For most of the life of Ultimate Spider-Man, Bendis has woven stories into solid arcs, mostly based around villains. The Green Goblin arc, the Kingpin arc, the Doc Ock/Kraven arc, the Venom arc, etc. After the Geldhoff story concluded, though, he's served up three largely self-contained stories, and the result is something that feels like it's checking in and touching base on all the character development and plot threads that have been developed over the course of the series. Some issues are stronger than others, but this issue is a treat for long-time fans who get to see some old friends back and still pretty accessible to the new fans. The story is less focused than I'm used to, but the dialogue is dead on as always, and Ultimate Spider-Man remains one of the most fun books that Marvel puts out.
Bendis has sort of a weird way with villains. He can make them utterly creepy and terrifying despite their stupid names (see Purple Man, over in the pages of Alias), but he can also make them doofy obstacles for the hero who live up to the sometimes goofy reputation that super-villains have. I love his take on the Enforcers, because it's hard for me to really take these guys too seriously as threats to Spider-Man, but I like that they're threats to people without super-powers, they're not just there to be the butts of jokes. Mind you, they do serve that function a little in this issue, as Bendis serves up more terrific Spidey banter.
Actually, Bendis is getting a lot of mileage out of villains right now. Ultimate Six is pretty much about the villains, and this story is just as much about the Kingpin returning as it is about anything Spider-Man is doing. Seeing the Kingpin get off from what seemed a solid case doesn't really throw me at all, because being untouchable is really what amounts to his super power, but I like that Spider-Man has won a victory over him anyway, because he's clearly completely frustrated by this kid who took him down and who he just can't touch. It also seems like Bendis may be borrowing a page from Frank Miller's playbook with an anti-super-hero candidate for office, and I'd be very surprised if this guy didn't turn out to have connections to the Kingpin. But I'm also sure that Bendis has more surprises in store.
It was also fun, as always, to see a little bit of Peter's personal life, and I love that he and Mary Jane are an item once more. Item might not be a strong enough word, though, because really Mary's got the same good-natured busting of Peter's chops and ability to see what he can't that I'd expect from a married couple. Clearly, these two complement one another, and I love that Mary Jane in the Ultimate universe has been gifted with a sarcastic sense of humor that can match Peter's, as well as brains that make her more than just "the hero's girl."
Bendis's strength is dialogue, but artist Mark Bagley's strength is storytelling, and that's why I'm glad to see that he remains on this book. His strengths in terms of action sequences can be seen in the entertaining, funny and fast-paced opening sequence, and I love the way he handles size differences in his character design. The gangly, skinny Ultimate look for Spider-Man is one that I really like, and while his Kingpin might not be the best ever, it's definitely in the top five because you believe both the bulk and the power of this man. And his strength with expressions, of making subtle bits clear, is essential to the emotional core of the stories. It also seems worth noting that he's one of the few artists Bendis works with who doesn't have the "do I read across or do I read down?" problem that seems to come partly from the scripts and partly from unclear art cues.
