Scarlet Spider is good, but how can it be great?

[Lukmendes]

10. Yes, I agree. I don't like June. I just don't care about her as a character.

Does anyone like her though? I mean, she just keeps betting, and Ben only cares about her because she reminds him of Aunt May for some reason. There just isn't much to her, the tragic past which we don't even know what it is doesn't help lol.

[Huntsman Spider]

Does anyone like her though? I mean, she just keeps betting, and Ben only cares about her because she reminds him of Aunt May for some reason. There just isn't much to her, the tragic past which we don't even know what it is doesn't help lol.

The most I'm interested in her is as a reflection of Ben's serious attachment issues. For all that he claims he's done trying to be, or be like, Peter Parker, it's pretty clear through "Aunt June" that Ben is deeply lonely and longs for the connections he "used" to have, even if he's burned most if not all his bridges through his actions in The Clone Conspiracy. Perhaps the reason that he doesn't touch base with Elizabeth Tyne or anyone else in his former supporting cast is that on some level, he recognizes what he's become and is too ashamed of himself to face them as he is now.

[Pav]

Bring back the Jackal and his newest experiment, Spidercide 2.0 - a clone of Kaine with his original powers (and costume) as well as the original Spidercide's malleability.

If Kaine is Ben's Venom, then Kaine needs a proper Carnage!

-Pav, who is totally serious about this...

[Huntsman Spider]

Bring back the Jackal and his newest experiment, Spidercide 2.0 - a clone of Kaine with his original powers (and costume) as well as the original Spidercide's malleability.

If Kaine is Ben's Venom, then Kaine needs a proper Carnage!

-Pav, who is totally serious about this...

That's a plot thread left over from Chris Yost's Scarlet Spider that I wouldn't mind seeing picked back up, especially since this would really force Ben and Kaine to work together. I've even got an idea for how to intertwine Ben's story with that of Kaine as Aracely's Champion, namely making Ben the destined champion of Mictlan, the Aztec underworld . . . and it's a kind of punishment for tampering in death's domain with his cloning/"reanimation" experiments.

[Obsidian Spider]

Bring back the Jackal and his newest experiment, Spidercide 2.0 - a clone of Kaine with his original powers (and costume) as well as the original Spidercide's malleability.

If Kaine is Ben's Venom, then Kaine needs a proper Carnage!

-Pav, who is totally serious about this...

I like this a lot.

[Obsidian Spider]

I wish Kaine had his powers from the 90s. We have enough spider people running around with the same abilities. I remember being blown away when Kaine was revealed to be a clone and his powers were Spidey’s on steroids. Stronger, (not sure if he was faster), wall-crawling became The Mark Of Kaine and tearing DOWN wall instead of crawling on them, spider sense became precognitive visions!

He needs these back like Ben needs stingers and impact webbing back.

Also, do we know what made Kaine so angry in the first place? Was it simply that he was disfigured and rejected by the Jackal or was he also tortured or something? I feel like Ben went through more trauma than Kaine. Kaine never seemed conflicted by his Peter morals.

[Pav]

I wish Kaine had his powers from the 90s. We have enough spider people running around with the same abilities. I remember being blown away when Kaine was revealed to be a clone and his powers were Spidey’s on steroids. Stronger, (not sure if he was faster), wall-crawling became The Mark Of Kaine and tearing DOWN wall instead of crawling on them, spider sense became precognitive visions!

He needs these back like Ben needs stingers and impact webbing back.

Also, do we know what made Kaine so angry in the first place? Was it simply that he was disfigured and rejected by the Jackal or was he also tortured or something? I feel like Ben went through more trauma than Kaine. Kaine never seemed conflicted by his Peter morals.

Totally agree. I like the journey Kaine has been on since Spider-Island, but I do miss his original powerset and suit a lot. Same with Ben using impact webbing and stingers - I honestly can't believe we haven't seen impact webbing yet from PAD.

As far as Kaine's anger, I believe Kaine's degeneration affected his ability to think clearly as it got worse. Similarly, I don't think Kaine was imbued with the memories of Peter except very superficially, unlike Ben.

-Pav, who could be wrong...

[Huntsman Spider]

I wish Kaine had his powers from the 90s. We have enough spider people running around with the same abilities. I remember being blown away when Kaine was revealed to be a clone and his powers were Spidey’s on steroids. Stronger, (not sure if he was faster), wall-crawling became The Mark Of Kaine and tearing DOWN wall instead of crawling on them, spider sense became precognitive visions!

He needs these back like Ben needs stingers and impact webbing back.

Also, do we know what made Kaine so angry in the first place? Was it simply that he was disfigured and rejected by the Jackal or was he also tortured or something? I feel like Ben went through more trauma than Kaine. Kaine never seemed conflicted by his Peter morals.

It was implied that the Jackal experimented on Kaine before tossing him out like yesterday's garbage, and that also might have factored into why his powers were amped-up versions of Peter's. As for him being faster, it would be very likely since he was physically larger than Peter (six inches taller and a lot more muscle mass), so he'd have a greater stride compared to Peter and thus be able to cover more distance in a single movement.

Totally agree. I like the journey Kaine has been on since Spider-Island, but I do miss his original powerset and suit a lot. Same with Ben using impact webbing and stingers - I honestly can't believe we haven't seen impact webbing yet from PAD.

As far as Kaine's anger, I believe Kaine's degeneration affected his ability to think clearly as it got worse. Similarly, I don't think Kaine was imbued with the memories of Peter except very superficially, unlike Ben.

-Pav, who could be wrong...

Considering Kaine's clone degeneration turned out to be held in check by the Other when it resurrected him, and its death in Spider-Verse caused the degeneration to return, I'm thinking about how long it's going to take before Kaine starts losing it again mentally. And yes, count me in with the both of you when it comes to Ben using impact webbing and stingers again. A little blond hair dye wouldn't hurt, either.

[Spiderfang]

I don't think I included this on my original list, but what about Ben getting in touch with and working with the New Warriors for a stint? Maybe some crossovers from time to time? I agree that the "special guest appearances" on the Scarlet Spider proper need to be dialed back some. Maybe reintroduce some of Ben's rogues from the 90's, or some of Spider-Man's lesser used rogues. Keep the focus on Ben and his path to redemption.

[Hypestyle]

........ I'm still very not on-board with there being multiple clones out there. until now I thought once "Ben Reilly" was brought back that "Kaine" had died.. so no? Is the latter still in Houston?
what sort of lives have they carved out for themselves? What is the "separation point" where their memories diverge?
never mind. too much for me to keep up with anyway.

[Orbus]

I'd love an arc that contrives to get Ben back in his Spider-Man identity. Like someone drugs or puts him in a VR simulator or something like that and in his mind he lives the life he could have had if Norman hadn't showed up again in Revelations and he remained the one true Spider-Man. Working at the Daily Grind and facing off against his rogues like Doctor Octopus (Carolyn Trainer), Armada, Delilah and the new look Mysterio before his strength of will breaks him out of the fantasy world. Just the visual of putting Ben in the Spider-Man role again would be a WTF enough for people to pick up the book.

Reconnect with some of Ben's supporting cast. Since Garron Lewis was a tasked with tackling organised crime maybe a villain in Ben's orbit tries to get to Lewis by targeting Shirley and Denver and Ben has to come to their aid and maybe even reveal his identity (and the fact that he's alive) to them. I don't know if they'd still have the Daily Grind but maybe in the years between when they were last making cameos in Spider-Man books and now they could have moved to Vegas and Ben could work for Shirley again. Heck you could even bring back Desiree, I'm sure she'd be a working as a model now and could easily come into Ben's orbit.

Speaking of Ben's love interests, I'm sure Janine will have served her time by now, either that or she could have her sentence commuted and Ben could be back with his own red haired love of his life. Not to mention after Redemption good stuff could be done with her, Ben and Kaine.

To be honest I was on board with PAD's redemption arc and frankly I can imagine that in 2018 a darker clone on the path to redemption is a better hook for a book than...well he's Spider-Man but blonde but I'm not sure it's worked out. Most of what I'm suggesting is very niche in the sense it would only appeal to people who are already fans of Ben Reilly but I doubt the book has long, maybe a proper restoration of Ben would end it on a high note or even potentially save it.

And yeah why hasn't Ben dyed his hair blonde again? That was one of his defining characteristics also I feel he could do with a better costume that his 90s Scarlet Spider one. The suit he started off this volume wearing was fine, with a few tweaks I feel it could have worked very well.

[Obsidian Spider]

Okay guys, I got it! I know what this book needs:

A HEIST!

Who doesn't love a good heist film? This is Vegas, after all. The writers need to find a reason for Ben to have to pull and Ocean's 11. This would be a great opportunity to have him put together a crew of fan-favourite characters from Scarlet history. Maybe get some B or C level villains whose potential can be utilized.

Having two guys that look exactly the same could be useful.

I think there's something here...

What do you think?

[Spiderfang]

Okay guys, I got it! I know what this book needs:

A HEIST!

Who doesn't love a good heist film? This is Vegas, after all. The writers need to find a reason for Ben to have to pull and Ocean's 11. This would be a great opportunity to have him put together a crew of fan-favourite characters from Scarlet history. Maybe get some B or C level villains whose potential can be utilized.

Having two guys that look exactly the same could be useful.

I think there's something here...

What do you think?

I feel like this could be a good Black Cat story, but apparently she is busy being evil and hating Peter at the moment. I do like this idea, and hope we get see something like this come to play eventually.

[Huntsman Spider]

I feel like this could be a good Black Cat story, but apparently she is busy being evil and hating Peter at the moment. I do like this idea, and hope we get see something like this come to play eventually.

Thankfully, that's ended as of Venom, Inc. and The Defenders. While she and Peter might not still be on good terms yet, at least she's given up her animosity toward him and is ready to try her hand at being a hero again (maybe). That said, I could see her going to Vegas to get away from Spider-Man . . . only to run into the Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly and/or Kaine).

[Obsidian Spider]

Ooooo... Ben and Felicia. She’d like a Spider with a bit more edge and none of their baggage.