Rating: ****

Another great issue by Brian Michael Bendis. The artwork is good too with artist David LaFuente. I complained before about how I thought Peter Parker looked like he was 12 years old instead of 16, but that doesn’t really bother me all that much. The way he tells the story panel-to-panel is reminiscent of Mark Bagley’s work on the original Ultimate Spider-Man title. I think LaFuente is becoming more the true air to the title than Stuart Immonen. No disrespect to Immonen, but I think both Bagley and LaFuente’s styles are better fit for the characters than Immonen. I hope LaFuente stays around for a while.

Bendis continues his masterful run on the Spider-Man character, which began almost 10 years ago. It’s always fascinating to see a writer stay with a character for that long and see the amount of different stories they can tell.

In typical Bendis fashion, the plot is moving along slowly, but you’re not bored. It’s like having a fine meal and you’re slowly enjoying yourself. So far Peter is still dealing with his new house guest the Human Torch and the drama of dealing with his past and current girlfriends Mary Jane and Gwen. The villain is still Mysterio and this new hooded superhero that first appeared in issue one makes another appearance. Is this new character an Ultimate version of the Hood - the villain Bendis is using over in Avengers? Maybe the Hood is a hero in the Ultimate universe.

I also like this Ultimate version of Mary Jane as more of a serious book worm type instead of a party girl. I like that Gwen is back from the dead, and although I prefer Peter with MJ, I think this love triangle can be used by Bendis for a long time.

The Human Torch will now be living in the Parker household. I remember on the cover of issue one, they showed Iceman. Are we potentially seeing a creation of an Ultimate version of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends? I know Firestar was a part of the team and not Human Torch, but I loved that cartoon as a kid and it would cool to see.

MJ confesses to Peter that breaking up with him was a mistake. Gwen is not mad and is sympathetic to MJ. Peter, however, thanks God for the interruption when he hears that the Hulk is trashing the Queensborough Bridge. Unfortunately, it’s not the Hulk and it’s just a hologram. It’s a trick by Mysterio and he captures Spider-Man. We end there.

A great issue - not much else to say. Looking forward to the next issue. I dropped the old Ultimate Spider-Man after Bagley left, but I’m glad I’m back. With Amazing Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man, and Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Marvel is doing a great job giving fans a nice helping of Spidey stories. Ultimate is right now the best. Pick it up!