31 Days of Spider-Man #25: The Death of Spider-Man
Confession time: I am woefully under-read in all of “Ultimate” version Marvel Universe, not just Spider-Man. The fact that I still haven’t added a copy of the first volume of Ultimate Spider-Man omnibuses is a small piece of geek shame for me. Thankfully, I was given a chance to finally dive in when I was given a copy of the “Death of Spider-Man” omnibus as a gift. If I was going to get into things, I might as well do it with gusto.
I’ve already mentioned in previous pieces that I am a sucker for an interesting cover. Joe Queseda’s variant that ended up being used for the Death of Spider-Man omnibus is no exception.
As far as Spider-Man stories go, DoSM seems pretty normal. Peter’s is enjoying as close to a slice of normal life that he can get, spending some time with Mary Jane, when as to be expected, his superhero life interferes, in the form of phone call from Captain America telling him it’s time to report for duty. Cap brings the heavy lesson, not in the form of sending Spidey out on a mission or giving him rigorous training regimen, but rather a lecture, and if it’s one thing most Marvel characters know, it’s that when Cap talks, you listen.
Cap’s words are simple, but to the point. Telling Spidey that if he wants to be part of the superhero team, the Ultimates, he needs to learn how to asses situations or he’s going to find himself in over his head and end up paying a hefty price. It’s some pretty thinly veiled foreshadowing, given the title of the story, but it’s still effective at reinforcing the idea that Spider-Man will often take too much on by himself. It’s a theme central to many of the best moments in Spider-Man comics, the thin line between Peter striving to never stop doing as much good as possible and pushing himself too far because of his own sense of guilt and obligation.
Spider-Man attempts to join in a battle between two superhero factions despite being told multiple times that the fight has no place for him. He finally exits when he learns a group of supervillains from his own rogues gallery have escaped confinement, realizing that they will be targeting his family and friends.
Spider-Man reaches his home in time to draw off Norman Osborn’s group and with the help of Iceman and Human Torch, the threat is mostly subdued, but an exploding gas truck (that he actually used to subdue Osborn by throwing it on him...twice) leaves him mortally wounded, dying in front of Aunt May. Despite this, he tells Aunt May that he is happy he was able to save her, hinting at the fact that he has finally made amends for not being able to save Uncle Ben.
The Death of Spider-Man isn’t perfect. At times it’s a little too direct (such as the warning from Captain America) instead of relying on subtlety. It’s also a pretty safe bet that Peter Parker will come back to the Ultimate Universe in one way or another. (As they say, no one significant stays dead in comics except Gwen Stacy) That said, it’s not a bad attempt. Like some of the better “What If” stories, it bends the rules a little and looks at how things might turn out when luck isn’t completely on the hero’s side. The Death of Spider-Man doesn’t knock it out of the park, but I’d give it a ground rule double.