Miles Morales: Spider-man Omnibus Vol. 1

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The other BIG irritation I had was Miles' girlfriend. Everyone is saying "don't tell her you are Spider-man" (even the reader is yelling it) and he does and stupidity ensues. I don't want to spoil it but...the odds of his girlfriend being involved with that group are zero...unless the writer needed it. Those are the stories near the end that fell flat to me. Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly. So the death happens and then we get Miles' "Spider-man no more" moment. That apparently lasted a year. And him coming out of retirement isn't even for that big of reason "hey we need your help - come along".

This story takes place in the Ultimate Marvel universe, not the main universe. I have a soft spot for this universe as it was issues of The Ultimates, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Ultimate X-Men that got me into comics. Over the course of this omnibus Miles story does intersect with big events in the Ultimate universe. This includes the Hydra fuelled Divided We Fall/United We Stand - a crossover with The Ultimates. I feel we got enough of a sense of what was happening in the main crossover, whilst seeing it from Miles perspective and how it impacted his story. The Cataclysm tie in however wasn’t as strong, but I think that’s due to needing to read the main event. In Spider-Man’s issues a lot is left unanswered. We then are thrown into the family mix. The supporting cast from his mother, to father, to especially his Uncle Aaron who turns out to be the prowler gets to mix MIles up in fun and interesting ways. Making him question if he's doing the right thing while trying to sort this superhero stuff out. It's great watching a multilayer character grow and it's not as simple as yes or no for Miles a lot of the time when making the choices. The arc with his uncle is both exciting, thanks to his uncle dynamic, but also the villain, the Scorpion, feels like a major threat that works on multiple levels. Also - I really hated the death of a main person in Miles' life. It has been done over and over again when a writer is lazy and needs his character to go through a crisis to kill off a close friend/family and it happens here. Not only is the death a been there done that it just isn't an interesting death. Cops are firing at the villain and a stray one kills the person. SIDE NOTE: the cops in this universe are dirt stupid. Scene after scene - they rush to the fight - they fire bullets that they know won't stop the villain but almost kill Spider-man and then when the villain flees or is stopped they draw their guns on Spider-man. This felt like it happened 20 times. It makes zero sense. Nobody trains the cops "hey, if it is super-villain a) stay away b) don't fire guns randomly c) stop trying to kill or arrest the obvious hero.Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man. Saying that the overall quality of this Omnibus is great. It continues the trend of keeping high stakes but also intimate slice of life drama close to the characters to keep them relatable. Some of my favorite moments in the entire Ultimate Spider-Man line, including Peter's, is in this volume. If you want to get the know the origins of Miles, this is the book to grab. Spiderwoman, who also makes frequent appearances in this omnibus is a much more interesting and compelling character than the main star of this omnibus: the identity crisis she goes through and attempts to forge herself as an individual is hinted at, but not shown. However, that arc had more potential and interest than Miles had in the entire omnibus, and she is a third string character in the omnibus! Let's start with the art - there are a few artists on this run but there wasn't a bad one in the bunch. They are all exceptional and do well with the quiet moments (conversations) which is a must for someone drawing a Bendis story. Likewise, for a "half Puerto Rican" Miles shows nothing that is Puerto Rican at all. He doesn't speak Spanish, he doesn't celebrate or observe anything Puerto Rican. You would not even think his mother was Puerto Rican or Latina if her name was not Río.

I had previously read part of this story as a normal graphic novel, so it was great to read the whole origin of the character and his early adventures. If you are a fan of the character from the Into the Spider-Verse film or the Miles Morales video game, I highly recommend this. While it took Peter Parker years-decades- to win the approval of the Avengers and actually being allowed into the team, Miles is able to win over pretty much everyone within an issue or two. Characters go from telling him that he's too young on one issue to then being completely accepting of him, inviting him to the team, offering to train him, by the next issue. In one issue, Miles walks (swings) the the Ultimates HQ (Avengers) and ask to join the team, by the end of the issue he's a member of it. Perhaps the greatest insult is that Miles is able to defeat the enemy that bested Peter; even two Peter Parkers approve of Miles. The only adversity Miles faces is himself which for half of the omnibus doesn't make sense. He doesn't want to use his powers because he doesn't, and on the other half he doesn't because of a tragedy (which makes sense). Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man Omnibus. Collecting the whole of Miles Morales first run as Spider-Man.Talking of crossovers, this partly acts as a lead in towards the big Secret Wars event. But don’t let put you off, as it’s not a big aspect of the story. Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six. What I like most, which is what I often like most about these kinds of books, is that hero-villain conflict was the least important part of this story. There are so many plots and subplots weaving together that the story is really just there to service the wonderfully rich characters. Some parts definitely felt a little disjointed with clear ties to bigger crossover event stories at the time, but I didn't feel removed from the main plot for any prolonged period of time and it didn't detract from the overall book. There are even some genuine character moments in the crossover issues that really hit strong emotional beats, especially those involving Spider Woman.

Ganke's unflinching loyalty that is common in teenage friendships, Miles' dad's complex world views, his uncle Aaron's predilection for crime, his girlfriend's secret family, the Bugle reporter investigating our new Spidey and even detective Maria Hill are all examples of the memorable writing contained in this omnibus.Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce. The artwork throughout the series is fantastic! Some of the best I have seen in modern comics. A very realistic and cinematic approach. Great at conveying the emotional and drama moments, but also the epic superhero action. A highlight being the character and suit design for the new Spider-Man.