Rating: ****

If you are a new reader of Brian Michael Bendis‘s run on Ultimate Comics Spider-Man and if you think that things are moving a bit slow, do not worry. Look at the pace that Bendis is presenting in his story as if it were a fine dining experience. When you are eating a fine meal, you don’t wolf down your food as if you’re at McDonald’s. Instead, you take your time to savor every moment of every bit of food. Bendis’s take on the Spider-Man character is so perfect, that you want more after every issue you’ve read. What’s the old saying? Leave with them wanting more. I guess that’s the best way to describe how I feel when I’m reading his Spider-Man - I want more.

Although the comic audience is mostly adult males, Brian Bendis writes Ultimate Comics Spider-Man as a comic geared more towards a tween/teenage audience. I can see a kid in that age range who has enjoyed Harry Potter and Twilight really enjoying this book more than an adult would. Spider-Man really acts like a teenager here. You don’t get the feeling of a writer trying to write dialogue that a teenager would say - particularly towards the end of the book with Peter and Gwen.

Our story continues the opening arc of this relaunched title with Spider-Man battling Mysterio. When we last left off, Spider-Man was at the mercy of Mysterio. It looks grim, but thanks to the arrival of the mysterious new cloaked hero that first appeared in issue one, Spider-Man makes it out alive. Thanks to this intervention, Spider-Man is able to recover and duke it out with Mysterio. The cloaked figure knocks out Mysterio’s technology and we see his face. As a result, an explosion happens, but all survive and Mysterio swears revenge.

Spidey thanks the mysterious new hero, but he/she becomes standoffish and wants to leave the scene. He/she notices a piece of Mysterio’s tech is on the floor and points it out to Spidey. As Spidey examines the piece of technology, the hero disappears. I’m really curious to see who this person is. I wonder if it’s a character we already know. Maybe it’s Flash Thompson?

Kitty Pryde makes an appearance as her mother discovers that Bobby Drake aka Iceman is hiding out in their basement. Her mother isn’t too happy and doesn’t want him there. This brings us back to Spider-Man as he returns home to find Kitty and Bobby at his house. Aunt May has invited Iceman to stay since Kitty’s mother does not want him there and Kitty seems like she maybe joining the club as well and leave her home. I mentioned before that I think Bendis is shaping an Ultimate version of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. However, with the possible addition of Kitty, maybe what Gwen states in this scene where she says, “It’s like our own little Avengers mansion.” Maybe this team will shape up to be more along the lines of a New Avengers team as an alternative to the government operated Ultimate Avengers. Whether they are the New Avengers or Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, I like the line up - especially with Aunt May taking on a Jarvis type role.

We end with Mysterio finding some blood on his costume and he saying, “Got ya.” I’m assuming this means Spider-Man, since the new cloaked hero wasn’t bleeding.

Highly recommend this book. Ultimate Comics Spider-Man is a must read not only for Spidey fans, but for any fan of super-hero comics.