Marvel Comics and Amazing Spider-Man #75 Spoilers and Review follows.
Ben Reilly’s Hostile Takeover Of ASM From Peter Parker?!
The book has several variant covers below on top of the main cover above.
The book opens with a storyline catch-up page at least for Peter Parker.
Technically, Ben Reilly’s takeover began in last week’s other milestone issue of ASM #875 / #74 (full spoilers here).
Before I get the main story of this over-sized issue, I’m going to the end and sharing the above creators credits pages as well as the editor’s comments below.
In addition, the book has two back-up stories.
The first back-up story appears to be forward-looking and teases that the new Ben Reilly era of ASM may in fact be a super-hero team book.
The second back-up story is retrospective.
It speaks to the Beyond Corporations interest in Ben Reilly.
With that, let’s move to the main story.
It opens with a lesson Peter Parker learns from his Uncle Ben Parker after Peter was caught by Aunt May stealing a small wrapped piece of a gum from a store; naturally she made Peter go back and she gave him the few cents the gum cost for the store.
Turns out its not wholly a flashback, but a nightmare with spiders included.
In reality, Peter Parkes is having some hard times emotionally and financially.
He tries to get some time away from it at all as Spider-Man, but…
…he’s not a lone in the skies of New York City.
A advance tech Spider-Man is in NYC too and subdues the OG.
Turns out it was Ben Reilly; a stable Peter Parker clone.
He is funded by an organization called…
…the Beyond Corporation who…
…now own the name and likeness of Spider-man.
Ben Reilly is not asking Peter Parker to share Spider-man, he’s just giving him a heads up he’s doing it and being paid well to do it.
They depart with Ben reaching out his red-head as…
…as Peter does with his.
The OG Spider-Man is triggered to an Empire University attack by the U-Foes.
Here’s the team’s classic Marvel Handbook bio.
Including their personal bios who’s who style.
Anyhow, turns out Ben beat Peter to the university melee as he got help from his Beyond Corporation team.
The U-Foes get radioactive and…
…while Ben’s suit is protective, Peter’s is not.
Looks like Peter has radiation poisoning; his Spidey Sense tells him his problems are on the inside.
We now continue the weekly era of the Ben Reilly Amazing Spider-Man series.
Yes, the main series is thrice weekly, but Marvel is including “point issues” (.BEY) again that take place between the core issues so that make the series weekly now.
The Pulse:
An action-packed emotional issue. I like Ben Reilly being back and the juxtaposition that he’s doing better in life than the original Peter Parker. However, the trademarking of Spider-Man and the poisoning of the veteran super-hero to end of the book seem implausible. That said, the characterization was strong as was the action. U-Foes are not compelling villains for me, but I understand what they served to the story. Not liking the weekly ca$h grab nature of ASM now, but I may periodically pop in to see what Ben is up to and how Peter is doing medically. The back-up stories, at least one, seem to set up the next point issue / .BEY in November 2021. A new era begins. 7 out of 10.
