Customer Reviews

Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 9: Ultimate Six

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This story is very complicated and for fans who haven't read any Ultimate Spider-man or Ultimates books, don't get this one. There is a little background information that you'll need to understand this. First, Spider-man is about sixteen and has faughten each of the villains he is up against: Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Electro, Kraven, and Sandman (note: thats only five villains!) The Ultimates are a super-team to help fight mutant terrorists. They're just improved Avengers. They include Captain America, Giant Man, Wasp, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Iron Man, and Thor. Ok, now the story starts with Ultimate Spider-man #46 where Spider-man fights the Sandman. Later, the story branches out to a SHIELD contaiment prison for the five Spider-man villains. They team up and break out of the prison. They then kidnap the young teen and threaten to kill his aunt if he doesn't cooperate. The team becomes....The Six! The showdown with the Six and the Ultimates begins! Which side will Spider-man fight on???

First off,many of the readers who seemed disappointed with this are mostly fans of the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book.The style is very different and is better suited for fans of The Ultimates.

I actually bought this entire mini in comic form last week and was really impressed.There's good pacing here and little action outbursts and nice splash pages to keep the action hungry satisfied.The art is great,especially during the climactic battle on the White House lawn.Hairsine delivers the goods with lots of details and amazing panels to leave you drueling.

One thing about Bendis' style is that he features alot of dialogue.And most of the time,it's a good thing mostly used for set-up and characterization.This is meant to be a big-time showdown between a team of heroes and baddies.But as generic as it sounds,Bendis make things alot more thick and gives it more depth than that.If you have read The Ultimates,you will have a better understanding of many of the government aspects going on here,but even if you haven't,it's quite easy to comprehend.The villains here,especially Osborne and Octavius,are portrayed as intelligent scientists who hunger for nothing but revenge and power.Their motives are quite clear,and nothing too out of this world or far fetched.

This is a truly entertaining super-hero epic from Marvel's Ultimate line.This would be a great book to read for those looking to get back into comics.It might be wise to read some volumes of Ultimate Spidey and The Ultimates first,but even if you haven't,it's still an awesome read.I myself don't read USM and still understood what was going on.This book is highly recommended for anyone looking for a good epic super-hero read.

I also recommend
The Ultimates:Super Human,The Ultimates:Homeland Security,and The Ultimates:Gods and Monsters if you liked this.

Hi Spidey-Fans,

I don't know about this one. As I have been surprisingly caught up in drama of 15 year old Peter Parker coming into his own as a man, a Spider-Man, as it were, I was disappointed by this side-step, this exit off the highway that has been the fun ride of previous installments. True, the series at times does strike me as a teen soap opera that might sit side by side any of the tepid fare one might be victim to on the W-Boob, but I still find it an enjoyable escape from the harrowing life of a popular English Professor such as myself.

But this Ultimate 6 struck me as airplane movie, action flick fare. It has a couple fun moments but the sweetness and allegory--and I hesitate to add drama because I know you comic fans equate such literary terms with boredom--are missing as more attention is diverted to those steadfast and stately Ultimates who come across as boring salaried office workers more than they do as a rambunctious cadre of Super Heroes.

I enjoyed the art but missed the Bagley touch which suits the tone of the rest of the series so well. Ultimate Spider-Man in general gets Five Stars, this one gets three.

Peter, do us all a favor and tell your Aunt May. The lies are starting to gather as flies on a dollop of scat.

This is more of an Ultimates story than an Ultimate Spider-Man story, and Bendis has a great handle on the characters (their initial encounter with Kraven made me laugh out loud, as did the other chances Thor got to assert his autonomy). I think the artwork is pretty beautiful, especially since Hitch gets to revisit the Ultimate characters who never look quite right in anyone else's hands, and I love almost anything Quesada draws. The story is fairly simple: a few of Spider-Man's bad guys break out of prison and smash some stuff, then there's a big fight. The characters are the real draw, though, as from Spider-Man to Aunt May to the villains to the Ultimates, everyone speaks with the right voice. This is not essential reading, but it's a lot of fun and well-presented.

The Ultimate Six is somewhat of a sideplot, even though it is a hugely epic story. As one reviewer stated before, it doesn't follow the traditional ultimate spider-man storytelling that we're all accustomed to, but it still held me by the eyes and wouldn't let me go till I finished.

Whew I had to take a step back after reading this. We've got the Avengers and the Ultimate Six....or Five...you'll see. It's kind of like a huge chocolate cake. You don't wanna be given it all the time, but that rare time when you receive it, you wanna eat the WHOLE thing. My only concern with the book was the drawings of Peter. I saw one drawing where he literally looked cross-eyed. Hopefully I'll get my illustrator back in the next book.

I hope you're prepared to set aside some time in your busy life. Once you pick it up it will not fall back down until you've finished every last page. Yea, at least to me, ITS THAT GOOD!

But the nice treat here is Spidey meets Black Cat and the super tough villain, Elektra. Black Cat is really playful and is a great character to keep Spidey occupied since he broke up with MJ.

Nick Fury has the Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter, Electron, the Sandman, and Doctor Octopus locked up so he can study them, and have Henry Pym try and work out how they can do something useful with them.

Very bad idea.

This is really an Ultimates book, with Spider-Man guest starring.

Neither the President or Captain America is very happy with what is going on after much destruction and death.