Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates, Review | Tagged: Comics, death, marvel, MVL, spdier-man, ultimate, ultimates

The Great Ultimate Death Of Spider-Man Bait And Switch

Published Wed, 22 Jun 2011 08:00:01 -0500

The current Ultimate books before the relaunch, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man and Ultimate Comics Ultimates Vs New Avengers have been running a multipart crossover storyline The Death Of Spider-Man. Which as everyone knows by now, results in the death of Spider-Man.

But it's a crock. Or rather the multi-part storyline is, rather. At the beginning we saw the Ultimates actions loose the Sinister Six, who went on to attack Spider-Man. Then, issues later, Spider-Man sees Captain America in danger and saves him from being shot by the Punisher, taking a bullet, ultimately leading to his demise.

That is the extent of the crossover. Two scenes. For the vast majority of the crossover, the books do not impact on the other. Anyone buying today's Ultimates hoping for some insight into the Death Of Spider-Man wil be sorely disappointed despite having it blazoned across the cover. Almost embarrassed, the creative team dress one of the rioting Korean superheroes as Spider-Man, someway trying to justify the title blazoned across the cover, but it doesn't wash.

This is in no way a criticism of the comics, the crossing storylines work well as both books touch on the other. But of the marketing and promotional strategy which disappoint the reader and probably break all sorts of trade description guidelines. This is in no way a multi-part storyline, this is not a crossover, this is a well organised cameo and use of cross continuity.

If that had been what was marketed, no one would have had a problem. But it's not. It now seems a cheap attempt to bring some attention to the declining Ultimates book, a comic drifting down the charts, that has muddied the emotional impact of those last few pages in Ultimate Spider-Man #160. Even more than running in the, in the New York Post the day before.