Ultimate Spider-Man #5: Public Scrutiny by Brian Michael Bendis & others
Ultimate Spider-Man #5: Public Scrutiny
by Brian Michael Bendis & others
I feel terrible about saying this, but this was my favorite volume yet. And it, basically, Peter couldn't catch a single break the whole way through. Plus other people are not happy. Actually, pretty much no one is happy at this point. And it was my favorite so far. Sorry, Marvel characters!
In the first, sort of standalone story (issue 28) the Rhino is on a rampage and Peter is in school. MJ tells him he just has to go save the day. And, when Peter goes to get his costume, her "My boyfriend's going to kick your buuuuttttt!" is so adorable. But then Peter runs into Aunt May in for a parent-teacher conference. And then he keeps getting delayed, running into people like the stupid jocks and Gwen (who is in a dumpster crying). Finally Spider-Man makes it to the scene... only to find that Iron Man has just stopped the Rhino. UGH. It was a fun story, showing just how hard it is for Peter to be a teenaged superhero.
But that sort of terrible day comes nowhere near the rest of the story. There's a Spider-Man impersonator out there holding up banks and hurting people. And of course the Daily Bugle is alllll over it. Spider-Man gets shot and Peter almost passes out in class (luckily, Wasp is there to patch him up. OMG I love her so much). And then something even worse happens: the fake Spider-Man kills Gwen's police chief father. Kills him. And Gwen's mom doesn't want to have anything to do with her. So poor Gwen is grieving and homeless/parentless and hates Spider-Man. Aunt May, sweetheart that she is, invites Gwen to live with them. Which is great for Gwen but MJ isn't so fond of the idea of Gwen staying there. So what happens? Spider-Man finally takes down the imposter that's been ruining his reputation and who tried to kill him and who did kill Gwen's father... and then Mary Jane breaks up with Peter. Ugh. My heart is breaking for the kid!
Seriously, this is no far. And I'm eating all the angst up with a spoon. Mmmm. Yummy angst. Seriously, though, superheroes with real life problems, showing the difficulties of being a superhero as a teenager, all of that is what Marvel does best and does it so well here.