Seventy-four issues. A limited series, a team-up series and a special or two here or there. That's a lot of Spider-Man stories for Brian Michael Bendis to be telling in the context of the "Ultimate" universe, and there's no sign of his work growing stale. The "Hobgoblin" story arc has been consistently strong, achieving a great balance between the more grounded, universal aspects of the characters and the unimaginable traumas that have befallen them. Peter Parker's overwhelming sense of guilt and Harry Osborn's dichotmous nature as an innocent and a corrupted soul make for some riveting reading.
After Peter discovers that Harry Osborn remembers that he is Spider-Man, Harry tries to put his old friend at ease, telling him that they need each other, that they're going to help each other. Peter's still worried that Harry is as unbalanced as his father, Norman Osborn, and on top of that, he's ticked that Mary Jane's been keeping a secret from him. He confronts her about her past relationship with Harry and then heads into the city to blow off some steam as Spider-Man... with disastrous results.
Bagley's art has come a long way over the course of his career at Marvel Comics. When he first debuted, his style was well suited to bringing the frenetic and acrobatic adventures of Spider-Man to life, but his art has grown, enabling him to better convey the quieter moments of these stories as well. I recently acquired a page of Bagley's original art from The Pulse, featuring a scene in which a character investigates and reflects quietly. Bagley handles similar material here, conveying plenty of storytelling with the emotive (but not exaggerated) looks on characters' faces and a darker, moodier atmosphere.
Peter Parker lives not just a dangerous and unusual life, but an impossible one. None of this could happen. It's the stuff of fantasy, even ludicrous, if one really thinks about it. But Bendis crafts the script in a way that allows the reader to relate to the character despite those bizarre circumstances. He doesn't ignore them in crafting Peter's character, though, but uses them to put him through the wringer. Peter is on the cusp of completely losing it, and he really needs to but won't allow himself to do so because of his burden of responsibility.
Harry's character is quite fascinating as well. Bendis does a good job of making him seem non-threatening in the opening scene. It really seems as though he's headed in a different direction than his father, and then, we're hit with a darker side to the character, the damaged side. The reader never sees Harry as the bad guy, but as a pitiable figure, collateral damage left behind by a hurricane of ego, ambition and greed. 9/10
