Okay, so I just skimmed some of the thread, so if I missed something, sue me. But I'm going to have to be the odd man out here and disagree with you guys.
To start with, I never liked Bendis. He always came across as the poster-boy for stereotypical comic book writers. He's one of those arrogant, self-absorbed comic writers who takes on a disgusting passive-aggressive stance to any criticism, trying to evoke that "I don't give a ****" aura, when it's obvious he can do it. Warren Ellis can get away with saying he doesn't give a **** because he really DOESN'T GIVE A ****. And even with that said, he still seems to have respect for the fans. Grant Morrison can get away giving people writing history lessons because he's Grant Morrison. Grant's the James Joyce of comic books. Bendis is comics' Tom Clancy.
But that's not the point. I liked this issue.
Seriously guys. You heard it here first. I LIKED THIS ISSUE. I didn't love it, but I liked it alright. Let me start with the bad.... Bendis' portrayal of other people's characters generally sucks ***. Not only does his Nick Fury's personality seem to contradict the Fury we see in the other comics, he's a lame character even without that benchmark to stand up to. He doesn't come across as the badass leader of a high priority government agency who's willing to do anything to get the job done. He comes across as a spoiled, immature kid who's used to getting things his way. And his actions throughout the book have never seemed particularly realistic to me. The FF didn't feel particularly real to me either, although it was nice to see Spidey finally getting respect from other heroes, and Bagley did draw some cool FF shots. Also, the Spider-Slayers are super-lame.
Now, that being said, I liked the issue. I'm one of the people who's thought the Clone Saga up until this point has been pretty mediocre. It just seemed like there was shocking revelation after shocking revelation. All of them seemed tacked on. None came across as particularly interesting to me. Hell, issue 100 bored the hell out of me.
This issue, I thought the battle with the Fantastic Four was pretty excellent, even if they weren't portrayed precisely how I'd like them to be. Tinkerer came across as an interesting variation on his 616 self, even though the kind of character he portrayed is a pretty standard stock type in modern fiction. And I'm glad to see hints that Richard might NOT be Richard, without anyone coming out directly and saying it.
And Mary Jane? Honestly, I'm INTERESTED in seeing Mary Jane turn into a were-goblin, and I'm infinitely more curious about the upcoming "Goblin Queen" arc now than I am about this boring mess of a Clone Saga. There's a lot of talk about how "You can't do that to Mary Jane", but I don't see why not. This is supposed to be the Ultimate Universe. Things are supposed to diverge from 616. The same people here saying they don't want Ultimates to just become the Ultimate version of the Avengers are incredibly pissed that Bendis might be doing something different with Mary Jane.
But I'm not one of those people. There are a few things that need to remain the same in both the Ultimate and mainstream universe. Peter Parker has o get bit by a radioactive spider, lose his uncle, and learn from this that ith great power comes great responsibility. And he needs to be a regular guy trying to balance the responsibility of superheroics with the life of a regular dude. I really don't think Mary Jane is that sacred of a cow. Butcher her. As long as her actions stay consistent with the Ultimate Mary Jane that Bendis has spent 100 issues building, I'm down for it. Turn her into a villain, kill her off, or bring her back to Peter, but do it in a way that organically makes sense with her personality.
Either way, it wasn't a bad issue. It wasn't great, but I'd give it a 3/5, and I thought the final panel was the best part, so sue me.
Even so, I'm worried Bendis will totally ruin it.
