Review: ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #92 Finds Terror In The Fantastic
by Tony Thornley
Ben Reilly has been betrayed by the Beyond Corporation, that much is certain. In Amazing Spider-Man #92, the penultimate issue of Spider-Man Beyond shows that it’s not just Ben Reilly whose life they’ve ruined.
Kelly Thompson, Jed MacKay, Fran Galan, Sara Pichelli, Ze Carlos, Brian Reber, and Joe Caramagna set all the pieces up for the end of this story later this month.
Beyond’s villain program is much, much worse than anyone anticipated. Now, Peter, Misty and Colleen have to face the terrifying crown jewel of the program- a horrific Lizard-Morbius hybrid! If they make it past the creature, they may be able to help Ben put an end to Beyond forever!
Thompson’s plot is jam-packed with the best kinds of comic book craziness. MacKay takes the plot and adds his fantastic talent for dialogue, especially with Misty and Colleen. (I’m torn with these two between hoping to see them as long-term additions to Spidey’s supporting cast, or seeing MacKay write them.) They’ve created an issue here that makes it clear how terrifying the fantastic superhero world that our favorite superheroes exist in truly is. Not enough writers play with that, and I hope to see more stories of this type get written. (As usual, Caramagna is able to balance the sharp dialogue with the extremely frantic story.)
Though the issue is a bit of artist jam which does drag it down a little, I really enjoyed it. Galan and Carlos split up the Daughters of the Dragon/Peter Parker plot thread. Their work is extremely dynamic, and they depict the creature horror with just the right amount of tension. The chase between the girls and the Vampire Lizard is frightening, but they infuse it with just the right amount of humor to match MacKay’s script.
Pichelli draws the Ben pages, and this is where the issue shines, especially with Reber’s colors over the page. She gives Ben’s determination, as well as his heart to heart with Janine, a strong emotional throughline. The biggest problem with her pages is that her depiction of Ben feels so different from her depiction of Peter, where they should at least look like brothers.
After this issue, I’m excited for the climax of the storyline, and I’m really looking forward to the next phase of Ben Reilly’s story.
Amazing Spider-Man #92 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Overview
The penultimate issue of the story is a lot of fun, but the artist jam nature of the interiors does drag it down a little.
