Spider-Geddon #5 and Ben Reilly (SPOILERS)

[Scarlet Spider-Man]

So...how does this issue co-exist with Scarlet Spider #24-25? Did Spider-Geddon just (hopefully) retcon the end of Scarlet Spider?

I just assumed that Spider-Geddon took place before SS #24-25, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

[Miles To Go]

"And let noone speak of this again...under penalty of torture"

[Scarlet Spider-Man]

Y'know, with the final SS trade coming in a few weeks, it would be interesting if they altered the ending to fit in with Spider-Geddon's status quo.

[Kurolegacy]

"And let noone speak of this again...under penalty of torture"

Yea as a fandom, let’s just file Ben’s ending situation in his solo under that. Just based on how it played out, I’m just going with that when Jennie consumed Ben’s life force, that he got the corruption from Ben’s soul as a package deal sonwhen he was revived he was as he put it, restored to factory default and thus himself again.

[CrimsonEchidna]

I'm curious what the deal is going to be going forward with Ben and Kaine. Like maybe a co-led Scarlet Spiders book?

[Batman Begins 2005]

My own continuity, forget Scarlet Spider #24-25 and Ben was rebooted here back to default hero mode. Fuck, I especially hated Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider #25.

[Batman Begins 2005]

I'm curious what the deal is going to be going forward with Ben and Kaine. Like maybe a co-led Scarlet Spiders book?

In an ideal world under Christoper Yost's writing.

[Obsidian Spider]

What do we think factory settings means exactly? He has all of his memories but he’s no longer a tortured soul?

[Frontier]

In an ideal world under Christoper Yost's writing.

I doubt PAD is in any rush to write another Scarlet Spider book.

[Obsidian Spider]

Also, I realize they were rushed but I have been looking forward to the moment that Peter and Ben meet again and that was pretty underwhelming. He wasn’t even surprised Ben was still alive (although I suppose it could be argued that how could he ever be surprised someone has been brought back to life at this point)

[Kurolegacy]

What do we think factory settings means exactly? He has all of his memories but he’s no longer a tortured soul?

Based on the lack of scarring around his eye and his reassurance towards Peter, I think so.

[Huntsman Spider]

In an ideal world under Christoper Yost's writing.

What do we think factory settings means exactly? He has all of his memories but he’s no longer a tortured soul?

I would say the trauma from what happened to him didn't go away, but he'll probably make some good steps toward moving beyond it since his soul has been cleansed of the damage and corruption from his repeated resurrections. Maybe he'll even dye his hair blond again.

And yes, I would also love to see a Scarlet Spiders title costarring Ben and Kaine under Chris Yost's pen. Maybe bring back J.M. DeMatteis, if at all possible. Do agree, however, that Peter's reunion with Ben was rather underwhelming, although they had so little time and so much to do . . . maybe Nick Spencer will tackle that next time.

[boots]

i'm always in 2 minds about these things; yeah, i know superhero comic books constantly perform factory resets on characters, storylines and hell, even whole universes...but it can sometimes feel cheap.

part of me wants ben to deal with his actions still and take time to mend things with peter and others and not just be excused 'cos *hand wave*

part of me also thinks, why spend any longer dwelling on it than needed? if there's a new and better way forward, waste no more time.

[Huntsman Spider]

i'm always in 2 minds about these things; yeah, i know superhero comic books constantly perform factory resets on characters, storylines and hell, even whole universes...but it can sometimes feel cheap.

part of me wants ben to deal with his actions still and take time to mend things with peter and others and not just be excused 'cos *hand wave*

part of me also thinks, why spend any longer dwelling on it than needed? if there's a new and better way forward, waste no more time.

I think he'll still have to deal with the fallout from his actions. It took a lot of trying on Ben's end and a lot of reluctant team-ups on Kaine's end before Kaine gave up trying to kill Ben for what he did, and that was while Ben's soul was still damaged. Just because Ben's soul has been wiped clean doesn't mean his actions as the Jackal no longer happened, or that how he came back in the first place doesn't need to be addressed. The way I see it, Ben's still gonna need some therapy, if only to deal with the guilt now that he can more fully appreciate the wrongs he committed. However, I would like to see Ben dye his hair blond and maybe make a second try at being a Sensational Spider-Man.

[SpideyClone]

I'm cool with it. Reilly said himself it was a "good" death. He went willingly and heroically and earned his redemption in a better way than he did in his own book. Now he (and we) can all move forward.