Warning! Spoilers ahead for Amazing Spider-Man #87
In a new preview for Marvel Comics' upcoming issue of Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker isn't allowed to return to webslinging until he can prove himself to Captain America and Black Cat. While Peter has been recovering in the hospital due to radiation poisoning, Peter's clone Ben Reilly has taken over the duties of Spider-Man (while also being a corporately-backed superhero hired by the Beyond Corporation). However, now that Ben himself is potentially compromised, is Peter ready to resume the mantle of Spider-Man in New York?
Thus far in Amazing Spider-Man's current Beyond storyline, Ben Reilly has continually grown less fond of his new employers, distrusting them, their bottom line, and their ulterior motives. Likewise, his most recent battle with Doctor Octopus saw the classic Spider-Man foe reveal the real reason Beyond chose Ben to be their Spider-Man, along with some of the darker secrets the company doesn't want its personal Webslinger to know. As such, Beyond has begun the dangerous process of wiping Ben's mind against his will, something that could become incredibly compromising where Reilly may end up losing the core of who he is beyond being Peter's clone.
Now, the new preview for Amazing Spider-Man #87 from writer Zeb Wells and artist Carlos Gómez sees Captain America and Black Cat whipping Peter Parker back into shape. Unfortunately, the healing process for Spider-Man has been a slow one, and prior issues have actually seen him failing to stop a pair of simple carjackers (a failure witnessed by Captain America himself). As a result, it looks as though Steve Rogers and Felicia Hardy want to make sure Parker is back to full fighting form before they'll allow him to don his mask once more (in a very literal sense). Here are the preview pages and synopsis for the upcoming issue:
BEYOND, CHAPTER THIRTEEN
With NYC reeling from Doc Ock’s attack, Captain America and Black Cat need to know something...if Ben Reilly is really down, is Peter Parker able to step up and be Spider-Man again? You may think you know where this story is going, but you do not.
It seems as though Cap and the Cat are quite serious, seeing as how Parker has no choice but to bring back the Bombastic Bag-Man in place of his usual spider suit. However, it does make sense. Withholding the suit creates a significant goal for Peter to work towards while proving his skills to someone else who can make sure he's capable and back to full strength instead of Peter deciding on his own and jumping back into the swing too early (which is exactly what he did in earlier issues).
In any case, it should be exciting to see Peter retraining with Captain America and the Black Cat, focusing on the fundamentals of being Spider-Man so that his official return can be a great success. Furthermore, Peter's return should be soon with the Beyond era set to come to a close in March with a battle between Peter and whatever Beyond has tragically turned Ben into after manipulating his mind. While Ben can hopefully be saved, it will still be good to see Peter Parker becoming Marvel's original Webhead once more as Amazing Spider-Man continues. The full Amazing Spider-Man #87 releases on January 26th.