Quote Originally Posted by Pav View Post
Tien, I've read both the above post and your post over in the Kaine thread -- thanks for reigniting the conversation, and I hope you're enjoying your Spidey-Clone re-reread!

While I 100% agree with your posts, one somewhat pedantic difference I'd suggest is that what we need -- rather than a "conclusion" or wrapping-up of loose ends -- is a true and honest ongoing that utilizes elements of the characters' past when it makes sense to do so. I don't want a conclusion, y'know? I don't want another "end" to Ben Reilly's story. I want a new beginning, and I want Kaine along for the ride of course.

Think about all there is for future writers to mine:

~the Lost Years era for the characters
~the enemies and cast for Ben Reilly when he became Scarlet Spider, then Spidey
~the enemies and cast for Kaine when he operated in Houston
~everyone now connected to Ben Reilly due to Clone Conspiracy
~the enemies and cast for both Ben and Kaine in Las Vegas

If it were up to me, I'd have Ben and Kaine stationed in Las Vegas but with stories throughout the American Southwest and even into Mexico, Central America, and South America -- thanks in part to their commitment to keep Aracely safe, but also due to a major adversary for them, the Black Tarantula. Ben would be exploring who he really wants to be as a person, and Kaine would begin experiencing a redux of his original clone degeneration; however, this would bring him and Ben closer as brothers -- at least while Kaine's mind remains mostly intact. They'd essentially be the co-leaders of the Slingers, who would help them infiltrate the various crime syndicates in Las Vegas and other nearby cities.

I think a setup like this allows for all kinds of interesting plots, including the opportunity for the writer to bring in elements from these characters' pasts. Like, Houston and Salt Lake City aren't too far away from Las Vegas. Or, maybe Buzz from the Daily Grind is gambling in Vegas and realizes Ben is alive -- maybe he alerts Shirley and/or Jessica? Perhaps you bring back Lady Ock, Stunner, Joystick. Perhaps you bring back the Lobo Werewolves and the Salamander. But you definitely also have to push the story forward: introducing new concepts for the Scarlet Spiders to encounter; opportunities for them to grow and become stronger and perhaps even more popular characters, with an established cast of intriguing characters of all kinds and major themes that speak to the readership. Relying only on past stories won't do, but ignoring those past stories (*cough* PAD *cough*) doesn't work either.

-Pav, who agrees that some Scarlet Spider stories should be things you just can't do with Spider-Man...
I like all of this, though I would also throw in the much-hinted rise of Mictlan, the Aztec underworld, from Kaine's time as Scarlet Spider and Aracely's guardian. Could even have Mictlan forcing Ben to act as its champion in the same way Kaine acts as Aracely's champion, a form of punishment for tampering in the realm of life and death with the "reanimates" he created as the Jackal. Speaking of, an ongoing plot thread could be Ben (and Kaine) tracking the surviving "reanimates" and taking down the ones who squandered the "second chance" they got by reverting to criminality, which would force Ben to examine his responsibility for unleashing them upon the world and what he's been doing with his own second chance at life.