Review: Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 20: And His Amazing Friends

By Andrew Mathieu
Contributor

Ultimate Spider-Man was the very first comic book I ever read. I first got interested in it when gaming studio Treyarch released an Ultimate Spider-Man (USM) video game. After reading an article about the comic book on Gamepro, I decided to go to my local library and give the series a shot. I loved the first volume, “Power and Responsibility,” and I have been reading the series ever since. Eighteen volumes later we come to one of my favorites, “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.”

“Amazing Friends” is the latest story arc from long time writer of the series Brian Michael Bendis and relatively new artist Stuart Immonen. The story takes place a little while after the events of “Death of a Goblin.” This previous arc saw the death of Peter’s first super villain as Spider-Man, along with the death of one of his closest friends. After mourning the loss of their friend, Peter and his friends try to get back to their somewhat normal lives.

The volume starts off with internal monologues from some of the cast of USM, including Ultimate Fantastic Four member, Johnny Storm. He returns to the cast after a short hiatus and contacts his only friends after a bad date with a pop idol. Meanwhile, Liz Allen, Mary Jane’s best friend, has not been feeling well and runs into Johnny at Midtown High. Johnny and Liz had a very brief romance a few volumes back, but it ended when Liz found out about Johnny's powers. She seems to have gotten over it, however, when she agrees to go with Johnny, Peter, and the others on a trip to the beach. That night, in front of a bon fire, one of Peter’s friends turns out to be a mutant, and it’s up to him and one of the X-Men to help her in her time of need.

This volume also contains two one shots in addition to the three part “Amazing Friends” story. In the first one shot we see Spider-Man defend J. Jonah Jameson against Omega Red, while the second features the Shocker kidnapping Spider-Man with Mary Jane and Kitty Pryde desperately trying to find him. While not as strong as the “Amazing Friends” story, both have great character moments and even some character development.

I truly enjoyed this volume. I wasn’t really sure Immonen’s art could beat out Mark Bagley’s record-breaking run on the series, but Immonen really hit his stride. The colors are nice and vibrant and the characters are starting to look like they belong in this style. Spider-Man’s costume is all but perfected in the final issue.

Bendis continues to make this book the best the Ultimate line has to offer. He has a knack for teenager’s dialogue. I actually believe these characters are 15. They not only handle everyday drama, but super hero/villain drama as well. USM’s cast sets the bar for teen super hero comics.

This volume is a nice break from the seriousness of the previous arc. If you have not picked up an Ultimate Marvel comic before, this is a great way to start. It is different enough to justify the Ultimate line, but familiar enough for Spider-Fans to pick up and enjoy a good story. Bendis and Immonen have crafted a truly “Ultimate” classic.