Shadow and Flame with Magik

Writer Brian Michael Bendis

Penciler Mark Bagley

Inker Drew Hennessy

Colorist Justin Ponsor

Letterer VC’s Cory Petit

Cover Dated May 2007

Ultimate Knights, Part One of Five

Since we are celebrating Daredevil Month, I’ll include a few of the Daredevil pages.  It is only right, to do so.

Previously, I guess something bad happened to Mary Jane so that she mutated.  Reed Richards fixed her, and Peter and Mary Jane got back together.  Meaning that he is not dating Kitty Pryde, at this point.

This issue opens with the Ultimate Wrecking Crew, who are really the Ultimate Damage Control – which works in such a great way.  Instead of destroying property, they fix property.  Pretty clever, Mister Bendis.

Peter wants to enter his house but Damage Control are preventing him.  Nick Fury is paying for the property restoration.  Damage Control has been quite busy ever since the Ultimates appeared on the scene.

Thunderball makes the horrible horrible mistake of attempting to hit on a very fifteen year old Mary Jane.

Peter gets into his house and finds his spare costume.

So Peter was so happy to have Mary Jane back to normal, so he started dating her without actually breaking up with Shadowcat.  Which I completely forgot about.  I knew they didn’t break up nicely but that is a douche move.  Now, does he deserve to die in front of his house at the hands of the Green Goblin?  Possibly but that may be overly harsh.

Mary Jane visits Aunt May in the hospital.  Which forced me to read the Previously page a tad closer.  So this issue takes place shortly after Ultimate Clone Saga ended, which did at the doorstop of the Parker home.  Aunt May suffered a near-fatal heart attack.  Though the heart attack was more attributed to her learning that Peter is Spider-Man.

If I remember correctly, Mary Jane’s transformation made her appear to be a very red Sasquatch.

Peter is also visiting his aunt, he enjoys hospital food.

Aunt May confirms that Mary Jane also knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man.  shhhh, don’t tell, too many people know already.

Aunt May wants to have a very detailed conversation with Peter, but once she is better.  She hates reality television.  Apparently, New York City is going through a bit of Spider-Mania.   Spider-Man has unseated Captain America as the city’s favorite superhero.

The Kingpin is in a meeting, being shown the same footage.  It turns out, Fisk owns GG Enterprises, which owns C & C Licensing which owns the global licensing rights to Spider-Man.  Because in the Ultimate Universe, there was a Spider-Man movie (that came out around the time Spider-Man 2 did in our world).  Since his identity is a secret (to most people) the film got the rights from his brief stint with the wresting league – Hercules Wrestling Inc, that he foolishly joined in his first days.

Kingpin likes the idea of owning the likeness rights to Spider-Man.  He wants to accept every offer and run Spider-Man into the ground.

Peter and Mary Jane are about to take the bus but she refuses.  She wants to swing.  Which has always looked cool.

There is an ad for toys from Diamond Select.  I own the Shadowcat / Beast set.

The Baxter Building : home of the World famous Fantastic Four.  Sue Storm suspects that Nick Fury is forcing the media blitz on Spider-Man, to make up for his guilt over his responsibility of his part in the Clone Saga.  Shadowcat is barely in it or referenced in it, so my memory of it is fuzzy.

Peter and Mary Jane are there so that Reed can do some follow up checks on Mary Jane.  The tests should only last an hour, which gives Peter the chance to head over to the Daily Bugle and see how that is going.  He works there part time as their web master.  Get it?  Pretty clever.  There is a post-it on his computer to go see Jameson.

Ben Urich is trying to turn in an article about Project Pegagus, which will pay off later.  Jameson is worried that all newspapers are losing readership.  Once Peter enters his office. Jameson fires him.

There is an ad for Spider-Man : One More Day, which will result in me quitting the Spider-Man titles, eight years later.  I believe I still only have boughten maybe one Spider-title and have two or three issues on my Wishlist.  Which is pretty impressive, I think, down from buying every Spider-title that Marvel printed.

Peter tells Jameson about Aunt May’s heart attack and how he was caught up in that Spider-Man nonsense.  Jameson remembers Aunt May from the time she yelled at him.  Jameson changes his mind, Peter isn’t fired.  Peter takes this opportunity to ask for a raise and more hours.  Bold!

Urich smells a story and asks questions.  Peter lies about his perspective of it.  He says Norman Osborn turn into the Green Goblin and kept yelling his own name.

Peter doesn’t get a raise but gets more hours by working the weekend edition.

Kingpin is in the parking lot with some of his goons.  This masked fellow is there to audition to be Kingpin’s main assassin.  The guy is dressed like a mix of the regular Shocker but with an Iron Man twist.

Kingpin asks him to kill one of his guys and the would-be assassin pauses.  Kingpin doesn’t like that and asks his goons to beat the tar out of the costumed fool.  The guy fights his way free but Kingpin punches him in the face and unmasks him.  The guy is Shang-Chi, Master of Kung-Fu!

One of Kingpin’s guys is name, Mr. Rose – I wonder if this is suppose to be his son in the Ultimate Universe.

There is an ad for Spider-Man 3, so that’s happening.

You can’t see the costume that well in the above image but look, Daredevil!  Daredevil saves Shang-Chi.

I like him saying that it is the media that calls him, Daredevil.  Good thing they do as he was already going by that name.  There is a story I wouldn’t mind seeing.  A hero calling himself something but the media calls him something else.

Daredevil is working on getting a group of heroes together to bring down the Kingpin.  The Ultimate Knights, if you would.

Peter comes back to the Baxter Building, Mary Jane is gong to be okay.  Physically, at least, as she is having nightmares and visions.  She’s dealing with post traumatic stress, which is completely reasonable.  Ben Grimm suffers from it, as well.  I’m surprised more heroes don’t.  Mary Jane can’t have a therapist because what can she even say in a session?

They go to school.  Human Torch wants to double date with them, once they find a date for him.

Matt Murdock, attorney at law (who introduces themselves like that?  I work with attorneys and none have said that), asks for a moment of Peter’s time.  Peter suspects what this conversation is going to be and asks Mary Jane to go inside.  Peter sort of recognizes the voice but Murdock definitely knows who Peter is.

Can you believe Daredevil would say that to Spider-Man?  “baby who has no excuse for being in a costume and you get your immature butt home before you get yourself, or more importantly me, killed.”  Peter pieces it together now.

Peter notices that Murdock is blind.  Murdock tells Peter that everybody knows that Spider-Man is a student of this school.  Murdock wants Spider-Man to be a Knight – they are not calling themselves that.  He wants to kill the Kingpin.  If he is in, meet at 8pm across the street from St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

In class, Jessica Jones is making a presentation.  She wants volunteers for the school news show.  Peter and Mary Jane are writing in their notebooks a conversation between each other.  Mary Jane writes asking him if he has spoken to Kitty yet.

Mary Jane knows that Peter hasn’t officially broken up with Kitty Pryde yet but he needs to do it soon.  It gets worst each and every day that he doesn’t.

The principal enters the room, to make an announcement.  There is a new student that is joining the school.  She is well known to the students and there will be some discussions, as . . .

Kitty Pryde has enrolled into Midtown High School!  DUN DUN DUN

Such a great way to end an issue!

Inside back cover is for the TMNT game, which is super fun!  Back cover ad is for Spider-Man 3.

. . .

Post 666, brought to you by the devil, the Daredevil!  (lame, I know but I wanted to point out the post number)