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This issue draws to a close the story of Jefferson Davis, Miles’s father, and his history with the hidden world of the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Miles’s father, who spent a few months out of the narrative after finding out that his son was the new Spider-Man, and therefore involved in the death of both his wife and his brother, appeared abruptly back into the web swinger’s life in the middle of a brand new firestorm being set up by Marvel writer god Brian Michael Bendis, which includes a resurrected Peter Parker and a seemingly immortal Goblin.

Truth be told, this book is actually very light on any actual Spider-Man action in favor of tying up some loose story ends. Still, this would be the perfect time to catch up with the book, because Bendis is clearly setting up Miles Morales’s life for a crazy ride, and this is the calm before the storm. The art in the book from David Marquez is top notch. There’s a nice contrasting style when Jefferson goes into the flashbacks of his time as enforcer for the Kingpin/mole for SHIELD. In and of itself  this is not a make it or break it issue for the book, but rather if you have been invested in the story of the new Spider-Man as I have been since his premiere, then this story gives you all the necessary father-son closure you need to be ready to batten down the hatches as you get ready for the oncoming Hydra-girlfriend story arc.

Two of the strongest points in the book have to be the depiction of the savant mastery of criminal enterprise that is the Kingpin, and the  tough as nails tactical grand master and ultra spy that is Nick Fury. I personally got a kick out of seeing the artist’s depiction of a young black Nick Fury. Drawn with clean lines and deep actual and metaphorical shades of grey, with a full head of hair and a serious business suit. By contrast, Kingpin is always depicted almost sketched, but as the biggest thing in any frame in both reputation and stature.

So right now, before you are done reading this review, go and pick up the most recent issue of Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man and see what you have been missing. This is the kind of story that you go to Marvel for, executed by a writer/artist team doing it as good as if not better than anyone else in the business today.

–@PerfectCruelty

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