Ultimate Spider-Man: Incursion has more than lived up to its title, catapulting Miles Morales into the world of Earth-6160 as he attempts to find his baby sister Billie while also dealing with radically different versions of the heroes he knows and the Maker’s Council. Ultimate Spider-Man: Incursion #3 radically ups the ante as Miles breaks out on his own to find Billie and runs into the Ultimate X-Men – more specifically, Nico Minoru and Maystorm. Little does he know, Billie is also in Japan, under the watchful eye of the Silver Samurai.
I approached this title with a great deal of trepidation, particularly because this would be the first time that someone other than Peach Momoko was handling the characters from Ultimate X-Men. Considering the work Momoko put into shaping a radically different version of the X-Men, anyone else approaching them would have to do it with care. Thankfully, Cody Ziglar and Deniz Camp not only have a handle on how these characters are handled, but manage to carve out some great dynamics.
A great example of this is when Miles first meets Nico and Maystorm. He doesn’t speak English and they haven’t seen anything like him, leading to a brief fight. As time goes on, Miles opens up to Maystorm about the fear of losing his sister, and the fact that his memories of the old Ultimate Universe are starting to flood in, forcing him to contend with a different kind of loss. Ziglar and Camp pour a wealth of emotion into this scene, making sure that the reader feels Miles’ sense of sorrow.
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Another wrinkle that Ziglar and Camp add is the infighting between the various members of the Maker’s Council. Silver Samurai is backstabbed by the Black King, who in turn strikes a deal with Magik that further endangers Billie’s life. It’s a reminder that even though these people basically rule the world, they’re still subject to petty infighting and their own goals outside the Maker’s grand plan, which is a great twist. I hope that dynamic’s explored further in the future Ultimate titles, especially with Ultimate Endgame fast approaching.
Jonas Scharf handles the shift from Wakanda to Japan with ease, and draws the hell out of a fight scene between Miles, Nico and Maystorm. He’s got a great handle on Miles’ arachnid acrobatics and his unique spider-powers; the way Scharf draws Miles in camouflage mode, not to mention his spider-sense, is unreal. Yet the real standout is the Silver Samurai. Not only does he possess armor that shines as bright as his namesake, but he moves with a deadly, hypnotic grace under Scharf’s pencils. Edgar Delgado also has his time to shine, as he makes the clash between Miles’ venom saber and Silver Samurai’s swords sparkle and crack with the force of a Star Wars duel. Finally, Cory Petit keeps the same vibe as Ultimate X-Men by placing the majority of dialogue in parenthesis to highlight characters speaking Japanese.
Ultimate Spider-Man: Incursion #3 hits its halfway point, and manages to keep everything that made Ultimate X-Men great while upping the ante significantly. Given where Billie winds up next, it’s safe to say that Miles’ mutant mayhem is far from over – especially if he crosses paths with a certain clawed Canadian.
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