Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond #1
Amazing Spider-Man #75 (branded as 'Beyond #1' in trade collections) marks the first time Ben Reilly has held the official Spider-Man mantle since the 1990s Clone Saga, making it the opening chapter of the most sustained clone-replacement storyline in decades. The issue introduces the concept of a corporate entity legally owning and trademarking the Spider-Man identity — a satirical corporate-superhero premise that gave the arc a distinct thematic identity separating it from prior successor-Spider-Man stories. It also serves as the connective tissue between Nick Spencer's long-running Kindred saga and the multi-writer 'Beyond Board' era that carried the title to its 2022 relaunch, functioning as both an ending and a beginning within a single over-sized issue. The arc that flows from this issue ultimately transforms Ben Reilly into the villain Chasm, a consequence that has continued reverberating through Spider-Man continuity.
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The Beyond era was conceived by editor Nick Lowe and initially architected by writer Zeb Wells, who built the premise around Ben Reilly being recruited by a mysterious corporation to become a sponsored, corporate-approved Spider-Man. Recognizing the scope of the story, Lowe assembled a rotating 'Beyond Board' of writers — Wells, Kelly Thompson, Saladin Ahmed, Cody Ziglar, and Patrick Gleason (the latter serving as both writer and lead artist) — modeled structurally on the multi-writer 'Brand New Day' brain trust of the late 2000s. The title was simultaneously returned to a thrice-monthly publishing schedule to sustain narrative momentum, with Sara Pichelli, Michael Dowling, Travel Foreman, and other artists joining Gleason across the run. A short prologue story, written by Wells and drawn by Gleason, appeared in the Free Comic Book Day 2021: Spider-Man/Venom special before the arc formally launched in October 2021.
Trivia · 10 facts
- Published as Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 5) #75, cover-dated October 2021, subtitled 'Beyond: Chapter One'; the 'Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond #1' designation is the trade paperback branding for this issue.
- First appearance of Langston (a Beyond Corporation teleportation operative) in the main story of this issue.
- Maxine Danger, Head of Super Hero Development at the Beyond Corporation, makes her first appearance in ASM #77 ('Beyond: Chapter Three'), NOT this issue — she is listed in the broader Beyond arc but does not debut in #75.
- Main story written by Zeb Wells with art by Patrick Gleason and colors by Marcio Menyz; back-up stories include 'Kafka' (Wells/Ivan Fiorelli) and 'Love and Monsters' (Kelly Thompson/Travel Foreman).
- Arthur Adams served as cover artist for the entire Beyond run, beginning with this issue; multiple variant covers also shipped, including one by Skottie Young.
- The issue establishes that the Beyond Corporation legally acquired the trademarked Spider-Man identity through defunct Parker Industries patents, a concept introduced when Otto Octavius ran Parker Industries as the Superior Spider-Man.
- Peter Parker and Ben Reilly both fight the U-Foes (Vector/Simon Utrecht, Ironclad/Michael Steel, Vapor/Ann Darnell, X-Ray/James Darnell) in the main story; the encounter ends with Peter severely injured and hospitalized, formally passing the Spider-Man mantle to Ben.
- This issue is Legacy #876 in the continuous Amazing Spider-Man numbering, landing in Spider-Man's 59th year of publication; the Beyond arc ran from #75 to #93, concluding in March 2022 before the 2022 series relaunch.
- The Beyond era directly set up Ben Reilly's transformation into the villain Chasm after corporate memory-tampering by the Beyond Corporation erased his foundational memories, a consequence that continued into subsequent storylines.
- A Free Comic Book Day 2021 prologue story ('Test Drive,' by Zeb Wells and Patrick Gleason, in Spider-Man/Venom FCBD 2021) preceded this issue and is collected in the Beyond Omnibus.
Cast · 32 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Spider-Man, working with the Beyond Corporation, stops Bushwacker.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).