When the Clone Saga was planned as a response to a stagnating character, the original ending was going to be Ben Reilly being revealed as Peter and then ‘Peter’ leaving the city to have his ever after ending with his wife. The first two months after this was used as a showcase of Ben as a solo hero and his own man. I liked that idea at the time, then was excited to see what the Scarlet Spider era was going to look like.
I’ll be honest, looking back, I was underwhelmed. The whole VR/crime story felt half baked and Ben being hired as a gangster’s bodyguard is a bit of a stretch. There was the sense that Ben was a sort of David Banner from the Hulk tv show, travelling from town to town and taking the odd job here and there, but this was supposed to be the era of his staying in the city and making a life for himself and this wasn’t doing that either. It wasn’t the fugitive-esque wanderer, nor the relatable guy trying to make it in the modern world, but a mix of both, where none of it came together.
We got a cast of characters that made no impression, villains that did the same and the who Scarlet Spider era feels like not a missed opportunity, but a wasted one. The writing was sub-par and the art was no better, even old school talent like Gil Kane couldn’t save this. But Marvel got a few new number ones and as a result a few extra bucks from the marvel zombies (including me, not too proud to admit) and the whole Joe Wade/Scarlet Spider II was to my mind another wasted plot thread.
The one thing I did like, was once the treading water was done, we got Dan Jurgens (fresh from an epic Superman run) restarting Spider-Man with the new Sensational title. I think that was more clearly what they were aiming for. It had a new status quo, new uniform, new supporting characters and new/reimagined villains and in one issue, did what the previous dozen failed to, made Spider-Man without Peter Parker a viable idea. But the one highlight doesn’t make up for the rest and while I may one day wade back into the Clone Saga, for now I am going to walk away from this. I may come back to it, but I think that I’ve reached my Maximum Cloneage.
For now, I’m changing focus from Marvel to DC and seeing what their flagship primary colour clad hero was up to in the 90s.
Next Time: Humming the tune of X-Cutioner’s Song.
My Marvel Life 