The Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond, Vol. 4

The Amazing Spider-Man (2018) (Collected Editions)

by Patrick Gleason, Kelly Thompson, Jed MacKay

The huge finale of “Beyond” is here! Ben Reilly, the Beyond Corporation’s officially licensed and sponsored Spider-Man, has been put through more than any webslinger before him — and now he teeters on the edge of a very deep chasm. Can Peter Parker fight his way back from death’s door in time to help Ben defeat the horrors that lurk behind Door Z? And if so…what lies beyond Beyond?!

COLLECTING: Amazing Spider-Man (2018) 89-93, 92.BEY

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Spider Man, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Superheroes, Fiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published May 17, 2022

About the author

Patrick Gleason is a comic book artist. Among his credits are the 2005/2006 miniseries Green Lantern Corps: Recharge. He has also worked on such titles as Aquaman, JLA: Welcome to the Working Week, JSA, Noble Causes, H-E-R-O, and X-Men Unlimited.

He has been the regular penciller on DC's Green Lantern Corps since its debut in 2006.

Photo by Luigi Novi.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

This final volume looks to pull all the not-too-complicated and quite interesting strands together as a number of heroes together seek to expose the Beyond Corporation and bring it down; Ben Reilly has more important things on his mind, his sanity! A bit underwhelming, but at least it al made sense and was quite readable leaving some pretty interesting foundations for future stories. The best thing about this series so far is the near perfect collaboration by over 10 different creators! 6 out of 12, Three Stars for this one.

2024 read

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben's memories have been tampered with one too many times, and now his psyche is deteriorating around him. With vengeance against Beyond on his mind and the Queen Goblin still wrecking havoc, it's up to the not-quite-recovered Peter Parker to step back on stage and save the day once and for all. It's Spider-Man vs. Spider-Man, and only one will survive!

Controversial opinion, and this is coming from a life-long Ben Reilly fan - I actually really loved this.

Yes, the ending isn't what I really wanted for Ben. We've been down this path before, and it didn't end particularly well for him last time. But the journey we take to get there, the downward spiral that Ben travels in these last few issues of the Beyond era feels realistic and well-established. It doesn't come out of nowhere, and it's very in line with the idea that 'with great power comes great responsibility' defines not just Spider-Man but Peter Parker's very identity.

As for the rest of the story, it's pretty good. Queen Goblin's a nice way to use the previous run's continuity to create a new villain, even though she does leave the stage a bit abruptly once the final few issues shift the action away from her. The .BEY issue that wraps up all the little plot points from the rest of the run, like the Monica Rambeau/Daughters Of The Dragon story, is decent, although throwing it in right before the last issue does kick the momentum a little sideways.

The art stable continues to impress, with entries from Patrick Gleason (including the final issue), Mark Bagley, and Sara Pichelli. Despite Beyond's lack of consistency in terms of art between issues, the overall quality has been undeniably high, and it goes out with the same flair that it's had for the past 20+ issues.

Ben Reilly's journey comes to an end, bringing the Beyond era crashing down around both his and Peter's ears. The ending might not be for everyone, but I'm excited to see where we go next, because as we all know, everything in comics is really a prologue to whatever's on its way.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 4 out of 5]

By this point, every character now knows the evil intent of the Beyond Corporation, which took them long enough, considering that the readers have known since the very beginning. When Ben Reilly, whose mind has been messed with, leaves the scene to save his partner Janine, giving the Queen Goblin to wreak havoc in New York, where Mary Jane is right in the middle of. Not quite fully recovered, Peter Parker is determined to finally step into the spotlight, only Black Cat to stop him, so that she can save the day.

The first two issues of this volume, which are written by Patrick Gleason, is about the Queen Goblin conflict and she is still not well-developed as a character, the Goblin serves as a destructive force for the heroes to face. Drawn by Mark Bagley, he delivers on the action, detailing the level of destruction that the Goblin leaves behind, whilst Black Cat and eventually Peter tries to prevent it. In between the action are the little character moments that give warmth in contrast to the sense of dread, with Peter, Mary Jane and Felicia bonding with each other. Whilst it may feel anti-climactic for how this conflict gets resolved, but based on the epilogues of this run, we may not have seen the last of Queen Goblin.

When Peter reunites with Ben to infiltrate Beyond’s supervillain program in Staten Island, it feels like the two Spider-Men are in good terms and pair up to fight a variety of weird villains from an evil snowman to a half-rooster, half-boxer. A lot of this stuff is very comical as writer Kelly Thompson brings some levity, whilst the Daughters of the Dragon, Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, pop up just in time for all the heroes to face a mutated Lizard, who has gotten bigger and has vampire wings. As fun as that sounds, this too gets resolved quickly as issue #92.BEY serves as filling in the gaps, regarding the supporting cast that had bit parts which weren’t a big deal, such as Monica Rambeau and the Slingers.

Although the Beyond Corporation is the main villain with Maxine Danger leading the cause as she continues to be a hissable character, but just before she makes her escape, she convinces Ben, who was making his way to get revenge and hoping to reclaim his memories, to confront Peter and steal his memories. The double-sized finale written by Zeb Wells features the two Spider-Men duking it out, with Patrick Gleason illustrating the brutality and emotion of the climactic fight. No doubt some readers will be divisive over the story’s conclusion, leaving a lot of things open-ended, including Ben’s fate.

One thing is for certain, is that its conclusion is essentially a prologue for what is going to happen next in The Amazing Spider-Man, which goes back to being a monthly series that is solely written by the aforementioned Zeb Wells and drawn by John Romita Jr. And since this year marks the 60th anniversary of Spider-Man, hopefully exciting stuff ahead. As for this whole experiment that is the Beyond era, whilst it was disjointed and jarring, particularly with the number of artists involved, the writing staff has mostly done an excellent job of presenting a fresh take on the well-loved mythos.

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

This last volume shares the same problems than the others: disjointed narration tampering with the flow of the main plot and unbalanced goofy humor and hard action.
The ending was foreseeable and checks them all: Beyond, Maxine, Ben... No attempt to try something slighty different from what was to be expected. Pity.
Add Queen Goblin as a very poor new villain and you get this 2* rating.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The finale of Beyond!
This 4 part series has rocked the Spider-Man world long enough and we need Peter back in charge of the name. BUT... before that happens, Beyond has to go down!
Highlights:
- With Peter doing PT with a nurse AND with Black Cat and Captain America, he's recovering quickly. Not fast enough to avoid being brought into the fight with Queen Goblin. But she has a trick up her sleeve.... The Goblins Gaze, an attack that is meant to bring all of your worst traits and fears to mind (again, something to do with Queen's creation being brought on by Sin-Eater). Peter is able to defeat it though, as he has lots of memory of support ingrained deep into him
- Peter and Ben team up to take on the Staten Island facility of Beyond Corp, but Ben isn't nearly as stable as he used to be. After the Daughters of the Dragon (Misty Knight and Colleen Wing) show up to help, Ben releases a captive Lizard and leaves them behind, hoping to be able to escape all of this with Janine.
- The fight against Lizard is joined by Morbius, who also was being experimented on. Biochemistry working for the Doc... pop goes the Lizard. (Is he dead? Will we see him back at some point?)
- Monica Rambeau and Machine Man team up in a side story that places them directly against Beyond forces, and the company suffers such loss that their leadership has to pack up and move on, probably starting up again at some point, but gone from ASM for a while.
- When Beyond refuses to give Ben his memories back, he takes it out on Peter and the battle between Spider-Men begins. Poor Ben, with his over reliance on gadgets, never stood a chance.
- Two cliffhangers finish up this run. 1) As MJ suggests that Peter move back in with her (this whole "One More Day" coming closer to biting Pete in the ass again) a very bright presence arrives at her window and states "A road of blood led to you... come with me." AND 2) Ben has been altered by the chemicals of Beyond's destruction. Now, in a green and purple Spidey suit (kind of looking like a cross between Venom and Prowler) he declares himself Chasm. (Love when we get new Spidey villains!)

Overall, this Volume and the entire run was pretty good. Anxious to get back to what ever comes next for our Spider.
Recommend.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no emotional attachment to Ben Reilly, as I completely skipped the 90’s comics and all that clones jazz. So for me to feel anything at all about Ben’s tribulations here, and where he ends up, is a little much to ask.

But does this story land? The backdrop of Beyond Corporation, their evil leader Maxine Danger, and the ways that they manipulate a hero of Ben’s longevity, that’s still read-worthy for me. If there was any reason to dislike the story itself, it’s only marginal, and it’s only because they spent so much time during this run pulling in different side characters that I’m left feeling cheated of a more focused drama that gets a bit watered down.

However: MacKay’s subplot involving Monica Rambeau pays off AMAZINGLY when we get a mini-sequel to NEXTWAVE right there on the page. Now THAT I have strong emotional attachment to, and it’s like someone did a masters study of Ellis’ gonzo writing. Any emptiness I was feeling got filled right up with H.A.T.E.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Geez...what happened? This is terrible. I was really looking forward to this, but the writing is off and the artwork is rushed and muddy throughout. Really bad end to what was shaping up to be a fairly decent story.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Queen Goblin is more than a handful for any Spider-Man. Funny how there isn't one there to save the day. Black Cat and MJ have to fend for themselves as the Queen Goblin does her clean up work for the Beyond Corp. Peter is doing his best to get the old Spider-body up to speed, and Ben......

Ben's not here anymore, man. Tampering with memories is a dangerous thing. Ask any sci fi geek. The old Reilly noggin can only take so much. He's got to get this done before it triggers another episode like we've seen in previous issues. It's a good thing nothing bad ever happens to the Scarlet Spider, or the Jackal, or is it Ben Reilly this time? Who's left in that swiss cheese head of his?

All this, and Monica Rambeau drops the hammer on Beyond....again.

Bonus: Nextwave is back, kinda! (**** yes!)
Bonus Bonus: Albino vampire lizard with wings? must be Nextwave.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
Really enjoyed the Beyond storyline. Great character development. I am sad to see Ben Reilly go...even though he's technically still around. I'm an old school Reilly fan...from the 90's. Always liked his character. That being said, I do appreciate they are willing to make dramatic changes. And how they did it worked.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter comes back to help take down Queen Goblin. She's got a new power the Goblin Gaze where the transformed Dr. Kafka uses her powers to talk you into killing yourself. It's a cool idea. Meanwhile Ben's brain is melting down. I know it's been done before but I thought it was done well here. I loved the semi-return of Nextwave. I'd completely forgotten they fought Beyond as well.

I thought this Beyond run turned out pretty great. It was certainly a nice break after the slog of Nick Spencer's run.

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a hinge fan of the Beyond run but I think it does a good job at deconstructing Ben Reilly for future stories.

[Thomas Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid climax, plus a one-off, kind-of sequel to Nextwave, one of the best superhero comics of all time, imo. Would be five stars if not for the glaring “the end… QUESTION MARK???!?” ending.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series was a lot of fun and a great palate cleanser after Spencer's run which was uneven at best. Great story/emotional beats, lots of action and a rotating roster of amazing artists.

[Brunò · Rating 2 out of 5]

English/Spanish review:

Sooo I think the problem Ben's always had is that he never had a place to grow as a character. When he did have it,the plot was really bad. Beyond had a nice start and then it ended up being a forgettable story. Maybe if it was some parallel series and not the main one and hat to be a short event it'd been nice,but it was rushed and not really well planned.



This volume was bad. That goblin was way too cringe,the way she blabbered psychology stuff and who did care? Why was that goblin created for? Kill off the character? I don't get it.
I don't understand WHAT WERE THE CARTOON MINIONS ABOUT. That was some of the most random/stupid stuff that I've ever seen. I'm surprised ,like,wow. Nobody at Marvel says "dude erase that dumbass shit,it doesn't contribute nothing. I don't like being mean nor like saying this but that's not even fun,why is it here?
Ben had the predictable end that he always has. Can't tell he'll do anything interesting as a new alter ego,guess he won't. At least Pete's back.

give my man a rest.

Español:

Entonces,creo que el problema que siempre ha tenido Ben es que nunca tuvo un lugar para crecer como personaje. Cuando lo tuvo, la trama fue una poronga. Beyond tuvo un buen comienzo y luego terminó siendo una historia olvidable. Tal vez si hubiese sido una serie paralela y no la principal y,fuese un evento corto,hubiera sido agradable,pero fue apresurado y no muy bien planeado.



Este volumen es malísimo. Ese duende es una verguenza,la forma en que balbuceaba pelotudeces de psicología y ¿a quién carajo le importa? ¿Para qué fue creado ese duende? ¿Matar al personaje? No lo entiendo.
No entiendo ¿QUÉ MIERDA ERAN LOS MINIONS DE DIBUJOS ANIMADOS? Eso fué una de las cosas más aleatorias/boludas que ví en mi vida. Estoy sorprendido,onda,dale. Nadie en Marvel dice "amigo,borra esa mierda,no aporta nada. No me gusta ser malo ni decir esto,pero eso ni siquiera es divertido,no entiendo qué hace acá.
Ben tuvo el final predecible que siempre tiene. No puedo decir que hará algo interesante con su nuevo alter ego,supongo que no. Al menos Pete volvió.

Dejenlo en paz,pobre loco.

[Harrison Delahunty · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Beyond storyline ends as a confused, underwhelming mess.

There’s some good art here and even, at times, some decent writing. Gleason pulls double duty as the collection’s best writer and artist, though Bagley turns out his usual solid pencil work (with the level of solidity unfortunately dependent on the inker). Pichelli’s pencils are good as ever, but she’s given very little to work with.

Everything else here is extremely whatever. I don’t care for any of the other writers’ output here, and Wells’s work is especially disheartening knowing what he wound up doing with the book. Galán’s art, which is in a lot of the book, only clicked with me during the goofy vignette with random Beyond employee Doug. Issue 92.BEY has nothing to do with any characters important to the narrative, and dovetails into some other thing I couldn’t possibly care less about.

This volume feels very emblematic of modern-day Spider-Man’s biggest problems. There was clearly a mad scramble made to cobble anything together in the wake of Spencer’s weak, meddled-to-mush run, given that very few issues have just one writer or just one artist. Very little of the arc focused on or had anything to say about Peter Parker as a character (except, blessedly, Gleason’s couple turns as writer), and so much of it focused on ancillary characters that are hard to care about if you’re here for the title character. What’s even sadder is that I know it just gets worse from here. I think it’ll be a good chunk of time before I even attempt reading the Wells run.

[Clay Bartel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I randomly picked up Amazing Spider-man Beyond Vol. 3 after wanting to find an entry point into some Spider-man comics...

Yah odd entry point I admit. But after flipping through the pages I liked the art and Black Cat was featured so I decided to dive in mid story.

So I was missing some details, but I didn't care, I liked it and finished it in just a couple sittings.

So I grabbed Vol. 4 just the other day and white this volume had some zany weird monsters in it, over all I liked what I read and will likely collect Volume 1 and 2 as well as continue with whatever is next in the series.

I've also started collecting the current running series which is around Legacy #900. So far that series hasn't had as good art as Beyond nor as compelling a story.

Since I don't know much about Spider-man comics I can't give much advice on where to start, but Beyond has been fun and seeing Ben and Peter, the two Spider-men play off each other as they try to restore Ben's memory, has lead to an exciting conclusion in this volume.

[Blindzider · Rating 2 out of 5]

While for the most part I enjoyed this Beyond arc more than I thought I would, this volume really fell apart to me. First, the tone is all over the place. It goes from very serious, in which Ben's actions last issue are somewhat redeemed and explained, to very goofy with Peter fighting alongside Misty and Colleen. Then it gets serious again when Peter and Ben confront each other and at this point is where I felt like the characterization for both of them was off. It felt more like the writers were getting to a specific ending and just forced it as opposed to letting it happen organically. So in the end, it didn't feel real, and while I do like that they have completely given Ben a new identity, getting there was bumpy and a little unnatural. On top of all that, the art varied tremendously from not very good to only average at best. The writers did put in multiple seeds for future stories, both on the villain side and the return of some other heroes.

[Alex Sarll]

Lots of moping and identity crises and yet another sodding Goblin, some of it with the fig-leaf of characters pointing out how familiar this material is for Spidey - though speaking of fig-leaves, nobody really excuses quite how nineties bad girl the Queen Goblin's look is (and I'm still baffled for many reasons that her intro was one of the comics Marvel were giving away free for Hallowe'en). Plus, it's Morbin' time! But set against that, finally we properly lean into the Nextwave lunacy which should always be in the mix when the Beyond Corporation appear, and there's a lovely little riff on the first Avengers film. The art is an equally mixed bag; the effect used to evoke Ben's fragmentary memories is wonderful, but elsewhere the use of forced perspective intended to suggest bullet time more looks like he's being pelted with dildos.

[Kieran Westphal · Rating 1 out of 5]

man. somehow, Beyond had all the right pieces to be something I'd love. Mark Bagley channeling the highest highs of early Ultimate Spider-Man, a proper return to the characterization of the 90s Sensational Spider-Man-era cast, new explorations of MJ and Black Cat's relationship; every element was so deeply up my particular alley, re: Spider-Man comics. what a shame there was absolutely no structure to the project, the dialogue was consistently hack, and every direction they took that potential was the wrong one. damn. spider-man comics really are dead. long live back issues, I suppose.

I was right to stop buying these every week, near the end of the Spencer run. my opinion would be even more dismal if I had been paying any money to watch this ship sink in real time.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly, the final volume of Beyond reverts to the mediocrity of the rest of the run.

I mean, you can see what they were _trying_ to do, with a bunch of the very disparate plot threads (such as the Daughters of the Dragon and even Monica Rambeau) being brought back together, but it and the final attack on Beyond seem largely perfunctory.

In the end, we get sound and fury, signifying nothing. The entire run is entirely forgettable and can likely be elided in any large-scale reread of Spider-Man, with the exception of the advent of the Goblin Queen, although she's dropped like a hot potato in this volume, even though her plot was one of the few of interest in this run.

[Sesana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just didn't stick the landing. A lot of this volume is a mess, with a too long middle section that doesn't do much other than take up space and sort of explain what was going on with Morbius, but not really. We just kept losing focus of what should have been the main point, that Ben's stolen memories were having a much bigger affect on him than expected. It lead to a rushed and unsatisfactory ending that seems to lead to some extreme changes for Ben. But there's a sort of NEXTWAVE reunion halfway through, so... not all bad.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big finale time and I'm just kinda glad it's all over? It wasn't a terrible series but it was also such a deviation that felt like it came from left field after the bulk of this run of ASM - and it didn't help that they generally kept this as part of this ASM's print run and not like its own mini-series or whatever.

Ben Reiley is a GREAT character, but he's gotten a bum rap across the years and it feels like we haven't really handled him well since maybe the original Clone Saga. His return has been shaky at best and depressing during other times and this book just felt sad at the end.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly, I can't say that SPIDER-MAN: BEYOND ended great as it turns into a issue of NEXTWAVE and the story seems determined to punish and torture Ben Reilly. Here's an idea? Have Ben Reilly become the billionaire Peter Parker in charge of Parker Industries and have all the Dan Schlott good luck! Honestly, the ending just left a nasty taste in my mouth and I really wish they'd just brought down the entire corporation. The fact Maxine Danger doesn't get a proper ending to her story arc could have been done much better too. I only give it three stars because I really do like the Nextwave parts.

[Darik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent resolution to a rather overlong and tedious storyline. Kinda hated all the unnecessary extra characters crammed in here-- every ".BEY" one-shot I ran into during this storyline elicited an increasingly loud sigh from me-- but when it focuses on Spider-Man, it works. And the ending is particularly powerful.

Poor Ben Reilly. Even moreso than Peter, the guy can never seem to get ahead...

[Terrance · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Beyond series had its moments, and its share of strong writers and artists, but ultimately none of those could save it from the overwhelming burden of this generation having grown up on 90's comics. The ending is terrible. Looking forward to yet another refresh, because there is always a good Spider-Man story right around the corner after the bad ones fail to deliver.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

At the end of the day, I just don't like Ben as a character, and I think that heavily influenced how much I enjoyed this run. Like, it makes sense, but watching him purposefully leave MJ in danger makes it hard to remember his likable parts. He's got way too much going on and I'm not interested in it.

[Néstor Vargas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had a great start, it was going somewhere, but I feel like it was fumbled towards the end, the conclusion felt a bit messy and rushed, a bummer because i was enhoying this arc a lot. I love Bagley but his art felt like a huge change of pace for me. The Queen Goblin stuff just vanished. Ben's treatment still bothers me a bit. Maxine was a great villain and I wonder what will happen with her.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

COLLECTING: Amazing Spider-Man (2018) 89-93, 92.BEY

I love the character of Ben Reilly so much, so I'm a little bummed out by where the "Beyond" story took his character, but this collection still had a lot of great content.

[Robert Sienicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would take half a star off for the open threads for future stories, but honestly that felt like something I wanted from Marvel in a long time. Tightly written story, without the need of extensive prior knowledge and wrapped up in four volumes. More this please.

[Belfry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars