Spider-Men II #5

[Scarlet Spider-Man]

I haven’t been a big fan of this series but two potentially big things transpired that may be worth discussing.

spoilers:

1) 616 Miles succeeds in crossing over into an alternate universe to search for Barbara. And the universe he ends up in is...the Ultimate Universe! With an alive-and-well Peter Parker (and Green Goblin)! So the two Miles Moraleses have effectively traded universes. 2) Spider-Man Miles Morales, hurt by Peter telling him that he shouldn’t be Spider-Man (despite Peter’s apologies) ponders leaving the Spider-Man persona behind and becoming “[his] own man.” They seem to be hinting heavily that Miles will adopt a new costumed identity.

end of spoilers

[Bossace]

I was pretty disappointed by this series. The whole “who is miles 616” fell totally flat on my opinion that we really didn’t get any interactions between the 2 Miles but we are given the line “there isn’t always closure” then why tease this as the basis for the whole series and tease it at the end of spider-men 1. Taskmaster supposedly saw peters face? As one of the most famous tech failures he should know peters face. I honestly don’t think we’ll ever see any follow up to the two revelations ultimate universe was not profitable and died very slowly, as much as I love the early days of the UU and it’s what got me into comics when I was younger it died painfully and sold horribly as they tried to keep it going. It doesn’t even seem to be 1610 we know but a new rebooted one or a different universe similar to UU. On the other revelation Marvel would be stupid trying to separate spider-man from Miles. That would be bad for the character and bad for profits. Miles is a Spider-man and this all seems like a bad idea to make Miles into someone else especially with all this exposure and the Sony movie. A reason I feel even more these 2 revelations will fall flat and not be used is because Bendis is leaving.

[The Rhino]

I was pretty disappointed by this series. The whole “who is miles 616” fell totally flat on my opinion that we really didn’t get any interactions between the 2 Miles but we are given the line “there isn’t always closure” then why tease this as the basis for the whole series and tease it at the end of spider-men 1. Taskmaster supposedly saw peters face? As one of the most famous tech failures he should know peters face. I honestly don’t think we’ll ever see any follow up to the two revelations ultimate universe was not profitable and died very slowly, as much as I love the early days of the UU and it’s what got me into comics when I was younger it died painfully and sold horribly as they tried to keep it going. It doesn’t even seem to be 1610 we know but a new rebooted one or a different universe similar to UU. On the other revelation Marvel would be stupid trying to separate spider-man from Miles. That would be bad for the character and bad for profits. Miles is a Spider-man and this all seems like a bad idea to make Miles into someone else especially with all this exposure and the Sony movie. A reason I feel even more these 2 revelations will fall flat and not be used is because Bendis is leaving.

For what it is worth, Taskmaster has no short-term memory. This is detailed in a Taskmaster mini series a few years back.


With that said, I was disappointed with this series. No closure from Spider-Men I and I don't really care about the ultimate universe returning (honestly, I'd rather it stay gone). I am interested in Miles changing his identity though.

[WebLurker]

spoilers:

2) Spider-Man Miles Morales, hurt by Peter telling him that he shouldn’t be Spider-Man (despite Peter’s apologies) ponders leaving the Spider-Man persona behind and becoming “[his] own man.” They seem to be hinting heavily that Miles will adopt a new costumed identity.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Wonder if they really do want to rebrand Miles with a different codename and what that means for the franchise (esp. considering that he's going to be be starring as "Spider-Man" in a movie.

end of spoilers

[Frontier]

Honestly, it felt like there was a lot going on in this mini that barely came together.

It just felt like there was a lot going on that never really came together.

I guess for Miles we saw him get a new love interest, even if the relationship still feels really underdeveloped and just kind of random to see inserted into the actual Spider-Man title.

And thematically Bendis is continuing the thread of Miles trying to find something unique to himself and not being defined by Spider-Man or his 616-self. All this seems to be building-up to Miles getting a new identity but I'm not sure if that will actually go anywhere.

Bendis talked about how we would see Peter responding to the idea of his "legacy" and all the other Spiders out there but, aside from one or two lines, that never really happened.

The other Miles, while interesting, completely took over the narrative and his storyline overall just felt like an excuse to show the Ultimate Universe is still around.

Other points:

Miles looked really smug after Venom Blasting Taskmaster and saying "Venom Blast" .

Ultimate Goblin being immortal has basically become a joke at this point .

spoilers:

Wonder if they really do want to rebrand Miles with a different codename and what that means for the franchise (esp. considering that he's going to be be starring as "Spider-Man" in a movie.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Well, they're trying to make "Ghost Spider" a thing for Spider-Gwen so I wouldn't be surprised.

end of spoilers

[Lukmendes]

The entire mini was just whatever, what annoyed me the most is the cop out about what Peter found (Because him looking shocked and saying "My god" means he found nothing, sure), decompressed writing, Taskmaster being good enough to take on two Spider-Men somehow, and 616 Miles' existance is so irrelevant it's sad, the ending can be pretty stupid since spoilers:

Ultimate universe is back, and if they don't use it, then bringing it back at all would be pointless, though the ending will be fine if they do use it.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Well, they're trying to make "Ghost Spider" a thing for Spider-Gwen so I wouldn't be surprised.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

It'd be funny if he does actualy change it, since in ASM#13 vol 4, Miles was considering some alternate names, though it was because Peter and Tony got in a dumbass fight.

end of spoilers

[Frontier]

The entire mini was just whatever, what annoyed me the most is the cop out about what Peter found (Because him looking shocked and saying "My god" means he found nothing, sure), decompressed writing, Taskmaster being good enough to take on two Spider-Men somehow, and 616 Miles' existance is so irrelevant it's sad, the ending can be pretty stupid since spoilers:

Ultimate universe is back, and if they don't use it, then bringing it back at all would be pointless, though the ending will be fine if they do use it.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Off-hand I can't help but think this is going to give Marvel an "in" to doing stories with a younger Peter Parker or working with a continuity that gives more freedom then the main universe as it heads "back-to-basics" with Legacy.

end of spoilers

[Lukmendes]

spoilers:

Off-hand I can't help but think this is going to give Marvel an "in" to doing stories with a younger Peter Parker or working with a continuity that gives more freedom then the main universe as it heads "back-to-basics" with Legacy.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

I guess it makes sense since not only does Ultimate Peter looks older, but he's working with the Ultimates, two big status quo changes from his Ultimate version, though since Bendis left and if someone picks up Ultimate, I can imagine that those two can be retconned away because nostalgia, though maybe another writter can maintain them, who knows.

end of spoilers

[SpiderClops]

I see my decision to give up on this mini after issue #3 was good.

[xpyred]

Glad it's over. I am completely sick to death with Bendis constantly unmasking 616 Peter any chance he gets. This is a character who went through 39 issues before the Green Goblin found out his identity and then he went a long time again until someone else, possibly the Jackal, knew Peter was Spider-Man. Be dis writes 616 Peter as if Peter was a brain dead idiot.

We waited 5 years for scar face morales' reveal so he could travel to the ultimate universe? Waste of money. This series fell as flat as the final Ultimate Universe mini during Secret Wars. Such trash.

[Kurolegacy]

spoilers:

I guess it makes sense since not only does Ultimate Peter looks older, but he's working with the Ultimates, two big status quo changes from his Ultimate version, though since Bendis left and if someone picks up Ultimate, I can imagine that those two can be retconned away because nostalgia, though maybe another writter can maintain them, who knows.

end of spoilers

Can't really say there was anything that really showed Peter to seem all that much older then the last time that we saw him, though I suppose they could explain any passage as time having been moved forward keeping up with other universes' time passage since Secret Wars or with the fact that time always seemed to pass differently between Ultimate and 616. If it's anything like 616, no one will even know the universe ended in the first place so they'd continue forward without missing a beat.

[jackolover]

So this is before Secret Empire, and SE makes Miles change his mind about quitting as Spider-Man?

Loved the re-establishment of the Ultimate Universe again, and the regular movement between the 616 and 1610. In some sense I’m glad 616 Miles found Barbara in the 1610, and they hit it off, but why didn’t 616 Miles find the 616 Barbara, Miles is going to date.

I wondered why Miles decided to stop being Spider-Man in this, because nothing special seems to have happened to bring this on. All I can put it down to, is 1610 Miles is envious of 616 Miles lifestyle and wants to go and try to be him?

[Hulkout42]

I am just happy this is over...god i don't care if he brings back the Ultimate Universe, i just can't find it within me to care. But this is typical Bendis to me, starts off well and ends dismally.

[Lukmendes]

Can't really say there was anything that really showed Peter to seem all that much older then the last time that we saw him, though I suppose they could explain any passage as time having been moved forward keeping up with other universes' time passage since Secret Wars or with the fact that time always seemed to pass differently between Ultimate and 616. If it's anything like 616, no one will even know the universe ended in the first place so they'd continue forward without missing a beat.

Well, Ultimate Peter always looked pretty skinny, now he's noticeably bulkier, plus there was that whole thing of "Once Peter turns 18 he'll join the Ultimates", so unless they decided to change that (And him being bulkier can be excused as sudden puberty/OZ magic), then he's older.

So this is before Secret Empire, and SE makes Miles change his mind about quitting as Spider-Man?

Well Issue 5 does mention that SHIELD is gone, and the last page pretty much confirms that it happened right before the current Sinister Six story.

Then again, in issue 2 Peter does mention that SHIELD is still around... Guess Bendis couldn't decide himself lol.

[Project37]

Well Issue 5 does mention that SHIELD is gone, and the last page pretty much confirms that it happened right before the current Sinister Six story.

Then again, in issue 2 Peter does mention that SHIELD is still around... Guess Bendis couldn't decide himself lol.

Yes! Glad someone else caught that too.

We took a closer look at where the series missed its opportunities and offered some humble suggestions on how it could have been better. Anyone reading is more than invited to check out our show on Spider-Men II #5:

http://ultimatespinpodcast.com/episo...ider-men-ii-5/