Has Marvel learned their lesson regarding Ben Reilly?

[Dr. Skeleton]

Sorry, I already posted..

[Spiderfang]

Don't troll, we all know Spidercide is the true Parker clone



<3 u

The Ben haters have taken over this sub, because somehow expressing anything positive about Ben Reilly OR the Clone Saga is deemed unacceptable, and the offenders are chastised and their opinions are relentlessly challenged until they change their minds or admit that they are wrong.

[Zeitgeist]

The Ben haters have taken over this sub, because somehow expressing anything positive about Ben Reilly OR the Clone Saga is deemed unacceptable, and the offenders are chastised and their opinions are relentlessly challenged until they change their minds or admit that they are wrong.

Oh, I didn't know Ben hating went mainstream, mainstream isn't cool at all. My opinion on Ben holds as much weight as Ben himself, melting down a drain pipe. Live laugh love

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I find it ironic that you couldn't have more than one spider powered person in the 1990s and yet there are a wealth of them now.

The Spider-People around (Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen) are their own separate characters and not clones of Peter Parker. Huge difference. Essential difference.

[classicgmer]

The Ben haters have taken over this sub, because somehow expressing anything positive about Ben Reilly OR the Clone Saga is deemed unacceptable, and the offenders are chastised and their opinions are relentlessly challenged until they change their minds or admit that they are wrong.

It's because deep down whether or not they'd ever admit it or not they don't despise Ben nearly as much as they profess to It's the only possible explanation that would make sense for why one would seek out or be drawn to discussions concerning the character.


I don't quite understand the phenomenon myself but it's hardly exclusive to Ben so i wouldn't worry about it.

[cyclops1983]

I enjoyed the Clone Saga and am a huge fan of Ben Reilly. I just wish when Peter David was writing the last series he would've left us with a good last issue, instead of what was tossed out there. I hope some how some way we could get a Scarlet Spiders book that would feature Ben and Kaine; that would be great to see how these two men who come from the same "situation" and how because of their experiences they handle situations.

[Pav]

I enjoyed the Clone Saga and am a huge fan of Ben Reilly. I just wish when Peter David was writing the last series he would've left us with a good last issue, instead of what was tossed out there. I hope some how some way we could get a Scarlet Spiders book that would feature Ben and Kaine; that would be great to see how these two men who come from the same "situation" and how because of their experiences they handle situations.

As far as I'm concerned, that final action of Ben attacking Kaine and his lady friend was simply Ben imagining what he could do rather than something that literally happened -- and that's the story I'm sticking to until Marvel references it again -- which they won't do if they're smart.

(Ben did imagine killing Diva in that series as well, so there's some precedent.)

-Pav, who's been headcanonning all his life...

[Huntsman Spider]

As far as I'm concerned, that final action of Ben attacking Kaine and his lady friend was simply Ben imagining what he could do rather than something that literally happened -- and that's the story I'm sticking to until Marvel references it again -- which they won't do if they're smart.

(Ben did imagine killing Diva in that series as well, so there's some precedent.)

-Pav, who's been headcanonning all his life...

Considering it wasn't referenced in Spider-Geddon even when Ben was still "damaged" . . .

[WebLurker]

The Ben haters have taken over this sub, because somehow expressing anything positive about Ben Reilly OR the Clone Saga is deemed unacceptable, and the offenders are chastised and their opinions are relentlessly challenged until they change their minds or admit that they are wrong.

Really? I don't exactly have much use for Ben myself, but I can relate to fans who like him best, given that a lot of my comic book favorites are "B-list" characters. Also thought that what I've read of the Clone Saga was okay in general, with some good stuff. (I wonder if being able to read it in several sittings instead of spread out over years has made it more manageable?)

[boots]

Really? I don't exactly have much use for Ben myself, but I can relate to fans who like him best, given that a lot of my comic book favorites are "B-list" characters. Also thought that what I've read of the Clone Saga was okay in general, with some good stuff. (I wonder if being able to read it in several sittings instead of spread out over years has made it more manageable?)

I think there's something to that. as a kid, we could only afford a certain amount of comics at different times so i ended up reading the saga piecemeal. still haven't read the whole thing

from that cbr article about which clone saga arcs were actually good...it seems i was just randomly lucky that i was only exposed to the good stuff back in the 90s

[WebLurker]

I think there's something to that. as a kid, we could only afford a certain amount of comics at different times so i ended up reading the saga piecemeal. still haven't read the whole thing

from that cbr article about which clone saga arcs were actually good...it seems i was just randomly lucky that i was only exposed to the good stuff back in the 90s

Well, I started at the beginning with those "complete collections" and haven't finished, so I may have hit the better stuff, before it got stretched out. Still, if you're not liking a story that much, it can take close to a year to get through the arc, which is longer then when you can read the whole thing in one sitting and get through it faster.

[jackolover]

I would like Ben Reilly to replace Peter for a while. Ben was always a little more clumsy than Peter, so he was more clunky, a different personality altogether. I think MJ would find Ben a little morbid, and too introspective to be attracted to him romantically. But I think MJ would still be attracted to him because he looks like Peter, and that could add drama, if not start it sizzle between MJ and Ben. Like Peters cousin maybe.

[Huntsman Spider]

I would like Ben Reilly to replace Peter for a while. Ben was always a little more clumsy than Peter, so he was more clunky, a different personality altogether. I think MJ would find Ben a little morbid, and too introspective to be attracted to him romantically. But I think MJ would still be attracted to him because he looks like Peter, and that could add drama, if not start it sizzle between MJ and Ben. Like Peters cousin maybe.

We already got that for about a year during the Clone Saga, and while it was interesting, a lot of the backlash came from trying to make him "the real Peter Parker," which he of course wasn't. Even if he was genetically the original --- which, again, he wasn't --- he had five years in-universe making his own life experiences, which would have rendered him a different person from the Peter Parker that we'd known for that same amount of time (20 years in real life). Not to mention that the poison pill of Ben's existence was the first attempt by Marvel executives at undoing Spider-Man's marriage to Mary Jane Watson(-Parker), so invalidating and discrediting the Peter Parker that did marry her was the whole point of exalting Ben Reilly as "the one, true Spider-Man." It was also Marvel's attempt at having its cake and eating it, too, with "married Peter Parker" kept around, but not as the main character, for the fans that did prefer him and "single Peter Parker" at the forefront of Spider-Man's adventures for the sake of the creatives and executives that couldn't stand Peter being married. Of course, fans just didn't like that "married Peter" was being treated as "the clone" and "single Peter"/Ben was being treated as "the original," because again, that was a very clear attempt on Marvel's part to invalidate the decision for Peter to marry Mary Jane, and ultimately, once Marvel saw that wasn't working . . . ashes to ashes, dust to dust, dust he was, and to dust, he returned.