Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The New Ultimate Spider-Man

For a few minutes here I want to cover something that's not X-23, just because of how awe-inspiring this move was.

Marvel made a move today that in one regard didn't surprise me, but in another did.

Brian Michael Bendis, you sir are an amazing man.
There has been no doubt in my mind about the new direction of Ultimate Spider-man, what concerned me was if they were going to give credit to the origins of it. Ultimate Fallout itself has been an exceptionally good read so far if albeit overpriced and underpaged. (The first issue was 3.99 and had 17 pages of story. The rest was all ads.)

In a USATODAY article, Bendis was quoted as to his inspiration for this move. He gave credit to the actual source, and not made some excuse to take full credit upon himself. That speaks volumes to the type of creator he is and as to a man of integrity.

I do wonder if they had a choice in the matter. The Donald Glover campaign was so widespread that to claim credit would have been dentrimental to the integrity of Marvel, so the only option was to be honest about it. The Donald Glover campaign was the exact reason I knew to expect this too and why I wasn't surprised by it.

Right now my only concern is if they'll kill this move by using stereotypes and cliches as opposed to keeping the integrity of Spider-Man intact as an idealistic young man who simply wants to make a difference. Someone who understands that with great power comes great responsibility. The boy under the mask has always represented it could be anyone, no matter the creed so long as they just wanted to do the right thing. The right thing has never been limited to being the 'white thing.' So why should a character like Spider-Man be limited to such things? The boy under the mask has always represented someone who was an outsider, and felt like an outcast as nerdy young Parker has shown us with his growth into the man he became. Someone who went from everyday kid who was bullied to a happily married man, simply because he was a good man at heart. Someone people could look up to and know that life wouldn't always be as hard as what they deal with everyday no matter what race they were. That eventually they would grow up, and find where they belong in life so long as they always stuck to doing what was right.

Marvel, you've just gotten yourself one more reader on Ultimate Spider-Man for now. I do worry about the potential abuse of stereotypes and cliches, but if they can avoid that and just give a good story and well defined character, I look forward to this title.

While the chessboard maneuvers may seem questionable, I will commend you for taking the high road.

As for those whining about liberals, conservatives, PC bullshit etc, all I have to say is this: Really? Do you not understand the entire concept of spider-man and his fullbody suit and mask? None of those things apply at all, or ever did. A hero with moral integrity is not limited to any single creed or race. Why does it matter if a hero is white, black, orange, purple, or even plaid so long as they stand up for doing what is right and helping others? You know just being what a hero is.

Now back to your regularly scheduled X-23 entries.

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