Ultimate Spider-Man, Volume 7: Irresponsible

Ultimate Spider-Man (2000) (Collected Editions)

by Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Mark Bagley

Peter Parker hat zwei Probleme: Sein Spider-Man-Kostüm ist futsch und er leidet immer noch unter der Trennung von Mary Jane. Doch Zerstreuung ist im Anmarsch. Ein neuer Mutantengegner sorgt für erste Kontakte mit dem Rest des Ultimativen Universums ... Die X-Frauen, Kitty Pryde und natürlich nicht zu vergessen Gwen Stacy ...
Band 5 des gesammelten Nachdrucks von Bendis' und Bagleys ultimativem Spider-Man!

Storys
Ultimate Spider-Man 40-45

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Spider Man, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually pretty good!

Peter goes about his normal life dealing with not having costumes as he broke up with his tailor MJ (joking) and then he well deals with fighting a latverian student whose a mutant and then team up with the X-Men like Storm, Kitty and Jean, going to Xavier school, fighting there and dealing with the moral crisis he has been having and then meeting them returning home and the drama with Aunt may was the best part and what she has been going through and I love the way Bendis explores her psyche and her personal troubles. Its an amazing character piece! A must read volume for sure!

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost shied away from giving this one the full five star rating due to the involvement of the tragically leatherbound 2000s "Ultimate X-Men"- let's see those midriffs, ladies!- but the unexpectedly excellent issue featuring poor May letting it all out to her therapist brought me back up.


OK this was kind of funny, though...

Also, "Geldoff" is quite possibly the most idiotic superpowered individual I've ever seen in a comic, and this from a guy who has read all of Invincible...


The scarf is the only clue you need to know he's a D-bag

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still really enjoying Bendis's Ultimate Spider-Man. Highlights of this trade: Shadowcat flirting with Spider-Man, what I suspect was a subtle dig at the trying-too-hard "edginess" of much of the Ultimate line, and every panel of Aunt May's appointment with her therapist. That last scene especially, because this is where Bendis really shines. He keeps Peter a normal teenager, even with his powers, and he makes his regular life every bit as important and absorbing as his costumed life.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man it's like mutant mania, everything I read has them now days!

Spider-man gets to deal with a new kid who seems to be showing mutant powers. So while he tries to help him he gets visited by the X-Men and then they all work together to help the kid. But while Peter is doing that he's still trying to figure things out with MJ while also dealing with Aunt May losing her shit on Peter going missing all the time.

The X-Men stuff is the least interesting part to be honest. Kitty and Peter is cute, but the rest of it is just okay. The new kid is annoying as hell. BUT saying that the MJ stuff is wonderful and the Aunt May stuff is perfect. The ending to the final issue is perfect.

Overall good but not great. A 3 out of 5.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good. I didn’t hate the X-Men storyline, though those characters seem very different than what I’m used to. I did enjoy Peter’s conversations with the maybe mutant and Peter’s relationships with Aunt May and also with Mary Jane in this one. The Aunt May issue at the end of this volume was really quite excellent.

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay, mostly made me want to get hold of the Ultimate X-men comics so I can get to know those characters. It felt like a bit of a slump, story-wise; sure, we got a bit more involvement with the rest of the Marvel universe, and a bit of engagement with the mutant issue, but compared to the Venom storyline (which did not get picked up again yet) and the single TPB villains earlier in the Ultimate Spider-man run, it seems pretty slow/inconsequential.

There is some development with Peter and Mary Jane, but I'm not the greatest fan of that, so eh.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Peter-Mary Jane romance is sweet. The mutant storyline was okay.
But the girly art was over the top, especially since most of those girls are supposed to be underage. (I’m not the target audience for that stuff, I know--but they must include so much emotional/inter-personal stuff in hope of keeping female readers, right?)
I really liked what was going on with Aunt May, her struggles to deal with everything from raising a very special teenager to the various losses she’s experienced. Her talk with the therapist brought another dimension to the story.

[Charly Troff (JustaReadingMama) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow things with Aunt Mary are getting pretty intense. I loved the tie-in with the X-Men!

[Nico · Rating 1 out of 5]

the more i read usm, the more i feel like im being gaslit whenever people praise it

[Jibug · Rating 3 out of 5]

A middling story in-between arcs. The x-men is introduced in this volume but a short lived appearance. A teenage mutant is running around blowing up stuff for entertainment trying to get a whoop whoop from peers. The X-men swoop in to bring him back to the school for the gifted to figure out what to do with him. The mutant is very annoying, but the highlight with these scenes are the brief interactions with the X-men though it becomes reduced to just a bit of flirting with Peter and a bit of trouble that gets Peter back home extremely late to a panicked Aunt May. I think the best part of this volume is how aunt May is portrayed here. The writer puts so much emotion and humanity in the scenes with her that you feel for her. Especially the fear she communicates with her therapist. Again, there are moments that are just meh but then you get moments like these which are great and which confuses the heck out of me on how to rate these volumes. A 3.5 for this one and a definite yes on reading the next volume.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last issue in this collection was 5 stars.
And all it was was Aunt May talking to her therapist.
Great stuff.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The scenes in this collection really give Bagley opportunities to show off how great he is at facial reactions/emotions. So many instances here where no dialogue is needed. Of course, there still is tons of dialogue here, because that's what Bendis does. There is no one better than Bendis at making talking-heads interesting. It was a bold move to dedicate an entire issue to Aunt May in a therapy session, where she does 98% of the talking. Loved the humor in Spider-Man's exchange with the guy who can blow up things and with the X-ladies when they show up.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Irresponsible strikes me as something of a transitions story. There's no real arc after the Venom story it's just stuff that happened to Peter between villains. It's mostly teen age drama with him moping about Mary Jane and then getting back together with her. The introduction of the Ultimate X-Men (while a fun story) doesn't really seem to fit with the other stories Bendis has been telling. It does make Spider-Man more a part of the world and brings in the whole mutant-phobia stuff that is the back bone of Marvel comics.

Probably the best thing about this volume is that Bendis makes Aunt May a person. Every incarnation of Aunt May previous to Bendis' portrayal shows Aunt May as a constant: always there with a hug or a cup of hot cocoa or just something that Peter needed. She was someone that he had to hide from and someone that occasionally would need to be rescued by Spider-Man. She had no character. In this issue Bendis does something different. He sends Aunt May to a therapist. He lets the reader see how Ben's death and Peter's changing lifestyle have really affected her. It's an excellent piece of story telling and really rounds out an iconic figure.

[Mike Ezepchick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume definitely had some cool/memorable moments - mostly Peter meeting the X-Men and getting to see the mansion, but ultimately it wasn’t for a very interesting reason. I just didn’t care about that foreign exchange student with powers or how he turned out.

The other notable thing that happened was Aunt May’s confession of guilt to her therapist, it provided a lot of insight to her character which was neat, but her hate/fear of Spider-Man felt a little weird, and maybe too on-the-nose. Overall it was still an enjoyable story, just nothing too exciting or important that would’ve kept me intrigued as some of the previous volumes.

[Greg Callahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5) I find this volume to be a bit of a dip in entertainment. Still a good volume, especially that last issue with Aunt May and her therapist, that's really good stuff. Plus you get the intro of the X-Men, which is pretty cool and quite humorous. But overall, I wasn't really invested in this one and found the dialogue to be occasionally... well ... just silly. Not on par with Bendis' usual banter.

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun collection of Peter Parker Spider-Man stories, this one featuring the X-Men, and dipping its toes into the waters of "mutantphobia". A friend one described Ultimate Spider-Man eventually reaching a point where Bendis could write a six issue arc about Peter Parker crossing the street. And while that is a somewhat valid criticism, I really like the way he tells a street-crossing story, and Bagley is just one of my many wonderful artists who bring Bendis's vision to life in a fun, and immediate way.

[Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic volume of vivaciously drawn, awesomely Bendis-written Spider-Man here.

In this one, Spider-Man meets another super-powered high school student who may be, as the title states, acting a bit "irresponsible". This volume also marks Ultimate Spidey's first meeting with the Ultimate version of The X-Men and the book's last issue takes a touching look at Aunt May.

Another fine chapter in a string of books I'm REALLY enjoying.

[Jennavier · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not as action packed as previous volumes, I really liked how the series took a breather so that we can see what all the recent action has cost the people involved. It shows has strong the characters are. I'm really enjoying this!

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed with the story in this one. Bendis seemed to write a filler? (Spoiler alert)
The sudden appearance of X-Men Angels?! Then the stupid way the plane is destroyed? Seems like a 14-year lad wrote this.
Then a massive couch session with Aunt May. It's a graphic novel!

[Zelly B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite Spidey series of all time. This is actually a (2x) re-read of the entire series.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just reviewed the fourth volume of Ultimate Spider-Man in which in part I questioned Brian Michael Bendis’s legacy of decompression. This is, in hindsight, a little bit of revisionism. Not so long ago, most comic book issues were just that, single comic book issues telling single stories. Ultimate Spider-Man was at the vanguard of every story taking about one comic book collection to unfold. At the time this was “decompression.” It used to be, if there was a story arc it was a significant crisis. In Spider-Man comics, for instance, there was the original and notorious “Clone Saga,” which dragged out for years as Marvel imagined it had its own version of “Knightfall” or “Reign of the Supermen.” Readers never did end up agreeing. They just saw a story that never, ever ended. And so when Bendis started writing Ultimate Spider-Man, some readers were excited to see the origin retold, Peter Parker back as he originally was, and…some readers saw a story that just wouldn’t end.

This seventh volume is a story that clearly only happens just to fill a trade. Spider-Man meets someone who is in deep denial about being a mutant, and then the X-Men come collecting. The story is rounded out with Peter making up with Mary Jane, with Aunt May, as Bendis continues to struggle recontextualizing classic Spider-Man material. The Mary Jane romance, even 2003, no longer made that much sense. People weren’t really marrying right out of high school anymore. Heck, it was already standard to treat college as one big party (I would know; I was there at that exact time), not worry about serious relationships, much less the future, until later. And you have Peter and MJ committing to each other because that’s what these characters are supposed to do, not the interminable dance played out in the original comics, or the hiccup of Gwen Stacy, or…And then you have Aunt May, Peter continuously lying to her, trying, thinly, to actually process all the traditional trauma, still a grey-haired old lady but at least no longer perennially enfeebled, looking like a fashionista, the way Bagley has no clue what real people look like, much less high schoolers playing dress-up. Of course he makes ‘em look like hookers. It’s embarrassing.

So here I am complaining about another volume where it seems this classic run is wasting all its time. Of course I’m being hard on it. It’s still hindsight. This is only the second time Marvel has allowed itself to tell the classic Spider-Man stories. In short order Hollywood did it three times, and by the third time skipped most of it just to get into the adventuring.

For someone coming at any of this from a less cluttered perspective, it’s probably easier to process. If they don’t watch all the movies, if they have less awareness of the classic material, it’s as fresh as it seemed, twenty years ago. Most kids today are probably only going to know Spider-Man from the most recent movies anyway. They won’t be as critical as I am. They’ll see the effort.

It’s just, anyone who asks a little more, it’s really basically the same these comics ever were.

[Jack Herbert Christal Gattanella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is an example of a writer needing to find some balance after the mega-drama (maybe not quite soap but suddenly taking a leap and bound past "melo") and going for more romantic things - Peter and MJ (GASP!) get back together in a very sweet (and bordering on uh, sexy way, yeah with teens, but whatever, they're drawn like adults in the Big panels where they kiss and MJ has side boob), and then comedy with Geldolf the not-quite-sorta mutant (more on him in a moment) and the Ultimate version of the X Men.

It's not wholly consistent, in part this may be as I haven't seen anything from that line so it was... a bit jarring seeing my favorite X characters drawn like they are in the Spiderman series by this artist. But also, the stakes are just not so high. This is not necessarily a negative, and actually it helps to have the contrast after the big holy shit story with Brock/Venom to go on to a character like Gendolf... who I almost suspected was like Tommy Wiseau from THE ROOM(!!) Sure he has blind hair, but look at how he mentions his live of American football while on a rooftop where he also spends a good amount of time denying things ("I am naaaht" I heard in my head). All one was missing was Spidey saving a 27 year old teenager from being accosted by a drug dealer for "some" kind of money. And I know logically this is from 2003 so the chances Bendis saw the movie are slim to none but I CAN DREAM CANT I?

But really, it's interesting to get a character like Geldolf who is not actively *bad* or villainous, he's just a mixed up kid from Latveria who isn't sure why he can't be more, you know, responsible but he... can't yet. He's just an average fuck up that needs some help. The problem is the stuff with all the X-Men, while fun, feels a but like a distraction from the other things going on within *this* world of Queens and this character (a set up with Flash Thompson may be making amends or something doesn't pay off, not that it has to but it feels dangly).

Again, still all good, and I had some real laughs here - highlights include snafus with Parker's costume that become a running gag, and a moment involving Spidey picturing one of the X Men ladies in the buff - not to mention the romance, but... light.... and then the last issue comes which is basically an episode of IN TREATMENT for May, where an 'incident' with Peter leads her down many many thoughts... and I love it so much I think I want to own this single issue so I can read it over again (I borrowed the trade from the library). It's deep, it's consequential, and it gets us to intimately know a character (not dirty, this is still for kids yknow!) who we sometimes take for granted.

While it doesn't get me to raise this rating higher, I still give this vol a big thumbs up for its depth of character while just having people talk in rooms - not what we always think of Spider-man for.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The description for this is in German (I think?) for some reason? Maybe it's something on my end.

Anyway, this one, more than most of these, has a Spider-Man story and Peter Parker story. Peter and Mary-Jane are back together, which is good because Peter can't sew and his costume is wrecked. Mary didn't have time to make the whole thing though so he just has a shirt and a mask. Meanwhile some kid is blowing up cars with his mind so Spidey goes to help but soon gets intercepted by the X-Men, and visits their mansion.

Meanwhile, Aunt May is very upset that Peter isn't home and starts trying to figure out where he is.

The X-Men plot is okay. It wants to be another "don't meet your heroes" moment for Spidey, but I honestly don't think Xavier did anything that wrong. Yes, using a kid to fight for mutant rights might be debatable if the kid doesn't want to, but Xavier is also fighting for that kid. Maybe I'm just failing to see the moral quandary that Bendis is setting up, but honestly, I think Xavier is the one in the right here.

The Aunt May plot on the other hand is great. It starts as a normal parent thinks their kid is up to no good plot, but it ends with the final issue of the volume which focuses entirely on May's counselling session and ends up being a really good character study.

So, a mixed bag, but the Aunt May stuff is so good that it elevates the whole thing a bit.

[Rick Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

The "Irresponsible" arc of Bendis & Bagley's Ultimate Spider-Man series further broadens the scope of Marvel's Ultimate Universe by adding in the characters found in Ultimate X-Men. Here, Spider-Man tackles bigotry towards mutants when one of his classmates is outed as a dangerous mutant. As Spidey struggles to rein in the situation, Storm, Jean Grey and Kitty Pryde of the X-Men show up to save the day. Bendis really goes all in on the horniness of teens here by having Peter drool over the trio, but to be fair to him their costumes are overly revealing. Bagley isn't really to blame here since he's just going for consistency with what is being drawn in Ultimate X-Men, but the young ages of all these characters make this a bit too weird.

Additionally, Peter continues to deal with the complicated balance of being a normal teenager with normal teenager problems and that of a superhero with a secret identity. The strongest portion of the "Irresponsible" arc is the May Parker therapy scene which gives a heartwarming look into the mind of Aunt May who has largely been a sidelined character thus far. This was generally speaking one of the weaker volumes of the series yet, but the Aunt May section was fairly well done.

[Mr. Derek Dietz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey! The X-Men show up! Most of the Ultimate re-designs have not aged particularly well, and these versions of Storm, Kitty Pryde, and Jean Grey are among my least favorite. Peter's dealings with a new mutant at his high school are not particularly compelling. All of this to say, this is probably my least favorite collection of Ultimate Spider-Man so far and would have scored a lower rating if it hadn't also dropped that INCREDIBLE issue involving Aunt May's trip to therapy. A whole issue devoted to May's inner struggles as she tries to raise a young man who's clearly keeping secrets from her while also navigating the trauma of the loss of so many important people in her own life over the past decades. The Spider-Man action is kept to a minimum, but the interiority of the characters is top-notch. I was blown away by the commitment here. It's one of my favorite issues of the entire run, and it helps emphasize exactly why this particular Spidey story is so satisfying to read.

[Logan Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/10:
This was one of my favorite trades for this run so far! I love how grounded the stories are while simultaneously showcasing the first interactions that Spider-Man has had with other heroes: the X-Men consisting of Storm, Marvel Girl, Kitty Pryde, Professor X, Beast, Cyclops, and Colossus!

I love that Peter has some heroes who know his secret identity and who he knows can be trusted (at least mostly). It’s a very nice alternative to the foreboding presence that Nick Fury and SHIELD have had during this run so far.

That final issue is really intense and it finally delves into the mind of Aunt May Parker and why she’s been so consistently angry with Peter and his actions. I’m glad we get deeper insight into her motivations and anxieties and hopefully a glimpse into what the relationship between May and Peter will evolve into!

[Aaron Maurer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series of comics. My first major read of a character series and this one impresses me more and more with each new story arc.

This one..... This one I just don't get how X-Men play a role with Spiderman. I know there are all sorts of crossovers and probably other comics and make these connections(I started reading Ultimate Marvel Team Up) but in my headspace I see X-Men as one world and superheroes like Spiderman in another.

With that being said I did like this storyline and how the characters continue to develop. Perhaps the more I read comics the more I will like these moments of character crossover.

And even more I need to continue to enhance my knowledge of these worlds because there is so much left to learn!

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, the appearance of the X-Men is just a little bit questionable, but Peter's characterization stays consistent through it--overall, it's a good sequence of events, one that continues to build the world. Even if Geldoff is an absolutely horrid name.
This volume also contains the Aunt May therapy issue, which is one of the best single issues in Spider-Man history probably. It establishes now and forever more that she is a strong, caring woman, yet she's also a realistic person. She has flaws, she has survivor's guilt, she has irrational thoughts, and she inadvertently vents her negative feelings on Peter, and that destroys her, too. It's a really beautiful look into the psychology of simply being human and dealing with tragedy.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this was another weird book whose main highlight (apart from some of the Mary Jane stuff?) was the fact that it establishes that Ultimate Universe Peter Parker does not have the sewing skills of his 616 counterpart. Thus for the bulk of the volume, one of his main challenges is not having a proper costume to wear while fighting crime. I loved this detail and it rather worked for me.

The other stuff including the whole mutant angle was interesting but not amazing. Some of the stuff with Aunt May shows great potential but I'm not sure if when it's going to get where it wants to get to. I'll just have to ride the wave for now and see where things take us.

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the few times I set down the volume and just go "wow". Action is not what brought this set home for me. The little action that was provided was meaningful and had juicy payoff for those reading the whole universe. The scpequence which was somewhat recreated in Spider-Man: Homecoming was super cool to see, although I'm sure something like that has to have happened before. The second big hitter was the emotional switch-up between MJ, Peter, and May, for better and for worse. It's heartening to see each of them striving to be better people for others and for themselves.