Can you believe, Ben fans, that we get TWO issues starring our beloved spider-clone?! I thought both issues were sensational, and there are some interesting parallels to consider! Let's get to it!
ASM 86
1) We start off with Ben meeting with Kafka. He's SURLY.
2) Flashback to Ben taking on Hellbomb, who has a decent name but the worst costume ever. He looks like he's covered in those spheres from The Rock.
3) Ben takes down Hellbomb, easy peezy. But Beyond isn't happy that he disobeyed orders. Kafka wants to know why he's changed his mind about Beyond.
4) Two floors up, Janine is staring at the dresser drawer, in which she's hidden the data drive she got from Ben last issue. In the flashback to that scene, we also see that Ben straight-up tells Janine that Beyond is lying to them.
5) Kafka gains Ben's trust by explaining that she, too, doesn't trust Beyond.
6) Kafka's naive, though, in her belief that they can speak freely. Maxine Danger is spying on them. I like how she's portrayed here -- a little humorous, which is better than two-dimensional mean girl.
7) Janine isn't allowed to walk around freely, apparently, due to her status as an ex?-con.
8) Beyond knows best.
9) OKAY. SO: Beyond HAS messed with Ben's memories!!! It appears that Ben doesn't remember anything post PP:SM 75 and pre- the Beyond arc, and according to Kafka, it was AT BEN'S REQUEST. (Meta analysis: Marvel removed Ben's more complicated adventures for fans of his original demeanor...?)
10) According to Dr. Kafka, a clone can lose its personality if the wrong memories get deleted -- likely the ones that sort of serve as the foundation for the rest of the (implanted) memories. Luckily, she's trying to repair Ben's mind with some technology thingie.
11) Ben tells Kafka that the data disc held all kinds of info about Beyond and that everyone is in danger. Unfortunately, that's when Maxine Danger shows up and puts a stop to Ben's therapy appointment. Kafka begs Maxine not to erase Ben's mind again.
12) Meanwhile, Janine takes Marcus hostage so she can escape! Go, Janine!
13) Beyond begins removing Ben's memories, starting with the recent dust-up with Otto, who gets no-faced in Ben's mind. But UH-OH -- all of a sudden, Ben's oldest memories are getting wiped away!!!!!
My major concern is that Ben's "Peter Parkeriness" is going to get removed via the removal of his memories, and that he'll be an identity-less person, having to start over as Ben Reilly from scratch. My hope is that, even if Ben DOES become a mindless automaton for Beyond, that Dr. Kafka and/or Janine are able to help rescue him -- perhaps with Peter's help...?
ON TO BEN REILLY: SPIDER-MAN 1
1) I like Ben's commentary about feeling at home in NYC -- and I LOVED JMD squeezing in a little JJJ here! He and Ben barely interacted back in the day. Good way to provide exposition, as well.
2) Ben telling JJJ he isn't Parker almost feels more like a modern Kaine moment.
3) I like that JMD quickly brings up the idea that Ben doesn't know who he's supposed to be as Ben Reilly. It's something I always wanted to see more explicitly explored -- what can Ben do to grow into a more complete version of himself? Who does he want to become?
4) The recap of Ben's time on the road was nice -- especially the emphasis on Janine and Kaine as the only parts that felt real to him.
5) LOVE THE HAMLET REFERENCE!!!
6) I'm so glad that JMD has carried on with the notion that Ben finds joy in being Spidey in a way that Peter doesn't/can't. It's something that makes total sense to me and it's why, in the early Beyond issues, I understood Ben telling Peter how badly he needs to be Spidey too. As far as I know, Tom Defalco is the originator of the "Ben takes more joy in being Spidey" thing in the page of Spider-Girl, and I thank him for that addition.
7) Seeing Malcom McBride as Carrion is cool for many reasons. For one, the Carrion Virus originates with the Jackal, so it's nice to have that in the background for a Ben-focused story. Two, Ben and Carrion didn't fight in the 90s, to the best of my recollection. And three, I never felt like McBride got a proper conclusion to his character's storyline; this issue serves well as one.
8) I'm glad that Ben showed compassion towards McBride by allowing him to share in his sorrow (in a literal sense).
9) RETCON: Peter shared his secret ID and clone-related stuff with Dr. Kafka? Don't think it ever happened, but it's a retcon that makes sense -- and after the Clone Saga, she never really showed up much, so I can't imagine it influences any past stories negatively.
10) Even Kafka remarks that Ben is acting on edge -- although there IS the Carrion explanation for anyone who needs one. It IS a little odd how gruff he is if you consider continuity: he was pretty settled into his life as Ben at this point, more or less, and quite happy-go-lucky. That being said, we also know Ben had plenty of dark days -- so maybe this is just a dark patch.
11) Vermin appearance!
12) Quick beat on the subplot of first date murders. I guess that'll become more important in consequent issues.
13) I'M NOT PETER PARKER.
14) "I don't do friendship." Okay, but I remember the Daily Grind cast throwing you a party and buying you a tv. It's kind of a bummer that we didn't see a mention of even Jessica, but I understand trying to keep it accessible and not bogged down by details irrelevant to the story.
15) New Daily Grind "regular" seems like a total red herring for the murder thing. But maybe he's the way for Ben to get into that storyline?
16) OH HECK: Ben's home has been invaded by the SCORPION!!! Another potential fun match-up between Ben and a villain with whom he didn't much tangle back in the 90s! And how does he know Ben is Spidey?!
Excellent cliffhanger. Excellent issue! I've enjoyed Beyond, but this issue felt jam-packed, comparatively!
Fellow fans of Ben: how did you like today's issues?
-Pav, who wrote a letter to Marvel expressing his delight...