the plot: When a three thousand offer is put up for anyone who can take down pro-wrestler Crusher Hogan, Peter answers the call and in an early version of his costume wins, and becomes a phenomenon. Meanwhile, in order to duplicate Peter's spider powers Norman Osborn subjects himself to treatments that horribly backfire, apparently killing him and leaving his son Harry and lab technician Otto Octavius injured.

the review: Like the two issues before it, Ultimate Spider-Man #3 continues to tell stories true to the originals, yet different and modern. Brian Michael Bendis (whose other series "Powers" should be on everyone's reading list) is talent on the level of Stan Lee himself. He takes the basic framework but has put together something new and exciting. The basic idea of Peter using his powers to become a pro-wrestler fits in well with the popularity of wrestling today, and the fact that he gets his flashy name and costume from the wrestling folk makes interesting sense. Aside from that, the rest of the issue continues building up tensions between Peter and Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and Norman Osborn's evolution to the Green Goblin, both of which are handled very well.

While the slow pace of the issues makes for a much more interesting read, some things are rushed through unfortunatly, and not given enough time to resonate. Things like Norman's sudden transformation into the Goblin, and Peter losing his glasses, seemed to happen far too quickly for my tastes and should have been as spaced as the main origin arc has been. Bagley continues to do excellent artwork as always, no complaint there, although the art seemed a little rushed this time around. One can only assume that it's because of Bagley's busy work schedule, but either way the art suffers a bit in this issue.

Minor qubbles aside, this was a nice book and an interesting take on the Spidey mythos. Ultimate Spider-Man #3 gets *** out of *****.

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