Warning! Spoilers ahead for Amazing Spider-Man #76
In a new preview for Marvel Comics' latest issue of Amazing Spider-Man, on sale now, it's revealed why Peter Parker is going to need to be replaced as New York's primary Wallcrawler. While facing the U-Foes in the previous issue alongside his clone Ben Reilly, Ben's suit protected him from X-Ray's radioactive gas while Peter's did not. Now, the preview for Amazing Spider-Man #76 offers a first look at the aftermath, showing Peter being taken to the hospital after becoming deathly ill from the encounter.
Amazing Spider-Man #75 was the start of a new era for Spider-Man, known as Spider-Man Beyond, seeing a new creative team taking the series in a whole new direction after the conclusion of Nick Spencer's Sinister War and the final reckoning with Kindred. However, it looks as though this new era won't be seeing Peter Parker in the titular role. His trip to the hospital notwithstanding, the Beyond Corporation has selected Ben Reilly to be their new corporate-backed Spider-Man, as they now own the trademarked name and likeness of the Webslinger (thanks to Doc Ock's time as the Superior Spider-Man).
The preview for Amazing Spider-Man #76 - from Zeb Wells and Patrick Gleason - sees Ben taking Peter to the hospital before calling both Peter's Aunt May and girlfriend Mary Jane. While the clone of Spider-Man pretends to call them both as Peter, May is smart enough to realize her nephew wasn't the one on the other end of the line. Mary Jane arrives just in time to see Peter taking a turn for the worse while his spider-sense is going crazy, trying to warn him of the danger within his own body. Here are the preview pages and the synopsis for the issue:
- AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #76
- The unthinkable has happened.
- Zeb Wells and Patrick Gleason will remind you why you love (and hate) comics.
Unfortunately, the synopsis doesn't reveal much other than the potential implication that Spider-Man could very well die from the excess radiation in his body. The preview pages do suggest that the Beyond Corporation doesn't know Ben took Peter to the hospital, as he turned off his HUD before taking him. Naturally, they would most likely want Ben Reilly to limit any contact with the original Spider-Man from a legal standpoint, but Ben might as well be Peter's brother (albeit an estranged one).
In any case, while a new Spider-Man was already set up before Peter required a replacement, the new preview shows that he's certainly going to need one now. Even if the original Spider-Man does survive the radiation poisoning, it's likely that he'll need some time to recover and heal. As a result, it looks as though Ben Reilly is going to be taking over as the new Spider-Man, despite being sponsored by an enigmatic corporation whose motives are as of yet unclear.