Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 1: Power & Responsibility TPB (New Printing) (Ultimate Spider-man, 1)

I am a big fan of DC comics and their characters. I mainly follow the stories of Batman,Superman and the Justice League of America. I have never really got into Marvel at all, but have been a fan of the Spiderman films, and then my girlfriend started to tell me all about the sub-plots of the characters, so i decided to give this volume a whirl, figuring that if i didn't like it, it was no great shakes.I have to say that i was really surprised bu the quality of the story-telling, sub-plots, background, characterisation and of course, the art-work. This volume deals with the origins of Spiderman, and although I believe it isn't quite the original version that first came out all those years ago, i thought it was very well done. It follows elements from the first Spiderman film with the Goblin, Harry Osborn,Doc Ock, Mary Jane, Aunt May and Uncle Ben, but gives the story some real depth. We see Peter as a typical teenager, with built-in angst and struggles against authority whilst not being able to tell the girl he is attracted to how he feels about her. We see how he gets his powers, and how he strives to find his place in the world - what he should be doing with them, how best to use them etc...What i really liked was the pacing of the whole volume. It wasn't all about fighting and action sequences.It was punctuated by them, and not at the expense of the story or the characters. There is plent of smart humour in here too, and i liked that - it is something that other writers should take heed of. Sometimes a comic needs to have some fun too!I read through this volume in pretty much one go. And i bought the next few to keep me going!! There are a lot more to come, and i for one, will be adding them to my collection.I would recommend this volume to anyone who likes the films and wants to know more about Spiderman and all the other characters he meets. My girlfriend knows the original story-arc and says that for the die-hard Spidey fan these are excellent re-workings of those classic beginnings. So, i guess there is something here for everyone!Old and new fans alike!Finally, i have to say that this is one of the best graphic novels i have read in a long time.I am a huge DC fan, but have found their recent work to be a little hit and miss. Some of their works are too action heavy, or too serious, or under-developed or don't add anything to the great characters they have. This collection by Marvel outshines anything i have read by DC in a long, long time - and that probably goes right back to Kingdom Come by Alex Ross, which is about 10 years old now!I can't wait to read the next volumes in this series - excellent, one-sitting stuff!!!!!!

As someone born in 1998, it isn't exactly practical for me to work my way through the whole catalogue of Spider-Man comics, which is why I'm glad this exists.Peter feels very real here. He's a good kid, but he's got a typical teenage attitude, so he snaps and gets frustrated like a real kid. And as someone who was also bullied at school, I can relate to his frustration a lot. He even starts living the power fantasy every boy in that position has ... And reality promptly shows why that isn't as good as our imagination makes it look. Superb stuff.Green Goblin is great, too. I like the monster version of him we got here. Very cool.

Brill new beginning to the series. Very faithful to the movies and original comics. Love the art work too xx

It really is the new hero of the new millennium! Norman Osborn created Spider-Man in this fantastic new dimension an then he turned into a big hulk version of the original green goblin. I only wish it would have been longer. But I definitely recommend it to all marvel fans out there despite its length.

This book makes me feel young again. Growing up during the 70s Spiderman was my favourite superhero. With this revisioning / reboot we have an updated world more in line with now. And it is so good. The stories feel fresh, it feels as though I am reading Spiderman for the 1st time again - and the artwork helps here too, it has a good 'feel' to it. You may know what is going to happen, but quite a lot has been altered, so the early Spiderman stories are new again for someone who has read the originals. Clever idea and it certainly works in this book. I'm hooked.

good start to the series. definitely recommend if you're trying to get into spider-man comics. story telling and artwork was solid. can't wait to read the next volume of the series!

For anyone wanting to get into Spider-Man comics, I’d say this is the best place to start...it’s very similar to the Amazing Spider-Man film and the artwork is just awesome!

Nice interesting alternative approach to spidey’s story. It will be interesting to see how they handle the rest of the series.

You know what you are reading every time you read an origin story! Still it’s amazing to read in a new spiderverse

I chose this rating because I really liked this comic and I have liked spider man ever since I seen him and I really like it and can't wait to read volume 2.

Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1: Power and Responsibility ( Issues 1-7) This series written by Brian Michael Bendis with artwork by Mark Bagley technically started the Ultimate Marvel universe if I am not mistaken. Since its debut, Ultimate Spiderman has become one of the most influential takes on Spider-Man in recent years. Bendis takes the story of Peter Parker, which hasn’t been revisited to my knowledge since the 1960s and reintroduces him into a world that closely resembles our own and is grounded in our own reality. This means that Peter is very much a product of the early 2000s and deals with concerns and struggles of young adults in a modern setting, which differ from the 1960s in most cases. Peter doesn’t differ too much from his mainstream Marvel universe counterpart. He has feelings for Mary Jane, but it isn’t something that dominates his life. Aunt May and Uncle Ben are pretty much the same figures that we are familiar with, but Uncle Ben seems to have a more prominent role as a father figure to Peter than what he appeared to be in the main stream universe. Bendis perfectly captures the feelings and struggles of a teenager in high school and the angst and raging changes that young adults go through. Obviously, this experience differs from person to person, but Bendis makes it a very prominent force in his run on Spider-Man. Mary Jane differs from her original counterpart as she is very smart and similar to Peter, which she was not in the main stream Marvel universe, initially. She had aspirations of becoming an actress, in the Ultimate Universe she appears to be just as bright as Peter and could pursue careers in the fields of science, more likely. There are plenty of subtle nods to some of the major figures in the Spider-Man mythos throughout the comic and Bendis leaves plenty of plot threads open to explore in further story arcs down the line. Norman Osborn is featured in this story arc as well and he is much more menacing and conniving than he has been in some of his iterations in the past, especially since his inception. My only complaint is that I didn’t really like the Green Goblin in this universe. He is a monster both figuratively and literally, yes, but that’s one of the intriguing things about Norman is that he executes most of the Goblin’s plans himself, but instead he is turned into a giant green demon who can control fire……. yeah, that doesn’t really match up with the Green Goblin. But I do like that most of the prominent figures/ teams in the Ultimate Marvel universe are tied back to the Super Soldier Serum and Captain America and Spider-Man is no different. Mark Bagley’s artwork is very good. I enjoy it throughout his entire run on Spider-Man. Sometimes, I think, when he draws a closeup of a character he puts maybe too much emphasis on the eyes and it appears that they are crying. But besides that, his artwork is amazing and any other artwork that enters the Ultimate Spider-Man line sticks out like a sore thumb and throws off the series. Overall, this is one of my favorite iterations of Spider-Man, very grounded, very human and it is a compelling run to follow.

Read this many times. So good. I love this take on spider-man and the new spin on the character. 5 stars

Nice version to put on the shelf. I have always loved the series.