RIP Spider-Man

Today I'm gonna review a comic...Ultimate Comics: The Death of Spider-Man.  First, a few things to get out of the way. My FAVORITE super hero of all time is Spider-Man...but I haven't really followed all of the main series, and none o the Ultimate series. Most of my Spider-Man love comes from the cartoons, movies, and summaries about the comics. I read this comic because I saw it at the library and it caught my interest. I am reading the hardcover collection...and I LOVE the front cover. It is very touching. This WILL have spoilers...but I'll try to keep them to a minimal. Of course, the title alone is a spoiler...

Now, for you guys not in the know, the Ultimate universe isn't the mainstream Marvel universe. In 2000 marvel decided to try to attract new readers by creating the Ultimate line of books, with such titles as Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men, and Ultimate Fantastic Four, along with others. The new Ultimate universe became very popular, and continues to this day. These new lines were of a completely new continuity, which allowed the writers to try a lot of different things , such as Spider-Woman being the clone of Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four being teenagers. It also meant that they had freedom to kill off big characters permanently, which was seen GREATLY in Ultimatum, an event that was basically an excuse to kill a lot of characters. But Linkara already talked about that book. I'm here to talk about The Death of Spider-Man (In case you forgot.).

Since this book came out in...I believe last summer...I will give a summary of the plot. Spoilers heavy here, so skip paragraph if desired. This book starts off with Peter Parker on a date with Mary Jane, when Captain America shows up to train him.  After Cap leaves due to an emergency call, Pete gets a phone call from Mary Jane, telling him that Norman Osborne, the Green Goblin, and five other villains escaped, and want revenge on Spider-Man. Peter goes home to warn Aunt May, and Gwen Stacey, to escape the house and get out of town. They do so, and Spider-Man goes off in search of the villains. While searching, Spider-Man  sees Captain America about to be shot, and takes the bullet for him. Spider-Man wakes up alone and in pain, and decides to go see a doctor about the bullet wound. However, he sees the Sinister Six...minus one...heading toward his house. He decides that he needs to top them, no matter what shape he's in, and follows them. When he arrives, the five have defeated Human Torch and Iceman, who were staying with Pete, and Spider-Man fights them. Aunt May gets a call about Peter, who is fighting unmasked, being severely injured. She returns in time to save Peter, but the Green Goblin still stands, and attacks Peter. In the end, though, Peter wins, but at the cost of his life. He tells Aunt May how happy he is that he saved Aunt May's life when he couldn't save Uncle Ben's...and he dies in Mary Jane's arms. Norman Osborn smiles in triumph as he passes away as well.

For starters, the idea of killing Spider-Man, whether mainstream Marvel or not, makes me sad. But, if done right, I can accept it. This book...sorta does it right. Actually, parts of it I think are very nice. Let's start with my positive view...as usual. I appreciate the idea of having Spider-Man sacrifice himself to save Aunt May, even if I don't want him to die. His line about making up not being able to save Ben by saving May is very nice, and even sad. In fact, the cover to the hard cover edition really sums up everything GOOD about the decision. Also, the art's great, the writing's excellent, and the characters are believable. There are also a few moments that I LOVE! One, Doc Ock decides that he's sick of being a criminal and wants to return to his life of science...and he gets killed by Green Goblin. I love it because it shows that Goblin is menacing, and that he'll kill his friends and comrades to get revenge. Also, it shows that villains are people, and that they can become tired of being a villain and repent. Second, I love Human Torch and Iceman's conversation as they walk inside Pete's house. There's just something about the two of them hanging together that I like. Thirdly, Mary Jane sneaking out of her house and DRIVING A TRUCK INTO GREEN GOBLIN! That scene is just...epic. Especially Peter's reaction. "You're insane. Did you steal this van?" I love it! Fourthly, Peter's finishing line before he beats Goblin. Goblin tells him that he'll kill everyone Peter knows, and Peter yells out "Could you do it quietly!" as he bashes the truck into the Goblin. Good ole Spidey, jokester to the end. Fifthly, Pete's neighbor quoting Terminator. Enough said. Lastly...Aunt May! Seriously, Aunt May is AWESOME in this book! A few highlights, she turns her car around suddenly when she hears Peter's dying, she does leave when Peter asks him too...and sh KILLS Electro. She SHOOTS HIM IN THE BACK WITH A REVOLVER! I'm serious! In the Ultimate Universe, Aunt may is packing! Gwen Stacey put it best, "That was...the definition of--of--of AWESOME!" Yes indeed, Gwen. Yes indeed...

Now...to the negatives. Number one...PETER PARKER DIES! Granted, it's a comic book, which never seems to keep characters dead...but still, they killed him! I know, what did you expect, but still...they killed him! Ok, now that my inner fanboy has had his say, I will say that at LEAST they made this a whole arc about the death of one beloved character, instead of having an event DEDICATED to killing beloved characters! I'm looking at you, Ultimatum...But, back to Spider-Man. Again, haven't read much in the Ultimate universe, but I was surprised about how many people knew Peter was Spider-Man. Heck, even J. Jonah Jameson knew! I...don't really like that. I mean, the fact that his girlfriend and Aunt knows is understandable...but J.J.? Doesn't settle well with me...but again, I don't read the Ultimate line, so I am sorta biased about these things. Also, I don't like the fact that Peter dies from a gunshot. Yes, it means Peter ultimately decides to help others instead of himself, but I still wish they had him die another way (Or, NOT AT ALL!...I'm done now.). Look at Superman's supposed death. He was "killed" by a monster stronger than him, something that could make him bleed. Superman ultimately had to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the world, his life. Now that being said, I applaud the fact that it was a more personal stake, the life of his Aunt, when they could have done the cliched "Gave his life to save the world" story. But, I still think that the bullet wound is a little unfair...but that's my opinion. Also, I HATE this Green Goblin. Again, not an Ultimate fan, but this Green Goblin is not for me. He's like the hulk, in that he;s a man becoming a monster, and he keeps talking about killing Peter as a "Mission of God!" I have no idea what that's about, but I hate it. Also, I feel like this story should've been longer. I now there was a prologue and a conclusion series, but they aren't in this collection.

In conclusion...it's a good story, despite some flaws. Most my faults are purely opinion, and won't effect my score. Honestly, the only major flaw was the fact that he died from a gun wound. Ok, that's still opinion...but I think they should've figured something out. Regardless, it is an exciting story, beginning to end. It is a fitting tribute to one of Marvel's greatest heroes, and a fitting end point to this era of Ultimate comics. Also...AUNT MAY WAS PACKING!

But...you probably got some questions! Let's see if I can answer some...First, this isn't the end of Spider-Man, just Peter Parker as Spider-Man. A new Spider-Man, Miles Morales (The first African American Spider-Man, but the second hispanic Spider-Man.), has already started his own adventures as the wall crawler...and he's thirteen. Why would they make a middle schooler Spider-Man? Also, he has a new suit...which is mostly black. I think Marvel has been taking racial relations lessons from Zordon. Second, there are more stories that are tie ins that explain the story better and from different sides, but they are missing from the collection I have. Lastly, yes, The Punisher shot Spider-Man. What wasn't included was how Frank Castle through down his guns and asked S.H.I.E.L.D. to kill him, to "PUNISH" him, for killing Peter. Nice touch...except that FRANK CASTLE WOULDN'T SHOOT AT CAP! Ok, maybe in the Ultimate universe...but it still ticks me off. Still, a good read, especially for Ultimate fans.

Warning: This book is T+, basically PG-13. It isn't for kids, it OBVIOUSLY has death in it, a lot of blood, minor swears throughout, a strangely religious Green Goblin (Which is also VERY demonic.), and a few crude jokes. You have been warned!

Final Verdict: 8.5/10 (My inner fan-boy wants it to be 7/10, but I won't let it.)

I am The R2 Dude, and this is The R2 View!