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Spider-Man’s very own corporate sponsors might just be manufacturing his next big villain, assuming they haven’t done so already.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Amazing Spider-Man #81, available now from Marvel.
Playing the role of a superhero in the Marvel Universe, but the mantle of Spider-Man has long been one of the heaviest there is for anyone to bear. In the case of Ben Reilly, becoming Spider-Man has been emotionally charge, not to mention plenty anxiety inducing, yet the time he has spent back in the red and blue suit hasn’t been especially action packed. Somehow, every direct confrontation so far has ended either quickly or anticlimactically, and that coupled with Ben’s general unruliness has not made his benefactors happy. Thankfully for Beyond Corporation, they know all about manufacturing threats, and they may have just created Spider-Man’s next big problem.
Ever since taking Ben Reilly in as their new, branded Spider-Man, the Beyond Corporation has done everything they can to make both of his lives better. From reuniting him with the woman he loves to supplying Ben with the best possible tech to use in the field, there is seemingly nothing Beyond hasn’t offered, though none of it has made up for the clear ethical differences between the two parties. While Ben is more than happy to work alongside Miles Morales if it means saving lives, Beyond is far from willing to share their branded superhero’s title with someone else, and they’re prepared to do what is necessary for Ben Reilly to be the only Spider-Man if he isn’t.
The Amazing Spider-Man #81, by Saladin Ahmed, Carlos Gomez, Bryan Valenza, and VC’s Joe Caramagna, sees Ben Reilly confronted by Maxine Danger, one of his handlers from Beyond Corporation. When their conversation doesn’t go the way she had hoped Maxine turns her attention to the company’s other concerns, as well as how to deal with them. Unfortunately, that looks to include a new monstrous menace as Maxine peers through the glass holding back Beyond’s latest creation. Even though Beyond Corporation is currently playing the role of would-be corporate heroes, it is clear that whatever they have in store is going to be a big problem, not in the least because of how much it resembles another symbiote.
Beyond Corporation has manufactured plenty of devastating weapons over the years. In fact, during their initial introduction in Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen’s Nextwave, the shadowy organization had kidnapped various heroes and displaced them to another reality in a bid to test and develop weapons of mass destruction that were just as devastating as they were unusual. On top of that, Beyond’s resources are effectively unlimited, so the idea that they would have their own symbiote to experiment on or breed new ones from isn’t so far out there. On the other hand, what is seen in the latest issue could also be the root of the villainous mass of tendrils known as Rhizome who Ben and Miles took down only pages earlier. Of course, what Beyond has developed isn’t nearly as important as what they plan to do with it, which presumably includes taking out the competition.
With Otto Octavius investigating Beyond’s goings on as well as Miles Morales continuing to save lives as Spider-Man despite that name being their intellectual property, it is hard to imagine that they won’t be turning whatever this new weapon is loose to deal with both of those issues. This could easily deal with several problems at once for Beyond, assuming they can get their own Spider-Man to save the day just a little later than necessary. Then again, Ben Reilly has never been one to follow instructions particularly well. Here’s hoping that doesn’t change anytime soon for everyone else’s sake.
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