Now this is more like it! We get some awesome Spider-Man action as Miles Morales finally, officially becomes the new Spider-Man. He’s got to pass through Spider-Woman, Nick Fury and Electro to do it, but Miles kicks ass with flying colors. And he’s funny, too! That’s almost a prerequisite for both Spider-Man and writer Brian Michael Bendis, but here it’s delightful. Miles isn’t Peter Parker, but it’s great to see that Spider-Man will still be witty.

Ultimate Spider-Man #5

If only the Ultimate Universe wasn’t such a crappy place these days.

Comic rating: 4/5: Good!

If Marvel sticks with the tradition of having 6-issue story arcs, then this was the penultimate chapter of Miles Morales’ origin story. Which means we’ve got one more issue to go to wrap this thing up in a bow. I wonder what’s going to happen. Is Miles going to get his own super-villain? Maybe we’ll finally see his parents again. Or maybe he’ll hang out with Aunt May for some reason. Either way, this was a good issue, it’s good to see Miles in his own costume and I’m definitely ready to see this young man spread his webs and fly.

Though I’d probably still make the better Spider-Man. Spoilers after the jump.

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The new Ultimate Spider-Man series slows down with issue #4 so that we can all catch up to what came before: the death of Peter Parker. Miles Morales has his spider-powers, so now it’s time to find out how and why he became the new Spider-Man. On the one hand, it makes perfect sense to tie his decisions directly into the death of the first Spider-Man. But on the other hand, this makes for a slow issue filled with moments we’ve already seen before. And it doesn’t give us any new insight or surprises to go along with those moments.

Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #4

But a last page cliffhanger promises some excitement for issue #5.

Comic rating: 3/5: Alright.

The low rating does not reflect poor quality, but instead the lack of story. By all means, this issue is written quite well and Miles continues to be a compelling protagonist. But as I said, this issue is just a retread of everything we’ve seen before. The story of Miles Morales has finally caught up  to where Peter Parker’s Ultimate Spider-Man series left off. So this issue is basically just a paint-by-numbers look at what Miles was up to in between Peter’s death and his fight with the Kangaroo from Ultimate Fallout #4.

We don’t see any character beyond Miles and Ganke and we still don’t have his black and red Spider-Man costume. Though this issue does mark the start of Miles’ first-person narration thought balloons. That might liven things up from here on out.

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The heroism of Miles Morales, the new Spider-Man, kicks off with this issue! But poor, young Miles just isn’t ready for it. He’s only like 13, I think. He’s not a hero! He just wants to be a kid! I can really feel for the boy. Just because his best friend Ganke thinks it’s the coolest thing in the world (and it is) doesn’t mean Miles is ready to be a superhero.

But sometimes fate kills Peter Parker.

Ultimate Spider-Man #3

Comic rating: 5/5: Great!

I really enjoyed this issue. The All-New Spider-Man is not yet blowing me away, but it’s a fantastic read. And writer Brian Michael Bendis finally kicks off some real spidery-heroics with this issue. Miles makes his first big play at being the new Spider-Man, even if he doesn’t have the costume yet. And even if it’s a scene straight out of both the first and second Spider-Man movies. (Wow, now that I think about it, Spider-Man really did save a kid from a burning building in both movies…) Anyway, the introduction to Miles Morales continues to be stellar in both story and art.

But what the hell is up with that cover? Who thought it would be a great idea to awkwardly shove Spider-Man’s huge ass in our faces?

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The spidery world of Miles Morales grows a little bit bigger in this second issue. Some of it is welcome and exciting, and some of it is too much too soon. But once again writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli knock one out of the park in terms of character and storytelling. Miles takes a few big steps in this issue and learns some important life lessons – not to mention spider lessons. That the reader gets to go along for the ride is the real treat.

Ultimate Comics: All-New Spider-Man #2

The All-New Ultimate Spider-Man is off to a good start. But I don’t think the characters have yet earned the heavy drama in this issue, at least not Miles’ father.

There will be spoilers!

Once again, decompression is the name of the game. Bendis is taking his time introducing us to new star Miles Morales, and he’s also taking the time to introduce Miles to his new spider-powers. We all saw Miles get bitten by the bug last issue. Now it’s time to see what that means. I do not mind the decompression, especially not from Bendis. He practically introduced the concept to the world of comics with the original Ultimate Spider-Man. He writes great dialogue and really delves into the personality of his characters. Unfortunately, we only get a taste of Bendis’ usual snappy banter in this issue. Too much is given over to a long speech by Miles’ father. It’s a nice speech, but we don’t yet know the character enough for it to matter.

At least the rest of the issue is Miles having a goofy, youthful conversation with his dorky friend Ganke.

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Replacing Spider-Man with a half-black, half-latino kid is the worst kind of liberal garbage in the history of all comics! It’s a vicious, bile-forming, rage-inducing, anti-America affront to all that is good and decent in this world! Glen Beck was right in claiming this was just the liberal media’s way of sucking up to President Obama and the First Lady. We should all get pitchforks and torches and march down to the Marvel officers and burn them asunder!

Ultimate Comics: All-New Spider-Man #1

No, I’m kidding. It’s actually a pretty cool comic, starting off the new Ultimate Spider-Man with a slow burn introduction. It’s written by the master of the slow burn, Brian Michael Bendis, so I’m more than willing to give him time to work his magic. That’s how the original Ultimate Spider-Man started, after all, and it was a fantastic story back in 2000.

Glen Beck really did say that, or something similar. And his anger made Bendis smile. A lot of people were freaking out when it was announced that ethnically-diverse 13-year-old Miles Morales would be taking over for white bread Peter Parker. They’re fools. I’m behind Miles 100%, even if I think they killed off Peter while his story was still very good and entertaining. Still, change is good and I trust Bendis to tell us a good and entertaining story. I wrote a blog post about Miles back when he was first announced, and I said it might be cool to see the themes and style of Spider-Man told through the eyes and world of a new character. It’s not like this is the first time that any superhero, Spider-Man included, has ever been replaced by someone new under the mask.

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