Happy New Year, Crawlspacers! 2021 was fun wasn’t it? Yeeaaah, I hear you, not really. Let’s hope for a better year in 2022. Let’s not just stand there, monologue and let the supervillain just stroll by and get what he was coming for, like Ben Reilly did in last issue. Remember the first time Spider-Man let the bad guy go without DOING SOMETHING!? Funny how the clone of Peter Parker, that has ALL of his memories, didn’t learn that lesson yet. I mean he dated that burglar’s daughter, didn’t he? Will he learn this issue? Let’s find out, right here on the Spider-Man Crawlspace!
(Beyond Trust) Patrick Gleason, Zeb Wells, Saladin Ahmed, Cody Ziglar, & Kelly Thompson
(Writer) Cody Ziglar
(Artist) Paco Medina
(Colorist) Espen Grundetjern
(Inkers) WAAAAAY too many
(Letterer) VC’s Joe Caramagna
(Editor) Nick Lowe
(EIC) C.B. Cebulski
Date Released 1/12/2022
Issue Number #85 LGY #886
Price Tag: $3.99
For a different perspective:
Alford’s Notes and Read’s Reads
Story: Dr. Otto Octavius just strolls into the Beyond Corp like he owns the place (technically he did at one point). After discovering a talking fish and some sandwiches that can grant him wishes (I swear, I’m not making that up), he has a run in with Misty Knight and Colleen, whom are easily defeated. Meanwhile Ben is using his suit’s “Glide Booster” to rush to Beyond’s HQ to stop Doc Ock, because his job is on the line. Being from the 90’s he decides it’s not fast enough and pulls a Tim Allen from Home Improvement to rewire it by adding after burners for…MORE POWER! *insert man grunt*. Maxine Danger, (who seriously looks like a super villain with that get up she’s wearing) isn’t helping her safety when Dr. Octopus pays a house visit. “Instant Bake” Crash-Through-The-Window-Action Spider-Man shows up and the two fight. During the fight Ben tries to convince himself, Doc Ock, and even the reader that he’s Spider-Man. Doc Ock slaps Ben upside the head with the drive that he stole and informs him that he’s nothing but “Damaged Goods” and proves that there’s a difference between being “woke” and being “awake”. as he escapes. Ben informs Maxine Danger that the drive was destroyed and asks Janine to wash his mask for him, before adding seven years of bad luck to his life by breaking a mirror.
The Breakdown
- House Call
- The Truth
- Nitpicks
- Grade
House Call: Otto Octavius is a driven man and if you profit off of anything he had put in work for, you can bet he’s coming after you. Besides Janine, and the reader quick frankly, Otto KNOWS Beyond isn’t the company it’s made itself out to be in the public eye. Don’t bet that he’s done with Beyond, just because Ben beat him in a fist fight. Ben has won the fight, but it was Otto who won the battle. He is going to try to exploit every weakness Beyond has and he actually he has already has done that…with Ben. Showing Ben the truth of why Beyond picked him will send Ben down a depression state and I’m already starting to see “Evil-Ben” come out of the wood work. So while Beyond is busy dealing with that drama, Otto can sneak on in to discover more dirty little secrets that he can use to his advantage. Remember, he only scratched the surface…he’ll be looking for more.
The Truth: It hurts doesn’t it? Ben is feeling it. First we need to assess that Ben is starting to feel very unappreciated from peers, outside of Beyond, stating that he’s not really Spider-Man. Miles, Doc Ock, Felicia, Mary Jane, Peter, and more outside of ASM title, have told him that in one way or another. YOU, the readers even know that Ben Reilly will never be the Spider-Man you knew from the 90’s again or even NEVER BE THE TRUE SPIDER-MAN. That man is truly gone and even clone fans know that. I’m starting to believe that’s what the Beyond Board and Ziglar are writing about. This is a Ben Reilly Story, but I think it’s “Beyond” Spider-Man. It’s so far from what Peter would do so why not write it about Ben instead, right? He pushing hard to try to convince anyone that he’s worth something. Too hard in fact. I suppose this kind of resentment does get to a person, but Ben really only has himself to blame. It looks like that going back to the “default” setting for Ben in Spider-Geddon wasn’t permanent. The man STILL has to take responsibilities for his past actions whether he was in the right mind or not. Peter learned that in Nick Spencer’s run. That who “Spider-Man” is.
The second thing we need to assess is that Ben now knows the truth on WHY he was picked by Beyond. Maxine Danger basically confirms it. Thanks to the broken mirror in the bathroom, it doesn’t look good. I bet this mental break will lead to Dr Kafka becoming that Goblin. All that therapy ruined. Oh, and that drive…it’s not destroyed. Nope, Ben can’t trust Beyond anymore, but there is one person he wants to trust and that’s Janine.
Now Ben is on a mission to find out the truth and exploit it, so he’s taking no chances. He figures the place they are staying at is “bugged”…get it, bugged..cause it’s a Spider-…never mind…you get it. He’s asking Janine to “wash his mask”, why would he ask that of her and follow up with “don’t lose that”. Simple, it’s code. The drive is in the mask for Janine to see and she right now is the only person he can trust.
Nitpicks:
- Why didn’t Ben go to Peter? Or even think of it in a thought bubble.
- Talking Fish and Sandwiches that are “genies”. Didn’t see that coming.
- Ben is flying in and asks all security shutters to disable on his biosignature. He’s coming in pretty fast…do the sensors have time to detect him BEFORE he crashes through the window? Why not just disable the shutters?
Grade: Giving this an A-. Never thought I give a grade like that to a Beyond book, but new year, who knew? Cody Ziglar writes a really good Doc Ock and I like how he establishes Ben personality. Showing really depth in both characters. Give it up for Paco Medina and his artwork, it’s AMAZING! Not hard to follow and beautiful to look at. Why are there so MANY colorist on this issue, no clue, ask Neil, he’ll tell you whether you want to know more about it or not.
Next issue Ben is feeling like he doesn’t belong, that he holds no value and wishes he could be like Peter. There’s no better person that can easily relate to that and cover the next issue than Dark Mark! 🤣
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You’ve got a point when you say Ben will never be the one from the ’90s again. They mistreated him too much and now he has an awkward past no writer seems to know how to use. That’s why I always felt the “reset to factory set” to be a silly concept with a poor execution.
It really annoyed me that the artist couldn’t get the costume right, with the spider on the torso.
@Geiseric
Funny you use the word toddler, because when I read the editor’s praise to this issue in the final page, I thought “What kind of readers do they think they have? Children?”
I mean “some juicy seeds regarding the truth about Beyond Corporation“?! Come on!
Hey chi-town! Loved your review.
I agree on the rating. At least Ben doesn’t act like an idiot this time around. I believe more and more that Janine will get killed either yo get the drive or because she knows what’s on it.
I wonder where this story takes place in the timeline. Before or after devil’s reign?
@Chi-Town: Nice review, but you’re a cooler and far more generous individual than I. This Ben Reilly Spider-Man storyline is just as bad as when this happened in the ’90s, but even in the Clone Saga we had Peter and Mary Jane married and acting in-character (depending on the writer). I’m really wondering what the point of all of this is, since Peter’s going to be Spider-Man again soon enough and we’re getting yet-another “Amazing Spider-Man” relaunch with a new #1 issue. I feel so bad for my fellow Ben Reilly fans who finally got him back in the comics and it’s for this stinker of a storyline.
Also, I found the art a little meh. Like why does Doc Ock not have any pupils in the panels you posted where he’s explaining about the data drive? And again, in this storyline, why does Doc Ock suddenly only have hair on top of his head but the rest of his hair is gone? Did he shave it off? Why does he have all of his hair on the cover?
Also, the talking fish and sandwiches was one of the lamest additions to the Spider-Man comics since “Crazy Town Banana Pants”. I’d really like to know what the staff at Marvel are thinking to approve these kinds of oddities. Then again, I’d really like to know what the point was of sidelining Peter all this time just to hype up his return and make a new #1 relaunch where Doc Ock is chasing him and he’s “on the outs” with his closest allies like the Fantastic Four and Aunt May.
Marvel, call me when you decide to re-marry Peter and Mary Jane. I’ll gladly return to the comics then. Until that time, Marvel’s not getting my money on any of this. I hope you all are having a wonderful day and stay safe, True Believers!
Geiseric: The good news is at least we’ve reached to a point that Ben has finally figured out. Yeah, I’m not too hyped about the next creative team, HOWEVER…I wasn’t thrilled about Nick Spencer coming on (after reading Secret Empire) YET, I loved his run on ASM. He fixed a lot of things on that book. The landing didn’t stick, but the ride was great.
Great review! I wonder if Dr. Octopus was once killed by a Peter clone back in the 90s. Are we allowed to talk about that?
I really appreciate your mentioning that Ben should own up to his actions in the past. As I read these reviews, I always find myself thinking, “But this is someone who called himself the Jackal and turned evil. Why should I care?” Does Marvel now pretend that that didn’t happen? I guess it can’t, since many characters exist currently only because of Clone Conspiracy. (I kept thinking “Attack of the Clones,” so it took me a moment to remember the title of that arc.) I wasn’t aware that Ben was “reset” during Spider-geddon.
I’m glad you enjoyed this issue, though, Chi-Town! Here’s hoping it continues. And here’s hoping that my comment appears this time.
Oh, the cover for next issue reminds me of this John Romita poster a bit:
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/26/d0/18/26d0186c3a261ae4a855e68505c9751e.jpg
Another pretty meh issue. I thought we where going to get more to tie into Beyond exploiting doc ock but instead it was just a way to reveal something to Ben that a toddler could have figured out.
Considering this and what we know about the next creative team it’s a bad time to be a spider man fan