NB of the Week

This was a good week. Some good writing all across the board but it came down to two(ish) for me. Over in Uncanny X-Force, we get the ending to Deathlok Nation and it was awesome. Cool Violence, witty banter and a great last page that gets me super pumped for what's to come bu my choice has to go to...
Ultimate Avengers vs. New Ultimate #3/Ultimate Spider-Man #157
Both these books are part of the Death of Spider-Man story and until this week, it's been a little vague how the Ultimates are really tying in. Pete is being trained by them to be a better hero but that's it so far. As we jump into this issue, the Ultimate Avengers and their black-ops counterparts, the New Ultimates, are gunning for each other. Carols Danvers of the Avengers have proof saying Nick Fury is selling Super-Soldier secrets to foreign nations while Fury and the New Ultimates say they have proof Danvers is setting him up for the fall. As their battle really gets underway (with awesome art by Leinil Yu and plenty of violence) Cap is beating the hell outta Fury and if Cap gets Fury, they know they will kill him for what they believe him to have done. Punisher is told to do whatever is necessary to save him. As he looks through his cross-hairs we...
Move to Ultimate Spider-Man. Training withe the Avengers has been a pretty big deal for Pete. Huge icons trying to help him plus he still gets to help people in trouble. Which usually means him. As the last issue ended, Pete was rushing to join the fight with the New Ultimates when he gets wind that Norman Osborn is still alive and has broken himself and others out of their super-jail. He decided to run to his family and warn them. Norman knows who he is and will kill his entire family if he can. As he does this, Osborn and the rest begin bickering. Doc Ock doesn't want to kill anymore. He has changed. He's grateful for the new chance at life but won't work with Osborn anymore. Which Osborn obviously doesn't like. As the two duke it out, we see that Osborn still plays for keeps and HE KILLS DOC OCK! After Pete is able to convince May and Gwen to run and hide, he comes across the the wreckage and finds Otto's dead body in the middle of the street. Wanting to go after Osborn, he decides the Avengers need his help right now. As he swings in to join, he sees Punisher taking aim at Cap and as a true hero does, he tackles Cap out of the way and takes the bullet through his midsection. The same ending as we just had in UA vs. NU.
This story has been pretty awesome so far. However, I have a feeling that we will only see the death of "Spider-Man if anyone, which would leave Peter Parker able to take a new mantle and fully join the Avengers. While this would be a bit of a cop out, that could play out in some great ways. Either way this was a great ending. All along, Cap has been telling Spidey that he was the one who didn't want him to be a hero. Too young, too reckless, too immature to do this. So of course it's Cap's life that he has to save at the end of the day. There's still three months left for both these books to wrap up the "Death Of" story, I do believe, so it's any one's game still but I'm on board for it and excited to see what kind of changes this may (or may not) bring.