All right, it’s time to check out a relatively modern Spider Man comic once again. Things didn’t go too well last time, but this is a big event so I’m sure that they would be more careful here. It’s pretty fun and while there are many weak aspects to be found, this volume succeeds in being fun. I can’t ask for much more than that and it was actually good. Not bad, not decent, but an actually good Spider Man comic. I count that as a success in my book.

Well, Doctor Octopus is finally making his big move on the world. He claims that he is actually doing it for the good of society though as he constructs a bit array around the planet. Essentially, it will protect us from global warming. Everyone on Earth has to give it some consideration and even the Avengers start to think that he could be on the up and up. Spider Man won’t have this and he bursts into the Avengers mansion declaring “Avengers Assemble!” Doc Ock wants millions of dollars for each of his men and to have their criminal records wiped out. He also decides to put a large bounty on Spider Man and makes him a legal criminal as well. The Avengers are on his side, but the rest of the world wants to take him out so Peter Parker is in for the fight of his life!

Spiderman fans should be pleased since he gets a lot of hype here. Not only is he more resourceful than the Avengers, but he is portrayed to be much smarter as well. You might let a small chuckle out as he walks into the Avengers planning room and basically chews them all out. He even tells them to “deal with it” at one point and the Avengers just take it. Trust me…it’s all pretty surreal. Avenger fans probably won’t be pleased to say the very least, but Spiderman fans should love every moment of this. He makes them all look like B level heroes when he’s in the room. I liked him here and this was back when he was more no nonsense. He’s not constantly flirting or making jokes when things are serious. He makes a controversial decision, but I’ll get into that later on.

The main thing that can be dicey is how bad the Avengers look. Keep in mind that this is a Spider Man comic of course. Still, the event begins with Spider Man and the Avengers attacking the Sinister 6…and getting crushed. Thor loses in one hit to the Rhino and likewise, Doc Ock beats Iron Man in the same fashion. Red Hulk is taken out by a random robot and the others are felled rather quickly. I suppose that it’s just how it goes, but watching the Sinister 6 actually win will likely make fans wince. The heroes don’t even really look out of character. They are perhaps a little gullible when they consider Doc Ock’s offer, but that’s about it. That being said, I still don’t buy that Thor can be mind controlled. That’s not how things went back in the day and it’s a change that I don’t agree with. It’s pretty sad to see them all become pawns in this grand scheme. They’re basically unified in their decision to attack the villains without a real plan. They shouldn’t need one in theory, but we still need to consider the fact that Electro and Sandman are legitimate threats even if the other villains are too weak to be worried about.

Naturally, this wouldn’t be a big event without some kind of controversial decision by the hero right? At one point, Rhino pins Silver Sable to the ground and declares that he shall not move an inch. The room is beginning to flood so Silver Sable definitely won’t survive this without Spiderman’s help. Spiderman will have to choose between stopping and saving her or continuing to where Doctor Octopus is. Time is ticking so he decides to go stop Ock since he needs to save the world. I believe that this was the wrong call. It should be noted that Silver Sable seems to have lived through this. It is a comic after all. I am going to assume that she used some kind of gadget or the Rhino was bluffing about staying there. There is also the decent chance that Silver Sable can hold her breath significantly longer than the Rhino and escaped after he fainted.

Nonetheless, Spiderman should not have deserted her during such an experience. Drowning is one of the more unpleasant ways to die and at least Ock’s strategy would destroy a lot of people in an instant. Also, Spiderman would have been able to get Rhino to move pretty quickly so he still could have stopped Ock in time. That’s why the Avengers were in space buying time right? Spiderman should have just trusted them to handle the situation for a few more minutes. The writer tried to show that the Rhino was simply too strong, but Spiderman definitely could have found a way to knock him over and free Silver Sable. Calling one of the Avengers would have also been good if he was able too. Just leaving Silver Sable to die made the victory hollow.

Since all of the big heroes are away or mind controlled, Spiderman has to seek help from others. Big Hero 6 and a UK hero arrive to help along with a Kangeroo guy. Big Hero 6 has the most enjoyable side plot and especially since I recently saw the film. All of the characters seem more likable than their movie counterparts and certainly more skilled. I don’t see them beating any big threats, but they can certainly help out a lot against the minions. It was fun to have these guest stars arrive.

Now, this is the part where I would typically mention how good the art is. Unfortunately, it was not very good despite the cover being incredible. The art style looks good sometimes, particularly in scenes without any movement. After that, things go downhill. The character models are really the biggest problem as the artist seems unclear on how to draw a body in motion without it becoming disproportionate in various areas. A big example is the face where the artist has the most trouble. The faces will stretch at times as if the characters are trying to be Mr Fantastic. The action scenes still look very flashy, but the quality certainly isn’t as high as you would hope. This is no Superman Unchained!

The writing is at a good level here so I don’t need to bash it. The “Deal with it” line is something I probably won’t forget, but in a way, it is cool to see Spiderman exercise his authority. If the heroes won’t give him his respect, then he shall take it. Not that respect is a problem here though. Seriously, the heroes are basically praising him from start to finish. Silver Sable is apparently a fan now as she realizes his true power and wit.

Speaking of which, there is a bonus story at the end where we see a time where Spiderman and Silver Sable teamed up with Doctor Strange to defeat Dr Doom. The actual plot is pretty lackluster as Dr Doom wants to marry someone for her magical powers, but at least this gives us an opportunity for some fights. You can argue that Dr Strange looks a little too under powered, but you can’t win every battle right? Spiderman gets his props though and he holds his own. The action kept the issue afloat, but the actual plot was bad enough to make it very sub par. We didn’t need romance here!

As for the Sinister Six, most of the members were decent or unlikable. I liked the Electro and this was a good interpretation of his character. Now that he is in control of his abilities, he’s certainly more than a match for just about any fighter. I’m glad that he didn’t back down from the Avengers. I still don’t like Doctor Octopus and shall never be able to take him seriously at this point. The Rhino looks very petty and the writers over hyped him. Spiderman certainly should have defeated him. The Sandman looks good and I do think that he would have done the right thing if he had been asked to help. Mysterio also helped when the going got tough and he’s not bad for an illusionist. I typically don’t care for those characters, but he seems pretty witty and he actually was pretty helpful. That wraps up most of the members. We also had some guest villains who helped out in the abroad battles and I would have certainly liked some spinoff issues to go more in depth over there. Some of the matchups looked like a lot of fun.

Overall, Ends of The Earth was actually a good Spiderman comic. Spiderman’s portrayal was solid as he stayed loyal to Mary Jane and he made for a good leader. His decision to leave Sable certainly wasn’t a good one as well as his decision to let Sable go through with her acid attack for as long as he did. At least Sandman can’t really feel pain when in his sand state, but it was still a bit much. The Avengers don’t look as professional as usual and they are very under powered, but you have to remember that this is a Spiderman comic. The art is pretty lack luster though and the backup comic isn’t very good. I recommend checking this out for a quick read, but keep in mind that it’s not going to be winning any awards for you. On the bright side, you can compare the Big Hero 6 team from the comics to the movie counterparts. Also, this leads up to Superior Spider Man so now you can see why that event even happened in the first place.

Overall 7/10