Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 1: Power and Responsibility Paperback – July 24, 2012

"Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1: Power & Responsibility" is an amazing reboot from the amazing mind of Brian Michael Bendis. Whether if you're an old school fan or someone who is looking to get into comics, this is the best of the bunch for you to dive right into. No tie-ins, no backstory needed to understand what is going on, no to anything requires you know anything before hand, it's all starting at zero and climbing up from there.For those of you who don't know, this is the comic series that not only jump-started the Ultimate Universe but saved Marvel Comics during a very dark time, plus helped get the first live-action Spider-Man movie off the ground. So much respect is deserving towards this series because without it... who knows where Marvel as a whole would be. We probably wouldn't have the MCU if not for this series. But anyway, long story made short, Marvel was in big financial trouble from the 1990s to the early 2000s, forcing them to sell off movie rights (Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, and X-Men) and take a risk in rebooting Spider-Man by bringing in Brian Michael Bendis to write, while Mark Bagley did the artwork. And the rest is history!I promise that there will not be any spoilers, although that's not necessary as I am sure a good majority of you know how it will go with these first 7 issues that are collected in this, but it will spoiler-free regardless.One thing I absolutely love about this volume is how it takes it time to set so much up. For all 7 issues, this is just the origin story of Peter Parker and his journey towards becoming Spider-Man. And yeah, I know we are all sick of hearing the origin (probably a close 2nd behind Batman's), but you have to understand that this was made in the year 2000. By that point, there were no movies. And the only run was the main 616-universe, which only had a few pages dedicated to the origin of Spider-Man. If anything, this started the trend of overusing the origin story. This series literally takes a couple of issues to build up towards the first appearance of Spider-Man, while building up Peter as a character.And speaking of which, I like the characters a lot. Ben and May Parker are amazingly done in this volume. We get to spend time with Ben and witness his relationship with Peter. And May is not treated like an 80-year-old woman in this version. Mary Jane is also revamped in a way that makes a lot more sense. Yes, she is beautiful, but she has an intelligence and friendship with Peter that allows for their romance to flow very well. But that being said, I do have a problem with certain other characters like Flash, Kenny, and even Harry Osborne for being too one-dimensional, even if it was because they wished to give more time to the other characters.The changes done are very smart ones. Instead of radiation being the source of Peter's powers, it's now genetic experimentation. Instead of Norman being an insane guy in a goblin costume on a glider, he's a Hyde-like-goblin-monster. But the best change is how more realistic this version of Spider-Man is. This Peter Parker faces real problems that don't come off as too soup-opera-ish. He isn't saving the world like his 616 counterpart is, but he's still saving lives in ways that make him feel like a low-level superhero as opposed to taking on real threats like Thanos or Galactus. And above all else, he feels far more human.And that's about it for all that I can talk about without spoiling the comic. I highly recommend this to the 100%! I also recommend this as a gift for the kids, although physical copy will be a little hard to come by. But regardless, this is an amazing comic series that deserves to be read.

Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1: Power and Responsibility ( Issues 1-7)This series written by Brian Michael Bendis with artwork by Mark Bagley technically started the Ultimate Marvel universe if I am not mistaken. Since its debut, Ultimate Spiderman has become one of the most influential takes on Spider-Man in recent years. Bendis takes the story of Peter Parker, which hasn’t been revisited to my knowledge since the 1960s and reintroduces him into a world that closely resembles our own and is grounded in our own reality. This means that Peter is very much a product of the early 2000s and deals with concerns and struggles of young adults in a modern setting, which differ from the 1960s in most cases. Peter doesn’t differ too much from his mainstream Marvel universe counterpart. He has feelings for Mary Jane, but it isn’t something that dominates his life. Aunt May and Uncle Ben are pretty much the same figures that we are familiar with, but Uncle Ben seems to have a more prominent role as a father figure to Peter than what he appeared to be in the main stream universe. Bendis perfectly captures the feelings and struggles of a teenager in high school and the angst and raging changes that young adults go through. Obviously, this experience differs from person to person, but Bendis makes it a very prominent force in his run on Spider-Man. Mary Jane differs from her original counterpart as she is very smart and similar to Peter, which she was not in the main stream Marvel universe, initially. She had aspirations of becoming an actress, in the Ultimate Universe she appears to be just as bright as Peter and could pursue careers in the fields of science, more likely. There are plenty of subtle nods to some of the major figures in the Spider-Man mythos throughout the comic and Bendis leaves plenty of plot threads open to explore in further story arcs down the line. Norman Osborn is featured in this story arc as well and he is much more menacing and conniving than he has been in some of his iterations in the past, especially since his inception. My only complaint is that I didn’t really like the Green Goblin in this universe. He is a monster both figuratively and literally, yes, but that’s one of the intriguing things about Norman is that he executes most of the Goblin’s plans himself, but instead he is turned into a giant green demon who can control fire……. yeah, that doesn’t really match up with the Green Goblin. But I do like that most of the prominent figures/ teams in the Ultimate Marvel universe are tied back to the Super Soldier Serum and Captain America and Spider-Man is no different. Mark Bagley’s artwork is very good. I enjoy it throughout his entire run on Spider-Man. Sometimes, I think, when he draws a closeup of a character he puts maybe too much emphasis on the eyes and it appears that they are crying. But besides that, his artwork is amazing and any other artwork that enters the Ultimate Spider-Man line sticks out like a sore thumb and throws off the series. Overall, this is one of my favorite iterations of Spider-Man, very grounded, very human and it is a compelling run to follow.

Having read graphic novels of the likes of Scott Pilgrim and Fairy Tail, I'm not completely clueless when it comes to the comic book world, but I've never read a genuine full color comic book until I picked this up. After 5 issues, I can say I'm hooked, and will definitely be getting the next trade collection of Ultimate Spider-man. The artwork here, while a bit off in some instances, can be downright stunning. I really enjoy the bright, light-hearted tone that is used here, though I know some people probably won't.(fans of Batman, for example, who like a darker vibe) Everyone is free to have their opinions on what they enjoy, and it's understandable if this kind of style just isn't for you. But, for me, ultimate spidey does it right, with extremely colorful imagery that I really enjoy. The writing is a bit harder to judge, as I'm not exactly what you would call "experienced" when it comes to comics. I will say some of the terms used are a bit dated, and from the censors put in place of curse-words, it's clear this series is meant for younger readers. Apart from those minor issues, I can't really find too much to complain about relating to the writing, Overall, Ultimate Spider-man Volume 1 did what I wanted it to - it introduced me to comics with positive results, and made me want to read more of them. It displayed its world and its characters to me, and I like what I'm being shown. Give it a look and decide for yourself, but for me, this was a good beginning to a new hobby, and it was well worth the money.

Item arrived timely and in good condition.