What If Ben Reilly remained Spider-Man?

[boots]

I think one problem is that Marvel didn't have the necessary long-term planning or the editorial instincts in place. That left the clone saga era vulnerable to last minute changes.

I know I'm speculating on things you weren't suggesting. I'm trying to figure out ways it could have gone, and a reality is that it could have gone in many different ways, which would branch out further.

i'm all for some sensational speculation, mate... i was just clarifying that i didn't think that an identity swap was necessarily the way forward. execution matters though, as you say.

what's funny about the options you list is that even though at the time lot of them seemed too far fetched or off brand...these days? they're almost cute and mundane in comparison.

the postmodernist in me kinda loves option 6 if that was actually the story itself, rather than an irl tongue-in-cheek sitch.

i think (in hindsight) i like a combo of what @iamnotudastraveller's mention of how life story tackled it with defalco's eventual resolution from his clone saga redux mini: have ben take over the civilian ID of peter for however long that lasts until peter inevitably returns, the two of them burying the "who's the clone" bullshit forever, with ben going back on the road.

it leaves the door open for the occasional ben return and neither character is diminished and fandom can eat all the cake.

is it perfect? nope. is there a bit of in-universe story logic and consistency that needs a some massaging? sure. but i think we've all seen a lot of that just comes with the territory of telling a decades long story (maybe just me but i've become fine with harshly fitting retcons in my elderly years).

again. execution.