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  1. #16
    Fantastic Member
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    Congrats on becoming a father!

    I can't find much I would call well written here, especially the Ben/Peter and Ben/Janine stuff. The only characters who come out of this event looking good are Maddie and Jean, because they had their own mini that wasn't as dumb. It's all very superficial and inconsistent. Chasm's entire struggle and arc is nonsense. His memory of what transpired between him and Peter is either non-existent or comically unhinged from what actually happened. So all these expressions of hurt and pain and blaming Peter are delusions. It really robs the relationship between Peter and Ben of having any oomph. Peter says he wants to "help Ben" but hasn't been shown ever actually trying or even offering suggestions. Ben hates and won't engage with Peter because he's brain damaged and delusional. There's no power or tension to their dynamic it's a big misunderstanding that's written around as poorly as the mystery box driving Wells entire run. When you add in that Ben's wanting of Pete's life and soul are things invented by Wells in ASM 93 and run counter to Ben Reilly's character it makes the whole situation feel even more forced and inorganic. Top it off with everything being treated like a joke regarding chasm and his ridiculous King Chasm outfit.

    Janine has been done an especially severe disservice since her reintroduction. Maybe her motivation for becoming a supervillain that tries to plunge all of New York into basically Hell would resonate a little more strongly if some time in beyond had been devoted to her instead of the daughters of the dragon. But she spent all of Beyond doing nothing in her apartment and all of her character development into Hallow's Eve happene over like 4 badly done pages.

    I also don't think any of the scenes between Ben and Janine are poignant or powerful. Janine was painted into a corner so she's ride or die with Ben because she has no other options. And what can Ben's feelings for Janine even be? They are just there. He can't clearly recall their relationship. She's basically just there and going along with the plan they all called stupid in this issue.

    I like Ben, but this isn't Ben. The actual character of Ben Reilly has really never shown through under Zeb Wells.

    The final thing I will say is that after all the hype and speculation I find Chasm's new powers to be extremely underwhelming. I doubt we'll see the ability to strip mine memories out of anybody often. The offensive spider sense on surface level seems cool but would have to be nerfed even harder than Peter's regular spider sense for it to see consistent use. And then his webbing is also nothing that Peter couldn't do with regular webbing. We've seen Spider-Man different kinds make things like baseball bats out of webbing before. That each power only got used once in the entirety of this arc tells me it wasn't really well thought through. And there's still no explanation for why he's glowing but only glowing when he puts on the mask.
    Last edited by Coop; 02-02-2023 at 08:54 AM.

  2. #17
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    Congrats on the impending fatherhood!!
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  3. #18
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    Congrats, Pav!

  4. #19
    Welcome Back Spidey Kurolegacy's Avatar
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    Gotta say, it really say something about the product being reviewed when more posts of the review thread are dedicated to congratulating the OP in the miracle of life than actual discussion of the product

  5. #20
    Spectacular Member Obsidian Spider's Avatar
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    Congrats, Pav.

    I can't stand Ben's motivation since becoming Chasm.

    There are so many ways in the Marvel U to copy and paste someone's memories and not need to use Beyond tech or eat a stupid apple. I mean, this story involved the X-Men who do nothing BUT clone and paste memories these days.

    Peter should have just said "Dude, listen, I don't want to use that shady Beyond machine but let's go see a psychic. I'm friends with 73"

    Ugh.

  6. #21
    Better than YOU! Alan2099's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Obsidian Spider View Post
    Congrats, Pav.

    I can't stand Ben's motivation since becoming Chasm.

    There are so many ways in the Marvel U to copy and paste someone's memories and not need to use Beyond tech or eat a stupid apple. I mean, this story involved the X-Men who do nothing BUT clone and paste memories these days.

    Peter should have just said "Dude, listen, I don't want to use that shady Beyond machine but let's go see a psychic. I'm friends with 73"

    Ugh.
    It could have easily been fixed by a single panel. "I don't know what Jackal did when he cloned you, but there's something wrong with your brain. I can't copy and paste memories into it. They don't stick for some reason."

    Also, there's an Embassy to Hell in New York now. I'm sure that's never going to come back and bite anyone on the butt.

  7. #22
    Incredible Member Aura Blaize's Avatar
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    First the highlight:

    Congrats on fatherhood Pav!

    Now onto the issue.

    To say that this was anticlimatic would be an understatement. Once again, Spider-Man is useless in his own event. He's only there to talk big and lose bigger.

    Maddie's redemption is nice, but it's also annoying that she gets off scott (haha) free. There's also the fact that they don't address the obvious. She could easily fix both Ben AND Eddie. Well Eddie is doing his own thing, but Ben....ugh. It hurts so much.

    All in all though, this event just ended up being a big ol bunch of nothing Spidey wise. A real waste of time.

  8. #23
    Formerly Assassin Spider Huntsman Spider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Obsidian Spider View Post
    Congrats, Pav.

    I can't stand Ben's motivation since becoming Chasm.

    There are so many ways in the Marvel U to copy and paste someone's memories and not need to use Beyond tech or eat a stupid apple. I mean, this story involved the X-Men who do nothing BUT clone and paste memories these days.

    Peter should have just said "Dude, listen, I don't want to use that shady Beyond machine but let's go see a psychic. I'm friends with 73"

    Ugh.
    Quote Originally Posted by Alan2099 View Post
    It could have easily been fixed by a single panel. "I don't know what Jackal did when he cloned you, but there's something wrong with your brain. I can't copy and paste memories into it. They don't stick for some reason."

    Also, there's an Embassy to Hell in New York now. I'm sure that's never going to come back and bite anyone on the butt.
    Technically, what was wrong with his brain came from Beyond Corp tampering with his memories to keep him as their loyal corporate superhero servant, though beyond that (pun slightly intended), that would have made perfect sense for why The Chasm Formerly Known as Ben Reilly couldn't be refilled with Peter's foundational memories. And yes, to piggyback off Coop's commentary, the writer of the Hallows' Eve miniseries is going to have her work cut out for her with Janine's overall character after how dirty she was done by this event. Good luck with that, which I say with all sincerity.
    The spider is always on the hunt.

  9. #24
    Welcome Back Spidey Kurolegacy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Huntsman Spider View Post
    Technically, what was wrong with his brain came from Beyond Corp tampering with his memories to keep him as their loyal corporate superhero servant, though beyond that (pun slightly intended), that would have made perfect sense for why The Chasm Formerly Known as Ben Reilly couldn't be refilled with Peter's foundational memories. And yes, to piggyback off Coop's commentary, the writer of the Hallows' Eve miniseries is going to have her work cut out for her with Janine's overall character after how dirty she was done by this event. Good luck with that, which I say with all sincerity.
    Heck to quote myself from the other review thread:
    Quote Originally Posted by Kurolegacy View Post
    At very least they could have come up with some reason for it like that they tried to reach him telepathically but the psychoreactive goo had an effect on him that is blocking them or had Maddie mention that she’s been working with him to help recover his memories.

  10. #25
    Better than YOU! Alan2099's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Huntsman Spider View Post
    Technically, what was wrong with his brain came from Beyond Corp tampering with his memories to keep him as their loyal corporate superhero servant, though beyond that (pun slightly intended), that would have made perfect sense for why The Chasm Formerly Known as Ben Reilly couldn't be refilled with Peter's foundational memories. And yes, to piggyback off Coop's commentary, the writer of the Hallows' Eve miniseries is going to have her work cut out for her with Janine's overall character after how dirty she was done by this event. Good luck with that, which I say with all sincerity.
    Beyond Corp makes sense, but I just like blaming the Jackal more. It simplifies things.

  11. #26
    Formerly Assassin Spider Huntsman Spider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kurolegacy View Post
    Heck to quote myself from the other review thread:
    The psycho-reactive polymers he was soaked in amplifying and weaponizing his spider-sense as a defense mechanism against psychic intrusion or incursion, even well-intentioned psychic intrusion, would have made sense, too.
    The spider is always on the hunt.

  12. #27
    Formerly Assassin Spider Huntsman Spider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alan2099 View Post
    Beyond Corp makes sense, but I just like blaming the Jackal more. It simplifies things.
    Fair enough, and Jackal did f*** Ben up a lot, too.
    The spider is always on the hunt.

  13. #28
    I'm at least a C-Lister! exile001's Avatar
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    Congrats, Pav!!!
    "Has Sariel summoned you here, Azrael? Have you come to witness the miracle of your brethren arriving on Earth?"

    "I WILL MIX THE ASHES OF YOUR BONES WITH SALT AND USE THEM TO ENSURE THE EARTH THE TEMPLARS TILLED NEVER BEARS FRUIT AGAIN!"

    "*sigh* I hoped it was for the miracle."

    Dan Watters' Azrael was incredible, a constant delight and perhaps too good for this world (but not the Forth). For the love of St. Dumas, DC, give us more!!!

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