Spider-man 78.BEY review

[Spiderfan001]

It's very mid.No Ben(he's in one page) besides the preview and seems even more of a novice than Miles/Anya lol

Most of it is Misty Colleen banter.Obsidian Star is nothing of note, it ends w/ a power source from star being given to Monica by daughters from Obsidian star behind beyonds back

[HypnoHustler]

This is what I wrote in the preview thread:

Hmmn… I’m skimming the issue now. It’s not terrible, but it’s aggressively average. I’m really wondering where that reviewer has the balls to give this a 9.5/10. 9.5 out of 10 is like ‘Watchmen’ territory, or if we’re strictly talking Spidey then ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt.’ I have issues that I love that I still wouldn’t give a 9.5 to. It’s just… ugh, I’m not sure what’s happening with the industry nowadays, but it seems like a big club where the writers and reviewers look out for each other and (social) networking is more important than quality storytelling. The first two issues of ‘Beyond’ held a lot of promise and now we’ve been spinning wheels for a month with that very mediocre Thompson 2-parter and now this spin-off issue starring characters that had no connection to Spidey before a couple issues ago. I really wish they’d focus on Black Cat or MJ or even Aunt May if they insist on putting out these half-issues or spin-off issues. Sorry guys, rant is over. If next week’s Kraven issue is good, all will be forgiven.

As usual, IamnotJudasTraveller also had some really good insights about the issue and the industry as a whole.

[Pav]

MY FELLOW BEN-THUSIASTS!!! HELLO!!!

Okay, okay: this isn't a Ben-centric issue. Obviously that's a bit of a bummer, but I enjoyed the issue anyway! It advances the plot while also being a fun look at Misty and Colleen WHILE ALSO providing a crap-ton of action! I mean, yes, you can argue that it's superfluous. You can wonder why the Daughters of the Dragon and Nextwave (maybe) are appearing in a book supposedly about Spider-Man.

To that I say: All comics are superfluous. Are you trying to enjoy yourself, or what? Just enjoy the comic! And the DotD / Nextwave stuff is appearing in Amazing Spider-Man for the same reason Marvel Team-Up used to be a thing: Spidey sells, baby! (Yes, I'm poking fun at Jed.) I mean, would you rather have another Return of the Sinister Six? The Rebirth of Typeface? Maximum Clonage 2? The way I see it, shifting the focus to Ben has allowed the creative teams the freedom to expand upon what an Amazing Spider-Man story can look like. Personally, I like the choices they've made. I think Misty and Colleen are cool enough to carry an issue in this twenty-something issue storyline.

Now, as for Ben: Jed certainly played up the goofiness and didn't necessarily show the same side of Ben that we saw in the first issues of Beyond. Do I prefer to see Ben looking ultra-competent? Sure. Does it bother me that some of the writers have him looking like a rookie? Nope -- because it's so easy to explain it away. It isn't crazy that Ben would be feeling a little rusty AS SPIDER-MAN and, due to wanting to be on top of his game, overthinking things to the point of messing up a bit. As for the spider-sense lesson: why is it bad to relearn something? Often it's important to bring something we "already know" more to the forefront of our minds. As with all the subplots, I hope that Ben uses this particular lesson in a future fight. Regardless, I think it's easy to understand the choices the creative teams are making; I have my preferences, but I don't begrudge the writers their perspectives (unless it becomes egregious).

Obsidian Star being a big dumb monster robot thing was kind of a bummer, but I too am intrigued by the implications. Is this the Heartstar? Does Monica's inclusion into the story imply eventual showings from Machine Man, Boom Boom, and/or Elsa Bloodstone? Will we finally see The Captain within the 616?!

I mean, f&#%, after Beyond is done, give me a "Nextwave Beyond" comic featuring the Nextwave crew joined by Ben and the Daughters of the Dragon! I'd buy that crazy thing in a heartbeat!

(To be fair, I would buy any comic featuring Ben.)

Looking forward to more Ben-centric issues! Thanks for the convo, friends!

-Pav, who wonders if this issue was originally supposed to come out around Halloween...

[lordozone]

Spider-man is totally incompetent (where is the Ben Reilly of the Clone saga ?) and it was once again not spider-man story. For the moment this arc is very mediocre.

[Sr. Bungle]

Obsidian Star being a big dumb monster robot thing was kind of a bummer, but I too am intrigued by the implications. Is this the Heartstar? Does Monica's inclusion into the story imply eventual showings from Machine Man, Boom Boom, and/or Elsa Bloodstone? Will we finally see The Captain within the 616?!

He already is in 616.
See Nova vol 6 issue 9

And yes, taht's the Heartstar for sure

[jda95]

On a scale of Clone Saga to 1997-2015, how much is Ben in this issue? I might give it a miss.

[Sr. Bungle]

On a scale of Clone Saga to 1997-2015, how much is Ben in this issue? I might give it a miss.

10% give or take

[bob.schoonover]

@Pav,

I would read Maximum Clonage 2 if it made Spidercide more menacing ...

[HypnoHustler]

On a scale of Clone Saga to 1997-2015, how much is Ben in this issue? I might give it a miss.

I mean, I once purchased an issue of ‘Conan’ because Scarlet Spider was in it for 3 pages (and again was beaten by some Mary Sue character no one cares about), but that was during the Great Ben Drought of 2019-2020

I’m a Ben fanatic, so I’ll buy almost anything he’s in. He’s not depicted that poorly except for being much more incompetent at fighting than he should be. And his dialogue is a bit generic. You see all the Ben stuff from the preview of this issue, save for one or two pages.

[DragonPiece]

This was a really fun issue, I'd like to see a daughters of the dragon comic spin out of this hopefully.

[Rzerox21xx]

This was a really fun issue, I'd like to see a daughters of the dragon comic spin out of this hopefully.

Jed Mckay written a digital only series for them before he went on to do Black Cat.

[Frontier]

Jed Mckay written a digital only series for them before he went on to do Black Cat.

Yeah, which explains a lot.

[federicodettofred]

I liked this way more than #78. At least this was fun.

[Aura Blaize]

It was a fun issue. But honestly, one thing that's bothering me is how Ben is being treated like someone Beyond pulled off the street to be Spider-Man and not....well....Spider-Man. Yeah, he's called Ben Reilly but he still technically originated the role. I can understand if he needs to get used to all the tech, but he does not need an entire training session just to learn "Hey, my danger sense that I've technically had since I was 15 can get overloaded if there's too many threats at once."

[boots]

It was a fun issue. But honestly, one thing that's bothering me is how Ben is being treated like someone Beyond pulled off the street to be Spider-Man and not....well....Spider-Man. Yeah, he's called Ben Reilly but he still technically originated the role. I can understand if he needs to get used to all the tech, but he does not need an entire training session just to learn "Hey, my danger sense that I've technically had since I was 15 can get overloaded if there's too many threats at once."

well, he's starting to lose his memory right?

next they can teach him yoda's lesson: responsibility with great power comes