Reviews

Ultimate Spider-man is one of my all time favorite comic series. It's almost certainly in my Top 5 of all time. When it was announced that Peter Parker was going to die and be replaced by this Miles Morales kid, I was devastated. But I loved the series so much that I stuck it through. And was overjoyed that I did.

Years later, Bendis announced he was leaving Marvel for DC and would be passing the reins on USM/MM to someone new. This worried me because the thing that I most dislike about Bendis on other projects is exactly what made his Spider-man work sing: his voice. Would it work with someone new behind the wheel? I honestly wasn't sure I wanted to find out, so I quietly dropped the title from my pull list.

With the announcement that aspects of the Ultimate universe would be returning to this title in the next few months, I finally committed to reading Ahmed's take on Miles by picking up this first trade. And it is... adequate? The overall story has its heart in the right place, but does little new or exciting. The character voices are all slightly off. Ganke is, at this point, an entirely different character in appearance and personality, which is a shame because he was so well loved that they modeled Ned from the MCU on him. Miles reads decently, but doesn't quite have that zing he used to.

What was particularly strange for me was thinking back to the original run and how much has changed and been undone. Multiple characters who died are back (though that's on Bendis and Hickman more than Ahmed). Major supporting characters have vanished, replaced by new ones. Status quos are weird and jumbled with past history unclear. Was Aaron the Prowler? As a fresh start for a new reader, it's not the worst thing in the world. As a continuation of a fan favorite series, though? It's pretty heartbreaking.

val_z's review

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adventurous inspiring mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This review contains spoilers, just a heads up. This was a fun read the writer clearly loves the character of Miles Morales. Using the journal entries to show his inner monologue was an inspired choice. I enjoyed the storyline with Miles and Rhino teaming up with Captain America to battle child soldiers. I also enjoyed the mystery of the Starling character. The reveal of her being the Vulture's granddaughter was a nice twist. I did not see that coming. Also her character arc was nice. It shows that Miles Morales has a good influence on people. And I won't divulge anymore than that. Definitely check it out if you're a Miles Morales fan.