Writer Michel Fiffe
Artist Amilcar Pinna
Color Nolan Woodard
Letterer VC’s Clayton Cowles
I had to add the David Marquez variant to my wishlist. I rather had bought that cover.
So this title feels like a direct continuation to what has been happening over in Miles Morales’ Spider-Man title. I know the bulk of the cast comes from that title, and they are throwing in Kitty Pryde to get me to buy it (that, and she is an awesome character!).
As far as I can tell, I’m not missing anything from not getting Ultimate Spider-Man 200 but still, it would be nice to own that comic one of these days.
I really like the use of everyone (minus Kitty as she isn’t shown) to have their own logo font. Feels very old school. Cloak and Dagger have the same font they have had since the 80s. It is a classic logo, so it makes sense to not change it. Bombshell has a new logo, to me, but she’s a new character to the Ultimate Universe, so that stands to reason.
In Hell’s Kitchen, where Cloak and Dagger live in a church and will be in the headquarters to this new team. Ganke Lee, who is Miles’ best friend, gets mugged by the Serpent Skulls, a new gang in town, taking advantage of the power vacuum and chaos of SHIELD no longer being an entity and the aftermath of Galactus.
Serpent Skulls being the modern (Ultimate) version of the Serpent Society.
Dagger throws a … light dagger into one of the fool’s hands, and it turns black, which must be a power that Ultimate Dagger has that Proper Dagger doesn’t, as far as I know. Proper Dagger’s light daggers only cleanse the evil from one’s soul but I’m not even sure if that’s the case anymore as I haven’t read an appearance of Cloak and Dagger since Dark X-Men.
Ultimate Dagger seems to be wearing a very tiny jacket, which appears to only exist to help create the cross design of her costume. It can’t keep her warm.
Ultimate Cloak’s costume has a cool neon light aspect around the outer edges of his … cloak. Their superhero names really do benefit from being from the 80s, when they could still use one word names for characters.
Cloak and Dagger help Ganke out. They ask if he can be dropped off somewhere, as he doesn’t want to go to a hospital. So they call Spider-Man and they meet up in their westside church base. So they must know Miles’ secret identity or Ganke had Miles’ phone number. Ganke definitely knows Miles’ secret.
It is nice to finally read something with Miles, as I’ve been curious but Kitty never showed up in his series. Ganke doesn’t want to have his parents see him, so Miles offers him to spend the night, all weekend long if he wants. He doesn’t look banged up to me at all but I don’t know.
So the police are trying to follow up on all of these leads. Roxxon, which is an evil corporation just like it is in the Proper Marvel Universe, is experimenting on people and the drugs they use are now on the streets. SHIELD isn’t around to keep them in line.
The Ultimates, minus Kitty who isn’t coming or officially part of this team, show up for their first meeting. Spider-Woman is going to the leader of the team, someone had to step up and she has SHIELD experience.
Bombshell’s real name is Lana. She has a parole officer.
The church smells like a diaper, a description that I totally know what it means now.
Spider-Woman, who is the lady clone of Peter Parker – it doesn’t come up but this is all I know about her, hands out some old SHIELD communicators. That should be used only in emergencies, as all they really do is send out signals.
Dagger asks what they should do if they want to actually communicate. Jessica (Spider-Woman) tells her that they can just text. Cloak tells her that they do not own phones. Apparently, the world believes them dead.
Cloak and Dagger, who seem really into this team, want to know if they can have scheduled meetings. Saturday doesn’t work as that is date night for Bombshell and Poey, whoever that is.
Spider-Woman wants their first quest to clean up the streets. She has leads on the latest Roxxon drug labs.
Serpent Skulls have found a way to turn the Roxxon drug into a simpler product to mass produce. It gives people the scales of reptiles. They have also moved into Bombshell’s neighborhood.
In Chelsea. Kitty is crashing at Jessica’s place. Kitty has deleted all of her online accounts. All types of people are trying to get in touch with her. She saved the world from Galactus, on national television, the world is very thankful and want to show their gratitude. Kitty wants none of it, as it seems like a fad that will eventually go away.
Jessica updates Kitty about the meeting. Kitty isn’t feeling like joining, she wants to recharge. No mention of why she isn’t with the X-Men or leading Utopia.
Kitty is using her phasing powers like crazy all around the house.
Jessica wants Kitty to cut her hair.
Hell’s Kitchen. We are introduced to the Ultimate versions of Styx and Stone, who I know as 90s enemies of Wolverine and one time threat to Spider-Man when he was Ricochet during Identity Crisis. Which was loads better than DC’s version.
Bombshell lives in state funded housing. I wonder where her mother is, as she had similar powers as her daughter.
Serpent Skulls start a fight with Styx and Stone, right outside her home. She signals her team. She jumps in to break up the fight.
Jessica shows up in a new costume, new haircut and new name – Black Widow. She has a jacket now, to go with Bombshell and Dagger. Three different jacket types.
Cloak and Dagger show up. Dagger is about to attack Jessica, so she has to tell Dagger who she is.
Cloak gets hit by one of the Skulls and can’t talk. Spider-Man shows up and punches the Skull.
The cops who have been tracking the Skulls show up, making things worse. Now that SHIELD is no longer, heroes are not protected.
Issue ends with too many players on the field as the leader of the Skulls show up, Diamondback.
Next issue’s cover implies Black Widow gets a second costume.