After 40 years, we finally make peace with the existence of Scarlet Spider aka Ben Reilly, Spider-Man’s much-maligned clone.
IF there is one character I spent (almost) my entire life hating, it would have to be Ben Reilly aka Spider Clone/Scarlet Spider.
I didn’t even realise that Ben has been in around for 50 years, if not for some random Googling revealing his debut in July 1975 (via the pages of Amazing Spider-Man (vol.1) # 149).
What’s more shocking is that I was only two-years old then and he may have been my earliest connection to the “hate” emotion. As to why I dislike Ben (then and today) is down to the fact that he was touted as Peter Parker’s replacement.
Those days, comic book characters and tales were gospel and more “real” than wrestling scripts. Characters had a life of their own, multiverses were cautiously explored, we never blamed the Skrulls, and resurrections were a big no-no!
Ben and Peter faced off for the first time in Amazing Spider-Man #149 in 1975.
But his creator, the late Gerry Conway, had other plans, as in between all those unwritten rules, the subject of cloning was a grey area... an area “violated” by Professor Miles Warren aka the Jackal. Miles was obsessed with his late student Gwen Stacy, who was killed by the Green Goblin. What further fuelled his obsession was the knowledge of Peter being Spider-Man, whom he blamed for making Gwen the Goblin’s target.
To address his obsession, Miles cloned Gwen and Peter, albeit after a few unsuccessful attempts due to cell degeneration. Eventually, he succeeded and pitted his Spidey-clone against the original Spidey – and here’s where the starting point of the never-ending clone saga begins.
In Amazing Spider-Man #149, there is a scene where two Spideys awaken in a stadium without a clue of who the other was.
Both believe that they are the real deal, but that is secondary as Miles (in his Jackal guise) forces them to battle with a captive Ned Leeds as bait.
To up the stakes, rigged the place with explosive which is set to detonate in a short space of time. Midway during the Spidey(s) battle, the Gwen-clone snaps out from her hypnotic trance (placed by the Jackal) and tells him how much she hates him. This leads to the Jackal having a breakdown and redeeming himself by saving Ned before the place explodes.While Spidey, Gwen and Ned survived the explosion – the main question is... which Spidey?
Ben’s death in Spider-Man #75 proved once and for all that Peter was the, well, real Peter and not a clone.
Half-a-century ago, things were less complicated, and it was addressed (inconclusively) by the next issue that the “surviving” Peter is the real-deal, simply because of his ongoing and recent affection for Mary Jane. Also, the powers-that-be at Marvel didn’t bother (thankfully) to exploit the notion of a second Spidey, until...
Six years later, What If ? (vol. 1) #30 toyed with the idea that the Spidey-clone survived the explosion and instead of fighting one another – they team up and help each other manage the Peter-Spidey multitasking dilemma.
Had this been the actual outcome, Peter’s life would be a doozy, which is not the case outside this What If ? multiverse.
Inevitably, Spidey’s clone did return (Web of Spider-Man # 117) and came to terms that he is not the real Peter by adopting a new identity and calling himself “Ben Reilly” – a combination of ‘Uncle Ben’ and Aunt May’s maiden surname.
While Ben’s original intention was just to visit an ailing Aunt May, his return sparked the beginning of the notorious Clone Saga – which led to a proliferation of clones and Spidey variants.
Ben Reilly came to terms that he is not the real Peter by adopting a new identity in 1994’s Web Of Spider-Man #117. — Photos: Marvel Comics
To distinguish himself from Peter, Ben dyed his hair blonde and adopted the guise of Scarlet Spider. Ben (re)started his crimefighting career in style by defeating Venom and he even had a new lineup of rogues to accompany him.
However, he didn’t need much of a makeover, as Peter decided to step down (for the sake of MJ and their unborn child). The passing of the Spidey mantle to Ben was supposed to be a smooth transition but ... Ben wasn’t Peter, institutional memory and experience-wise.
After two years of confusion, Ben’s Spidey stint and life ended in Spider-Man (vol.1) # 75 – reaffirming Peter’s return as Spidey and the end to the clone madness... or so we thought!
Somehow Ben seems to have a “resurrection” alarm that gets triggered almost every two decades.
In 2017’s Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy series, Ben returns from the dead by way of mind transfer.
Initiated by the Jackal, Ben‘s mind is repeatedly and forcibly transferred to new clone bodies. This torturous process drives Ben to the brink as he ends up becoming the new Jackal.
The driving factor for this is that Ben saw potential in utilising a new cloning process (which included a better memory transfer) to save humans from death and disease.
The Clone Conspiracy event saw Ben take over Miles Warren as the new Jackal.
But here’s the catch... this would involve genocide and transferring memories to super-clones – the introduction of a new breed known as “Reanimates”. Thankfully, Peter manages to convince Ben to put an end to his madness, but look out for a rehash of this in future.
If you think this revelation is mind-blowing, Ben does a few more “U-turns” by revisiting his Scarlet Spider role, then dies and returns as Spidey, then becomes a villain named Chasm, and then occasionally becoming the Scarlet Spider/Spidey – earning him the dubious title of being the most resurrected character in comics – and also earned him the “honour” of being favoured by Lady Death (eat your heart out, Thanos!).
Being a “carbon copy” of the original Peter Parker isn’t the main/only problem Ben has. The bigger issue is he doesn’t fit into the Marvel Comics universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or even Sony’s animated Spider-verse.
If fans wanted a second Spidey, there’s Miles Morales or even the animated Peter B. Parker.
If Ben is the silver bullet to Peter’s perennial multi-tasking issues, well after reading four to five monthly Spidey titles, long-time fans are probably used to it by now.
And if Ben’s technical “know-how” on the subject of clones/reanimates is his niche, there are already Skrulls and the Multiverse.
In short, Ben Reilly is a character out of time and better off confined to What If? tales.
With that... I have finally made “peace” with Ben.
