Spider-Man #1

By Brian Michael Bendis, Sara Pichelli, Gaetano Carlucci

Despite the current Amazing Spider-Man being hot garbage (and that’s being very kind), it’s still a great time to be a Spider-Fan. With books like Silk, Spider-Gwen, Web Warriors, Spider-Man 2099, Spidey and now Spider-Man, there are plenty of alternatives to poor Peter’s character assassination. Miles’ story hasn’t missed a beat and has reclaimed its title as best current Spidey book. Apparently, Bendis is unable to write a bad Miles story.

Spider-Man #1 is a reset of sorts. After the events of Secret Wars, Miles and his circle of family/friends have been nicely placed in the main Marvel Universe. There’s no mention of Secret Wars, so it feels like these characters have always been kicking it around in the 616. It makes this book the absolute perfect jumping on point for new readers. This version of Miles is a tad older, yet still in high school and still suffering from the same classic problems that Parker had in the sixties. This back to basics approach for Miles and the Spidey concept in general is a breath of fresh air. In the original Ultimate Spider-Man issues, Bendis was brilliant at stripping Peter Parker to his bare bones essential qualities and presenting a pure Spider-Man experience. He then moved on to Miles and did the same thing, only better. Spider-Man #1 goes back to that successful concept and we couldn’t be happier.

You would think that since this is Miles’ first issue in the 616, Bendis would immediately throw him in stories with 616 mainstays. While those characters are around, they’re all beat unconscious by Blackheart, the big baddie of the issue and obvious enhancement talent to make Miles look formidable. While those interactions with Iron Man and Cap would be nice, they’re not necessary for the story. Plus, you should be reading All-New All-Different Avengers because a.) it’s awesome and b.) Miles has had several of those issues to interact with your favorite 616 characters.

Artist Sara Pichelli is probably best known for co-creating Miles. Pichelli really doesn’t get the credit that she deserves because she is easily one of the best in the game. Naturally, this issue is phenomenal, with hardly anything negative to critique. One of the neat things that she did for this new series is the maturation of characters like Miles and Ganke. They still look like they always did, only taller, with harder features. Puberty was certainly rough on Ganke. Jokes aside, this book is beautiful and it’s nice to have some new Pichelli Miles art.

This isn’t just another Spider-Man title. This is THE Spider-man title. Peter Parker will always be great, but as long as Bendis is in creative control of Miles, this will continue to be the best Spider-Man title on the market. No matter what universe Miles lives in, he’s the king.