Title: Spider-Men #5
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Sara Pichelli / Justin Ponsor
Publisher: Marvel
Spider-Men issue 5 marks the finale of the first Ultimate Universe / 616 Universe crossover. How’d it do?
Well first off, there were a lot of things handled extremely well. Fans were more than a little skeptical after the announcement that the Ultimate U would share a book with the 616ers, and rightfully so. That made it a little more surprising when the first couple issues turned out enjoyable. In true Bendis fashion, the momentum kept up until the end. Especially with Mysterio’s revelation as a “double agent”, so to speak.
From Peter Parker learning of his own demise, to his “reunion” with Gwen Stacy, it was nice seeing ol’ Pete get a different type of opportunity to step back and appreciate what he has. Miles got the chance to fight along his superhero namesake, proving that he can scrap alongside the best of them while skipping no opportunities to capitalize on any openings for one-liners and banter. All qualifications of a Spider-Man.
So really, Spider-Men wasn’t about a game changing story or a detrimental threat to the planet, but more a chance to let these characters grow a little, and to do so together.
Fun is the best word to describe what Spider-Men ended up being. Just… fun. Seeing the Miles and Peter interact with each other was as enjoyable as it sounds, and there were actually decent repercussions for both universes in the end. Nothing groundbreaking, but this certainly is not the last we’ll hear of these worlds colliding.
Somewhere out there, in some other universe like ours, some random dude was probably graced with my daily desk job after I was killed from a seemingly random office mishap involving a printer and a live snapping turtle in a tuxedo. Would I love the chance to meet him? Hell yeah. That’s the thought process that traveled through my noggin after finishing Spider-Men, which is why I’m going to recommend it when the trade comes out. It’s just…fun.
