Somebody still remembers what Ultimate comics should be.
Peter wakes up to find himself imprisoned in warehouse with J. Jonah Jameson while the Chameleon besmirches Spider-Man's reputation with an explosive crime spree.
The Good
Now this is what an Ultimate Spider-Man comic is supposed to be! Again and again, this well-meaning kid can just never catch a break. Bendis was able to get the tension going constantly, with one plot twist surpassing the previous one. Not only is Spider-Man's identity taken over by the Chameleon, not only does Jameson figure out what his identity is but, on top of all that, the Chameleon has seemingly done something to Jameson that many have wanted to do for years by... wait, that would be telling. As for Lafuente's art? What can I say? There's so much character in his linework, he makes even the most basic talking head panel pop off the page.
The Bad
There's a really confusing point where three panels are duplicated - - word-for-word and line-for-line - - just five or pages after they were used in the first place. I know that Bendis' trademark is his realistically, oft-repeating dialogue, but this conveyed absolutely no new information. How many times could Peter say "Shut up" and Jonah could respond with "This is the story of the decade?" It honestly felt like a recap within a issue - - something usually reserved for just the prologue.
The Verdict - 4.5/5
I'm really baffled how this title pulls off the point of the Ultimate Comics imprint so wonderfully when all the other titles are missing the point so drastically. The whole endeavor reminds me of Batman Begins in a good way - - it retells classic Spidey stories with a new courage to explore how the scenarios would actually play out. This Spider-Man feels free and, truly, it's far more interesting than any version of Spidey out there, right now.
