Prelude[]

After his loss of formative memories by the Beyond Corp and his "death" as Spider-Man,^[2] Ben Reilly has been reborn as Chasm, the twisted cloned counter to Spider-Man. After a year of preparation and set up, Chasm partners with the Goblin Queen in a scheme of revenge.^[3]

As both want to take back the lives they felt they were robbed of by their originators: Spider-Man and Jean Grey respectively. Madelyne creates the Tree of Exquisite Liberation, the fruit of which can force a soul from the owner for consumption, granting the consumer full understanding of the one absorbed. With this, Chasm seeks to kill Peter Parker and take his soul, knowing everything about him and usurping his life. Concurrent to their planning, Madelyne endows dark magical powers into Janine Godbe, soured by the world's denying her a chance to make a life, and is reborn as Hallow's Eve to aid in Chasm's dark venture.^[4]

In the midst of a time paradox experience, Eddie Brock the King in Black has lost his son, Dylan Brock a.k.a. Codex, to Bedlam and Meridius, time paradox future versions of Eddie's. After Eddie escapes from the pull of the Garden of Time, he meets Madelyne Pryor and explains his title and mission to return to his son on Earth. Finding resonance to Eddie's title and single parent status, she proposes a mutual alliance for helping Eddie save Dylan in exchange for him helping with a plan of a friend of her's.^[5]

Main Event[]

When Peter and the X-Men go about their respective Christmas festivities, Chasm and Goblin Queen commence their plan to take from their respective progenitors. To accomplish this expeditiously, Ben leads her demon army to attack New York City while Madelyne and Hallow's Eve lead Venom in their endeavor against the X-Men. However, Eddie Brock had his mind and memory warped by Madelyne into the feral lethal protector he originally was that hated Spider-Man. Arriving on Earth, Venom frenzied to eat Spider-Man's brains while Ben brutalized Norman to prevent his helping Peter.^[6] With New York engulfed, Spider-Man trusted the X-Men to resolve matters as they did once before, and found Ben, corrupted and warped into the villain Chasm. As Venom occupied Spider-Man in a fight to prepare a magic ritual, he completed other tasks before reaching Peter for a round two.^[7] Chasm tricks Peter into wanting to go to Limbo to save Robbie and Jonah, trapping Peter in the infernal dimension.^[8]

As Chasm forces Peter into a demonic parody of his young life, Peter refuses surrender after deducing that Chasm needed his consent for whatever magic he needs from him. With a stitched together costume, Spider-Man and Jonah trick demons playing as DB reporters into leading them to an escape, with help from Limbo's "hero," Rek-Rap. With Chasm indulging in turning her demons into parodies to fight Spider-Man, Madylene begins to question their arrangement.^[9] After Jean brokers peace and gives her memories of raising baby Nathan,^[10] Madelyne agrees to call off the invasion. However, Hallow's Eve doesn't take kindly to this and steals Madelyne's Scythe of Sorrows to give to Chasm, becoming King Chasm of Limbo. Newly empowered, King Chasm bests Spider-Man and Rek-Rap before leading Limbo's demons onto New York, but the X-Men and Madelyne join with Spider-Man to stop the madness.^[11]

King Chasm and Hallow's Eve lead a demonic attack on New York, while the X-Men and Spider-Man (with Rek-Rap) battle the demons of Limbo and Chasm respectively. Although outnumbered, the X-Men help Madelyne until she summons the totality of her power for a dominance play to compel the demons into submission. As Spider-Man and Rek-Rap nearly lose, they are aided by the timely arrival of Ms. Marvel and Gold Goblin, long enough for the X-Men to return and help suppress Chasm. With no win in sight, Chasm uses the Scythe to teleport Hallow's Eve to safety before he is depowered by Madelyne. Not wanting the cycle to continue, Madelyne seeks to punish Chasm in her way and asks the X-men for help, taking until Spring to establish the Limbo Embassy, where Ben Reilly will remain imprisoned, and Madelyne shall try helping anyone seeking Limbo by healing them of their darkness.^[12]

Tie-In Stories[]

Gold Goblin[]

Cleansed of his sins^[13] and haunted by the guilt of his past evils, Norman Osborn is dubbed "Gold Goblin" by the press after his helping Spider-Man defeat the Hobgoblin.^[14] Despite wanting to divorce from the Goblin moniker, Norman suits up as Gold Goblin again to capture Jack O'Lantern (Owen Ward), all while living with his guilt.^[15]

Ms. Marvel[]

As Kamala Khan continues her Oscorp internship, Nakia and Bruno are concerned for her as Kamala is uncertain for her own career path. When demons from Limbo invade New York City again, Ms. Marvel's original super villain foe, The Inventor, returns now accompanied by demons, seeking to revenge his death. After Ms. Marvel saves colleague Arjun, she fails to battle Chasm before he casts her to Limbo.^[16]

Mary Jane & Black Cat[]

When the demon invasion from Limbo starts, Black Cat goes to check on Mary Jane, as a friend but also for Peter's benefit, and finds her with powers. Despite Mary Jane's refusal to disclose the origin and emphasis for Peter's ignorance to the truth, both women are translocated to Limbo by an opportunistic Belasco, needing a thief for a special job.^[17] To return home, Mary Jane & Black Cat worked to retrieve Belasco's lost Soulsword from the Screaming Tower, and although they have S'ym's aid and a compass,^[18] Felicia's guilt affects causes her powers to brings bad luck to Mary Jane's powers, which the latter swiftly deduces.^[19] When Mary Jane clarifies acceptance with Felicia dating Peter, her luck powers shift to boost Mary Jane's draw and they defeat the tower guardian, and a grateful S'ym reveals the trap of the Soulsword to bond to the courier for Belasco to kill in order to reclaim it.^[20] Splitting the blade in two to bypass the trap, they return to Belasco to overpower him with his own blade before turning command of Limbo to S'ym as thanks for his help. Back on Earth, the two confirm their sound friendship as Mary Jane introduces Felicia to her family.^[21]

Prelude Issues[]

Prelude[]

Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #14

Venom (Vol. 5) #13

• A trailer was released by Marvel on YouTube to promote this event:

DARK WEB Trailer - Marvel Comics

• Beyond (Spider-Man Storyline)
• Hellions
• Labors of Magik