Today’s last edition of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man reveals the death of Spider-Man at the hands of the Green Goblin. To be clear, this is a spin off comic much like the story-line of The Amazing Spider-Man in newspapers is different than those in the comic shop.
But this new, younger Ultimate Spider-Man wasn’t a part of that established Marvel continuity – he was off in a brave new world of his own. Not for long, though; he was soon joined by Ultimate versions of other classic Marvel heroes and villains. As the Ultimate Universe grew, so did its singular appeal: Here, old, familiar characters played out old, familiar storylines, but the creators delighted in toying with readers’ expectations.
And so, in the Ultimate Universe, amid all the familiar elements, the character arcs and team-ups and cross-overs and Clone Sagas (don’t ask), things turned out differently than they had in the mainstream Marvel U. Characters exhibited different motivations and personalities. The stories we’d grown up on ended in shocking new ways. High-profile characters died – and, more often than not, stayed that way.
Wow, this sounds excit—zzzzzzzzzz…
It’s somehow significant that this story appears below your interview with Doug MacGregor. Comics that kill off major characters have become easy and even boring storytelling, but watching another editorial cartoonist lose his voice in the community gives us front row seats to an actual end of an era. I wish the drama was just for Peter Parker.
This would mean more if superhero characters weren’t constantly being killed off and brought back. That’s become one of the biggest cliches in the superhero industry. The mainstream comics industry in the US needs some fresh ideas and stories and give some of these classic characters a breather
OK, Superman died, Batman died, Captain America died, and now Spiderman dies. I think the US comics’ industry is dead too. DC and Marvel just can’t get out of the quicksand. Boring and cliche is just the half of it. Much of the artwork now is horrible. Bye-bye Spidey.
Maybe King Features could end the Spider-Man comic strip before 2011 is over.
Like Peter didn’t have enough problems with his Broadway show.