Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 9: Ultimate Six [Paperback]

Brian Michael Bendis (Author), Trevor Hairsine (Author), Mark Bagley (Author), Joe Quesada (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One of the things that has made Spider-Man such an enduring character is the gang of colorful misfits who make up his rogues' gallery. In this tale, his five greatest foes-Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, Electro, Kraven the Hunter and Sandman-have been incarcerated in a high-security prison for the criminally supervillainous. Although doped up and under interrogation, they escape and unite, and begin searching for the sixth member of their unstoppable team for evil. Unfortunately, the cover itself gives away some of the mystery surrounding the sixth member: could it possibly be Spider-Man himself? Readers should be aware that this story is set in Marvel's "Ultimate" universe, where characters have been refurbished for 21st-century audiences. So, for example, the Green Goblin now transforms into an actual demon (instead of putting on a corny mask and suit). Bendis's terse dialogue and Hairsine's detailed, action-packed art gives the story a nice momentum, but little is gained by the attempts to add depth by having the characters talk about the dangers of governmental experimentation in genetic mutation. Bendis gives the villains real personality, but misses an opportunity to point out the tale's most obvious lesson: that any government facility that thinks five desperate supervillains won't try to escape from a group therapy session isn't thinking very clearly.
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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (April 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785113126
• ISBN-13: 978-0785113126
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.4 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimates battle the Ultimate Six as Spider-Man watches, June 14, 2004

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. 9: Ultimate Six (Paperback)

In 1964 when Stan Lee and Steve Ditko did the first annual for "The Amazing Spider-Man" they came up with a story called "The Sinister Six," which had the web-head going up against Doctor Octopus, the Sandman, the Vulture, Electro, Mysterio, and Kraven the Hunter. In order to rescue Betty Brant and find Aunt May, Spider-Man has to tackle six of his greatest villains working together and to make things really interesting he has to do it while he has apparently lost his powers. Also appearing in the book in the most minor of roles are Dr. Strange, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, the X-Men, Giant Man and Wasp, who have really nothing to do with our hero defeating the villains (one by one it turns out, with Ditko getting to do a splash page of each battle) and saving the day.

"Ultimate Six" is a seven part miniseries that brings together the Ultimates and Ultimate Spider-Man from Marvel's (you guessed it) Ultimate line of comic books, and it seems to me that scripter Brian Michael Bendis, penciler Trevor Hairsine, and inker Danny Miki are doing an updated version of that first "Spider-Man" annual. In keeping with the mission statement of the Ultimate universe to do things with a twist in a bigger way whenever possible, the Ultimate Six have two key rosters changes. Gone are Mysterio and the Vulture to be replaced by the Green Goblin and (surprise) Spider-Man himself. After all, Norman Osborn knows that Spider-Man is really Peter Parker and threatening Aunt May is enough to get our young hero (who is about 16 at this point) to do anything to make sure she stays alive.

The other big change, as you would expect, is that the Ultimates (the new and improved Avengers) do not sit on the sidelines and show up to save the day. The roster assembled at this point consists of Captain America, Giant Man, Iron Man, Wasp, Thor, Hawkeye and the Black Widow, under the direction of Nick Fury, the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Note: If you have not been reading either "The Ultimates" or "Ultimate Spider-Man" you are going to be woefully lost with this trade paperback.) The super villains were all being held at a S.H.I.E.L.D. containment center and when they escape Fury sics the Ultimates on them (Thor vs. Electro is a neat idea). But the bad guys manage to destroy the Ultimates' stronghold, the Triskelion, and kidnap Peter Parker. The big show down comes on the lawn of the White House as the battle comes down to the Green Goblin and Spider-Man, although not exactly the way you would expect. It seems Norman thinks of Peter as the son he never had (which will be interesting news to Harry to be sure).

This mini-series will appeal to fans of the Ultimates more than Spider-Man, although it has obvious consequences for the Ultimate Spider-Man story line. After all, Bendis, Hairsine and Miki are correct that Spider-Man is not going to be able to handle these five "mutant" villains (yes, one of them gets a power upgrade), especially if they fight as a team, which, this time they do. One of the key elements of the Ultimate universe is the government's concern with illegally obtained super powers and the idea that the next big war will be fought against mutants (Peter is going to be drafted into the Ultimates as soon as he turns 18). In dealing with the flip side of this, "Ultimate Six" also gets into the distorted psyches of the villains. Once I got used to the idea that Spider-Man was going to be a spectator for most of the action I was able to get with the program. Besides, I like the idea that Spider-Man really is in way over his head at this early stage in his superhero career. The scene were Captain America confronts Spider-Man is a good indication of how far over the rainbow we are in this story from the traditional Marvel universe, which is a main part of the appeal of the Ultimate titles.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Should be a stand alone, not #9, June 18, 2004

By 

T. A. Clark (Spring Valley, MN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 9: Ultimate Six (Paperback)

This graphic novel is listed as #9 in the Ultimate Spider-Man series, but really only contains one Ultimate Spider-Man comic in it with the other six being Ultimate Six comics.

I grabbed it eagerly hoping for more Ultimate Spider-Man, but the storyline picked up more of the convoluted typical comic fare than the simple-sweet personal style of Ultimate Spider-Man. The art after the first issue isn't typical of that series either, and is made up entirely of the more "realistic" art of Ultimate Six that leaves something to be desired if you're a fan of Ultimate Spider-Man's style up to this point.

Overall it's #9 in the list of these graphic novels, but if you were to skip it there's only a minor detail leading into what will be in #10 that you will have missed (and will pick up soon from there anyway). Since my interest is much more toward Ultimate Spider-Man than what Nick Fury and the Ultimates are up to these days, I found this graphic novel to be very disappointing both in story and art when all I wanted was more Spidey.

Aside from the first issue in the book and its action introduction of The Sandman, the rest is forgettable and not up to par with the eight that preceeded it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good action...after a LOT of talk, August 23, 2005

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 9: Ultimate Six (Paperback)

Nick Fury of S.H.E.I.L.D. and his Ultimates (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, Giant Man, Hawkeye and Black Widow) have rounded up five of the most dangerous mutants around, and have them locked up together. There's a war coming, and Fury wants whatever secrets they have. But, in putting Dr. Octopus, the Green Goblin, Sandman, Electro and Kraven the Hunter all together, he might just end up with a war right now. And, if its one thing that these villains have in common it's Spiderman.

I must say that I have some mixed feelings about this graphic novel. The action is pretty darn good, but it takes a while to get to it. My twelve-year-old son started reading this book, but he got bored with all of the scenes of people sitting around talking, and finally just gave up. It's filled with a lot of angst, as modern comic books are - is Nick Fury a good guy or a bad guy? what's the American government up to? and who is really creating all of the mutants and why? Captain America walks around with a permanent scowl on his face.

But, that said, I did enjoy the book. It has excellent illustration work, great action, and lots of heroes and villains. Overall, I give it a somewhat guarded recommendation.