Marvel’s New Spider-Man Series Brings Back Peter Parker Clone And More

Traditionally, number 75 in a comic book series is no big deal, though these days, it’s true that it’s rare to see a Marvel or DC superhero title arrive so seamlessly.

the Amazing Spider-Man # 75, however, breaks with tradition by releasing what the publisher is describing as “a new era” and “a bold new era,” one marked by a new creative team and a new publication schedule, as the series returns to a three-time-a-month release schedule for the first time since 2010.

It’s called “The Amazing Spider-Man Beyond,” but does this new term for the beloved hero go far enough beyond the just-ended career of writer Nick Spencer?

Who is making Amazing Spider-Man # 75?

There is a whole gang of creators behind the first issue of “Beyond”: writer Zeb Wells and artist Patrick Gleason are the creators behind the main story of the number, but there is also great trust in credited writers, such as Kelly Thompson, Cody Ziegler, and Saladin Ahmed plus Wells and Gleason. Additionally, Thompson and Wells each write a backing strip for the issue, illustrated by Travel Foreman and Ivan Fiorelli, respectively.

What is Amazing Spider-Man # 75 about?

There is a very basic hook in the first installment of “Beyond”: the traditional dichotomy between Peter Parker and Spider-Man, where, if one of them is having a particularly good time, the other is having a bad time with the same force. been transferred to Peter Parker and his former clone Ben Reilly. Peter’s life is unraveling after the death of his childhood best friend, Harry Osborn, but things couldn’t be better for Ben, who has signed up with a mysterious new corporation that, unlikely as it may seem, bought Intellectual property rights. to Spider-Man.

As the two try to come to terms with the idea of ​​sharing being Spider-Man, surprisingly, no one mentions Miles Morales, who he is. what’s more to Spider-Man: Something happens that suggests that, in the near future, there will be no reason to share. I won’t say exactly what, but it’s worth noting that the cover of the next issue features Peter Parker in a hospital bed …

Why is Amazing Spider-Man # 75 happening now?

With ex Amazing Spider-Man Writer Nick Spencer left mainstream comics to headline Substack’s comic book show, Marvel needed someone to take charge of what has been a bestseller for decades and one of the company’s most trusted hits in recent years. . That it’s back to the “writers room” model and publishing calendar of the “Brand New Day” era, which lasted just under two years from early 2008 to mid-2010, seems like a sign that the company is moving. retreating to a tried and true formula for a while as he prepares for the character’s 60th anniversary next year.

Are there any required reading?

This is where things get tough. Theoretically, anyone can grasp Amazing Spider-Man # 75 and, for the most part, understand what’s going on; There is not a small amount of editorial and exposition notes, at least in the main story, to explain the information that readers absolutely must know to understand what is happening. But one of the big problems with the “Beyond” opener is that it feels trapped in the immediate past, in a way that is unpleasant for anyone who hasn’t been reading the book recently.

Nick Spencer had no small ambition for what he could do with Amazing Spider-Man, but a lot of that, especially in the latter half of its run, was focused on changing the tone of the series towards something that comes close to continuity-obsessed superhero horror, with characters returning from the dead to rewrite past stories. From years and years ago there is apparently no other reason other than the author’s bias. ASM it became a strangely self-referential and gloomy read that ended with the death (again) of Peter Parker’s old best friend, Harry Osborn.

Image: Zeb Wells, Patrick Gleason / Marvel Comics

“Beyond” begins with Peter still very distraught over Harry’s death and the events of the final numbers of Spencer’s career. It’s an approach that’s probably welcome for fans who have become attached to Spencer’s story and wanted to see it resonate in the future; to everyone else, though, it makes “Beyond” feel like the last chapter in an ongoing story they weren’t reading, as opposed to a new beginning, even when Ben Reilly shows up to take things in a different direction.

The mere presence of Reilly, and the story of “Beyond” in general, points to an even more required reading: it is simply assumed that readers know who Ben Reilly is, or that there was once Parker Industries that was actually created. by Dr. Octopus during the period when his brain was driving Peter Parker’s body, but was later sold by Peter when he was driving his own body again, and… you get the idea. And that says nothing about backups, which depend on the reader having some idea who are characters like the Daughters of the Dragon or Ashley Kafka.

Sure, Amazing Spider-Man # 75 is friendly for new readers In theory. In practice, it could be harder to sell than Marvel expects.

Is Amazing Spider-Man # 75 good?

What’s so frustrating about the way Amazing Spider-Man # 75 is indebted to the past is that, for the most part, “Beyond” looks like it’s going to be a funny story, told with a balance of humor and melodrama that feels classically Spider-Man. Ben Reilly’s more optimistic Spider-Man is clearly headed for a downfall – the mysterious Beyond Corporation that helped him outfit him will almost certainly become a problem in no time, and Peter Parker is unlikely to be in so much trouble for it seems. When he can escape the debts he owes to the old comics, the story goes very well and the art is engaging and dynamic, especially when Gleason is drawing.

Tellingly, an editorial by Nick Lowe mentions that the theme begins as “a nineteen-part epic,” suggesting that a slow transformation of what Amazing Spider-Man it’s been in the last few years to whatever it is six months into the future. As you read the issue, it feels like there is an exciting new era for Amazing Spider-Man On the horizon, it’s just that it feels like we’re not there yet.

A panel that appeared