Miles (the new Ultimate Spider-Man) agrees to help his Uncle Aaron, the super burglar The Prowler, take down a would-be crime boss, The Scorpion who has come to New York from Mexico intent on taking over control of the crime organization there. They confront him at a club and guns start firing. Panicked bystanders flee, alerting security. Spider-Man takes out a few thugs, but Scorpion grabs him and flings him to the ground. Miles is quick though and springs back, taking out another criminal, but Scorpion surprises him with a punch in the face. This disorients him and Scorpion grabs him by the throat, but Aaron tazes Scorpion to distract him. Once Scorpion appears subdued, Miles laments that “It just doesn’t feel like a win.” The Scorpion strikes again, but Miles employs some of his unique powers, invisibility and his venom blast.
Things don’t get better after the police arrive and want to take Miles into custody. He uses his invisibility again and returns to the club to find his uncle long gone, having left him for dead. He returns to his dorm, determined to have nothing to do with his uncle, but finds he may not have a choice. Meanwhile, someone close to the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker, is determined to meet his successor.
Okay, it was kind of a big fight scene, but that’s actually something this series has been lacking, so I was okay with that. I was glad that his unique powers – the ones Peter Parker didn’t have – were highlighted. It’s important for Miles to establish his individuality and that really helped.
Is the Scorpion down for good? He seems like too tough a character to be so easily dispatched, so I would expect to meet him again soon. That’s sadly also true of slimey Uncle Aaron. I hope he gets what’s coming to him soon.
The art on this book is always great and this issue, rendered by David Marquez definitely carries on that tradition.
All in all, definitely a worthwhile installment in Miles’ story and a fun super hero throw down, if you aren’t already a reader of this series.
Verdict: Buy
ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #11
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by David Marquez
Cover by Kaare Andrews
