Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 12: Superstars

TheManWithoutFear

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It wasn't all bad, I still don't like these bull**** stories cutting into serious arcs. I mean if the Ultimate Universe is supposed to be realistic then it should just focus on events that happen to Peter. If Spider-Man existed stupid stuff like switching bodies wouldn't happy. Bendis saved himself with the prologue to the two issues. Is Kong supposed to look like Bendis? They weren't bad stories they all had there moments and had some good characterization points. Anyway, not all bad just unneeded and UltimateE was right bad timeing. If they were gonna do something like this they could've given a nod to Iceman and Firestar... that would've been better.
 
Yeah, the switcheroo story was just pointless really. Save it for a what-if. And the johnny storm one, was well.. pedestrian. These have been my least favourite issues so far.
 
I thought we came up with a more interesting and probably more probable solution to having these heroes come around and it's actually pretty sad that the team-ups ended up the way they did. Here we have an oppurtunity for Peter to learn something and, instead, we've got Wolverine switching bodies with him because of Jean, Johnny Storm geeking out whenever he mentions Spider-Man, and Dr. Strange taking up more time than he should've. These missed oppurtunities to delve into the "Spider-Man no more" storyline would've been interesting and it would've been a good way to express Gwen's death without getting too dark, you know?
 
Goodwill said:
I thought we came up with a more interesting and probably more probable solution to having these heroes come around and it's actually pretty sad that the team-ups ended up the way they did. Here we have an oppurtunity for Peter to learn something and, instead, we've got Wolverine switching bodies with him because of Jean, Johnny Storm geeking out whenever he mentions Spider-Man, and Dr. Strange taking up more time than he should've. These missed oppurtunities to delve into the "Spider-Man no more" storyline would've been interesting and it would've been a good way to express Gwen's death without getting too dark, you know?
Makes sense to me.
 
I'm on the boat with you, too, although it's obvious where they made a mistake with that. I really feel that was allow Johnny to be introduced to Peter and that was it and I don't think it should've taken that long... Even for a two issue arc, that was annoying.

Also, the Nightmare one was pretty cool, I only wish there was more Nightmare in it...
 
I just finished reading it and get the feeling Bendis doesn't give two sh!ts about continuity, as long as he can do his cutesy little teen drama stories. All though not as bad as the team up stuff, his stories require real effort and leaps of faith to tie into any kind of cohearancy with Ultimate universe.

Remember Jean Grey now has the power to switch anyones mind with anyone elses anywhere. Remember that for every future Ult.X men issue....eg-"Why didn't Jean just use her mind flip power to defeat whoever" ....a really crappy president which undoubtably will need to be explained away in the future.

Bendis should look at what Milar is doing with Ultimates, those stories are always adding to a wonderfully constructed universe, revelations are exciting and deep.

These stories are so much forgetable fluff. If Bendis can't be bothered to contribute to continuity he should go back to 616 where stupid crap like this is the norm. How many years is Peter going to be 15 for?

I thought one of the reasons the UU was created was to have nice clean continuity? I think it's pretty obvious Bendis has lost interest in the UU, I know he wants to slog through a hundred issue run I just hope he doesn't do any more damage. If I was Millar I would be calling Bendis to ask him what the hell he was doing.

If I take the books outside continuity they are entertaining little reads, but what makes the Ultimate universe exciting for me is the unfolding continuity.
It is the continuity which adds realism to the stories and aids in the suspension of disbelief which is key to enjoying comics.

If Bendis wants to do stuff like this he should go write Archie and Jughead.
 
ngnot said:
Remember Jean Grey now has the power to switch anyones mind with anyone elses anywhere. Remember that for every future Ult.X men issue....eg-"Why didn't Jean just use her mind flip power to defeat whoever" ....a really crappy president which undoubtably will need to be explained away in the future.

I would buy the arguement that it took an extreme amount of concentration and is not something she can just whip out in the heat of battle, but a good point either way.

ngnot said:
If I was Millar I would be calling Bendis to ask him what the hell he was doing.

Millar likely cares less about the sanctity of the UU than Bendis does. That's not a criticism by the way.

ngnot said:
It is the continuity which adds realism to the stories and aids in the suspension of disbelief which is key to enjoying comics.

I could say the same thing about suspending continuity in favor of telling a good story...

Good points though.
 
I hear what you are saying about sacrificing continuity for good story telling, but there are many forums for telling good stories, where is the good continuity?

As far as I know... no where. Valiant comics had a nice run but that eventually went south, just as I fear the Ult.U may do.

I'm not saying Bendis has destroyed continuity but he is certainly doing nothing to aid it.

Good stories can be told within continuity it is just more work, look at all the other projects Bendis is involved in, it is obvious to me that he doesn't have the time to worry about it.

That being said he should hand off the book to some one with a passion for it, instead of just feeding his ego with a hundred issue run. I think Bendis is a good writer but his quality is suffering due to his quantity, Ultimate continuity being the first victim.
 
ngnot said:
That being said he should hand off the book to some one with a passion for it, instead of just feeding his ego with a hundred issue run. I think Bendis is a good writer but his quality is suffering due to his quantity, Ultimate continuity being the first victim.

wow, that hit me right in the heart....you should write a letter to bendis and or put that on his messageboard(hey, send it to wizard magazine) maybe bendis will work how you want him to work if you constantly remind him that he is starting to suck...

i hear stealing his bicycles work really well too!! but if that happens again, we might end up getting another superstars like arc :?
 
What the hell man, USM is not suffering at all. Its still better then most comics and he's doing a great job. Just cuz he did one arc you dont like doesnt mean the rest are gonna be like that. Hobgoblins turning out great and his future projects look wicked
 
Nurhachi said:
What the hell man, USM is not suffering at all. Its still better then most comics and he's doing a great job. Just cuz he did one arc you dont like doesnt mean the rest are gonna be like that. Hobgoblins turning out great and his future projects look wicked

It all does look cool but when I put down USM I'm not feeling as good as I should be.
 
Exactly. What used to be great about USM isn't there anymore and it wasn't explained away, it sort of just started to decline.
 
Perhaps it's not Bendis so much as Marvel's tendancy to flog something succesful until it's quality suffers, then they look for the next big thing.

Not really unique to Marvel, it seems to be a basic ill of all marketing. If something sold once it will sell again, so pump out as many units as you can before people lose interest.

Bendis is a hot writter now so Marvel is trying to put his name on as much stuff as possible.

At one time I'm sure Ult. Spidey(and DD) was Bendis' primary focus, but now with the new Avengers and House of M I don't think that's the case anymore.

Now a writter can do as many books as he wants but his work may suffer for it, and at the end of the day it is we the fans who are the judge of that.

All though better than most comics it has definetely been losing strength lately IMO. I complain because I love the book and the Ultimate Universe.
 

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