Comic Review – “Ultimate Spider-Man #46”

The stand-alone prologue to next week’s Ultimate
Six #1
hit shelves this week. The next issue of
Ultimate Spider-Man will hit in October, and
will feature the return of the Kingpin.

General Information

Title: Ultimate Spider-Man #46 (Afterwords…)

Author: Brian Michael Bendis

Illustrator: Mark Bagley

Original Publication Date: September 10, 2003

Cover Price: $2.99 US, $4.75 Can

Premise

In a flashback to the events that followed Double
Trouble
, Spider-Man
deals with the Ultimate Sandman for the first time.

High Point

“Can I get a ride?”

Low Point

The “slip of the tongue” by the researcher. These guys
are in an
installation so secret Ultimate S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t know
about it,
and they give away secrets that easily?

The Scores

The new Sandman feels pretty original to me.
He’s more
menacing than the normal version, in my opinion. His
silence, and his
battle tactics, are both new and viscious. I give it 5 out of
6.

The artwork is very good, especially
considering how
difficult it would be to draw this particular villain. I give it 6
out of 6.

The story is pretty simplistic, particularly when
you
consider that this was a double-sized issue. Part of that
may be
because so much of it is a recap of what’s come before. I
give it 4
out of 6.



The characterization is limited to Agent Carter,
for the most
part. Sandman is just downright evil, and very shallow at
this
point. I give it 4 out of 6.

The emotional response to this issue was
good. I knew that
it was a prologue to Ultimate Six, and that it
involved
Sandman, but that’s it. It’s not the setting or the battle I
was
expecting. I give it 5 out of 6, for entertaining surprises.

The flow is smooth, with transitions to and from
the
flashback. The combat was well depicted, given the
narrator and actions.
I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, it’s a decent stand alone issue, but it
feels like a
retcon to allow Bendis to write Ultimate Six as
though
Spider-Man has already met the character, which is
probably exactly
what it is. I give it 4 out of 6.

In total, Ultimate Spider-Man #46 receives 33
out of 42.

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