Clone Saga: Part 7
Talk about a wild ride. For seven issues, we’ve been treated to the Ultimate rendition of the Clone Saga served up by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. We’ve found out nearly everyone appearing in recent issues is a clone of Peter Parker, including Spider-Woman, and the person behind the cloning is none other than Doctor Octavius.
Word has gotten out that Nick Fury and S.H.E.I.L.D. were tearing up Queens, and it is all over the news. When Kitty Pride finds out she throws a tantrum to the point where the rest of the X-Men agree to help her make sure Peter is fine.
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But we already know no one is home. Sue Storm and Richard Parker are at the hospital with Aunt May making sure she is okay after her cardiac infarction. Seeing how everyone is a clone, Sue asks to use the hospital’s computer, and a sample of Richard Parker’s blood to confirm a suspicion – Dickey-boy is also a clone.
I was a bit surprised at this, but when Dr. Octavius explains everything, it makes sense; advance the aging process, implant false memories, and bing-o! instant Richard Parker. How cool is that?
In this issue, the best dialogue is Peter’s internal thoughts as he tries to convince himself to kill Octavius on the spot – damn the consequences. What would you do? For Peter, I think the killing would be justified; his entire life has been ruined time and time again thanks to the meddling of the government and others who know his secret. He didn’t ask for these amazing powers, and everything he has done has been in service of the populace, not for his own gratification. And still this happens.
There is so much happening in this issue. First there is the revelation that indeed, Octavius was given a get-out-of-jail-free card in exchange for developing a super soldier program to counter S.H.E.I.L.D. Octavius freely shares government secrets with everyone present including Fury and Reed Richards, who is fascinated by the success of the program.
For Peter, his primary concern is Mary Jane, who was injected with the Oz formula. He begs Reed to take MJ and have the process reversed. This Mexican Stand-off has everyone on edge, so you know something is going to erupt.
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Yay! Creepy Spider-Man is down!
Even with Fury and the Spider-Slayers armed to the teeth, Ben, Reed, and Johnny all make an exit.
Since Octavius is an official part of the government now, he claims jurisdiction over all of the clones, including Peter. Even though Fury protests, it actually looks like Doc Octavius is going to win – all the while, that inner dialogue runs through Peter’s head. All of this leads to Peter making a bargain with S.H.E.I.L.D.
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And of course Octavius, so full of himself, thinks Fury has to follow his orders.
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I love these times when a classic set up pays off as well as it does. This leads us to the beginning of what should be an easy mopping of the floor with Octavius’ Guy Gardner haircut head.
But Wait! It can’t be that simple, can it? Of course not, dear reader. We still have one more chapter to tell. Even without his metal arms, Octavius has a secret; he controls all metal, not just the arms.
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Oh Snap!
And with that, six-armed Spidey bites the big one, leaving Spider-Woman and Peter Parker to take down the all new Doc Ock.
The Good
- Great combo of dialogue and action
- Artwork best it has been the entire arc
- Spooky, Creepy, and action packed is what should be in every issue
- Hee-hee! She said X-butts
The Bad
- Too bad every issue in this arc didn’t move like this one
- Spider-Spidey we hardly knew ye
- Does this mean Doc Ock and Magneto share the same powers?
What I like most about Ultimate Spider-Man as a series is it is just like a pop-corn movie; fun thrills and laughs, but in the end nothing of real substance. That is not necessarily a bad thing, pop-corn movies tend to make millions of dollars. The Clone Saga has been all popcorn – fun, thrills, and chills.
The exchanges between the characters are going to create unique and interesting tales that should ripple through the entire Ultimate Universe – is Ultimate Civil War on the way? I liked this issue a lot, as it sets us up nicely for the grand conclusion in USM #104. I give this issue a solid 4 Stars.
Parting Shot
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2 Comments
I think not to the idea that Octavius controls all metal – that would just make him too powerful. No, I think that the most logical solution is that he has a telepatc bond with every piece of metal exposed to that OZ explosion, as both he and them were bonded to the drug on a surface level. Thus, any metal outside of the abandoned lab won’t be controlled.
This would also give us an adeqaute explanaion as to why Harry didn’t simply sell the lab – Octavius or Osborn had obviously given him some sort of hypnotic command via Miles Warren, ordering him not to let any of the precious metal get out of the lab.
However, this fight won’t be so big; apart from Octavius filling in the final pieces of the puzzle for us, the biggest part of ish 104 will be the X-Men trashing Octavius, having trained against a metal-controller.
Just wanted to point out that six arm spidey is actually Ultimate Tarantula.