The Beyond Corporation has been a thorn in the side of Marvel heroes for years. But what exactly is it, and how have they tormented Spider-Man?
Over the decades, Spider-Man has dealt with a host of colorful enemies with varying motivations. From the Green Goblin to Big Wheel, it’s safe to say nothing could surprise the Wall-Crawler, whether it’s Peter Parker or Ben Reilly.
Spider-sense or no, though, the enemies aren’t going to stop. As long as there’s a chance they might surprise a Webhead, they’ll try.
One of the latest examples is the Beyond Corporation. The group has a history in the Marvel Universe, but is taking their biggest swing yet by setting their sights on Spider-Man. But who are they, and how are they changing strategies to better handle the hero?
The Beyond Corporation has been an extradimensional company that exists solely to play games and wreck havoc on super-powered people. They’ve most famously crossed paths with Monica Rambeau and her Nextwave team, but now they’ve decided to take a more public approach with Spider-Man as their poster boy. After acquiring the legal rights to the Spider-Man name, they took in Ben Reilly and treated him like their star mascot, giving him an upgraded suit, a lovely penthouse, and the chance to be reunited with his love. But as his life unfolded, it became clear that their CEO, Maxine Danger had other plans up her sleeve.
In the public eye, the corporation is best known for distributing their “better Spider-Man” to dispatch villains that appear in the city. However, there are also other heroes that Beyond has put out, like the Slingers. But while Maxine handled the heroic side of things, Beyond had their hands in the pool of villains as well.
So far, they’ve manufactured at least two dangerous entities. The first is a hybrid of The Lizard and Morbius that was essentially a vampiric humanoid lizard. Second, and far more dangerous, was the Queen Goblin, a woman injected with all of the evil of Norman Osborn and set out into the city to wreak havoc. The Assessor — a man who also created clones of Miles Morales after endlessly torturing him — oversaw these creations. To make matters worse, Beyond has also been tampering with Ben Reilly’s memories, erasing them every time he started to catch on to their behind-the-scenes machinations. But this most recent mindwipe has cut so deep that his core tenents, such as great power and great responsibility, have been damaged. But what’s the larger purpose behind all of Beyond’s plotting and planning?
While there seemed initial hints that there might be larger plans at work with the Beyond Corporation and Spider-Man, all points now appear to a simple “because they can.” Beyond is pushing science and people to the limits because they feel entitled to it. On the one hand, while it’s a relief that they aren’t planning a bigger game of world domination, the belief that they could manipulate and experiment however they’d like is equally alarming. Essentially, whether they win or lose, Beyond may not even care. All they know is that they got some interesting data and may use a tactical retreat to regroup and return days, months, or even years later without care of how they affected the lives of both Spider-Men and their allies.
The Beyond Corporation may be one of the vilest organizations in the Marvel universe. However, while they could be reduced to a joke that has gotten away with making carnivorous sandwiches, they’re also incredibly forward-thinking. Because of their intrepid and twisted outlook on science, it would be no surprise if this entire arc fit in their longer-term experiment, and the outcomes mean next to nothing, which could have made them the deadliest Spider-Man villains ever.
About The Author
For all the latest Comics News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
