The following contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #16, on sale next week from Marvel Comics

As you may or may not know, Amazing Spider-Man is currently a split book, with every other issue starring a different Spider-Man. There is the REAL Spider-Man, Peter Parker, who has been knocked into outer space, where he has befriended a group of aliens, and is training himself to get stronger to return to Earth to take down Hellgate, the mysterious being who showed up, kicked Spider-Man’s butt, and then stranded him on another planet.

While Peter is gone, his former enemy turned helper, Norman Osborn, has taken over as Spider-Man, using Osborn technology (and his own Green Goblin-serum-derived strength) to mimic Spider-Man’s abilities. Ben Reilly, meanwhile, is impersonating Peter Parker so that he can, in effect, take the life he feels was “stolen” from him for all these years.

The rest of the “Spider-crew” (Miles Morales, Silk, Araña, Ghost-Spider, and Spider-Boy), seemingly convinced Osborn to give up his Spider-Man identity in Amazing Spider-Man #12, but in Amazing Spider-Man #14, Osborn was drawn back into being Spider-Man when “Peter'”s boss was almost killed. In this CBR exclusive preview, we see the after-effects of all of these various pieces of the puzzle.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #16 (LGY#980)

JOE KELLY (W) • JOHN ROMITA JR. (A/C)

PIXAR TOY STORY HOMAGE VARIANT COVER BY MARCO FORCELLONI

AMAZING VISIONS VARIANT COVER BY LEE BERMEJO

AMAZING VISIONS VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY LEE BERMEJO

FROM THE CHAOS A COSTUME VARIANT COVER BY SIMONE DI MEO

VARIANT COVER BY DAVID MARQUEZ • VARIANT COVER BY TBA

THE RESOLUTE SPIDER-SLAYER!

• Part of being Spider-Man is facing horrific scientifically wondrous SPIDER-SLAYERS!

• This new Spider-Slayer is particularly dangerous and endangers not only Spider-Man but the new teen hero KINTSUGI!

• Aunt May drops some wisdom that you won’t forget anytime soon!

32 PGS./Rated T …$4.99

In the preview pages, we see four separate conversations all happening at once. The first of the conversations is Ben Reilly talking to his girlfriend (the anti-hero known as Hallow’s Eve, who has the ability to gain powers through magical “masks” that she wears) about how weird he feels taking over Peter’s life, and whether he owes Peter more than this.

The second conversation is Norman being warned by the Spider-crew through a Spider-tracer that they know that he is Spider-Man again, and they are telling him he has got to stop.

The third conversation is between Aunt May and J. Jonah Jameson, who has become an ally of Spider-Man recently (and who knows Spider-Man’s secret identity), and wants to see if May has noticed anything wrong with Peter recently. May has a new boyfriend, and she amusingly tells her new beau that they might have to meet up with her 60-year-old former step-son (May married Jonah’s dad, but he passed away).

Finally, Tombstone is not handling Spider-Man’s more brutal tactics (due to Norman Osborn being Spider-Man) well, and he enlists a brand-new villain, Plague X, who debuts in these pages, but you’ll have to pick up Amazing Spider-Man #16 next week to actually see Plague X in action!

Source: Marvel