REVIEW: ‘Amazing Spider-Man,’ Issue #92

Amazing Spider-Man #92 is written by Jed MacKay from a plot by Kelly Thompson, illustrated by Sara Pichelli with Fran Galan and Ze Carlos, colored by Brian Reber, and lettered by VC’s Joe Caramagna. It’s published by Marvel Comics. Following their battle with the Queen Goblin, Peter Parker and Ben Reilly have traveled to Beyond’s secret lab on Staten Island. However, Ben is determined to confront Beyond’s CEO Maxine Danger and get back the memories she ripped from his head. To distract Peter and the Daughters of the Dragon, he’s unleashed the most dangerous being in the lab: a highly mutated version of Curt Conners, aka the Lizard.

The Beyond Saga has only utilized a few classic Spider-Man villains during its run, but the Lizard has to be the most terrifying of them all. Galan draws the newly mutated Lizard as a cross between Godzilla and a dragon, with massive wings protruding out of his back – and his size has doubled. On top of that, Reber colors his scaly skin a sickly green; it turns out that the Lizard’s mutation stems from another Spider-Man villain that Ben faced during the beginning of the Beyond Saga. The abominations against science don’t stop there; on his way back to Beyond HQ, Ben is attacked by a horde of flying sandwiches. Yes, this is a Spider-Man comic with flying cannibal sandwiches.

This insanity is tempered with some genuine emotional heft, courtesy of MacKay’s script and Thompson’s story. While half of the issue is dedicated to the Lizard fight, the other half features Ben making his way through Beyond HQ. Bullets don’t stop him, the sandwiches don’t stop him…nothing Maxine throws in his way slows him down. What should be a chilling moment is offset by Ben’s narration, which paints him as determined to recover his memories, no matter the cost. “I’m not a bad person,” he repeats throughout the issue, even if his actions say otherwise. The only downside is that the outcome of the Lizard fight is being saved for a one-shot next week. I feel that this issue could have wrapped it up in a neat bow.

The art also shifts depending on the scene, with Galan and Carlos handling the Peter portions and Pichelli handling the Ben portions. Caramagna, ever the capable letterer, provides some great sound effects. When bullets whizz past Ben, their trails ar followed by a “Brakka” sound which is depicted in bright yellow. The sounds of the Lizard stomping around are depicted as big red “Booms.” And when a car slams into the Lizard, a massive “Whammm” fills the page.

Amazing Spider-Man #92 sets the stage for the conclusion of the Beyond Saga, with both Spider-Men facing the corporation’s horrific experiments. The last issue will feature a battle between Peter and Ben to see who picks up the mantle of Spider-Man and sets up the next era of Amazing Spider-Man. It’s fair to say that Marvel is kicking off the web-slinger’s 60th anniversary in style.

Amazing Spider-Man #92 is available wherever comics are sold.