Comics Post-OMD: Amazing Spider-Man vs. Ultimate Spider-Man

[J. J. Jameson]

I'm interested to know which title you currently think is being more true to the Peter/Spider-Man character and which better represents what Spider-Man is and what provides a more enjoyable story. They're the only two "big" Spider-Man titles out there now. (I'm not including Spider-Man Family or Marvel Adventures Spider-Man because they don't affect continuity.)

We're a few months into BND so most readers have a bit of a feel for the new status quo. So, which is it? Amazing Spider-Man or Ultimate Spider-Man? 616 Spidey or his Ultimate counterpart?

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

Amazing Spider-Man because it really has a Soap-Opera style to it now and it really is very enjoyable and fun. I tried reading Ultimate Spider-Man a while back and it just didn't connect with me. I tried to force myself to like it, but I just couldn't. To each his own, I guess.

 

[Themanofbat]

Ultimate has always felt like a cheap photocopy, so this choice is no contest to me...

The Amazing Spider-Man

 

[Green Goblin 1964]

I love 616 but what's happened lately...: / Ultimate.

 

[Arcturus]

Ultimate Spider-Man.

I stopped reading 616 along time ago, and unless they get their act together and quit spewing out garbage I will continue to avoid it. Every now and then I'll purchase an issue or two from when it was still good.

 

[Themanofbat]

I stopped reading 616 along time ago, and unless they get their act together and quit spewing out garbage I will continue to avoid it. Every now and then I'll purchase an issue or two from when it was still good.

Now THIS is actually a funny post...

You claim that you have stopped reading regular Spider-Man a long time ago, so I can assume that the "garbage" that was being spewed was from a long time ago.

So if you want them to currently get their "act together", like others who have disliked BND due to the crappy arc known as OMD, you're essentially asking for a return to a time when you felt like it was "garbage" being spewed.



Please clarify your position... so I can understand excatly what you mean.

 

[Blader5489]

OMD or not, I have always felt that Ultimate Spider-Man was truer to the essence of Spider-Man than ASM or any other book.

I know I'll probably get a lot of flak for this (what else is new), but for me, ASM stopped feeling like Spider-Man when Peter and MJ were married. I am not "anti-marriage" or whatever you want to call it, but after that wedding--no matter what you want to chalk it up to--the Spider-Man books stopped feeling like Spider-Man. BND is a nice return to form, but doesn't feel as natural as Ultimate. That's part of the reason why I've enjoyed the movies so much.


Ultimate Spider-Man isn't perfect, but it absolutely nails who Peter Parker and Spider-Man are. So my pick goes to USM.

 

[J. J. Jameson]

I think the last time "Amazing Spider-Man" felt like Spider-Man to me was right at the beginning of JMS's run. The original Morlun arc (mystical spider-totem aside) was an excellent story that has warranted multiple readings on my part. Also, ASM v2 #36..."The Black Cover Issue" that focused on 9/11 was incredibly powerful. Up until [blackout]Sins Past[/blackout] Amazing Spider-Man was awesome.

I always enjoy Ultimate Spider-Man and have also felt the character of Peter was a unique spin on an old theme, while staying true enough to the source material. I guess "Ultimate Spider-Man" is kind of like "How-Peter-would-be-today Spider-Man". I really liked the "Death of a Goblin" arc. Good stuff

 

[Doc_OCK_4MUGEN]

Spider-Girl's Peter Parker... 'nuff said!
BTW Blader... OF COURSE IT'S NOT NATURAL!!! The devil... (or Marvel's Devil-like Character) messed up with peoples lives and "swiss cheesed" their memories... There MUST be something wrong here....

 

[farmernudie]

Sadly...I'd have to pick Ultimate Spidey as the better title currently.

 

[ben_reilly_s_s]

Spider-Girl, then Ultimate.
I havent purchased a 616 Spider-Comic since Sins Past.
Well, any comic really - but thats more outta necessity though.
However, I'm glad I got out when I did, seeing as what i would have spent my money on.

 

[kguillou]

The thing is, even though BND is technically a return-to-classic format, like Blader said , it doesnt feel natural. It all feels so uninspired and "been there done that". When JMS first started writing the book, he took Spider-man to the 21st century and really revamped the character but in a good, progressive way. This "BND" revamp is just unnatural and it doesnt feel like spidey's even a part of the 616 universe anymore. With that said, i might have to go with Ultimate spider-man.

 

[farmernudie]

That's just it...Amazing and Ultimate are really both just alternate spidey stories now....and imo Ulitmate, if i have to choose, is a little better written and not so "forced feeling".

Ultimate at least doesn't have agendas dictating it's storylines in any way or form.

 

[Brand]

I gotta go with USM. The fact it has had the same writer for its entire run probably helps, but that doesn't change the fact that it's the best incarnation of Spider-Man.

 

[Arcturus]

Now THIS is actually a funny post...

You claim that you have stopped reading regular Spider-Man a long time ago, so I can assume that the "garbage" that was being spewed was from a long time ago.

So if you want them to currently get their "act together", like others who have disliked BND due to the crappy arc known as OMD, you're essentially asking for a return to a time when you felt like it was "garbage" being spewed.



Please clarify your position... so I can understand exactly what you mean.

Perhaps I worded it wrong. You are right, however, my original post is rather peculiar. But this is what having a severe case of insomnia does sometimes.

The crap which is being spewed out, which I am referring to is, the so-called relaunch/Totem/Gwen and Norman having a one night stand/spider-man revealing his identity to the world etc. I haven't read BND/OMD...so I can't comment on those. And yes, I stopped collecting 616 Spider-Man comics in general, that's not to say I never tried to start up again, but after reading some of the above listed, I think I'll wait awhile yet.

I do want them to go back to the good quality of the 60's, 70's, 80's, perhaps early 90's.

So yes, at the moment I prefer Ultimate Spider-Man. I'm not saying it's the best thing, yes, it has it's flaws but I feel right now it's better then current Spider-Man comics in the 616 universe.

I hope I have cleared things up, Themanofbat.

 

[Themanofbat]

Perhaps I worded it wrong. You are right, however, my original post is rather peculiar. But this is what having a severe case of insomnia does sometimes.

The crap which is being spewed out, which I am referring to is, the so-called relaunch/Totem/Gwen and Norman having a one night stand/spider-man revealing his identity to the world etc. I haven't read BND/OMD...so I can't comment on those. And yes, I stopped collecting 616 Spider-Man comics in general, that's not to say I never tried to start up again, but after reading some of the above listed, I think I'll wait awhile yet.

I do want them to go back to the good quality of the 60's, 70's, 80's, perhaps early 90's.

So yes, at the moment I prefer Ultimate Spider-Man. I'm not saying it's the best thing, yes, it has it's flaws but I feel right now it's better then current Spider-Man comics in the 616 universe.

I hope I have cleared things up, Themanofbat.

Clear as an unmuddied lake...

I've highlighted the above because since BND, it has been a nice retro Spider-Man feel but with a modern setting, which is nice.

This is obviously simply MY opinion, and as you have mentioned, some others can't get the disdain of OMD out of their mouths. But I'd give it a shot if I were you... just read an ish or two at the stores before comitting and see what you think.

 

[USMC]

I'd have to say that Ultimate is better.

I mean, it seems that it does stay truer to the spirit of who Peter Parker is, and what the character of Spider-Man is all about... RESPONSIBILITY.

I haven't seen any sense of responsibility from Peter in ASM in ages.

Some say that Ultimate is just a cheap photocopy of the original ASM, which in a way, it is. But I think the whole reason the Ultimate line was created was to give new readers a jumping on point in the Marvel Universe without having to know the 40+ history of the 616 universe. It served its purpose for that and I enjoy it very much when I look at it that way. Plus, i just love Bagely's art, which got me hooked to begin with. He's gone now, but in almost 10 years of Ultimate Spider-Man there has been consistency. Growth and development in the characters, plot twists, excitement, & fun... continuity has been the norm in USM, not the exception.

Which is much more than you can ever say about Amazing Spider-Man.

And with BND, it feels like Marvel hit the reset button on Peter for no reason. That's what Ultimate was supposed to be for, right? It feels retro, which some readers may like, but I absolutely hate with a passion. The only readers that like the retro Peter are the "old-timers" who remember picking up a first edition 70's ASM book. I started in the 80's, but I have no desire to read a regressed Peter Parker. It's just so... forced.

So yeah, in terms of enjoyable story, continuity, natural storytelling, character growth, responsibility, the true essence of what a Spider-Man book should be, the true nature of who Peter Parker is and why he is Spider-Man when he doesn't have to be... that's Ultimate all the way.

 

[wolvie2020]

I think the last time "Amazing Spider-Man" felt like Spider-Man to me was right at the beginning of JMS's run. The original Morlun arc (mystical spider-totem aside) was an excellent story that has warranted multiple readings on my part. Also, ASM v2 #36..."The Black Cover Issue" that focused on 9/11 was incredibly powerful. Up until [blackout]Sins Past[/blackout] Amazing Spider-Man was awesome.

I always enjoy Ultimate Spider-Man and have also felt the character of Peter was a unique spin on an old theme, while staying true enough to the source material. I guess "Ultimate Spider-Man" is kind of like "How-Peter-would-be-today Spider-Man". I really liked the "Death of a Goblin" arc. Good stuff

Totally agree.

Although, I do feel the quality of ASM has been very up and down for a few years

 

[antonydelfini]

Amazing rocked when JMS started, then it started to suck badly, so the award goes to Ultimate. Now its Amazing again!

 

[shinlyle]

What I've read of ASM since BND is anything but "Amazing", so I'l have to have to give the nod to Ultimate Spider-Man, simply because the last two arcs have been just plain awesome. The last issue of Ultimate had me rolling!

That...and the entire continuity of USM isn't based on a retcon.

 

[J. J. Jameson]

I'd have to say that Ultimate is better.

I mean, it seems that it does stay truer to the spirit of who Peter Parker is, and what the character of Spider-Man is all about... RESPONSIBILITY.

I haven't seen any sense of responsibility from Peter in ASM in ages.

Some say that Ultimate is just a cheap photocopy of the original ASM, which in a way, it is. But I think the whole reason the Ultimate line was created was to give new readers a jumping on point in the Marvel Universe without having to know the 40+ history of the 616 universe. It served its purpose for that and I enjoy it very much when I look at it that way. Plus, i just love Bagely's art, which got me hooked to begin with. He's gone now, but in almost 10 years of Ultimate Spider-Man there has been consistency. Growth and development in the characters, plot twists, excitement, & fun... continuity has been the norm in USM, not the exception.

Which is much more than you can ever say about Amazing Spider-Man.

And with BND, it feels like Marvel hit the reset button on Peter for no reason. That's what Ultimate was supposed to be for, right? It feels retro, which some readers may like, but I absolutely hate with a passion. The only readers that like the retro Peter are the "old-timers" who remember picking up a first edition 70's ASM book. I started in the 80's, but I have no desire to read a regressed Peter Parker. It's just so... forced.

So yeah, in terms of enjoyable story, continuity, natural storytelling, character growth, responsibility, the true essence of what a Spider-Man book should be, the true nature of who Peter Parker is and why he is Spider-Man when he doesn't have to be... that's Ultimate all the way.

Great post here. I totally agree with what you said about how the whole retro thing seems very forced and out of place with today's style of comics. It just makes the story seem so shallow to me for some reason.

 

[shinlyle]

Clear as an unmuddied lake...

I've highlighted the above because since BND, it has been a nice retro Spider-Man feel but with a modern setting, which is nice.

This is obviously simply MY opinion, and as you have mentioned, some others can't get the disdain of OMD out of their mouths. But I'd give it a shot if I were you... just read an ish or two at the stores before comitting and see what you think.

As a guy who doesn't care for BND, I still recommend giving it a try. Hell, I even read (not bought) the first 4 or so issues, and they were decent...not great, in my opinion, but decent. You may think they are great....some of my friends do. It's just not for me.

 

[ragingdemon155]

Easily Ultimate Spider-man. Bendis really has a nice flow going on in that title right now. Every issue just leads me to anxiously await the next. ASM hasn't been good for some time now. OMD was awful and it's steadily gone downhill since that. It almost pains me to walk into the comic shop knowing that for the first time, I'm not collecting Spider-man issues.

Ah well, maybe I'll go back and collect it in trade or something down the road.

 

[J. J. Jameson]

Easily Ultimate Spider-man. Bendis really has a nice flow going on in that title right now. Every issue just leads me to anxiously await the next. ASM hasn't been good for some time now. OMD was awful and it's steadily gone downhill since that. It almost pains me to walk into the comic shop knowing that for the first time, I'm not collecting Spider-man issues.

Ah well, maybe I'll go back and collect it in trade or something down the road.

I partially understand the feeling. I still have a subscription to ASM for another 8 issues or so that I don't have to pay for (some other subscriptions got canceled and transfered to ASM). So it's not hurting me cash-wise to keep on reading BND. But I've noticed that with each new issue it takes more effort on my part to want to read the issue...almost like it's a chore. I'm seriously considering not renewing my subscription after it runs out. Without May and MJ's steady encouragement that JMS so well established in recent years, the book just seems like it has this huge vacuum. I mean, Peter Parker without MJ? It's like peanut butter without jelly...or fries without ketchup...or pancakes without syrup. It sucks. This is SPIDER-MAN, darn it!

 

[Themanofbat]

I partially understand the feeling. I still have a subscription to ASM for another 8 issues or so that I don't have to pay for (some other subscriptions got canceled and transfered to ASM). So it's not hurting me cash-wise to keep on reading BND. But I've noticed that with each new issue it takes more effort on my part to want to read the issue...almost like it's a chore. I'm seriously considering not renewing my subscription after it runs out. Without May and MJ's steady encouragement that JMS so well established in recent years, the book just seems like it has this huge vacuum. I mean, Peter Parker without MJ? It's like peanut butter without jelly...or fries without ketchup...or pancakes without syrup. It sucks. This is SPIDER-MAN, darn it!

It used to be a chore to read Spider-Man before BND...