posted 06-12-2001 10:46 PM               

In 1985, DC Comics wiped out its fictional multiverse in the miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earth. They subsequently "relaunched" many of their flagship characters, in an attempt to make them more contemporary. Marvel editor Mark Gruenwald said something to the effect of "Marvel doesn't need to reinvent its characters. We got them right the first time."

Well.

Fifteen years later, the continuity of many of Marvel's flagship titles is so convoluted even longtime readers aren't sure which way is up, and many of the stories featuring those characters have been subpar to say the least. (I'll explain the Spider-Clone Saga sometime, if you feel the need to get a hangover without the alcohol.) Marvel decided to bite the bullet and relaunch its characters as well. Their approach differs from DC's in two important respects: 1) the "old" characters continue to be published, and 2) Marvel's new titles would start from the ground up, rather than try to incorporate previously-told stories into the new continuity. The result is "Ultimate Marvel," which launched almost a year ago with Ultimate Spider-Man. The first story arc, Power and Responsibility, retells Spider-Man's "origin," the events that gave teenage science whiz Peter Parker the proportional strength and agility of a spider and drove him to use those powers to fight crime.

If you are at all familiar with Spider-Man, you probably know the story: picked-on Peter Parker gains his powers from the bite of a mutated spider, and uses his powers to become a minor celebrity. He has the chance to stop a two-bit criminal, but decides it's not his problem and lets the thief go. Shortly thereafter, the thief kills Peter's Uncle Ben, Peter catches him, and realizes that with great power comes great responsibility. Spider-Man is born.

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko told this story in one issue of Amazing Fantasy in 1963. Storytelling conventions have changed a great deal since then - Power and Responsibility is almost 200 pages. Brian Bendis uses those pages to show us who Peter Parker is - the pain of adolescence, compounded by his problems fitting in at school and the loss of his parents; the joy that his newfound abilities give him; the pressure of adjusting to the changes in his life that result. Peter spends a great deal of time in a basement lab, studying a set of equations left behind by his father. The one sided conversations he has with the blackboard are great character moments, filled with loneliness and determination. Peter also spends a great deal of time with his father figure, Uncle Ben, and here is one of Bendis' greatest touches - the extra time spent with Ben show that he's just the kind of caring, involved, lighthearted, generous sort we all wish we could have in a father, which makes his death hit that much harder.

One of the things that made Spider-Man a great character was the character's sense of humor - he always threw as many wisecracks at his enemies as he did punches. Bendis, a master of dialogue, pulls that off with aplomb here, but alternates the quips with a first person narration that shows a young teen frightened out of his mind and not quite sure how to battle the bad guys, let the cops know he's one of the good guys, and not blow his cover to his high school friends all at the same time. The banter adds a layer of fun to the story, but keeps the character real.

Of course, another famous element of Spider-Man is the idea that "he's a hero with problems" - a regular guy like you and me, with money problems and girlfriend problems and all sorts of other problems. It is very easy for a bad writer to take this facet of the character and run with it far, far too much, and turn the character into someone Hamlet might feel sorry for. Bendis balances the tragedy with moments of hope and triumph, not the least of which is Peter's friendship with Mary Jane Watson. It's good to see him with a friend he can count on; that said friend is on the brainy side as well is a nice touch. Mary Jane is a well-rounded, positive young female character, of which comics probably can't have too many. Peter's Aunt May, even after Ben's death, is clearly a source of strength as well - Bendis never falls into the trap of making her seem fragile or a mere worrywart.

Mark Bagley art portrays the smaller character moments of the story well, with solid work on facial expressions, closeups, and other details that draw us into the lives of the characters. He is equally adept with the action shots of the young, small, agile Spider-Man swinging from the rooftops into action - the sense of movement and speed that is necessary to make a Spider-Man story work is here, and his redesign of familiar characters like Uncle Ben and Spidey's nemesis the Green Goblin are quite interesting.