It’s Spider-Man vs. Spider-Man as “Beyond” comes to a close in Amazing Spider-Man #93 written by Zeb Wells, art by Patrick Gleason, colors by Bryan Valenza, and letters by Joe Caramagna!
The illusion of change is the ultimate backbone of serialized comics. Amazing Spider-Man #93 is both a great example of it, and leans into the trope to its full advantage.
If “Spider-Man Beyond” has been anything, it’s been a rehabilitation of Ben Reilly. The character started this run at a nadir. After years of fan campaigns to give the character another chance, he finally got it… as the villain in an extremely poorly received event. From there he starred in a 20-ish spin-off series that rapidly transformed from a lukewarm rehabilitation effort to the writer just playing his greatest hits. Then he immediately died again.
After an opening arc showing just what Ben could be as Spider-Man, especially with the creative team temporarily taking Peter Parker off the board, the story took a more sinister turn. Ben was no longer a version of Peter with a blank slate and a bunch of money. It was a story about identity, which both Peter and Ben battled with in different ways.
It was also a story about how corporations are bad. By using NextWave villains Beyond Corporation, and taking them a little bit more seriously, we did get a great deconstruction of how mega corps are used in stories set in the modern day. That side of the story collided pretty heavily with Ben’s identity issues, as Beyond has been editing his memory, and that led to Amazing Spider-Man #93.
I like Ben Reilly quite a bit. Some of my earliest Spidey comics are from the era of Spider-Man where he took over the title. This is the story Ben needed to be taken seriously.
While for Peter this story took him off the board temporarily to show, much like the Superior Spider-Man, that he was the ultimate/superior/one true Spider-Man, it did something different for Ben (side note: we still need a published story about that for Miles in Marvel’s prime universe, so he’s at least seen as Peter’s equal). For Ben, this story established his identity separate from Peter better than any title that preceded it.
In this issue, we get an obligatory fight over the Spider-Man name and identity. Ben being a clone of Peter creates some interesting scenarios for the identity fight here, because it has multiple layers that Wells writes extremely well. This isn’t Logan and Akihiro fighting to be Wolverine, or Hal and Guy fighting to be Green Lantern. Manipulated by Beyond, Ben is fighting Peter for the core of who he is. It’s not about his costume, it’s about who Ben is as a human being: his memories, maybe his very soul.
Even though it’s a superhero action story, largely about punching, there’s a depth to it, which both writer Zeb Wells and artist Pat Gleason are able to convey in the story and the art extremely well. We feel for Ben, because if a huge part of our identity was cut away, we might go to extreme lengths to restore it. It’s the most Spider-Man that the situation could be: it works because it’s about the people, not the punching, not the evil villains, not the thrill of the “versus.” Two brothers, one in pain and trying to find a way out, one understanding that and trying to find another way.
Coming out of this issue, I’m thrilled Wells is sticking around. His issues from the last few months have been the best of the “Beyond” mega-arc; those issues have restored a lot of what the line has needed. This is Spider-Man, and we’re glad he’s back.
So what about that illusion of change? Peter is back in the red and blue full time (but maybe, just maybe, with a twist, thanks to that epilogue). MJ and Peter are back together. Some villains are back on the board. Others are just getting their start. Amazing Spider-Man is ready to continue ahead as it always has been.
But for Ben Reilly? His status quo is changing, but we see what the next steps can be. He has a long term supporting cast member in Janine Godbe, a plot device who’s finally become a character. He has allies and enemies. And best of all, his new persona, one for which there is seemingly more than meets the eye. After all, we got that tease in Timeless of Ben in LA with his current costume. Is a twist on the Spectacular Spider-Man just around the corner?
I guess we’ll see. Maybe this time, it’ll stick.
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble.
