SUPERSTARS PART 4 Johnny Storm just wants to fit in. But it's hard to fit in when you're consumed entirely by flames! The cat's out of the bag after Johnny's big reveal and Peter Parker is on damage control!
This isn't billed as a holiday story, and the holidays don't figure in this story at all, but Ultimate Spider-Man #69 has the feel of one of the best comics Christmas stories you may have read. Read Full Review
I'm not quite sold on Mark Bagley's take on Johnny's power, as frankly the traditionalist fan in me missed the parallel lines that cover his body in the Marvel Universe, and the flame effects don't really jump off the page like they should. However, while Johnny's flame effects never really caught my attention, the issue does a solid job of the sequence where the character puts out the fire, and the one-page shot where he expels the flames into the upper atmosphere was a solid visual. The big smile that is plastered on Johnny's face on the final page does a nice job of selling the impact that Spider-Man's pep talk had on the young hero. The art also does some nice work on the scene where Mary Jane and Liz discover the entire school has heard about Liz's new boyfriend, and the awkward tension during the meeting that Johnny has with Peter and MJ, as he sets up his after-school meeting with Liz, was nicely conveyed by the art. Read Full Review
I understand, that they retconned Spidey and Johnny meeting in the USM super-special, but I still hate moments like that... Why Bendis pretends like Peter never saw Human Torch?