Customer Reviews

Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 3: Double Trouble

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just when I thought the game plan of the "Ultimate Spider-Man" with regards to the love life of his alter-ego Peter Parker was to go directly to Mary Jane Watson, passing Betty Bryant and Gwen Stacy, when scribe Brian Michael Bendis drops the later into the action. This version of Gwen is big on the mascara and perfectly willing to pull a switchblade on a bully, both of which are completely valid reasons for Peter to have his eyes pop out of his head when he looks at her. Not even her police Captain father can reign in this blonde tornado.

At this point in the comic book the stage is merely being set for the impending love triangle, but I have to tell you that what is happening here is clearly a take off on "Dawson's Creek." Seriously. Peter is Dawson, Mary Jane is Joey, and Gwen is Jen (No, Flash is not Pacey; Kong is closer to being Pacey than Flash, but Peter Parker does not have a friend, which means Harry is not Pacey either). This should prove to be interesting, especially given that Mary Jane already know's Peter's big secret. But at this point the main problem is that Aunt May has an over inflated opinion about her nephew's love life. Yes, things might actually be worse for our hero this time around.

The title of "Double Trouble" has to do with the fact that in this collection of "Ultimate Spider-Man" #14-21, Spider-Man has not one but two villains after him (I was going to say two super villains, but that would not be the case). The new and improved bad guys this time around are Doctor Octopus, who has come out of his coma to discover his tentacles are fused to his skin, and Kraven the Hunter, who is now a reality television star from Down Under. Clearly, the more you know about the original Spider-Man comics and his various foes the more you will enjoy Bendis's refinements and provocative changes. At the end of this collection Spider-Man enjoys his biggest moment in the sun since the spider bit him, which quickly follows with a particularly low moment for Peter. Even when we think we know the rules of the game, Bendis continues to surprise us.

"Double Trouble" is the third trade paperback collection of "Ultimate Spider-Man" comics, which re-imagines the webhead as a younger Peter Parker trying to learn the ropes of being a superhero. But for those who read the first couple hundred issues of the original "Amazing Spider-Man" this is a hyper retelling of the tale. Forget all the ... superheroes Spidey had to fight with; this time around the focus is on the best and the baddest. The biggest difference between these first 21 issues of "Ultimate Spider-Man" and the original comic is that a single issue is no longer a complete story; it takes eight issues for the conflict between Spidey and Doc Ock to develop and be resolved. Consequently, we have the rather paradoxical fact that things are happening much faster for Spider-Man in this retelling of the tale while taking longer to develop. I continue to be impressed by this brilliant "re-imagining," which is drawn by Mark Bagley with inks by Art Thibert and Erik Benson.

I just can't believe how much I'm enjoying Ultimate Spiderman, and this collection is the best story arc yet.

Brian Michael Bendis flawlessly introduces two major villains from Spiderman's rogue gallery, Doc Octopus and Kraven the Hunter. There is such a quality to this work, such an attention to detail. Bendis is really building this series from the ground up, really breathing new life and fleshing out Peter Parker. And while Bendis respects the history of Spiderman, he by no means is hampered by it, and has no problem discarding details that make no sense.

Mark Bagley is definitely improving as this series progresses. I have been really quite impressed, it seems his storytelling is improving, and the action is very easy to follow. To me, Bagley has become a part of the book, an integral part of the experience.

This is a very intelligent Spider-title, and it only stands that it will get better and better, as has been the case so far.

This review is for Ultimate Spider-Man vol. 3 paperback edition: Double Trouble

Doctor Octopus has long been one of Spider-Man's greatest villains, and this volume sees his entrance into the Ultimates world. Horribly disfigured after his accident in Osborn lab's in volume one, Otto Octavius insane and out for blood. Add into the mix, Kraven, who fancies himself the world's ultimate hunter, and his new prey is Spider-Man.

Once again, Bendis bring his best game when scripting this book. The writing is wonderful, the characters very real and very human. His take on Gwen Stacy is very unlike mainstream Gwen Stacy but the result is a very likable character. His approach to Mary Jane and Peter's relationship is also very teenage and appealing.

Bagley and Thibert's pencils are nice, and appropriate to the book, though the character's are a little wide eyed at times, and their take on Doc Ock's body didn't mesh with my personal image of the character.

This is the perfect Ultimate Spider-Man graphic to buy for someone who has seen Spider-Man 2 and wants to read a comic with Doc Ock in it. This book is also appropriate for all ages and for comic collectors and newcomers alike.

This volume reprints Ultimate Spider-Man #14-21. Highest recommendations!

I read the first comic books containing the new character of Spider-Man when they first hit the newsstands and have been a fan of his ever sense. Written with a sense of humor and irony, yet devoted to his frail Aunt May, Spider-Man and his secret identity of Peter Parker were two conflicting characters that managed to mesh. Spider-Man the superhero was also made so much more interesting by the powerful villains that he was forced to fight. For a long time, the fan favorite villain was the powerful Dr. Octopus (Doc Oc).
Therefore, with this background I find the alteration of the characters in this book to be unfulfilling. Aunt May is no longer the frail creature, but a woman with an attitude. Peter Parker is a scrawny teenager that needs to eat larger meals and J. Jonah Jameson has been tamed down from his blustery role as chief noisemaker. M. J. and Peter are a couple and she knows that Peter is Spider-Man.
This book is a retelling of the origin of Doc Oc and provides some background for the origins of some of the other Marvel super villains, most specifically the Sandman. One of the best lines in the book is uttered by Justin Hammer, the man responsible for the experiments that made Doc Oc into a superhuman. The line is "Oh yeah - S. H. I. E. L. D. is just the organization I am going to explain how, like, Norman Osborn I am knee deep in violations against the superhuman test ban treaty." Spidey has a showdown with Doc. Oc and he emerges victorious, which causes the way the public perceives him to be altered to the positive. The inclusion of Kraven the Hunter was unfortunate and the story would have been much stronger if their battle had never occurred.
Spider-Man has been around for approximately fifty years now and some changes are inevitable. However, many of the changes in the characters do nothing to enhance the story, some of them weaken it substantially.

Prime focus in this novel, is the city's opinion of spider-man. Every great Spider-man story needs a strong theme, and each of the novels in this series has had a good theme thus far. After three volumes I'm still dying to read more and I plan to pick up the next few after my tax return, hah.

Anyway I granted this four stars because the story continues at a great pace. Our villains get a decent backstory, and Spider-man still has the best in-combat dialogue ever.

The reason I demoted a star is because the villains don't quite keep up with the tone of the previous volumes. Doctor Octupus is thrown in really without a lot of backstory. We just see him with the arms and hes Doc Ock. I wanted to see what drove him, so that I could be convinced that hes a believable villain. Kraven also is a great villain, but I didn't see why he could legally kill Spider-man with America's consent. Yes they had problems with Spidey, but we don't legally kill people, we usually detain them if possible. They explained this later on, but it would have made sense earlier.

Besides those slight details, I am driven to read the next few episodes. I might just be attracted to villains like Venom and Carnage more than Doc Ock, but if you're an octupus fan, then you should enjoy this episode. I also hope to see more of Kraven, after he loses the Steve Irwin persona.

Doc Ock looks great in this story but maybe a little bit too muscular? I mean he's a scientist with no notable genetic enhancements a la Green Goblin in this series. Kraven looks good as well, but not really a worthy adversary. This book is alright and somewhat longer than the 2nd volume.

You have probably gotten a good idea of the plot by reading the other 6 reviews here, so I won't go into that. I just want to recommend this #3 in the rebooted Spidey series, it has fantastic art, the villians are beautifully drawn and their personalities are captured very well. The story is extremely well written and you can identify with how Peter feels and how it copes with it. Full marks!

this is spideys best villans first apperance Doc Ock and it shows spideys but being handed to him and becoming infamous. But kraven fans beware he isnt at his best. it even has a sneak peek of sandman. and this is a must have

Spider-Man, while supposed to be younger here, of course, almost looks like you took McFarlane's version and locked him in a cupboard for 2 weeks and didn't let him eat.

Plenty of big eyes for the young manga-like loving kiddies too, seems to have worked.

Some fun bits, Gwen Stacy seems to have stepped out of a gang, and they threw in a Jenny Sparks joke.

Kraven the Crocodile Hunter, and the dacking of Doc Ock.

Overall, not too bad, but not a style I like much.

I started loosing interst in the newer spider man books after this comic, i found a disturbance with the second one that was more artist than story but volume 3's story is cheezy but spider man is still the man, even if they try to change his persona and twist the story.