Ultimate Spider-Man #116 - Mobile Edition

Marvel Comics
Ultimate Spider-Man #116
By Zak Edwards
December 5, 2007 - 01:03

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller(s): Stuart Immonen
Cover Artist(s): Stuart Immonen

Ultimate Spider-Man #116

Ultimate Spider-Man’s current arc is making that year of Deadpool and Vampires seem like a terrible, terrible dream. Surely a comic book doing this well couldn’t be that low in quality back then. Well, it was, but Bendis’ writing has brought this series back to its A-game, and it still seems to be only going up from here. This issue an amazing all-round experience, packed with action, dialog, character development, humour, and angst; all drawn wonderfully by Stuart Immonen. Right now, this series feels almost indestructible, and with the end of this arc just around the corner (actually, just after Christmas), I guess an answer to that is not far away. Ultimate Spider-Man is a great title for teenagers all the way up to adults wanting some very good super hero adventures.

Bendis has crammed a lot of content into this issue without bogging it down. The opening action sequence starts everything off with a bang, but quickly the rest of the issue is numerous dialogs between Bendis’ cast. These conversations do wonders for some of those dangling plot lines that Bendis has not addressed. In this issue, Kitty and Peter get to finally talk about their relationship, something that needed to happen. This scene is done with an awkwardness expected of the two characters in the situation, yet moves their relationship in positive steps forward. Bendis allows his audience to see how these characters are feeling, where they were, and where they are heading, all in one convenient package. The same goes for the final scene, where much is discussed and really drives the plot forward. The spy game with Carol Danvers is really interesting as well, seeing the new head of S.H.I.E.L.D try and fail with some mind games and dirty tricks is very entertaining. It is easy to dislike her character, but her motivations are good. It still doesn’t mean she’ll do a good job, but that seems to be what Bendis is attempting to do with this character. And what a cliffhanger. After last months disappointing and predictable cliffhanger, Bendis gives one that makes his audience anxious for issue #117.

As for Stuart Immonen’s pencils, talk about cinematic storytelling! The opening pages were gripping, and even the dialogue heavy parts were well drawn. Immonen is doing a very good job. A little blip in quality can be seen when characters are at a certain distance away from the camera, they lose too much detail sometimes and look very poor. Other than that, it is very obvious that Immonen has spent a lot of time considering things like lighting, angle, and motion in his work. This pays off when, even though his style is not realistic, the panels are given a level of believability. And that’s part of the point, isn’t it?

9/10 This series can do no wrong right now. Well written and well drawn in a great all-round package.