Spider-Man #1 (Marvel)

CREDIT: Marvel

Rating: 3.5/5 – Miles Morales Moves Into the Prime Marvel Universe!
By ComicSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas.

It was 2011 when Peter Parker died in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. With Peter’s death, an all new Ultimate Spider-Man debuted and took over the mantle. At this point, Ultimate Spider-Man had been running for one-hundred and fifty issues and the rest of Marvel’s Ultimate-verse was declining in it’s popularity with only a couple other concurrent series left, Ultimate Comics: X-Men and Ultimate Comics: Ultimates. I was one of the readers who left the Ultimate Universe after Ultimate Spider-Man #150, so my exposure to Miles Morales is extremely limited. I can honestly only remember Peter’s death, but not Miles’ introduction.

So with issue number one of Spider-Man, Miles is a brand new character to me. So far, and based off of this first issue, I’d compare him a lot to a young Peter Parker. Although that’s not necessarily a bad thing, I was expecting a bit more. In this first issue Miles is a high school student who is  struggling with his grades since his role as Spider-Man is conflicting with his school time. While that seems like familiar territory, Miles relationship with his parents is definitely unique. Only one of his parents knows about his Spider-Man identity so that should present some interesting storylines moving forward, and we get to see a bit of those dynamics in this first issue.

What’s typical of the Ultimate Spider-Man by Bendis that I remember is that it focuses as much on Spider-Man out of costume as it does while he is in costume. Artist Sara Pichelli does a wonderful job of giving Miles his look both in and out of the suit. Spider-Man’s black suit looks great on the page; it’s lithe and sleek. Pichelli also does a great job of making the villain Blackheart look scary and I was definitely surprised to see Blackheart again. Gaetano Carlucci is credited as an inking assistant but the inking is so soft that it looks as though the majority of the pages and panels are colored right from the pencils. I’d like to see Pichelli’s art with a heavier inker, but overall the art still shines.

I’d consider myself a new reader being introduced to Miles Morales and although the storyline didn’t thrill me, it did enough for me to get to know the character and want to come back for more. I wasn’t a fan towards the end of the Ultimate Universe, so it’s more of an appeal to me now that Miles Morales is in the Prime Marvel Universe. Although I didn’t feel as though there was too much different between a young Peter Parker and a young Miles Morales, the subtle differences that Bendis has presented will keep me around for at least a few more issues.

Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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