Bendis' reboot gives the origin story a healthy fleshing out with the Green Goblin as first villain. ( )

Tucked in the back of Ultimate Spider-Man is an excerpt from the original comics. Our timeless tale of Peter Parker is in the background at school while the following exchange takes place:


- Say gang, we need one more guy for the dance! How about Peter Parker over there?



- Are you kiddin'? That bookworm wouldn't know a Cha-Cha from a Waltz!



- Peter Parker? He's Midtown High's only professional wallflower!



Do I even need to tell you that the kids are dressed in ties, skirts, sweaters and sports coats? Must I mention the girls accessories include clutch bags and pearls?



Not that these really matter much to Spidey's story, but if you're just deciding to get into the written version today after seeing the movies, how are you not supposed to roll your eyes and wait for the next CGI fest to come out instead?



This is why Ultimates exists. It's a reboot for a classic tale. In Brian Michael Bendis's hands, our Peter Parker meets plenty of the old-school characters in high school instead of in his city days. Technology makes more of an appearance in the stories - even Peter's job at the Daily Bugle is secured as a web developer instead of just as a photographer. Even better, Peter's inability to tell the Cha-Cha from the Waltz are forever forgotten in our reboot.



Mark Bagley and Art Thibert's drawings do present well-defined, detailed characters. Unfortunately, some facial closeups - particularly those involving female charcters - take on a bit of the wide-eyed manga-feel that can feel too trendy at times. At the same time, the drawing techniques used for the Osborn Lab explosion news transmission, Peter's initial pass out and fights with Electro more than make up for the manga trendiness.



If you're expecting a faithful frame-for-frame retelling of the original, you'll be disappointed. If you're prepared for a story that respects the story of Spider-Man while bringing him up-to-date without tying him down to 40+ years of baggage, this is well-worth a looksee. ( )

Marvel Comics decided to re-tell their Spider-Man saga from the beginning, bringing it up to speed with the 21st Century. I had misgivings at first, but this collection of the thirteen initial books in the series is some of the best Spider-Man work I've seen. A few details are altered. Peter Parker is now a 15-year old (sophomore); Mary Jane is a fellow student and best bud who has secret (sort of) feelings for our boy. Uncle Ben is given a larger role, which I like, and May is less elderly, more with it. But the best thing of all is that our hero now acts and talks like a 15-year old, instead of a stodgy adult. It's a pleasure to see him grow into this role and make mistakes, learning as he goes. And the art is a fine complement to the great story and writing. All in all, this series has given me new pleasures in reading Spider-Man. ( )

Bendis does an outstanding job capturing the true essence of the classic Spider-man easily preserving his identity through the myriad twists and turns of the ultimate universe. ( )

Back when the Ultimate line had started, I veered away from them, trying only the Ultimates. Based on that – or perhaps because of it – I took that line to be just another grim and gritty re-telling of Marvel’s heroes. Another “modernâ€? re-telling if you will. In fact, considering they were all going back to the original source material, I didn’t think it was highly creative. In other words, we’ve seen it done too often and it always gets scrapped in the end – so why bother?

But, at last year’s Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon (2004), I happened upon a great sale on the Hardcover Volume 1 collection of Ultimate Spider-Man and decided to give it a shot. It took me another year before getting to it but when I finally did, something magical happened – I loved it. Sure, there are a lot of differences – especially the look of the characters, but the interactions are wonderful, more powerful. Bendis had definitely found a way to make these characters “realâ€? and more mature/ modern without ruining them in the dark and gritty anti-heroes/ world that has become the norm. I especially liked how Mary Jane was studious as opposed to a party-girl and I loved that they (Peter and MJ) started a relationship in high school. And, I really thought it was great that he told her his secret. I loved it when Kirkman did it with Invincible and I loved it as it was done here.

Overall, I don’t know if the series reads as well in the monthly books, but reading it in a collected volume was extremely entertaining. If I should come across the second volume, I won’t hesitate to pick it up. Now, if that isn’t a glowing endorsement, I don’t know what is :) ( )