Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 18: Ultimate Knights (v. 18)
by Brian Michael Bendis
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Book Summary Information
Author: Brian Michael BendisBrand: Marvel
Illustrator: Mark Bagley
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-09-26
ISBN: 0785121366
Number of pages: 144
Publisher: Marvel
Book Reviews of Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 18: Ultimate Knights (v. 18)
Book Review: Bendis and Bagley set a record as Spider-Man and Daredeveil take down the Kingpin
Summary: 4 Stars
"Ultimate Knights" was the last story arc on "Ultimate Spider-Man" that writer Brian Michael Bendis and penciler Mark Bagley did together in establishing a new record for most consecutive issues done by a writer-artist team (the previous record had been Stan Lee and Jack Kirby doing the first 102 issues of "The Fantastic Four"). Volume 18 of these "Ultimate Spider-Man" trade paperback collections contains issues #106-110, and knowing it is the last story arc by Bendis and Bagley (inked by Drew Hennessy) together makes me think that explains why they throw so many Ultimate Marvel superheroes into the mix for this last roundup. I have to say that I thought there were too many superheroes running around in this one and that they overly complicate the end game that is the payoff here.
As the cover indicates, we start off with Daredevil, who back in "Ultimate Spider-Man Annual" #2 had warned our young hero off of trying to be a teenage superhero. Now, as his alter ego, lawyer Matt Murdock, Daredevil offers Spider-Man to be in on an opportunity to help take down Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime in New York City. That leads to a meet of a group that includes not only Daredevil but also Iron Fist, Shang-Chi, Dr. Strange, and Moon Knight. The plan is to send Moon Knight, or rather Ronin, a new aspect of his fractured personality, undercover as a new hit man for the Kingpin and infiltrate the crime organization with the goal of bringing it and the Sidney Greenstreet-clone at the top of it down. The problem is that Moon Knight is so submerged in his Ronin persona then when the Kingpin order's him to capture Spider-Man, that is exactly what he does.
The high point of this story ends up being a very interesting little talk between Fisk and Peter, in which the Kingpin makes it clear that he "owns" Spider-Man in a way that young Peter Parker could never have imagined. On the one hand "Ultimate Knights" does not really have a counterpart in the original "Amazing Spider-Man," but it does resonate off of what has happened the past year with Marvel's "Civil War," where so many secret identities have been revealed. Bendis and Bagley deal with what happens to essential loners like Spider-Man and Daredevil when somebody like the Kingpin knows who they are; there is an inherent limitation in that superheroes never just go out and kill the people who know their secret identity, although convenient deaths often become a part of the equation. But not with Bendis and Bagley, who feel compelled to find a more creative way to maintain the equilibrium of their characters in a chaotic world. Besides, this one ends with a nice little ironic twist and you know how much I like irony.
Ever since "Ultimate Spider-Man" hit the century mark the problems created by those who know that Peter Parker is Spider-Man have become more prominent. Now that Aunt May knows that changes a lot of things, and the next major story arc, "To Kill a Goblin," is going to deal with what Norman Osborn intends to do about Peter being Spider-Man. On the romantic front, Kitty Pryde has left the X-Men and the Xavier Institute and enrolled at Midtown High, to the surprise of Peter and the anger of Mary Jane. However, that is all backburner stuff for now because Spider-Man has more pressing concerns. Finally, I must say that it strikes me as strange that this volume does not include issue #111, "The Talk," which was a stand-alone story and the last one drawn by Mark Bagley before Stuart Immonen took over the penciling chores on the title (actually the two took turns penciling #111). That transitional issue works better as a coda to Bagley's run on the book than as a prelude to the start of Immonen's gig.
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