Comic Info
Comic Name: Ultimate Fallout
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis/Jonathan Hickman/Nick Spencer
Artist: Mark Bagley/Gabriel Hardman/Bryan Hitch/Lee Garbett/Steve Kurth/Eric Nguyen/Carlo Pagulayan/Sara Pichelli/Salvador Larroca/ Clayton Crain/Luke Ross/Billy Tan/Mitch Breitweiser
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2011
Ultimate Fallout #4
Reprints Ultimate Fallout #1-6 (July 2011-August 2011). Spider-Man is dead and the world is mourning his passing. Aunt May, Mary Jane, Kitty, Gwen, and all of Peter’s friends are mourning his passing as the world learns that Peter Parker was Spider-Man. With the unrest, there is opportunity for some while others begin to play the blame game in Spider-Man’s death. A new Spider-Man surfaces with Peter’s powers, but who is he?
Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman, and Nick Spencer and illustrated by a number of artists, Ultimate Fallout deals with the events following the Death of Spider-Man storyline in the Ultimate Universe. Ultimate Fallout #4 also served as an introduction to Miles Morales the new Spider-Man and star of the current Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man.
Ultimate Fallout is pretty much a collection of short stories. Some of them are a direct result of Death of Spider-Man with events occurring at the funeral and with people watching the funeral, but many of them also are seemingly unrelated for the casual Ultimate reader. The stories involving Mr. Fantastic, Iron Man, and Quicksilver don’t really connect with me and I would have rather had more funeral stories and reactions from friends and family of Peter Parker.
Ultimate Fallout #6
The introduction of the new Spider-Man Miles Morales is brief, but the character has proven entertaining. This section of the comic was also reused in Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #4, and the rest of the stories from Ultimate Fallout #4 were reprinted in Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man Volume 1.
One problem the series is has is that it can be a bit overly dramatic. The first few Bendis stories tried way too hard to be sentimental and he tries to let the pictures tell the tale with lots of non-dialogue boxes…too many. I know that the Ultimate line has lasted on slower paced stories with a flashier look, but I want more story.
The other problem I have is with the last panel of the story. I don’t see Fury breaking down in front of anybody. He might have the moment in private, but it wouldn’t happen in front of Mary Jane or anyone else. It reminded me of the post-9-11 Amazing Spider-Man issue that had the super-villains like the Kingpin and Dr. Doom crying at Ground Zero…yes, it might have provided a good image, but it is unrealistic, and it instantly zaps you out of the story.
Ultimate Fallout is so-so. It should have been better since it is a send-off to a great character. Readers will probably never see the “real” Spider-Man die, so this series is almost a What If? for readers. I always wanted to know how these people would react learning the identity and the death of someone who has always protected them. I wanted this feeling really conveyed and it didn’t happen.
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