Ultimate Spider-Man #72
Man oh man. I just don’t know what to think of Ultimate Spidey. The last two issues, involving Dr. Strange Jr. were at best, silly, and overall unnecessary. I have to admit that I don’t exactly know the readership of this book. It may be teens, or it may be all of the folks that enjoy a good side-quip, but usually it isn’t me. I did like the series on Carnage, and this return of young Osborn, who is the Hobgoblin-in-the-making, is off to a good start.

The thing I get sick of is the over-focus on teenage drama and angst. I realize that this is unfair, seeing as this comic is about a young teenager who is lost as to what he should do with himself. Also, I realize that he gets little or no appreciation or credit for his heroics, but his constant grumbling has begun to sound like the whining of a toddler who wants mac-and-cheese instead of veggies.

Now that I have gotten that off my chest…

Ultimate Spider-Man #72 is a good issue with surprises. There is the unappreciative lab-folks who tell an electrical, non-Electro villain to go ahead and kill Spidey because they don’t know him. Then, there is the return of Harry Osborn, Harry Osborn making out with MJ, and Harry Osborn besmirching his current predicament. All of which hint that, no, scream out that the Hobgoblin is on his way, and he of course has a score to settle with both Peter Parker and Spider-Man.

It needs to be said that the last part of this issue was really good. Although, I am not a huge fan of the art (in my opinion the inks and the colors don’t fit together correctly – maybe it is too sketchily inked for the amount of color?) I did enjoy the confrontation in the basement between Harry and Peter, as well as the lead-up to it. Here the story gets good. There is good suspense, and an excellent ending which will force everyone to buy the next issue.

So, what will befall the long-faced aracnidling? We’ll have to wait to find out. Hopefully there will be more to it than silly, teeny-bopper soliloquies, and angst-ridden meanderings of the fast-swinging pubescent Parker. If not, I will only breathe a disappointed sigh, a sigh of mourning and of confusion over the misused potential of this would-be great book.
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