The synopsis reads as follows: spoilers:end of spoilers
Darkness looms over New York City as murders begin to pile up…but how are they all connected? Meanwhile, a mysterious figure from Ben’s past has crawled his way back into Ben’s life—does the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane hold the key to their identity?
Makes me wonder if we might see that character who only appeared in the first arc of the Clone Saga, and was supposedly someone Ben had met on his travels: ...Wildwhip?
Of course, the intention behind using "crawled" is something about which I can't help but wonder. Does that imply another Spider of some kind?
And if darkness looms... can D-Spayre be far behind?
-Pav, who can't wait to find out which villains JMD is bringing back...
You were Spider-Man then. You and Peter had agreed on it. But he came back right when you started feeling comfortable.
You know what it means when he comes back.
"You're not the better one, Peter. You're just older."
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Now this looks good.Great writer(an understatement) and Artist as well.
Do we know if this is 4 or 6 dollars per issue?
Hopefully he can summarize what's going on in that era relevant to story, even having read it a while back I feel lost in that era.
D'Spayre would be great to bring back, especially since it's my personal canon that his past encounters with and defeats by Ben led him to seek revenge by manipulating Ben into (some of) the more extreme and heinous actions he committed in The Clone Conspiracy and afterward. On a more fun level, Joystick would also be great; she could be Ben's Black Cat equivalent, a similarly amoral thrill-seeker, but with even less scruples compared to Felicia.
The spider is always on the hunt.
There will probably be other good surprises for Ben in the future.
I am so pleased Ben is back properly with another stint as Spider-Man and a mini series based on his untold tales.
Obviously his run in amazing is going to end before 900 and it’s filler because Spencer’s left early, but it gives him a chance to shine and maybe with good sales he’ll get another solo afterwards with a good artist and writer.
Started re reading the complete Ben Reilly epic collection 1-6 which covers his start as Spider-Man and the suit is just so good and his supporting cast is great.
Also pre ordered the new Marvel legends Spider-Man retro Ben Reilly figure, which was good timing and more Reilly push.
Last edited by The BaRoN; 09-18-2021 at 01:25 PM.
Ben has a pretty solid stock of disparate villains considering how limited his time in comics has been, and if utilized well, I think they could serve as the successful foundation for a legitimate rogues gallery for Ben. D'Spayre serves as a magical/demonic being. Joystick, as you said, works well as a Black Cat equivalent, a love interest from the opposite side of law and order as our hero. Armada has a fun shtick as the technologically-focused villain, not to mention Carolyn Trainer / Lady Ock. Jimmy Six is Ben's connection to the mob scene, and Ben's got his own Lizard (although not a particularly interesting one). The Jackal functions as Ben's Green Goblin, and his Venom is Kaine. I could see someone like Helix in a Kraven sort of role, maybe.
If anyone wants to do the legwork, it'd be interesting exactly which villains JMD wrote back in the 90s. Was he focused on Scrier and Judas Traveller completely, or did he write some villains we might expect to see back?
-Pav, who is curious...
You were Spider-Man then. You and Peter had agreed on it. But he came back right when you started feeling comfortable.
You know what it means when he comes back.
"You're not the better one, Peter. You're just older."
--------------------
Closet full of comics? Consider donating to my school! DM for details
My hopes for whatever is gonna happen in the main Spidey books with either Clone Conspiracy's Not-Ben or a Beyond/Multiverse New-Ben remain exceedingly low.
But this? Actual new stories with actual proper, our Ben. And written by DeMatteis!??!? I haven't picked up an actual physical comic for a good few years now, instead just grabbing trades of the few characters Marvel/DC are still occasionally getting right. However, when #1 of this hits the stands, I'll be standing outside my nearest comic-book store, waiting for 'em to open.
"The rules of regeneration are known!"
"Sorry, what did you say? Did you mention the rules? Now, listen. A bit of advice: tell me the truth if you think you know it,
lay down the law if you're feeling brave, but never ever tell me the rules!!"
Idle thought time - what if this takes place during SM: Redemption? There's a fairly lengthy timeskip between Janine's return and Kaine blowing it all up which is covered in a quick montage. And, since Janine doesn't appear anywhere else, nothing else takes place in that timeframe, making it an open book with no other raindrops to dance around. And, of course, it would be a midquel to JDM's own story.
Speaking of Janine… you guys might get a surprise today in the newest ASM issue (I mean a different surprise).
Beyond will probably use her as a hostage to force Ben to do their bidding when he starts becoming suspicious of their motivations is my guess.
I’m generally not a fan of the overused term “fridging”, but if they bring Janine back just to ice her then that’d be really cheap.
Seconded, I feel she's not making it out of this.If she does, Ben isn't.
It's either gonna be She dies when Ben retaliates or she snaps Ben out of it, Ben gets back to his senses and helps Peter take Beyond down but dies in the process.I don't think we will get them riding of in the sunset.
I guess we'll have to see, oh and btw can anyone remind me why she is in prison?