All-New Ultimates (2014) #4

Previously in All-New Ultimates #3

This issue was light on action, but heavy on character growth, which I appreciated since I was still unclear on how some of these superheroes came to be The New Ultimates.

While Miles (Spider-Man) is getting advice on his love-life - one of The Serpent Skulls planted a kiss on him while he was fighting her and he can’t get it out of his head - from his friend Ganke, Dagger is ridding their hideout of junkies, and the girls are taking a day off to relax at the beach.

It’s here that we learn (well, I learned) that Jessica (Black Widow) was a clone of Peter Parker, created by Dr. Octopus. When Peter died (Peter Parker died?!), all of his thoughts and memories transferred to her. Because of this we learn that Jess is a lesbian who’s partial to natural redheads and Jewish girls. Hmmm, wonder where that came from.

Of course, the issue couldn’t be all sunbathing and girl talk. The formerly dead police detective, Terry Schreck, is wandering the streets looking like a radioactive demon when he’s hit by a car and pushed into the sewer. The gang-on-gang violence promised in an earlier issue is in full effect. And Lana’s (Bombshell) boyfriend, who she was just using to get close to the Skulls, calls and begs for her to come over. When she arrives, she finds him dead - killed by the Skulls - and she’s covered in some kind of dust that turns her into a puppet. The Skulls plan on using her to find the Ultimate’s hideout. *gulp*

If this were a television show, this issue would be what’s known as a “filler episode.” That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The focus on characters helped me connect some dots, but I am ready to see more of Scourge and there needs to be some movement on Shreck’s storyline fairly soon.