by Randy Lander

ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM UP #14 Highly Recommended (9/10) Marvel Comics Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Pencils: Terry Moore Inks: Walden Wong Colors: Transparency Digital Letters: Chris Eliopoulos Editor: Ralph Macchio Price: $2.25 US/$3.65 CAN Fans of Strangers in Paradise will not be surprised to learn that Moore's work here combines sexy and silly into an irresistible package for the new Black Widow. Fans of Brian Michael Bendis will not be surprised to learn that this issue contains the usual witty and slightly different take on a few classic Marvel characters, as well as an interesting storyline that puts relative rookie hero Spider-Man into contact with those characters. In fact, there's very little in this issue that will come as a surprise to anyone; instead, it's the same thing I've come to expect from Ultimate Marvel Team-Up each month, a fun read and an interesting part of Marvel's Ultimate universe. Unless I have forgotten something, this issue features the first appearance of the Ultimate Dr. Doom, and Bendis has provided a clever tweak to make the character more topical. He's a religious fanatic, it turns out, which is very relevant right now and also serves as a shortcut to tell us everything we need to know about Doom and Latveria right away. Which is good, because the Latverian embassy isn't the focus of this issue; the introduction of Black Widow is. Bendis has done a great job throughout this book of tailoring his scripts to the artistic strengths of his collaborators. This issue is no exception, as Bendis makes use of Moore's gift for sexy women and reputation as a female-friendly creator to tell the story of Black Widow. The femme fatale spy was the archetype that Black Widow was based on, but Bendis and Moore have added an element of strong female characterization to make her more than just a sexy spy. She's a woman in a male-dominated role, and the importance of her being female is played up, whether it's in her "real men don't hit girls" comment to the ambassador or the way she casually handles an interrogation. In fact, she calls to mind the lead character of TV's Alias, another female super-spy that I quite enjoy. While I didn't think Wong's inks were as smooth as the work that Moore does over his own pencils, in general it was a treat to see Moore working on a story other than Strangers in Paradise. His take on Black Widow is more than a little familiar, with a touch of Francine and Katchoo in her, but what strikes me most about Moore's work isn't the familiar character designs but the strong expressiveness his characters boast. The interrogation scene is particularly notable for expressing the anger of the interrogator and the stubborn and amused demeanor that Black Widow takes on. What makes this issue stand out, though, more than the spy stuff and action, is the humor. Spidey's meeting with Black Widow features some hilarious dialogue and shows Peter up as being somewhat out of his league, and the Widow's confidence makes for some amusing moments as well. As with each issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Bendis blends his own style with the style of an unusual guest artist to create a story that should introduce a lot of Marvel readers to the array of talent out there in the "indie comics" scene. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.