WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Amazing Spider-Man#93, available now from Marvel.
Peter Parker may have faced his clone Ben Reilly in the final moments of Marvel's recently concluded Amazing Spider-Man run, but it won't be long before the two find themselves at odds once again.
Marvel announced that the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man relaunch will see Chasm, Ben Reilly's new horrifying persona he dons at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man #93, swing back into the action and continue to serve as a serious threat to Peter. The publisher said of the upcoming relaunch, "After 19 issues of hard truths and soul searching, Ben is more aware than ever that something within is missing. Consumed with the idea that Peter is the source for all that's gone wrong in his life, Ben will now swing through the Marvel Universe as Chasm -- a fierce and deeply personal new Spidey foe just in time for Spider-Man's new era, kicking off next month in Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr.'s Amazing Spider-Man #1!"
"Amazing Spider-Man #93 brings us to the end of the mega-arc the Beyond Board worked so hard on," Wells said. "And though this story is coming to an end, Ben Reilly's journey is just beginning. Keep reading Amazing Spider-Man to find out if Peter can pull Ben back from the Chasm." Editor Nick Lowe added, " Get ready to get to know the most terrifying new member of Spidey's Rogues Gallery. Part of the point of 'Beyond' was the creation of Chasm and we have HUGE plans for the artist formerly known as Scarlet Spider, so keep your eyes peeled Web-Heads."
At the end of Amazing Spider-Man #93, Peter and Ben are battling inside of the Beyond Corporation when Ben falls off a ledge and into a pool of chemicals that quickly surround him. Peter attempts to save his clone from the terrible fate, but Ben lets himself be overtaken. Months into the future, Ben is still alive but has taken on a new identity, Chasm. After talking to himself in the mirror for a short time, Ben pulls the Chasm mask over his head -- a mask that causes him to scream "NO..." and "STOP!" -- before he jumps out the window in a new purple, black and green suit.
Along with Chasm, Spider-Man will also face the Sinister Adaptoid -- a deadly mega-villain that houses all the powers of the Sinister Six -- in the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man relaunch. "There's nothing I love more than a giant-size Spider-Man anniversary issue, and I'm pulling out all the -- ah, what does it matter what I think," Lowe previously said. "ED MCGUINNESS is drawing a super-sized Spider-story. Who isn't going to check this out???"
The Amazing Spider-Man #93 comes from writer Zeb Wells, artist Patrick Gleason, colorist Bryan Valenza and letterer VC's Joe Caramagna, with cover art by Arthur Adams and Alejandro Sánchez and variant cover art by Gleason, Mark Bagley, John Dell, Brian Reber, Gerardo Sandoval and Chris Sotomayor. The issue is on sale now from Marvel Comics. The Amazing Spider-Man #1 releases in April.
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