Review - Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 9: Ultimate Six

Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, and Sandman – five of Spider-Man’s greatest foes have been apprehended and detained by S.H.I.E.L.D. as illegal genetic experiments. Bound by their mutual desire to exact revenge against Nick Fury, the villainous quintet break out of their prison with the intention of kidnapping Spider-Man and immobilizing S.H.I.E.L.D.

Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 9: Ultimate Six collects Ultimate Spider-Man #46 and the seven issue limited series Ultimate Six, written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Mark Bagley and Trevor Hairsine.

Collected under the banner of Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Six is a deceptively titled trade that places five of Spider-Man’s most iconic villains at the forefront of its narrative. Spider-Man is but a footnote in a story arc that pits the likes of Green Goblin and Doc Ock against Nick Fury and the entirety of S.H.I.E.L.D. It begins with Fury and the Ultimates arresting the five Spider foes on the charge of being illegal genetic experiments, but their imprisonment proves ineffective when Doc Ock manipulates S.H.I.E.L.D. into granting him access to his metallic arms. He breaks his fellow inmates out and the quintet proceeds to wreak havoc. They kill several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, kidnap Spider-Man, and eventually attack the White House. It’s a rather straightforward story with very little in the way of plot twists or underlying themes. It’s a standard supervillain jailbreak, team-up story that ends in an unfortunately all-too-short fight between the series’ villains and the Ultimates. It’s so short that Thor and Electro’s conflict happens entirely off-panel, while Wasp’s fight with Doc Ock lasts all of two pages. The usage of Iron Man as a deus ex machina against Sandman and Green Goblin was also incredibly unimpressive. The focus on the villains and on Nick Fury throughout was also a misstep, since it really didn’t offer much in terms of an emotional component to the storyline. Spider-Man is used so sparingly that he feels like an afterthought.

Trevor Hairsine’s art fits right in with the world of the Ultimates as previously established through Bryan Hitch’s work. There’s a roughness to it and an attempt to render the characters in a more realistic manner. This was an interesting choice as it seems to visually place the reader closer to Millar’s Ultimates than Bendis’ Spider-Man, but it seems to match the narrative focus in that respect. That said, Hairsine’s pencils didn’t quite live up to Hitch’s in that he often falls short in distinguishing characters from one another. A couple of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents look identical to Tony Stark, while there was a sense of sameness to how the de-powered Norman Osborn, Kraven, and Sandman appeared in certain panels.

Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 9: Ultimate Six is a bit of a disappointment. The idea of Spider-Man and the Ultimates teaming up to stop this universe’s take on the Sinister Six (minus one member obviously) is really fascinating. The problem was all in how that storyline took shape. Bendis and Hairsine placed the focus on the wrong characters. These five villains aren’t that engaging and the usage of Fury as the focus of their hatred felt lopsided. Additionally, the action didn’t live up to the expectations and was too rushed. There are some glimmers of interest here and there. For instance, I thought that the reveal of Wasp’s previous admiration for Doc Ock was a nice touch and added some layers to their fight at the climax of the series. Bendis also proves himself a much more capable writer than Mark Millar when it comes to Captain America. Cap is actually quite likable here. Ultimate Six is really a missed opportunity for something really great and epic. It feels disposable and is propped up only by occasional moments of character development.

RATING: C