Battle Royal for X-men!

Longshot is being used in a mutant hunting game for people to view and enjoy. Sick? Yep. And so half the X-men go to save him while the other half go and find out if he's guilty of killing someone. Both stories happen at once as Ultimate version of Mojo runs this whole thing with the help of a new deadly assassin.

Overall, this was good. Better than last volume but not great. I did like the twist on certain characters, especially longshot, and even I was caught by surprise at the end result. I also enjoyed seeing the X-men work as a team once more. The story itself through has been done a million times and was that deadpool? Cause he was lame.

Overall, good stuff but nothing special. A 3 out of 5.

Ah Doc Ock makes his appearance. Not a huge fan of the character and this story is a bit convoluted for the sake of it.

We learn why Doc Ock doesn't like Hammer and his family. Peter is just trying to live his daily life but now a crazy guy with 4 octopus arms is out to get him. If that's not bad enough you have Kraven the Hunter now claiming he will murder Spider-man. I mean, the guy just can't catch a break. But wait, one of his classmates knows who he is too? And who is this Gwen person?

Overall, this is a lot in one volume but some of it doesn't work for me. Doc Ock is just okay villain, kraven a throwaway, and all the Hammer stuff is kind of dull. On the flipside everything with Peter's school life, MJ, Gwen, and more is amazing. I also thought the ending was great stuff and shows how much Peter is growing.

A weaker volume but still good. A 3 out of 5.

The weird part is I KNOW Brian can write good Big Two stuff. Runaways is an amazing series. But his Ultimate X-Men, while not bad, has just been decent.

This volume is a few different stories that vary with quality. One about Xavier getting held up at a bank by a mutant. Another is the story of wolverine and storm origin. And then last but not least is Gambit, rogue, and Juggernaut story.

Honestly the first story is pretty great. It's nice to see Xavier on the scene doing his thing. But the rest? They're okay. Reminds me of Saturday morning X-Men episode. Something you watch but never really remember all the details. It's just decent entertainment.

Overall a 3 out of 5 cause it's still well written and fun at times, but I want more.

The return of the green goblin!

This takes cues from the original major Goblin Story where Norman kidnaps Gwen and kills her. However, this time it is MJ. And yes, it does feel like the 2000's movie but a lot better since we don't have actors who suck. So both Harry and Norman return and poor Harry can't remember a thing. His father however remembers it all and he plans on setting Peter up. Peter also gets to meet his new best buddy, Nick Fury. Will the hero be able to save everyone who will we meet our first casualty?

This is probably one of the best volumes because I think it cements Spider-man vs Green Goblin really well. I love the hell out of their moments and the Green Goblin here being a hulking size makes Peter always feel in danger. I also love the relationship Peter has with MJ here, and MJ is such a great character. The ending is both sad and memorable and I really can't wait to read even more.

A 4 out of 5.

This is by far Vaughan best work with X-Men so far.

This time we have Magneto still in jail but some are planning to break out...his cell mate. It happens to be another mutant who lost control of her power and killed people. So now she's stuck inside with Magneto since they share the same power. So a band of mutants including Havok decide to break her out. But they'll have to go through the X-Men AND the Ultimates.

This is pretty fun and a real stringer in the ending. It also shows a more calculated Magneto which was nice. I also liked the relationships here and how the characters all interacted. This also built some good future storylines like Peter and Kurt and Bobby and Kitty. Overall, this is one of the stronger volumes of the Ultimate X-Men universe and Vaughan best.

A 4 out of 5.

This is the best volume yet!

This gets to have Peter deal with bigger consequences than before. First off someone is pretending to be Spider-man. In doing so it tarnishes Spider-man's name and in a bloody result Peter is shot by the police. On top of that Gwen is not doing good and her family is breaking apart and so she begins to live with the Parkers. On top of that some fetal encounters, messy relationships, and a very angry teenager all come to a explosive result.

I loved the hell out of all the interactions. I also think the big plot points really helped build characters for everyone. MJ you feel for her, Peter? You feel for him. Gwen? You feel for her. Hard to balance so many characters but they do it. I also think some major shifts work well. One death came a bit sooner than I expected but the rest was great.

A 4.5 out of 5.

Typical Nightwing fun fare, and while not mindblowing, is solid throughout.

I love seeing Nightwing join the police force. He has to find ways to sneak away, very Spider-man like. Also it's nice to see Dick happy with Babs while also building on new relationships. Also cool to see Dick take care of his shit with Ted. My only negatives is the last Catwoman issue is meh and everyone seem to have to get a Origin Story.

Good stuff though, and a easy 4 out of 5.

Peter visits his old friend Eddie Brock from when they were kids to talk about their parents who worked together...what Peter finds is something far darker.

I remember when I was younger I didn't love this arc because I felt the black suit was wrapped up soooo quick. But reading it now, I actually liked the new take. Peter linking Eddie Brock to childhood is a neat idea. I also really enjoyed the parents stuff and felt it was a great idea to show one of the major reasons Peter is so smart. I also loved all the stuff with Peter and MJ and it felt so real after a breakup.

The thing this series does really well is combined great characterization with fun action and fun plots. Bendis obviously loved Spider-man growing up and got to tell his vision and it is one of the best Spider-man runs ever if not THE best.

This is great! A 4.5 out of 5.

While not as strong as volume 1 I'm still enjoying my time with Tomasi's Batman run.

So the Arkham Knight from the video games was just the Red Hood. Here, they are a completely new character. They are hunting down Batman and trying to convince him the errors of his way. So Batman and Robin team up for some old time kickass adventure.

The negative is the story of the Arkham Knight is far fetched and the idea of aging is thrown completely out of the window. As if Harley Quinn is somehow 20 something at one point and now over 40? No way. So that part annoyed me as well as the annual just being okay. But I love Tomasi's Bruce, and his relationship and Damien is perfect. I also dug the fights, fun and over the top. Oh and Batman ACTUALLY being a Detective is always nice.

This was so damn fun Detective comics. Sure, it's not mind-blowing or as good as his Batman and Robin run but I'm enjoying it. A 3.5 out of 5.

Zeb wells hits with the jokes, the team is crazy weird, and it's just a fun title. Can't wait to see where we go with Havok and Sinister. Give me more.