Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 5: Public Scrutiny [Paperback]

Brian Michael Bendis (Author), Mark Bagley (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Ultimate Spider-Man

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY.

--This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Marvel; 2nd edition (June 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785110879
• ISBN-13: 978-0785110873
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.2 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #331,208 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poor Spider-Man is guilty until he is proven innocent, April 6, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 5: Public Scrutiny (Paperback)

"Ultimate Spider-Man" is more than a re-imagining of the Spider-Man saga from the very beginning. Informed by our knowledge of what happened in the first decades worth of issues of "The Amazing Spider-Man" writer Brian Michael Bendis has heightened the intensity by collpasing the time frame. Even though there is never really a self-contained story in the mix, things are moving very quickly and Bendis is constantly pouring on the problems for our favorite webhead and his teenage secret identity.

"Public Scrutiny" is the fifth trade paperback collection of "Ultimate Spider-Man" comics, this time around including issues #28-32. Previous collections have focused on story arcs involving particular super villains (last time around it was the new and evolved Green Goblin). But one of the strengths of "Public Scrutiny" is that Spider-Man never fights one super villain in the entire book (even though he certainly wants to). The other is that the main focus is on Peter Parker being Spider-Man, an issue that is addressed on multiple levels, from Peter being distracted at school to Mary (Jane) having a hard time handling being constantly worried about Peter getting hurt (not calling her Mary Jane is the biggest problem I have with these revisions). This latter point comes to a head after Spider-Man has a bad encounter with the police who are gunning for him because he has been robbing banks and killing police officers. Actually, it is somebody impersonating Spider-Man, which is just another part of the growing headache for our hero.

Bendis is taking pains to explore what it means to be a superhero when you are sixteen years old and in love with the girl next door, who is ticked off that Gwen Stacy has moved in with the Parkers. Meanwhile, the whole bit with Nick Fury and the rules of superheroes in the brave new Marvel universe continues to present intriguing possibilities for the future. Again, Bendis and artist Mark Bagley are taking there time with this one; 32 issues into "The Amazing Spider-Man" Peter Parker was a freshman at E.S.U., while here he is only a sophomore in high school. We can only imagine what he is going to go through before he reaches graduation day. "Public Scrutiny" is as good of a story arc as "Ultimate Spider-Man" has presented to date, even without the standard knock down, drag out fight with a super bad guy.

Note: Harry Osborne is back and is apparently applying for the role of Pacey in the "Dawson's Creek" parallel that is clearly at work here (Peter is Dawson, Mary is Joey, and Gwen is Jen). I swear, Bendis knows exactly what he is doing with this one. This trade paperback have just about gotten me up to speed on "Ultimate Spider-Man," which has proven to be an integral part of the Spider-Man renaissance.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Public Scrutiny, Private Torment, July 13, 2005

By 

Madelyn Pryor "Goblyn Queen" (Mesa, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 5: Public Scrutiny (Paperback)

This review refers to Ultimate Spider-Man vol. 5 paperback edition: Public Scrutiny

While the previous four volumes of Ultimate Spider-Man have dealt with Peter's private life in the background, and a big league bad guy (or two) in the foreground, this volume is almost exclusively about Peter Parker's home life, his social life, and his love life. As if his career as Spider-Man isn't filled with enough people that hate him, someone else is posing as Spider-Man and robbing people. It's actually much worse than it appears at first, when yet another person close to Peter is killed, this time by the Spider-Man impostor.

His love life is also complicated more, here. With Gwen Stacy in need of comfort, she runs to Peter and his Aunt May for comfort. How much of Gwen wanting to be with Peter is friendship and how much is romance isn't revealed, but it does bend MJ to the breaking point. While I did enjoy MJ and Peter's close relationship from the off, this tension and disharmony is more in keeping with the regular Spider-Man continuity, at least in the beginning.

The writing and art are perfect. Bendis and Bagley are a great duo, who work very well together. This fan girl is wishing them many happy years of collaboration.

Public Scrutiny reprints Ultimate Spider-Man #28-32 and is a fine addition to any Spider-Man collection.

Highly recommended!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The life of a 16 year old Spiderman, March 15, 2008

By 

Michael Henry "Big M" (Nagoya, Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 5: Public Scrutiny (Paperback)

Volume 5 is different from the previous 4, as brings Peter's troubled (and fascinating) life into the foreground. Simply put, an imposter is running around NY in a Spidey costume, and Gwen Stacey moves in with Peter and Aunt May, causing all sorts of problems for MJ (and Peter). This volume doens't have any super villians, which is a nice change and demonstrates the strength of the story written and drawn by Bendis and Bagley in their rebooting of Spidey. Great volume!