Writer Brian Bendis has done amazing work in the Ultimate Spider-Man comic, as he takes stories that were set in stone long ago in the original Amazing Spider-Man comic and gives them a fresh, unexpected twist. And this issue is all about twists. Take Gwen Stacy, for example. (No pun intended.) He introduced her to the comic years ago as a troubled teen who was given a home by Aunt May, and she became a friend to Peter Parker with no hint of a love interest.
In the "real" Marvel Universe, of course, Gwen was Peter's first true love, a romance cut short by her tragic death. That death occurred years after her introduction, and was one of the biggest shocks in Marvel's long history. Years later, Mary Jane became the love of Peter's life, and they were eventually married. (And didn't that work out great?)
In the Ultimate Universe, Gwen arrived on the scene well after Peter and MJ declared their love. The reader might have expected that Gwen would cause a love triangle - but before that happened, she was killed by the alien symbiote known as Carnage. It was quite a shock, and many readers (including yours truly) thought Bendis had thrown away a good character.
But Bendis doesn't waste any characters, and as we see in this issue, Gwen is back, somehow cloned or reconstituted by Carnage. She runs to Peter for help, and he quickly finds himself in a battle between Carnage and Venom.
The art for this issue is provided by Stuart Immonen and Wade von Grawbadger, and it's excellent. The story is filled with huge plot twists, horror, surprises and lots of super-hero battles, and it's managed with great skill and clear storytelling.
This comic is the best of the Ultimate books, and continues its run at the top. One might suspect the story was accelerated to clear the decks for the Ultimatum crossover - and that may be true - but whatever the reason, the comic is fast-paced and a heck of a lot of fun.
Grade: A-
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