In the final panels of the “Spider-Man: Beyond” event, which ran for nineteen issues of Amazing Spider-Man plus five .BEY tie-in issues (as well as a few additional one-shot tie-ins with other Marvel Comics events), readers were introduced to a new incarnation of a familiar character!
Naturally, this article includes spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #93, which was released on Wednesday, March 30th, 2022 and was the main event in this week’s Marvel Rundown.
Meet Chasm
In the afterword for ASM #93, editor Nick Lowe explained that with Peter Parker here to stay, Ben Reilly had become somewhat narratively redundant. In the press release that accompanies Patrick Gleason’s design for the character, Lowe sounds a little more forceful about the tragic downfall of Reilly.
“Get ready to get to know the most terrifying new member of Spidey’s Rogues Gallery,” Lowe was quoted in the release. “Part of the point of ‘Beyond’ was the creation of Chasm and we have HUGE plans for the artist formerly known as Scarlet Spider…”
If you like the aesthetic of the suit, you may want to specifically take a look at Amazing Spider-Man #83, part of the “Beyond” event, on which Gleason served as both writer and artist (with colors by Morry Hollowell and Nathan Fairbairn and letters by Chris Eliopoulos and Caramagna).
And if you’re wondering why Chasm seems to have some trippy visuals going on with his costume, well, maybe that’s just what happens when you get dunked in “quantum-shifting polymers in a psycho-reductive medium” (don’t try it at home without supervision, kids).
https://twitter.com/patrick_gleason/status/1502725581829455875?s=20&t=S4oae6iJP13Hf0xlMJlFeg
The Beyond Board was comprised of Zeb Wells, Saladin Ahmed, Cody Ziglar, Kelly Thompson, and Gleason, and Wells will be continuing with writing duties on the title as John Romita, Jr. returns for the next arc with ASM (2022) #1.
Amazing Spider-Man
What role will Chasm play in the ASM story going forward? Will you be picking up the next issue of ASM? The Beat wants to hear from you! Give us a shout-out, here in the comment section or over on social media @comicsbeat!
