This month, we open on Peter at a computer at school, narrating that he’s been too stupid as Spider-Man, and that has to stop. He’s found the company that makes Kingpin’s security cameras, set up a fake email, and contacted them as “Arthur Simek” interested in learning what the setup process is like. Artie Simek is one of Silver Age Marvel’s most recognizable names due to lettering a huge percentage of the classic comics. People have always loved to put references to Stan or Jack or Steve into the books, but you don’t see many for Artie Simek, so that’s cool. Then we hop ahead a bit to Peter in a session with an unnamed woman who says she’s there as a counselor for the students after the Spider-Man/Green Goblin fight. Peter is very uncomfortable, and that doesn’t change as she asks questions about just where he was during the battle and reveals she knows Uncle Ben died. Peter asks if he has to do this, and when told it’s voluntary, bails immediately.
I always thought Liz Allan’s name was spelled “Liz Allen.” Maybe that’s Bendis’s fault, looking at this page. Peter thinks that he feels really responsible for the way Liz has taken this. That he was silly and cocky dealing with Green Goblin, and someone could’ve died. Then he checks his email, sees nothing for Arthur Simek, and continues on to class.
Bendis is a huge movie & pop culture nerd and you really feel it with the references people make in his comics. Also, basically the only OTHER letterer of the Silver Age Marvel Comics was, you guessed it, Sam Rosen. And as Peter watches a video on the camera system across the next 2 pages, it’s hosted by Patsy Walker, who in the original Marvel U was a model in some comedy books for girls in the 60s before becoming Hellcat in the 70s. Peter learns all about how this company’s product retains camera footageon automatically burned DVDs for record keeping purposes for each customer. He thinks about being unmasked on camera, he thinks about the murder of Mr. Big, and then Spider-Man is swinging out into the night. At Fisk Tower, underlings are talking about intimidating the news channel that reported on Mr. Big’s death, but all Kingpin cares about is Spider-Man’s unrecovered body.
Good gag!
Meanwhile, Spider-Man has found his way to the room where the DVDs are kept, and is amazed this plan worked. He just starts grabbing discs, assuming (Probably rightly) that any one of them could contain incriminating evidence, and is feeling pretty good about this scheme until he barely dodges a zap, and then a lasso loops around his throat.
We’re headed for a final showdown next issue! Can Spidey redeem himself? I mean, probably, but this is Ultimate Spider-Man, anything could happen on the way to that victory. This month’s letter page finally contains a name I recognize from Bendis’ forum. I knew we’d start showing up sooner or later.