Ultimate Spider-Man #19 Review

This is my second Brian Michael Bendis book this week, which means that this has been a good week for comic book fans. In the Ultimate universe, the major "United We Stand" crossover event is finally over, so BMB can carry on where he left off with Mile Morales et al. I didn't hate the crossover event, but this is the only Ultimate range book I buy so I felt like it was stopping this series from being what I wanted it to continue being; which has been one hell of a ride.

The first third of this issue focuses on Miles, as he is back to his everyday life as a teenager. These are always my favorite parts of the series, as Miles is such a great character to read about. I am probably about 8 or 9 years older than him, but I love seeing what he gets up to while he is not being Spider Man. He is just a very likeable character.
Saying that, we saw a great scene where Miles was trying to use his web shooters so he could fly through the city. I have missed these comedic moments, and you can tell  that Bendis just loves writing them. I keep forgetting that Miles has not been under the mask too long, so when a scene like this pops up it really helps to put everything into perspective progress wise. He still has a long way to go, but he is doing just fine so far.

There was a big character moment in this issue that came kind of out of the blue for me. I did not read the last issues of Peter Parker as Spider Man in this series so I was not sure how JJJ felt about him. Needless to say, the explanation he gave in this issue for not printing a news story regarding the identity of the new Spider Man was very touching indeed. I also thought the art in this scene was the best in the issue; especially some of the facial expressions. You could tell from Maria Hill's face that she could feel the pain and anguish coming off JJJ.
Another great character moment was Miles' dad, and his reaction to be deemed a superhero by the press. His story seems to be getting deeper and deeper, and it is something I am really enjoying. Bendis is fantastic at adding depth to characters that you thought you had no interest in and making you care, so I am more than happy to go along for the ride on this one.

Of course this issue saw the grand return of Venom to USM. This issue was mainly teaser until the last panel, so it looks like we will be seeing a lot of more him next issue; which is just fine by me.  BMB knows what he is doing, and so does Sara Pichelli on art duties. These two are becoming a lethal combination, which makes me have no doubt at all that this Venom story is going to be something rather special. Bring on issue #20.


Rating: 9 / 10


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