Hopes for Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider (by PAD & Bags)

Good day to you, friend.

Thinking about picking up the upcoming Scarlet title? Me too!

Assuming the title lasts at least a year or two, what do you hope to see?

(Note: those unhappy with Ben's portrayal in Clone Conspiracy may answer this thread's question in a positive manner while still conveying their opinion.)

To start things off:

I hope PAD does some interesting psychological storytelling with Ben and Kaine, in the way that JMD used to in his work with the clone brothers.

I hope we see Ben and Kaine as both allies and enemies depending on the situation.

I hope we see the return of Spider-Carnage!

Oh, and Bagley draws an excellent Morbius, the Living Vampire - I definitely would not mind seeing him pop up as a supporting character!

-Pav, who is all ears...

PAD is a phenomenal writer and Mark Bagley is a legendary Spider-Man artist. I genuinely hate Ben Reilly to death, but if there's one guy that I feel have the power to change that tide, that guy is PAD. I hope PAD gives Ben Reilly his own voice just like he did with Spider-Man 2099 and that Mark Bagley tags along with him for the ride.

I hope to like this series. I have only read about Kaine in the past.

I'm hoping that Ben, listening to his Scarlet Spider side, finds a way to fix the clone degeneration he and Kaine are going through.

I'm also hoping that Ben is able to come to terms with who he is and rid himself of the mental scars Warren left him with that left him so unstable.

Finally I'm hoping Ben can somehow fix his relationship with Kaine and Peter at some point and redeem himself.

I hope Ben gets to wear his Spider-Man costume.
(That won't happen but it's a nice wish, isn't it?)

I thought Ben already cured himself by grabbing one of the webware devices that was broadcasting the degeneration counter-frequency. Kaine was still degenerating because his form of it was different than the Nu-clones, as I understood it.

[QUOTE=SpideyClone;2733375]I thought Ben already cured himself by grabbing one of the webware devices that was broadcasting the degeneration counter-frequency. Kaine was still degenerating because his form of it was different than the Nu-clones, as I understood it.[/QUOTE]

He still has the scars from his degeneration; all the Webware really did was stop it from progressing to fatal levels, kind of like Kaine's original costume. That being said, I hope PAD enables Ben to work towards redeeming himself and reconciling who he was with who he became and who he wants to be now. I also hope to see Kaine not merely "hate" Ben, but struggle with his own feelings of betrayal and disappointment that the "brother" whose example he looked to for guidance for how to be a better man could sink as low as he did in The Clone Conspiracy. My biggest hope is that the two of them do ultimately reconcile and then the book gets renamed "Scarlet Spiders," featuring both Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker as they struggle to move forward from their pasts and embrace a future in which they can be their own men, not merely "shadows" of Peter Parker.

Considering that PAD did a decent job with a "Not Kara" Supergirl, or his Star Trek novels, here is hoping...

i'm actually not that interested in kaine + ben on the reg. i think kaine should turn up for the odd, important arc...but generally i would want a ben book to be about ben.

i'd enjoy seeing ben clash with classic spidey villains but maybe branch out in ways peter hasn't/can't to villains outside the "spider-verse".

i'd like to see him challenge and test the old "power+responsibility" mantra.

also an exploration of what it means to be human and what identity is and how memory shapes us.

i haven't got anything ground breaking or crazy in mind; which is where i'm hoping PAD comes in.

edit: maybe ben does something that has huge flow on consequences for peter's life. like when a member of your family does something on their own but then the [I]whole family[/I] needs to come together to deal with. kinda like how both ben and peter got dragged into kaine's murders but less on the nose.

[QUOTE=DieHard200904;2733758]Considering that PAD did a decent job with a "Not Kara" Supergirl, or his Star Trek novels, here is hoping...[/QUOTE]

He did do some really good [I]Star Trek[/I] novels.

[QUOTE=WebLurker;2734467]He did do some really good [I]Star Trek[/I] novels.[/QUOTE]

agreed. especially the New Frontier series.

[QUOTE=Moriarty;2734509]agreed. especially the New Frontier series.[/QUOTE]

Never read those. I liked his Q stuff best ([I]Q-in-Law[/I], [I]Q-Squared[/I]); I think he got Q in a way other authors didn't (although [I]I, Q[/I] did drag). [I]Vendetta[/I] was decent, if a little long. [I]Captain's Daughter[/I] had some good stuff (although I didn't connect to the modern-day mystery quite as well as the flashbacks). Can't say that [I]Rock and a Hard Place[/I] was a story I liked super well but it was [I]very[/I] funny (which I think is hard to do in prose).

Something weird. Knowing PAD, that shouldn't be hard.

The return of the blonde. Ben always looked better in blonde.

Carnage. Hell, if they're going to insist on this whole anti-hero angle, why not just go full on Spider-Carnage?

Kaine punching Ben in the face. Hard. Repeatedly. Ben was once my favorite Spidey character, but this version deserves it. And I suppose he can get a few licks in to while he's at it.

At least one issue, even if it's just a dream or an alternate universe, where all 3 Parker boys fight side by side, in costume, being heroes. Bonus points if they find a way to include Miles. Spider-Men, indeed.

Perhaps a Multiple Man guest spot? My second favorite X character has been in limbo too long, and PAD is his best writer.

[QUOTE=ZeroBG82;2734655]

Perhaps a Multiple Man guest spot? My second favorite X character has been in limbo too long, and PAD is his best writer.[/QUOTE]

that would be an interesting play on the whole dupe/clone theme.

[QUOTE=WebLurker;2734536]Never read those. I liked his Q stuff best ([I]Q-in-Law[/I], [I]Q-Squared[/I]); I think he got Q in a way other authors didn't (although [I]I, Q[/I] did drag). [I]Vendetta[/I] was decent, if a little long. [I]Captain's Daughter[/I] had some good stuff (although I didn't connect to the modern-day mystery quite as well as the flashbacks). Can't say that [I]Rock and a Hard Place[/I] was a story I liked super well but it was [I]very[/I] funny (which I think is hard to do in prose).[/QUOTE]

Q-in-Law is the only one of those i haven't read. Q-Squared is great. i've read it several times. and Imzadi of course.