The city I once knew as home is teetering on the edge of radioactive oblivion
There's a couple of Vampirella books I read as a lad that I both liked and disliked. I'm still a complete stranger to that franchise, but that doesn't mean my nose doesn't home in on the smell of bull dookie when I read it. I'm not even the biggest Ben Reily fan (I like him, just don't love him) and I can tell this book's a stinker
It almost hurts to think about how much potential Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider could have had with the right setting, the right characters, the right narrative. I only hope that if Ben does somehow end up surviving Spidergeddon, that a less egotistical and bitter writer with a modicum of talent can salvage the dumpster fire that was started by Slott, and fanned further by PAD.
The city I once knew as home is teetering on the edge of radioactive oblivion
Let's all chill really. Getting temperamental over the book is one thing, but let's not start telling people off when they're expressing valid opinions.
I admit to being a bit out-of-step earlier, which I apologise for. If people like this issue, good for them, but let's not vilify those who didn't.
Let's throttle back, people; no need to get so aggressive over this.
Yea at the end of the day it really IS just a book, fortunately the damage done to Ben can be remedied with the right plot and writer.
The city I once knew as home is teetering on the edge of radioactive oblivion
No Slott didn’t retcon him to being the Jackel during Spider-Island because in the flashback he found the other Jackel costumes to be silly and went straight for the scarlet suit and Jackel mask. Besides, the Jackel from Spider-Island was another Warren clone who the Queen killed close to the end.
I was completely chill writing that, stop assuming you know a person from reading a forum post. I was being sarcastic because the "Peter David didn't lose his touch" made me seriously laugh. Anyone who says that clearly hasn't read older Peter David comics. His run on Scarlet-Spider is several leagues below his work in the past. His first run on Spider-Man 2099 in the 90s was great and so was his X-Factor run. It's like comparing Jeph Loebs early work like Batman The Long Halloween and then reading his Ultimatum mini series or his Ultimates 3 run and saying he hasn't lost his touch. No one says Peter David can't get his touch back but this run wasn't even remotely close to previous Peter David quality.
People like me are angry because we waited 20 years for Ben Reilly to come back, enduring one fake tease after another of his return. Then, we finally get him back, but Marvel craps all over his character. THEN, Marvel sets up what appears to be a redemption arc for him, just to crap all over his character AGAIN. It's gotten way past old.
i haven't enjoyed current PAD as much as old school PAD...but "losing his touch" is only one of many possible reasons why (i mean, my tastes have changed in 20 years. i'd find it weird if i still had the same tastes as when i was 10).
naked bat and pav make good points, even if i don't agree, they both make clear cases for why someone could like the story.
in the mid ground, i feel like if PAD had double the pages to expand on #25...it might have made more sense.
troo fan or death
I'd argue there's few people out there currently buying monthly issues of Marvel comics that were around during the 90s Clone Saga to care that Ben was brought back different. For readers of the Clone Saga and were fans of the character while they may be miffed I think would be have been seen as a good thing had they gotten a series were he was redeemed. Think of how Bucky, Jason Todd and even Kaine are far more popular now than they were when they were killed.
Also I'd say that the Amazing Spider-Man tie-in issue to the Clone Conspiracy did a fair job via flash backs to his continued torture of how he mentally fell. You're right that we should have seen more of that in the actual Scarlet Spider book but I'm not sure PAD was really interested in referencing the Clone Conspiracy or indeed the 90s Clone Saga, it came across like he did the bare minimum of that because he had to. I just feel he wanted to do a book about an insane and morally challenged Spider-Man in wacky situations, the fact that he was supposed to be Ben Reilly felt incidental.
Strangely we did get an attempt at a redemption/anti-hero arc with the book but rather the traditional version of that were we would see a darker Ben fighting crime, establishing relationships that he soften him and being placed in situations which test his morality, maybe making some missteps along the way but ultimately doing the right thing which when the run was over would have felt earned we got a redemption arc via Death playing games with him. For most of the run past #7 it felt like Ben was doing good less because he was good but more because Death would scar him if he didn't. I get what PAD was trying to do with this but which undermines any real attempt at Ben trying to redeem himself.