Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics, Spider-Man | Tagged: brian michael bendis, HRL, Marvel Comics, miles morales, nico leon, spider-man, the avengers, the champions, ultimate spider-man

Spider-Man #21 Review: Secret Agent Spider-Man

Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man, finds himself in a criminal-owned casino in Japan. You know, as you do.

He's in a tux, is talking to a girl he thinks is attractive, and he's scared out of his mind. Thankfully, advice from his father and Uncle Aaron may be able to lead him out of this situation with his head still attached.

This issue of Spider-Man is an action-packed romp with ninjas and gangsters, which is usually a good direction to go with.

That being said, this gang isn't the Hand, so throwing in the ninjas — well, it's a bit stereotypical. Ninjas are cool and all, but it still feels a little like an "of course they're ninjas" situation.

Anyway, despite that spot, it is a really fun read, with Spider-Man reminiscing of martial arts blaxploitation movies and drawing on them for inspiration in the fight. Miles's relationship with his dad and uncle are unique and endearing, so the his looking to them for help makes sense and adds some nice character moments to the comic.

The action sequences are pretty frigging cool, with Spider-Man grabbing a big ninja and swinging him around like a freaking bat.

The leader, a teenage inhuman, doesn't get the chance to be much of a threat — so disappointingly, she isn't much of a presence in the fight. The chat she has with Miles at the beginning is entertaining, but after she steals his web-shooters, she pretty much drops out of the story.

There is an ending twist where we figure out who gave Miles the tuxedo from the beginning. I was disappointed. It's a character that I do not associate with Spider-Man very often, and I'm not looking forward to he or she being involved with this comic in the near future.

Nico Leon's art does not disappoint, making full use of Miles's acrobats and abilities in the fight scene. Miles's costume looks really good, and that's important since his suit looks way cooler than Parker's (sorry, it's true). Justin Ponsor and Jason Keith's color art is up to snuff, and the result is a good-looking comic all around.

Spider-Man #21 is a solid output from Bendis and company with humor, action, and an ever-compelling lead character. This is a really fun comic, and it earns its recommendation with ease.

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