ASM #76 (877) review and spoilers

[IamnotJudasTraveller]

Blue hoodie, huh? One does not simply stop being Scarlet Spider.

Beyond: Throw this hoodie away.
Ben: (starts wearing it as part of his civvies)

Absolute legend

[Vortex85]

Surprised there isn’t more discussion about this and specifically how much Zeb Wells knocked it out of the park when it comes to Ben’s characterization. He even added another layer about Ben not used to people helping him so not wanting to ask for it for fear of rejection, which totally jives with the Ben from the 90s. Peter’s speech to him in the hospital giving him his blessing as Spider-Man gave me chills (although I would’ve loved it even more if he said “be sensational” instead of “be amazing”). I know it’s early days, but I think it’s fair to say Wells “gets” Ben and his dynamic with Peter, and I’d be happy to see him do an ongoing for Ben one day. I’m glad Ben is already getting a bit suspicious of Beyond and it was good to see him get some quick revenge on the U-Foes. There was one sour note and it had nothing to do with Wells…. one panel clearly has MJ wearing an engagement ring, which bolsters the theory there was some last minute editorial butchering of #74 (875) and that art slipped through the cracks. Besides that, I loved it. THIS is the real Ben we’ve been asking to return since 1996.

The ring is on the right hand. It's just fashion. Nothing wrong with wearing a ring on your right hand for decoration. If it was on the left hand it would be an engagement ring.

[David Walton]

So Peter being terribly ill right as Ben starts reclaiming the life he wants is such a great throwback to the Clone Saga era.

[SanityOrMadness]

Beyond: Throw this hoodie away.
Ben: (starts wearing it as part of his civvies)

Absolute legend

Hey, collectors' item!

[NC_Yankee]

It definitely did read too fast - I'm seeing the same reaction in other places I look. I'm guessing it might be because of the weekly thing. But even structurally you can see it reads too fast - there's a lot of large panels (good because Gleason's art has upped its game from his Spencer issues) but with very few speech bubbles (bad because the story goes by too fast).

I would rather have a quick read then go through the unnecessary reading of stuff like Last Remains

[David Walton]

I feel like Ben's offpanel conversation with MJ was much shorter and that's why he was able to pass himself off as Pete.

Also, Aunt May trips him up emotionally because she's the woman he thinks of as his mom and he's never had a face to face conversation with her. And the first thing he says is "It's Peter's--" before switching to "it's Peter" so it wouldn't even take a detective to read between the lines there. But you have the added bonus that May had multiple phone conversations with Ben during his time on the road.

[David Walton]

So one thing that really jumps out at me is Peter's saying he needs to escape his body.

Given that Doc Ock will be involved eventually, it makes you wonder if his consciousness transfer tech will come in handy...and if he'll try to use Ben Reilly as a "host" for Peter.

[Chris0013]

May Parker showed up to chew bubblegum and kick ass....and she was all out of bubblegum.

[Jman27]

May Parker showed up to chew bubblegum and kick ass....and she was all out of bubblegum.

she looks older again

[Spiderfan001]

So Peter being terribly ill right as Ben starts reclaiming the life he wants is such a great throwback to the Clone Saga era.

We had Ben next to a Peter in bed in saga IIRC.

[Chris0013]

Will MJ be calling Teresa? And if not then why? Her brother is dying in a hospital...you call everyone. Family, friends, co-workers.

[NC_Yankee]

Will MJ be calling Teresa? And if not then why? Her brother is dying in a hospital...you call everyone. Family, friends, co-workers.

It will be interesting to find out the truth ( one way or another) about Teresa and to see if a writer can use her in a non/spy story.

[Chris0013]

It will be interesting to find out the truth ( one way or another) about Teresa and to see if a writer can use her in a non/spy story.

That has been something of a failing in the writing of Teresa....no real development of her as a character or her relationship with Peter. And May still needs to learn she has a niece. I think it would be interesting if after May finds out about Teresa they take out some old photo albums and it turns out Teresa is the spitting image of her maternal granny. Have something to reinforce that she is Peter's sister.

[Lukmendes]

Will MJ be calling Teresa? And if not then why? Her brother is dying in a hospital...you call everyone. Family, friends, co-workers.

While MJ likely knows of Teresa, it's possible she doesn't know how to contact her, in Spencer's run, Teresa says she would rather not text in ASM#32 vol 5, so maybe she doesn't even have a cellphone lol.

That has been something of a failing in the writing of Teresa....no real development of her as a character or her relationship with Peter. And May still needs to learn she has a niece. I think it would be interesting if after May finds out about Teresa they take out some old photo albums and it turns out Teresa is the spitting image of her maternal granny. Have something to reinforce that she is Peter's sister.

Yeah, her character is still defined by her origins or lack of them, if it keeps this up she's gonna be like Donna from DC lol.

Oh well, this issue and the previous one, honestly they both feel like half of one issue with the pacing, guess we'll have to deal with that for a while.

I'm curious about Peter's condition, I was thinking it was just some radiation that he's more vulnerable to or whatever, but considering that Beyond likely planned that attack, maybe it's something that can specifically **** over Spidey.

Ben and Peter were written well, MJ and aunt May were, eh.

Also wondering how much of a pain in the ass Beyond is gonna be to Ben, last issue made it look like they have him a perfect life, but this issue has them really trying to control his schedule...

[Huntsman Spider]

Good issue. Liked the dynamic between Peter and Ben a fair bit more with Ben letting himself be vulnerable (emotionally speaking) in front of Peter and Peter ultimately giving Ben his blessing. Aunt May taking no s*** from the doctors when it came to Peter's condition was amusing and very much like a lot of mothers' reaction would be to similar circumstances in the real world. Disappointed Mary Jane didn't get as much to do besides worry about Peter and resent Ben for bringing trouble into their lives again, but considering what's been solicited for her in the future, I'm hopeful they'll do her justice. As for Beyond and how controlling their representative seems to be with Ben and his schedule and movements, it does seem like their "gifts" come with strings attached, to say the least, which may be more of a problem for Ben in the future, especially if he starts getting suspicious of just what really happened with the U-Foes and Peter's radiation poisoning.