn’t seem bothered by Miles’ attitude. He tells the boy that he knows about the spider that bit him, and that the spider turned Miles into the new Spider-Man.

Before the conversation can go much further, a school official interrupts to kick Aaron off campus.

Prowler is a total pimp and playa

But Miles knows this is not the last he will see of Uncle Aaron.

Let’s leave Miles for a moment and pay a visit to Captain Quaid of the NYPD. I believe he’s made a few appearances in the series so far, though I don’t know if he ever had anything to do with Peter Parker. Either way, we’ve got a new supporting character to Miles’ career as Spider-Man and Bendis spends a few minutes building this story. This is what I mean by Bendis playing chess, he’s–wait! I forgot to mention the first appearance of Ultimate Nova!

Classic running gag. Ultimate Speedball appeared this way too

Anyway, Captain Quaid has a sit down with the Kangaroo, but only after telling his subordinate officer not to call him ‘the Kangaroo’. He’s really Frank Olliver, and his super-villain identity should not be encouraged. Captain Quaid sits down with Kangaroo and, after a little back-and-forth, he tells Kangaroo that he can help, and wants to know everything Kangaroo knows about the new Spider-Man.

Jumping to another interlude, Bendis continues moving his pieces around the board with the arrival of the new Scorpion in New York City. He’s come on the trail of the Prowler, who still owes Scorpion money from issue #6. Scorpion shows up in some gangster’s warehouse, where a bunch of crooks are playing cards. They are less than impressed by the Scorpion, and deny knowing anything about the Prowler. Scorpion is, in turn, less than impressed with them. Only his way of showing this is by killing them all with his big hook/chain weapon! Scorpion stands above their bodies and declares this place as Scorpion Country.

He’d look pretty sharp in a bright green suit of armor

Finally we cut back to Miles, who has no idea what sorts of troubles are out there conspiring against him. Miles is worried about his uncle, and Pichelli illustrates a wonderful page to show us clearly that Miles has only one thing on his mind:

While that girl has only hot dogs on her mind

Later on in his dorm room, Miles slips out to get some air as Spider-Man. Ganke wants to help Miles, but Miles just wants some time alone. So he suits up and goes out to explore the city some more. Miles’ inner monologue returns, and I think that it’s only going to be used when Miles is in costume. That’s a fun use of the inner monologue. I approve. Besides, Pichelli’s art is so good and Miles has proven to be such a quiet person that I’d much rather enjoy reading the body language in his face to try and figure out what he’s thinking.

But with no face to look at while in costume, the inner monologue is helpful.

Miles is worried about Uncle Aaron, of course, but also what will happen with his family if Aaron tells his parents that Miles is Spider-Man. Miles’ dad hates costumed superheroes, so how is he going to react when he finds out that Miles is one? The young boy’s concerns are fun to read thanks to Bendis’ pen.

Do spider-powers mean blood no longer rushes to his head?

Miles’ thoughts are interrupted, however, by yet another lame, minor super-villain. Fortunately, this fight is much more entertaining than Miles’ battle with Omega Red in the last issue. This time it’s the Ringer! Miles sees a bunch of people fleeing, followed by odd metal rings flying and bouncing around the area. Miles recalls watching a Youtube video of Spider-Man fighting the Ringer. Peter did cross paths with this guy several times. Well now it’s Miles’ turn.

Time to do the hula!

I don’t know what Bendis is trying to do with all of these minor super-villain fights. Kangaroo, Electro, Omega Red and now the Ringer. Miles is working his way through a bunch of nobodies, having little to no trouble at all in defeating them. It’s getting a little silly. When is Miles going to actually get into a fight? When is someone going to provide a challenge? This is the Ultimate Universe. Not everyone who puts on a costume to commit crimes is a pushover loser. Granted, there are plenty of those, but why are the losers the only ones that Miles is fighting? It’s disappointing.

Still, Miles’ fight with the Ringer is a blast. This is Pichelli’s first time drawing the new Spider-Man costume in action and she does not disappoint. These pages are brilliant.

Just look at the little guy move!

Miles gets closer and closer, avoiding the metal hoops until he confronts the villain directly. Once again, Miles is very light on the quips, which is fine. He’s not joke-a-minute Peter Parker, after all. Miles does his best to avoid the rings – but then the Ringer starts getting a few around him. Soon Miles has a dozen or so tight metal rings binding him and squeezing. It actually looks kind of bleak for our young hero.

He doesn’t say much, but when he does, he’s entirely obvious

But nope! Miles just jumps up and kicks Ringer once in the face, knocking him out. And once again, Miles is rather surprised and pleased that it was so easy. He sits on top of a car, the rings still around him, as he looks at the crowd. But more and more police show up, and they are quick to threaten Miles and tell him to freeze.

Until Captain Quaid shows up and tells them all to lower their weapons.

We end the issue on another cliffhanger of another person telling Miles they need to talk – just like last issue ended with Uncle Aaron approaching Miles. So there’s some neat repetition in the two endings. And just like Uncle Aaron promised a lot of turmoil last issue, I’m very eager to see what Captain Quaid has in store for Miles. He doesn’t seem to want to arrest the boy, so what’s on his mind?

Cheese it, the fuzz!

And there we have it! The new Ultimate Spider-Man produces an issue that I found to be great! I wouldn’t say there was any one single thing that pushed this issue from a 4 to a 5, just the overall quality. Pichelli’s art was definitely welcome. But the story moved quickly, providing not only some much-needed emotional turmoil for our hero, but also a fun and funny super-villain fight. So there was a lot of good action for both Miles and Spider-Man this issue. Then Bendis expertly starts weaving other characters into the story, moving the likes of Aunt May, Scorpion and Captain Quaid around like chess pieces on a board. Somehow, some way, they are going to impact Miles’ life, and the more we get to know them now, the better those eventual stories will pay off.

Miles Morales and the new Ultimate Spider-Man are turning out to be a great little comic.