In the very beginning, Bendis was supposed to write both Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men. That didn’t work out, and Mark Millar and Adam Kubert eventually got the gig. Millar had been a protege and partner of sorts to Grant Morrison, both of them coming up with the wild writers of the late 80s and early 90s UK. Then they had some kind of falling out, which apparently continues to this day. Morrison was all about doing crazy, ambitious, mind-expanding stories. Millar was all shock and no substance. But he was good at the shock, rising up to first take over the wildly influential The Authority with Frank Quitely when Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch left, and then springboarding from success on Ultimate X-Men and The Ultimates to the event that changed everything, Civil War. Millar is the first but by no means the last of the 21st Century Marvel writers who didn’t do anything I thought was good, but enjoyed massive success, so what do I know? Millar and Kubert (With Chris Bachalo, David Finch and Kaare Andrews pinch hitting on art sometimes) did 33 issues of UXM, and once they were done, well, look who’s here. Finch’s fill-ins were during the final run of issues, and I guess editorial was happy enough to make him the main artist for awhile. And since Bendis brings over our guy with him for this first arc, here we are. Art Thibert inks and the great Dave Stewart colors. This one opens with Wolverine in a diner. A woman comes in, makes small talk, and then walks out, saying “ID confirmed” to unseen accomplices, who proceed to light the diner up, ventilating Logan in the process.
That’s a big donut, y’all, but the every next page brings us our raison d’être here.
I know I didn’t really use “raison d’être” correctly back there. It’s late and I’m tired, just go with it. No one would ever mistake Finch for Bagley, but he’s really trying to do the Ultimate Spider-Man on model. Except he has the web pattern on the face wrong, McFarlane style. Peter descends into his basement lab, and just in case you thought you were reading the wrong title, he gradually becomes aware that someone else is in there, slumped in a corner.
Wolverine explains that he followed Spider-Man home the first night they met (In UMTU 1, of course), just to be sure he was on the level. Now he just needs a place to hide out and heal where no one would look for him. Wolverine has just been devastated to learn Peter doesn’t have access to any beer when MJ walks in, complaining about her mom, sees Logan, and faints dead away. Peter leaps over and catches her before she hits the ground.
Even through the mists of time, I remembered not a whole lot actually happens in this issue. Not the most satisfying single issue of all time. But now we got suspicious vans outside Aunt May’s house, things are likely to get more interesting soon.