Warning: contains preview pages for Amazing Spider-Man #88.Bey!
The Prowler, a longtime Spider-Man ally, has a tragic solution to the collateral damage caused by superheroes in Marvel Comics—crowdfunding! In a preview for Amazing Spider-Man #88.Bey, on sale February 9 in print and digital, Hobie Brown, also known as the Prowler, has launched a new crowdfunding platform to help people, but he feels it is not enough and seeks a new and better way—one that could take him all the way to the sinister Beyond Corporation.
There have been several incarnations of the Prowler in Marvel Comics; Hobie Brown is the first and most notable. A disgruntled teenage prodigy, Hobie created the Prowler alias and set out to rob The Daily Bugle, which brought him into conflict with Spider-Man. However, Prowler’s heart was not into villainy, and he quickly amended his ways, becoming one of Spider-Man’s staunchest allies. Recently, Peter Parker suffered a serious injury, that took him off the table for a while. As he recovers, his clone Ben Reilly has stepped up and taken on the role of Spider-Man. The Beyond Corporation has purchased the rights to Spider-Man’s name and likeness, essentially making him a corporate hero. As the “Beyond” story continues to unfold, it becomes clear that the Beyond Corporation has a dark and sinister agenda of their own, one that threatens to ensnare the Prowler. The issue is written by Geoffrey Thorne, illustrated by Jan Bazaldua and Jim Towe, colored by Jim Campbell and lettered by Joe Caramagna.
Marvel provided AIPT with preview pages, shared below. The Prowler has been drawn back into the superhero game by Knull’s attack on Earth, and readers learn he has started FairGray, a crowdfunding platform. The Prowler wishes to help people through this platform, but he is not satisfied, feeling he can do more. He tells his friend Mindy about a client on the platform: a young girl, named Yasmin, caught in the crossfire between the Avengers and alien invaders. Hit with a ray beam, the young woman has slowly been turning to diamond, and is trying to raise money on FairGray to make her house more comfortable until she dies.
The preview ends there, and readers must wait until February 9 to see if the Prowler can carry through on his mission, but it also shows one of the unfortunate downsides of living in the Marvel Universe. At any given moment, a person (particularly in New York) can find themselves in the midst of a great battle between heroes and villains—and potentially end up as collateral damage. The young girl slowly turning to diamonds is but one example of this, and the Prowler can no longer let it stand. He wishes to use FairGray to help people like Yasmin, who cannot help themselves. The question then is: how does the Beyond Corporation factor into all of this? The preview shows the Prowler as a man of means, possessing high-tech equipment. Yet the Beyond Corporation is even bigger and could provide Prowler with the resources he needs to truly complete his mission—but as seen in the comics, the Beyond Corporation will indeed help him, but it will come at a great cost.
The Prowler, a longtime ally of Spider-Man, has returned, looking to make a difference and help those superheroes traditionally overlook. While his intentions are admirable, it may prove to be his undoing.
Source: AIPT