New Ultimate Spider-Man? Spidey says it best...

Yep, all of us are owed an apology, Spidey!

The new Ultimate Spider-Man was unveiled today by Marvel, as he is revealed in Fallout #4 (hey, a Marvel Crossover event...that's got to be good, right?). Big surprise to everyone:

Wow, I never saw that coming. Unless you count the dozens of times it's already been done with other heroes.

I think the two pictures Marvel put on their websites are the most perfect choices they could have ever come up with purely for the captions of what they're saying.

I'm going to go way out on a limb here and say the new guy probably lives with his grandmother in a bad neighborhood and constantly gets harassed by drug dealers and bullies on the way to school while he takes his younger sister there. I have not read the comic, but given Marvel's past history and treatment of minority characters, that's pretty much how Marvel perceives their world. No teenager in the Marvel universe gets to come from a stable two-parent home. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

Reboots are awesome, aren't they? I don't think Marvel could create an original minority character if their lives depended on it. The last one they created was Luke Cage back in the 70's. Since then, it's pretty much been sloppy seconds all around as they find costumes and powers from other established heroes. Need to boost sales? Don't bring in a new, exciting character! No...reboot! Iron Man, Nighthawk, Captain Marvel (later Photon), Giant Man, Ultimate Nick Fury...reboots all around. Originality is neither needed nor rewarded.


For heaven's sakes, Marvel, get some new original writers in there! You desperately need fresh blood in your talent pool!

At these comic book conventions you attend, talk to the readers and let them present ideas! I swear we can create new heroes who deserve a shot and could succeed rather than just starting every brainstorming session with: "Now imagine this: we reboot..."

Remember the originals that rocked: Black Panther, White Tiger, Luke Cage, The Prowler, Storm, Sunfire, and Shang Chi to name a few! These were characters that mattered and made us want to read their stories. Today, we get recycled garbage that excites the folks at Marvel, but never picks up enough readers to keep going past a dozen or so issues.

What do you think? What's the last truly original idea Marvel had for a storyline?