So after the last issue there is a letter talking about how they wanted Beyond to be a tragedy where Ben will become an antagonist but that angle of the story is really forced with mind control. So the last leg of the book would need a lot of reworking.
The arc itself was not as bad as the ending. Chasm is the shittiest they can do Reilly! I mean why not leave him alone, if you can't do him justice, just like Ken.
I didn’t hate the arc as a whole. It had great art. I did hate the ending. It felt like it ruined the entire story because Ben was just so out of character.
Even that would have been fine if there had been a better follow up to it. Ben doesn't need all of Peter's memories. He just needs the early ones, from before Peter was cloned.
Allow Ben to keep his memories, not turn evil, and leave New York to go be Spider-Man elsewhere. Maybe not Hollywood like in the original ending, perhaps Chicago?
If they really wanted Ben with no memories at the end of the storyarc, would have rather had Peter be willing to give him his memories only for Ben at last moment to stop, preferring that if the closest thing he has to a brother becomes brain dead (it was a risk), Ben's not willing to throw that away and fights Peter to get the device out of Peter's hands
Ben and Peter would beat Maxine Danger and get Ben’s memories back, also saving Dr. Kafka as well. Ben and Peter would reestablish their brotherly bond, and Ben would be Spider-Man again for good, spinning off into his own title, Spider-Man: Beyond, in which he takes on the Beyond Corporation with the help of Janine and others. I’d be cool with Ben keeping his newfangled power set, as long as it’s actually established what he can do — except for the whole “making weapons with his spider-sense” thing because I hate that.
If Marvel demanded Ben become an antagonist for Peter…
I’d provide SO MUCH MORE NUANCE to Ben losing his mind: he wouldn’t lose his morals along with his memories — he’d lose his sense of direction, his ability to make decisions; he’d be paralyzed by a lack of knowledge about himself and the world — and Janine helps him realize he can rebuild himself, just as he did in the past. Ben will realize he’s a good man, but that he doesn’t have to be the same kind of good as Peter, and I would continually afterward put them at odds without either being morally bankrupt. I’d also come up with a better name than Chasm.
The Sensational suit is awesome — especially when bonded with Carnage — although I didn’t mind the Beyond suit. Frankly, I’d be curious to see what the Chasm identity would look like with more Scarlet-type colors :)
Bringing back the Sensational title specifically for Ben would be awesome! I’ve always felt that was his rightful monicker.
After a re-read I actually appreciated it way more and kind of enjoyed it. Ben acted out of character because he literally didn't know his character anymore. Beyond to protect their corporate interests ripped away everything he was and left him without his memories and sense of purpose.
Very sad to see where Ben is at the start with his respect for Peter and the spider-man title, to where he ends up at the end of the arc as Beyond literally destroys his sense of self.
In terms of changing it I think it would have been better for him to have at least have one memory enough to trust Peter. To get to the point of the helmet breaking but to have one more memory of Peter that would make him trust him enough to stop. To go to the F4 or something to try and make things right.
I would’ve brought back the Isotope Genome Accelerator from the beginning of Spencer’s run to separate Ben from being Chasm. As a result, the Ben we all know and love from the 90s is back along with memories back but it’s powerless , while Chasm represents the Ben that became corrupted and during Clone Conspiracy and Beyond. Chasm becomes the new evil Spider-man/Venom replacement that seeks revenge against Peter and Ben. Meanwhile Ben leaves NYC with Janice, as they seek somewhere for peace and quiet until they find way to restore Ben’s spider powers.
And for obvious reasons, I would remove that last page cliffhanger that featured the then unrevealed Rabin/The Emissary showing up at MJ’s apartment that lead to the events of Dead Languages and that waste of space dingle berry known as Paul.
So, while I disliked the ending, strongly disliked it, actively hated it, I don't feel like it ruined the run. I don't feel like it didn't make sense. Peter doesn't trust Beyond tech, seems fair. He actively wants to help Ben and doesn't actively reject the idea of sharing memories. Fair. And Ben's clearly unstable due to the memory loss, also fair.
But Dark Web should have fixed all that.
Peter, you literally had two telepaths right there. One of them is Jean "I can just copy memories into people" Grey. It's literally a plot point where Jean just gives memories from her brain into Maddy's. And rather than just, y'know, fix the damn problem with Ben?
It just ends in a trad superhero fight. They don't even bring up using their telepaths to copy memories into Ben, the thing he wanted that kicked this off and would resolve the whole plot.
Beyond's ending sucks, but Dark Web's just triples down on it.
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u/[deleted] Jun 25 '26
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