ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP #9

By: Arnold T. Blumberg
Date: Saturday, November 24, 2001

Pure joy, no doubt about it. A brave and welcome change of pace from Marvel, this unique team-up pairs the Ultimate version of Spider-Man with a new but still very familiar incarnation of the Fantastic Four. Kudos, by the way, to writer Brian Bendis (as if needs any more praise) for devising a far more interesting and logical origin for the team than that which gave them their start in 1961. I mean, come on, the whole 'chase the Commies' thing got old fast, didn't it? Here, the motivation to explore the newly discovered Negative Zone offers a number of tantalizing possibilities, not least of which is the fact that the source of their powers remains a mystery they merely possess them upon their return. Ooh, spooky, boys and girls.

As drawn by Jim Mahfood, known to many for his work with Kevin Smith on CLERKS and in his own STUPID COMICS, the FF and Spidey in this issue are nothing short of adorable. You've also never seen funnier Skrulls in your life, but the art is only half of the story. Bendis has created a format-breaking, fourth-wall-shattering escapade that pokes fun at the heroes and their comic book reality with an edge rarely seen in a major continuity-based series. When student Peter Parker visits the FF's headquarters for a pre-arranged tour, he is instead mistaken for a coffee-fetching intern by the somewhat stuck up foursome and accidentally releases an army of Skrulls through the Negative Zone portal. All Hell breaks loose, and Spidey must round up the aliens all on his lonesome, while the FF presumably sip java. But don't worry, the four do show up at the end in a delightful riff on the classic deus ex machina style endings of superhero stories past.

Remember those old Marvel adventures that would acknowledge the existence of a Marvel Comics in their universe, dutifully recording the real-world exploits of the FF and other heroes? Well, that same gimmick turns up here as the Spider/Skrull fight tumbles through Joe Quesada's office and the Marvel bullpen, with the expected self-deprecating jabs appearing throughout. Bendis even pokes fun at himself on several occasions. Mahfood also rewards those with a keen eye for detail, as the pages are packed with countless in-jokes and tiny type gags just waiting to be discovered (keep an eye out for the Skrull still trapped in the form of a cow from way back in the '60s FF #2!)

The only thing wrong with presenting this kind of change of pace parody within the pages of the team-up title is that it begs the question: Why not let Bendis and Mahfood do this kind of thing all of the time? As irreverent as it may be, I would gladly follow this Fantastic Four and Spider-Man to the Skrull homeworld and back. And make mine a double latté, please.

ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP

Grade: A

Issue: No. 9

Author(s): Brian Michael Bendis, Jim Mahfood

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $2.25