The Good
What ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #200 does extremely well is give a full-fledged remembrance of Peter Parker through the eyes of people within his life. A good chunk of this issue lets a few characters at Parker's remembrance tell the rest of the cast how they felt about him, each with two page spreads drawn by David Lafuente, Sara Pichelli, Mark Brooks, and Mark Bagley & Andrew Hennessy. Each spread has its own distinct style and while the overall issue is a bit of a tear-jerker, these scenes will really put a smile on the faces of Ultimate Spider-Man fans.
Another thing that really stands out about this issue is that it's the Ultimate universe trying its best to go back to normal in the wake of a horrible disaster, i.e. Cataclysm. It's great to see characters put aside everything to come together for a greater purpose, to remember someone who gave his life to the greater good. It's great to see this bridge piece between Cataclysm and the upcoming MILES MORALES: ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN books, and it ends up being an extremely emotional read.
Fans of the Miles Morales run of Ult SM will be super-stoked to see a possible love interest in the future for Ganke. One thing that Brian Michael Bendis has done extremely well is establish Ganke as Miles' friend and really worked on developing that character throughout the series, so when readers get a small moment like this, they're really rooting for him to get the girl.
David Marquez's art, with Justin Ponsor on colors, is a home run. Both of these guys use their art to really drive the emotion of this story home. Every page and every panel really grabs the reader and doesn't let go. Marquez's art is nothing short of brilliant on this issue.
The Bad
So the issue was good, but it wasn't great. The main problem with the issue is deciding why the issue existed other than giving readers a standalone 200th issue of the series. It doesn't really do much for the story or its characters and aside from a possible relationship between Ganke, there's not much furthering of any characters. Understandably, it technically doesn't have to do any of that, but it leaves the reader wanting just a bit more.
The Verdict
Everything about ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #200 is set to invoke an emotional response from the reader, and it really works, as long as that reader has been following this book for at least a few years. This issue is really for the fans, which can leave casual readers blowing out in the wind. It's a great issue, but not one that is groundbreaking because the focus is so heavily on this one small moment. It's a well done issue that fans will no doubt enjoy.
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