Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 17: Clone Saga [Paperback]

Brian Michael Bendis (Author), Mark Bagley (Illustrator), John Dell (Illustrator), Andrew Hennessy (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: 4 and up

As Peter Parker tries to sort out his relationship with the X-Men's Kitty Pryde - and continue his friendship with Mary Jane - a mall-food-court lunch turns into a free-for-all as Peter and MJ are interrupted by the debut of... the Ultimate Scorpion! But who is the Scorpion - and what sinister conspiracy is threatening Spider-Man's very existence? The clues have been laid over the past 96 issues... and it all starts to come together here, as we begin the most shocking, most mind-blowing Spider-Man story ever published! Collects Ultimate Spider-Man #97-104.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (September 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785119280
• ISBN-13: 978-0785119289
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.5 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #345,610 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brian Michael Bendis is an award winning comics creator and one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For the last eleven years, Brian's books have consistently sat on the top of the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel's popular AVENGERS franchise by writing every issue of the NEW AVENGERS plus debuting the hit books MIGHTY AVENGERS and DARK AVENGERS along with the wildly successful 'event' projects HOUSE OF M, SECRET WAR, SECRET INVASION, and SIEGE.
This summer will see the blockbuster new line-ups for AVENGERS and NEW AVENGERS.
Other recent projects include the groundbreaking SPIDER-WOMAN MOTION COMIC, that debuted number one on iTunes TV sales chart and the New York Times best selling HALO graphic novel.
Brian is one of the premiere architects of Marvel comic's Ultimate line of comics. A line of comics specifically created for the new generation of comics reader. He has written every issue of ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN since it's best selling launch in 1999, and has also written ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR, X-MEN, MARVEL TEAM UP, ORIGIN, SIX and the ENEMY trilogy.
He is creator of the JINX line of crime comics published by image comics. This line has spawned the graphic novels GOLDFISH, FIRE, JINX, TORSO (w/ Marc Andreyko) and TOTAL SELL OUT.
Brian's other projects include the Eisner award winning "POWERS" (w/Mike Oeming) from Marvel's creator owned imprint ICON, and the Hollywood tell all "FORTUNE AND GLORY'. Entertainment Weekly gave both projects an "A." SONY and FX networks are currently developing POWERS for series with Brian as exec producer.
Brian is currently adapting his spy graphic novel FIRE for Universal Pictures as a starring vehicle for Zac Efron.
Brian is a member of Marvel studios creative committee, which consults on their numerous ongoing film projects. He has consulted on IRON-MAN and IRON MAN 2 and is currently consulting on THE FIRST AVENGERS: CAPTAIN AMERICA, THOR and THE AVENGERS
Brian has won five prestigious EISNER awards, including 'Best Writer of the year' two years in a row. He has also won over two dozen Wizard comic awards. Brian is the recipient of the Cleveland Press 'Excellence in Journalism' Award and was named "Best Writer of the Year." by Wizard Magazine and Comic Buyer's Guide for three consecutive years.
He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Alisa, his gorgeous daughters Olivia and Sabrina and his dogs Lucky, Max and Buster.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bendis and Bagley pour it on for issue #100 of "Ultimate Spider-Man", April 5, 2007

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 17: Clone Saga (Paperback)

I approached the "Clone Saga" that makes up "Ultimate Spider-Man, Volume 17" with great trepidation. After all, it was the cloning plotlines that became for me where "The Amazing Spider-Man" jumped the shark and I stopped reading it and the rest of Marvel's Spider-Man titles. Then there is the way that writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mark Bagley have consistently come up with creative twists and turns on the original Spider-Man stories, which becomes an additional concern when you are getting up to issue #100 of "Ultimate Spider-Man" because the first time around Stan Lee came up with Peter Parker creating a formula so he would no longer be Spider-Man and it backfired, ironically making him more like a spider by giving him two additional pairs of arms. So you link "Spider-Man" and "clones," and I start getting really nervous.

"Ultimate Spider-Man, Volume 17: Clone Saga" collects issues #97-104 (which means it does not include #105 containing the epilogue). At this point Peter is dating Kitty Pryde and since everybody knows her identity as Shadowcat, when she is seen romantically with Spider-Man that means Kitty cannot be seen dating Peter. However, the fact that Peter is still seeing Mary Jane is driving Kitty crazy: what she calls "hanging out" he calls "going to school together." Their relationship is not helped when MJ drags Peter to the mall so they can talk and he can get back on his game and Ultimate Scorpion shows up and a fight ensues. The ante is upped considerably when Spider-man unmasks the Scorpion and sees his own face looking back at him. Meanwhile, MJ is suddenly abducted from her own bedroom. Spider-Man takes the unconscious Scorpion to the Baxter Building so that Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four can run tests. The results show a 94.2% DNA match with Peter Parker and now the fun begins in earnest.

Bendis and Bagley really pour it on in this story line. In addition to the debut of the Ultimate Scorpion we have the first appearance of the Ultimate Spider-Woman, the "return" of Gwen Stacy, and another even more surprising appearance by somebody who is supposed to be dead. When Aunt May finds Peter and the late Gwen Stacy in her kitchen you figure that things could not be getting any more complicated, but it does, and all before we actually get to issue #100. We still have Ultimate Carnage, Ultimate Six-Armed Spider-Man in a Black Costume, and Ultimate Kaine (sort of), so there are more than enough clones to shake a stick at in this story arc. The net result is, in a word, excessive. I have not yet listed all of the clones let alone all of the major players that make up the "Clone Saga." In these issues Bendis and Bagley get to one of the landmark moments in the history of Spider-Man and because it happens in the middle of everything else that is going on the effect is rather diminished. Or maybe I was just numb after reeling from all of these things being dumped on our young hero.

One of the strengths of "Ultimate Spider-Man" has been the use of multi-issue story arcs so that Bendis and Bagley do not have to come up with a different villain each month (that is how you end up with the likes of the Terrible Tinkerer). If you count multi-part stories in "The Amazing Spider-Man," the Scorpion also showed up in the 17th Spider-Man story, which was issue #20, towards the end of the second year of Lee and Steve Ditko's run on the title. Taking multiple issues to tell a story involving Spider-Man versus the Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus or whoever, allows for more depth in the story telling. Here the piling on of characters and plot lines provides a sense of density rather than depth. The "Clone Saga" is certainly ambitious, more comparable to the "Ultimate Six" mini-series than anything else, but I actually found it to be the least satisfying volume to date.

Next up is the Ultimate Knights story arc, which will be significant because it will be the last "Ultimate Spider-Man" stories drawn by Bagley, which has announced he would leaving the title with issue #110. This ends one of the longest continuous runs by a creative team on a Marvel comic book, technically beating the record set by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby on the "Fantastic Four" (I understand ignoring the "FF" annuals that would mean Bendis and Bagley fall short in number of stories, but anything in triple figures is impressive since we are talking eight-plus years of work). Of course, Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragones did ten years on "Groo the Wanderer" for Marvel, but the witless barbarian was never one of the flagship characters of the company.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best issue yet!, October 17, 2007

By 

Beau C. Hesterberg "Spidey-Guy" (Rio Grande Valley, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 17: Clone Saga (Paperback)

I got started reading Ultimate Spider-Man a few years back. I liked the idea of being able to jump right into the story without reading 40 years of back issues.

While I have a lot of respect for the original Spider-Man (go Stan Lee), Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley have put together an awesome retelling of the Spidey legend.

The Clone Saga is the best volume yet! The storytelling is excellent; many twists and turns, yet not too confusing to follow. Many rewarding surprises and conclusions.

And the artwork is outstanding! I get tired of comics where every guy is super-ripped, and every girl is busting out of her clothes.

Mark Bagley's characters are attractive, expressive (love the eyes), and instantly recognizable (every guy and girl doesn't look exactly the same with a different color hair and outfit).

If you've been following the Ultimate Spider-Man series, you will love this book. But if you're just getting started, you will want to read some of the back story first.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Redeemer of the Series, July 23, 2010

By 

Tyler S. "Super-Review" (Brentwood, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 17: Clone Saga (Paperback)

NO SPOILERS
I stopped reading Ultimate Spidey before this trade. I then re-read the series and picked up where I left off. I was shocked to discover that the clone saga holds some of the best material in the series. I was losing faith in Bendis after Hobgoblin and Carnage. This trade totally redeemed the stale parts of the run, and now I'm freshly re-addicted to the series. NO SPOILERS DO NOT READ SPOILERS IN OTHER REVIEWS.

Clone Saga brought a very strong mystery element. I couldn't guess who was behind what was going one the entire time. I won't give away details, but some really crazy stuff happens, and Spider-man is really brought to his breaking point. This by far is the most sadistic attack on Peter in the history of Ultimate Spider-man. The appearances by other heroes becomes crucial to the great story, and I was happy to see a struggle between Spidey and Nick Fury. Without a doubt, Clone Saga is one of the top three trades of the series.

My advice, keep reading. You may have felt uninterested after Deadpool, but trust me it gets a whole lot better. Clone Saga has convinced me to finish the series, by giving me something incredible to read and something incredible to look forward to.