Marvel Entertainment has released the cover for Miles Morales: Spider-Man #33, which hints at what will become of the Spider-Man legacy that Peter Parker laid the foundations for. The cover indicates that it will be a part of the Beyond Saga arriving in October. The issue will depict a struggle between Ben Reilly, Miles, Shift, and the Beyond Corporation, which Ben is working for.
The issue will be written by Saladin Ahmed and feature art by Michele Bandini, and the cover is drawn by Taurin Clarke. The cover indicates that it is a tie-in story to Spider-Man Beyond, where Ben Reilly will become the new Spider-Man, and follows the upcoming clash between Miles and Ben in The Amazing Spider-Man #81. That story, based on the cover and issue summary, promises that Ben will be ordered by the Beyond Corporation to hunt down Miles in order to protect their trademark on the name "Spider-Man."
However, Ben is not the only Spider-Clone featured in this saga. Miles Morales: Spider-Man #33 shows Miles standing in a defiant pose on the roof of a Beyond Corporation building, with a painted red X crossing out the company's name. Standing with him is his own clone brother, Shift. The description states that the fight between Ben and Miles will be sending the Morales brothers on a quest with dire consequences, and poses the question of what it all means for Ben Reilly's future. Enjoy the cover and solicit information from Marvel below:
- MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #33
- SALADIN AHMED (W) • MICHELE BANDINI (A) • Cover by TAURIN CLARKE
- VARIANT COVER BY MATEUS MANHANINI
- DEVIL'S REIGN VILLAINS VARIANT COVER BY INHYUK LEE
- BEYOND TIE-IN! The events of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #81 open up a can of worms and send Miles and Shift on a quest that will have dire effects on both of them. What does this mean for Ben Reilly? Keep reading, True Believers!
This upcoming battle between the Spider-Men will actually see two Spidey clones facing off. Ben Reilly's history is rooted in Spider-Man: The Clone Saga, which started in the '70s and was then revived in the '90s. Miles’s own Clone Saga just ended recently, with Shift saving Miles from his evil clone brethren and helping the young Spider-Man to save their baby sister, Billie. Furthermore, due to some germ-sharing shenanigans between the baby and Shift, his immune system has cured his body of the cellular degeneration Spider-Man's clones are frequently plagued with.
Shift being involved in this story represents a new direction in the clone's life, actively helping Miles tackle the Beyond Corporation while also defending their right to bear the Spider-Man name as Peter Parker's acknowledged proteges. It’s almost tragic to see that two Spider-Man clones, beset by similar struggles in terms of their identity and the suffering they've been through, will be forced to clash with each other in this way. Both Shift and Ben Reilly (the former Scarlet Spider) have had pasts as villains, both have fought hard to cure their cellular degeneration and find redemption, and both have had to struggle with their identities when placed alongside the original Spider-Men.
Ben's role in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #33 has yet to be fully defined. While the upcoming issue seems to indicate a longer-term conflict between the Morales brothers and Ben, how that struggle will resolve itself can go in any way, especially given the Beyond Corporation's villainous history. Perhaps Ben will have a change of heart and try to help Miles take down Beyond. Maybe he and Shift will find a sort of kinship together. Or maybe it will end up being a battle for the ages that will decide who is the true inheritor of the Spider-Man legacy - Peter's clone, or the hero he helped train. Readers will have to wait for Miles Morales: Spider-Man #33's release on December 1, 2021, to find out.
Source: Marvel