REVIEW: Ultimate Spider-Man #133

Reviewer: Don ChiavonWebsite: MarvelComicBooks.orgReview Permalink: http://marvelcomicbooks.org/review-ultimate-spider-man-133/Date: June 27, 2009

What started Marvel's Ultimate line off with a bang has now ended with nary a whimper.

The final issue of Ultimate Spider-Man, #133, ties in with the Ultimate Universe changing event Ultimatum, and you basically have to have read that series to understand what's going on in this issue. As confusing as that is, the writer, Brian Michael Bendis, makes things worse by making this a silent issue. That is, not a single word of dialogue is spoken in the entire book.

Now, there have been silent issues in the best that have been done right... G.I. Joe # 21, (Marvel, 1983), comes to mind...but this is the total OPPOSITE of doing it right. After a stellar run of 132 issues, all written by Bendis and all a cut above most other books on the shelves today, to have this be the finale is truly a massive blunder. There's no closure, no hint of the continuity that came before to reward long-time fans of the series. Spider-Man himself doesn't even appear in the book!

I understand that Marvel wants to leave you guessing about the status quo for the impending re-launch of this title, but this not only felt like a cheat, but also seemed inexcusably... lazy. I've been onboard for Ultimate Spider-Man's run from the very first issue, but this doesn't feel like a worthy closing to a long-running saga of high caliber stories. It feels like a cash-grab, pure and simple. 1.5 out of 5 stars.