Since Wednesday, I have been sharing with you my shameful love of 90′s comics. Much of what was printed back then was gimmicky (can you say “holofoil cover?”) and is justifiably scorned. But in that giant recycling bin of comics from the decade that saw the birth of The Real World, there is gold, my friend. There is gold.
On Wednesday, we reviewed Milestone’s Icon and yesterday we looked at Defiant’s Warriors of Plasm. Today, I confess my most scandalous of passions for it is a disgraceful love I bear for the Spider-Man Clone Saga.
Truly, truly shameful.
Spider-clone Ben Reilly (aka The Scarlet Spider) was the shizzle.
Ben Reilly was the clone of homeboy Peter Parker grown by the Jackal way back in the original 1970s clone saga. Long thought dead, the clone returns calling into question who’s the clone – the guy we know as Ben Reilly or the fella we’d accepted as Peter Parker?
Cue the crazy wall-crawling hijinks!
The Spider-Clone story line spanned all of the spider titles even rolling into one shots and one particular beautifully illustrated limited series, SPIDER-MAN: THE LOST YEARS. One of my favorite writers, J.M. Dematteis, and legendary penciller John Romita, Jr. told the story of Ben Reilly’s missing years. The artwork stunned, drawing the reader into the brooding state of a man displaced from all he knows, striving to find his place in the world.
The saga wasn’t always great and was often downright confusing over the three years it took to tell the tale. There were misses, but – oh man – there were hits. For instance, Peter’s wife Mary Jane gives birth to a baby that is reputedly stillborn, though we are given to suspect otherwise.
And we know that in the MC2 universe that child becomes Spider-Girl.
But what about our universe? It sure does seem that Marvel – a company with strong doubts about the marketability of a married Spider-Man, much less a parenting hero – has disavowed the Spider-Baby as well as the Clone Saga.
It’s not referenced anymore. You can’t get it in a collected trade paperback. Hell, it’s never invited to holiday meals.
The Clone Saga is Marvel’s bastard child.
Maybe that’s why I like it so much? I’m an evil bastard, after all.
These stories are fun, action-packed, and emotional. The saga is a journey of discovery not just for Ben Reilly and Peter Parker, but also for the reader. What does it mean to be you? What are the implications when you become plural? These are big themes told in a big, bold way.
Say what you want, but I like the Clone Saga. ‘Wish I could get it in a bookshelf collection.
November 30th, 2007 at 10:51 am
You know, considering that the current issues of Avengers: The Initiative are heavy with Iron Spidey Clones, it seems like Marvel will forever be intrigued with the idea of someone else under the Spider-mask. Regardless, I agree. Even if, upon retrospection, the clone saga may not be as fun as I remember it, I would pick up a big old paperback collection of it in a heartbeat.
November 30th, 2007 at 11:00 am
In all the fake-outs, take-backs and bullshit, didn’t it turn out that Ben Reilly wasn’t even the original clone? A clone, obviously, but not the one we saw in the 70s.
November 30th, 2007 at 11:39 am
I think the Clone Saga went on too long, and got way too convoluted, but I do think there were some really good things going on too. I loved Ben Reilly. I loved Mary Jane dealing with the pregnancy. I loved Aunt May telling revealing to Peter that she knew he was Spider-Man, and her subsequent death. I thought that was all handled much better than what JMS did. I even liked the Scarlet Spider costume.
November 30th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Too long and convoluted is right. I liked it right up the the point that they said Ben Reilly was the real Peter Parker. I liked him as the Scarlet Spider. I thought he was a neat character. Playing switcheroo and having Peter lose his powers and give up being Spidey… ug.
November 30th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
What Jason said. As long as the storyline played with Ben as the clone trying to find his way in the world and Peter threatened by the return of a version of him that wasn’t cynical and bitter, it worked wonderfully.
When they claimed Ben was the real Spidey and Peter the clone, it was transparently an effort to reboot Spidey as the swinging single non-married dude–stop me if this sounds familiar to you. And coincidentally, that’s right when the storyline went completely off the rails.
I liked a lot of the Clone Saga and am not ashamed to admit it. If they’d kept Ben as the Scarlet Spider and given him his own title, they could’ve satisfied every camp of Spider-fans easily.
What amazes me in viewing “One More Day” is how little Quesada, JMS, etc. actually learned from the failures of the Clone Saga, and how they seem dead-set on repeating history.
November 30th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
There is nothing to be ashamed about, Scarlet Spider Is one of the best Superhero costumes made
November 30th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
No, no. They’re not repeating history. It’s totally not the same. See, instead of a long-lost clone, there’s maybe gonna be some kind of retroactive spell/Superboy Punch! that will mean Spider-Man was never married.
See? See how much better it is?
November 30th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
The Clone Saga is the opposite of fun. It’s convoluted, slow, and overwrought.
November 30th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
As for the Parker baby, I’m pretty sure that was her in this weeks Sensational Spider-Man.
December 1st, 2007 at 9:41 am
Within the Marvel Universe, hasn’t it only been about 3 years since the Parker baby was born? If it’s only been 15 years since the FF were irradiated and Spidey first put on his mask, then the Spider-baby can’t be much more than 3.
December 1st, 2007 at 4:24 pm
I hate that the online community treat the 90′s like the Dark Ages of comicdom. If it wasn’t for my love of comics in the 90′s, I don’t think I’d be here reading them today. There will always be good comics and bad comics.
I loved everything about Ben Reilly, except for the fact that there might have been a chance that he was the genuine Pete Parker. The man invented impact webbing, two of the finest set of threads in Spidey comic history and I never doubted for a second that he was every bit as good at the job as Pete. It’s cool that his costume lived on in the pages of Spider-Girl. On a sidenote, I don’t understand how developments like the Stacy/Osborn twins are supposed to be accepted, but the 616 version of Baby May Parker has to retconned.
December 1st, 2007 at 11:20 pm
It’s interesting how Gwen “matured” after dying. During the clone saga the gwen stacy clone was living in New Jersey with a Miles Warren clone. Then the “real” Gwen knocked boots with Norman Osborne. Which officially makes her the biggest Spidey villian chaser since Aunt May (and you know Aunt May would never let Doc Ock close the deal).
“Seperate beds Otto.”
As for the little girl in One More Day, I think its a possible version of the baby the Parkers lost. The same way Mephisto is showing Peter alternate and older versions of himself, he’s also showing Peter the cutest version of his daughter. Which will hurt Peter all the more when he loses her again.
I think with the benifit of hindsight another Clone story could be done and done well. Kaine and the Gwen clone are still around somewhere. The Jackal could easily be resurrected. He’s a great villian that needs to be saved from the damaged goods department by a kick ass story. Throw in the Punisher, who first appeared alongside the Jackal in the original clone saga, and you’ve got my money. Marvel could do an Essential Clone saga to coincide with the new story. Seems like a money printing operation to me. am I alone?
December 2nd, 2007 at 8:33 am
Not at all, Jason! I’m totally on board with that. An Essentials collection is the way to go…!