This week Luke and Devin cover Spider-Man having a memorable meeting with Doc Ock and Kraven and then some comics so unmemorable that they cease to be canon super fast!
Issues Covered:
- Ultimate Spider-Man #14-21
- Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #9-16
Check out the show notes and images after the jump!
Writer – Brian Michael Bendis
Ultimate Spider-Man #14-21
Pencils – Mark Bagley, Inks – Art Thibert, Erink Benson Colors – Transparency Digital
Letters – Sharpefont’s Dave Sharpe
Peter’s teacher assigns everyone to come in as a superhero and talk about their identity- either a current hero or a new one. Liz is bothered about the mutant talk, and Kenny Kong still loves Spider-Man but he wonders if it might be leading to something. A new mysterious kid, Gwen Stacy asks what they all can do that will be so special before walking off.
Meanwhile Otto Octavius, last seen being attacked by the Green Goblin wakes up to find himself being referred to as Doctor Octopus because he has 4 metal murder arms. He’s been getting cared for secretly by SHIELD and Hank Pym who asks what he remembers since he’s been out for three months. The arms he had fused to him. He has his blinder removed because his eyes were messed up and he’s angry because they left him messed up to see what would happen and starts to attack.
Meanwhile after a pep rally where Peter and Mary Jane hold hands, Kenny Kong realizes Peter is Spider-Man while taking a break from probably jerking it to Patsy Walker in Maxim.
Kenny tries to tell Liz and Flash about it and makes a case that nobody believes and when he tries to surprise Peter by kicking him Peter bites it, cries, and the Gwen pulls a knife on Kenny which gets the principal to come out and Gwen’s father Captain Stacy is called.
He was investigating a murder scene where unknown to him, Doc Ock attacked. Ben Urich tries to get some clues and Stacy is angry that he got Kingpin knocked out and tells him to go look for a sewer monster.
Spider-Man beats up a purse snatcher who looks like Kenny and then runs into Jameson and messes with him by making him think he’s going to attack and then leaving after secretly webbing Jonah’s shoes, causing him to fall.
Back in the office Jameson and the paper staff put together that Octavius used to live there and had escaped his secret holding and is now who knows where, and Peter hears all of this.
Otto meanwhile dealing with his fractured psyche attacks the headquarters of Justin Hammer.
Meanwhile on the TV, Kraven the Hunter who is essentially a more extreme and less intelligent Crocodile Hunter plans to go and hunt in New York City. Peter meanwhile is more concerned with Octavius coming after him.
Captain Stacy talks to Gwen who makes the point that she needed to stay up and will do it again but is interrupted by Ben Urich calling with clues linking Octavius to the murders but Stacy is stopped by SHIELD Agents Sharon Carter and Jimmy Woo.
Peter meanwhile overhears that a figure with metal arms is attacking Hammer Towers where Justin Hammer is now meeting with Carter and Woo who were sent by the president to investigate things. Hammer is ah southarn gentleman who is also a bit Trumpian. He knows Octavius but is keeping that close to his chest, but then everyone notices Spider-Man listening and he is chased off.
Meanwhile Kraven arrives in town and announces he plans to kill Spider-Man.
Kraven isn’t happy about it privately but his agent wants him to do it for publicity.
Gwen meanwhile returns to class and immediately tries to confront Kenny and is told to back down. Liz meanwhile tries to object to the project and has called her mom to complain to the PTA about it for being mutant-positive.
Meanwhile Hammer is heading to a meeting and checking in with Doctor John Skrtic about some of his projects like Electro who he sold to Kingpin for construction projects, Sandman who is having issues controlling his power, and really he wants to hide that Octavius was his secret spy so he doesn’t lose government contracts.
When he arrives to give his speech unveiling a new nuclear power plant, Eddie Brock asks questions about him trying to make super people and Ben Urich asks about Octavius when he appears on the screen. The news comes in while Peter is at school so he hitches a ride on a helicopter until he is notices and blasted off and lands in the lab with Doc Ock. Spider-Man is quickly taken by surprise by Doc Ock and finds his webbing can break and is quickly tossed out of the building where SWAT surrounds him. When Agents Carter and Woo show up he uses the distraction to escape but has to ditch the top part of the costume and makes his way home battered and bruised.
On the TV Hammer ties Spider-Man into the attack on the power plant which frustrates Peter. Mary Jane tries to comfort him but has to go to do work. As Peter starts to brood he hears Aunt May who is suspicious of him and he tells her he is just having bad poops.
The next day Kraven is coming to the school since Spider-Man had been there and Peter is worried and Gwen is also concerned about Peter’s bruises and Mary Jane tells him he fell down the stairs. Kraven comes in and starts smelling around and is picking up on Peter’s scent until Gwen distracts him allowing Peter and MJ to get away. When Mary Jane gives Peter his new costume top, Peter doesn’t pick up on the fact that MJ is a bit jealous of Gwen and is angry at him.
Peter heads after Hammer next breaking into his office and meeting Hammer when another press conference goes bad. Spider-Man tells him he’s angry that Hammer threw him under the bus so Hammer asks how much he wants to stop Ock and Spider-Man is offended and leaves. Skrtic calls but it was actually Ock forcing him to talk and he asks to meet Hammer in person for a deal at his genetics lab in Jersey, unaware that Spider-Man is riding along.
Kraven is informed of the sightings and starts to get ready, Betty Brant wants to go as well despite being told no and Kraven assaults her. When Hammer finally gets to the lab, Ock is waiting there with cameras and reporters telling them it is Hammer’s fault. When Hammer tries to back away in the limo , Ock starts to attack it letting Spider-Man come in, webbing Ock’s face so he can work to rescue the people while the cameras record everything live as he fights and the story ends up being live TV everywhere.
Spider-Man gets caught and knocked away again allowing Ock to go after Hammer so Spider-Man pantses him and rips out some arms after knocking him out for good. A news reporter goes to interview him and that is when Kraven shows up ready to fight.
Spider-Man goes to check on Hammer instead who died because he had a heart attack and Spider-Man tries to get Kraven to step down. Kraven doesn’t listen, attacks, Spider-Man easily avoids him while asking him to stop and when he doesn’t, Spider-Man knocks him out with one punch on live TV. Spider-Man helps Hammer’s assistant get out of the car and everyone claps for him.
Spider-Man finally gets to answer some questions about his goals when a reporter points out that it might help and he finds out he was on live TV the entire time. He explains he fell into his powers but wants to help people and he wears the mask to protect his loved ones, and he gets a diss in on Jonah for not trusting him before getting out.
The police show up and arrest Kraven and his entire team and Carter and SHIELD show up to get Ock while Woo shuts down Hammer’s HQ and Carter cuts off the TV feeds.
Peter finally gets home at 3 am, lies about where he was, is confronted with the fact that he had been lying, is asked about his injuries, lies that he was with Mary Jane and ends up getting grounded because he won’t tell her the truth, meaning he can’t work at the Bugle, can’t hang out with MJ, and has to come straight home from school and she promises to inform his work and school about him being grounded. When he finally gets in to his room he sees the TV is finally talking about him being a hero and he is grounded.
Meanwhile at SHIELD, they have shut down Hammer’s experiments and captured Octavius and Doc Ock realizes that Peter Parker is Spider-Man.
Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #9
Art – Jim Mahfood, Colors – Transparency Digital, Letters – Sharpefont
Peter Parker goes to the Baxter Building because he’s supposed to job shadow Reed Richards and HERBIE the Fantastic Four’s robot immediately can tell he has powers. He gets a rundown from Patsy Walker again learning the origin of the Fantastic Four where Reed Richards discovered The Negative Zone which he funded himself with his inventions and he went with his best friend pilot Ben Grimm, Sue Storm another scientist, and her NASCAR driving brother Johnny. They went into the Negative Zone but what seemed like months and discovered a lot of stuff, and got their powers which you all should know. Reed can stretch, Ben is rocks, Sue is invisible and shields and Johnny can burn.
Peter is given four rules – to not use powers, to stay on the safety path, to not touch machines and to avoid the Negative Zone portal.
And from here it is a Jim Mahfood comic so there’s a lot of weird gags, Peter gets asked to go and get coffee from Starbucks and the Fantastic Four get called off on a mission. Peter ends up on the floor with the Negative zone Portal, Herbie attacks, Skrulls get released and attack so Peter switches into Spider-Man to fight them. Peter finds they want Reed so he tells them he is Reed, is chased through Marvel’s offices with more cameos and then the Fantastic Four catch them and Spider-Man is in trouble for breaking the rules and not getting the coffee. Peter tries to pretend he isn’t Spider-man and Bill Jemas has been replaced by a Skrull who decides to do Nuff Said Month.
Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #10
Art – John Totleben and Ron Randall, Colors – Transparency Digital, Letters – Sharpefont
A pair of purse snatchers disappear in the sewers when a mysterious reptilian creature finds them. We then get a framing device as a goodbye letter from Curt Connors to his wife. He found his project’s funding was being cut on his project to try and let people grow back limbs so he tested it on himself.
Then in an interview on tv, one of his students, Ms. Li, said he turned into a lizard which might be the sewer monster known at the Man Thing in New York City. Peter sees the interview and in another framing device tells Mary Jane about how he went to the sewers, found the Lizard who is more iguana-y and then Man-Thing showed up and cured Curt Connors and left and he deletes his message.
We then circle to Curt who refuses to go home till his arm is better.
Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #11
Art – Chynna Clugston-Major, Colors – Transparency Digital, Letters – Sharpefont
Peter ends up skipping school to go to the mall with Mary Jane, Gwen, Kenny and Liz and Kenny doesn’t want to be there but Gwen forces them. They end up at the mall and Kenny is excited about Orange Julius so they get lunch. Peter notices the X-men – Scott, Jean, Logan, Hank (in a Gorillaz shirt) and Ororo are there, Peter also may be attracted to Jean??? but they are also there for a mall day and Logan sniffs out Peter and approaches them at the table where he is with his friends. They say they’re his cousins and Logan leaves Kenny hanging.
Liz notices they all are mutants which causes her to run off and Gwen asks if they all have powers and they start talking about being mutants and compare it to being gay which has not aged super well. Jean ultimately says you just have to deal with who you are and they leave and nobody questions where Liz went.
Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #12-13
Art – Ted McKeever, Colors – Transparency Digital, Letters – Chris Eliopoulos
A year ago Wong showed up with a box looking for Steven Strange who is sort of a stoner to talk about his father.
We go forward a year when a man named Jackson gives the location of the Wand of Watoomb to the mystic Henry Xandu. Xandu is angry he didn’t have the actual wand – which wasn’t part of the deal, and Jackson explains Stephen Strange Sr. broke his hands in a car accident and eventually learned magic to help fix them and became Sorcerer Supreme and met up with Wong and Clea. Clea got pregnant, Strange vanished and she let her son grow up not knowing the truth till Wong showed up last year.
Henry tries to magically compel Jackson to get the wand but Jackson is safe so he controls two thugs to attack Jackson who Spider-man goes and saves. Xandu sees this and takes over Spider-Man.
Spider-man burst in the sanctum sanctorum so Strange sends him to the astral plane so he goes in to save him. Spider-man wakes up in bed without his mask which frustrates him though Strange honestly says he has no idea who Spider-Man is. Strange and Wong realize the seal is down and Xandu and his thugs burst in so Wong sets up a trap with the Eye of Agamotto that will show fake treasure. Xandu knocks out Wong but goes into the trap and is sealed in to confront Doctor Strange. They have a wizard battle which Strange is losing til Spider-man takes Xandu by surprise, knocking him out and then Spider-man with the day saved, leaves, never wanting this brought up again.
Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #14
Pencils – Terry Moore, Inks – Walden Wong, Colors – Transparency Digital, Letters – Chris Eliopoulos
Ambassador Golog, last seen in the Iron Man crossover finishes an interview when he noticed the intern, Nanci Roman who he has been having problems with. He confronts her and reveals she is actually Natasha Romanov and he captures her.
Ben Urich at the Bugle gets notified that an intern was beaten and disappeared in the embassy. (Where’s Jameson’s stache???). Peter overhears this and heads out.
Natasha is exposed and captured and Golog tries to question her because he thinks she is trying to prove her worth to him but she breaks out, kills Golog by snapping his neck, and escapes. Spider-Man sees her leaving the building, saves her, drops her off on a roof, knocks him out and then is met by Nick Fury because she actually wanted to work with him and goes to join the Ultimates.
Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #15-16
Pencils – Rick Mays, Inks – Jason Martin, Colors – Transparency Digital, Letters – Chris Eliopoulos
Leiko Wu has come to Chinatown when she is accosted by street thugs who are quickly taken down by Shang-Chi who we find out is the world’s greatest martial artist who ran from his father, Fu Manchu.
Peter and Mary Jane go to Chinatown and see Shang-Chi being attacked by the thugs and Peter goes to change but by the time he gets there, Shang-Chi beat them all up. Leiko is interested in him and so she organizes all of the criminals to go after him.
Meanwhile Peter wants to learn how to fight better so Mary Jane suggests Spider-Man offers to pay him.
Shang-Chi’s boss warns him about the people coming for him and fights and starts to finally get in trouble until Spider-Man shows up and helps him finish them off. Spider-Man gets away with Shang-Chi and mentions he wanted to learn how to fight so Shang-Chi teaches him some quick moves and leaves. There’s also a framing story that I am 99% sure is made up so I won’t mention fake Japanese legends.
Next Time – Wolverine goes after Weapon X and the X-men go AROUND THE WORLD AROUND THE WORLD