Ben Reilly: Spider-Man/Scarlet Spider Appreciation 2022

[Reilly]

Any thoughts on Andrew Garfield playing Ben Reilly?

He's not really a clone, different Peter Parker, but everything else is on point - lost identity, trying to build a life in a world where he does not belong... It could work. Andrew becoming the Scarlet Spider with TASM2 suit painted with red spray + blue hoodie on top of it. It would be a great opportunity for him to play in a big sand box alongside other heroes, because in his TASM universe, he's alone in this job.

The longer I think about it, the more I like it. But... I want him so bad as the MAIN Spider-Man of the TASM/Venom universe... I dunno, can I have both? Pretty please~

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

oh ok wonder how someone still has richard parker dna but its comics

That's a question for Obsidian Spider.

[HypnoHustler]

FWIW, Slott's non-Ben27 Spider-Ben.

https://aiptcomics.com/2022/01/28/ma...g-war-alpha-1/

I bet it burns Slott’s chaps that he can’t use Peter Parker right now and instead has to use a once again good Ben Reilly. (Or maybe it doesn’t, I dunno.)

Just read the preview. Why was I expecting anything different? The same cringe dialogue that bogged down most Spidey stories from the 2010s with way too much of it stuffed into every panel. I have bought every Ben-related appearance since his botched return no matter how disappointing, but I might have to make an exception for this…

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

He's not really a clone, different Peter Parker, but everything else is on point - lost identity, trying to build a life in a world where he does not belong... It could work. Andrew becoming the Scarlet Spider with TASM2 suit painted with red spray + blue hoodie on top of it. It would be a great opportunity for him to play in a big sand box alongside other heroes, because in his TASM universe, he's alone in this job.

The longer I think about it, the more I like it. But... I want him so bad as the MAIN Spider-Man of the TASM/Venom universe... I dunno, can I have both? Pretty please~

You could make Ben a clone of Andrew Garfield's Peter.

[IamnotJudasTraveller]

I bet it burns Slott’s chaps that he can’t use Peter Parker right now and instead has to use a once again good Ben Reilly. (Or maybe it doesn’t, I dunno.)

Just read the preview. Why was I expecting anything different? The same cringe dialogue that bogged down most Spidey stories from the 2010s with way too much of it stuffed into every panel. I have bought every Ben-related appearance since his botched return no matter how disappointing, but I might have to make an exception for this…

Yeah, I typically edge on more positivity than not for Slott's run (doesn't mean I think it's all great or anything) but even I'm going "laying it way too thick here" with the whole WOOOHOO GO GET 'EM TEAM stuff.

As for Ben's stuff I (and I can be plenty wrong, sure) think Slott doesn't have any strong feelings on the matter. After writing Clone Conspiracy, Ben was pretty much shipped off to PAD's book and Slott's run didn't feature him even during "Go Down Swinging" (I thought Ben and Kaine SHOULD have been there no matter what, because both of them have big chips on their shoulders relating to Norman). So I do believe he just sees Ben going back to what fans knew as part of the business, it's not like he was trying to undermine Spencer's run when he featured Peter for a bit in his F4 monthly saying he believes MJ IS the right one after all and whatnot.

He's definitely shown he can be petty by tracking down people that didn't even mention him about his stories and whatnot getting into pointless social media spats, but I rather doubt he's that petty.

[Obsidian Spider]

That's a question for Obsidian Spider.

It's another Peter clone but they need to give him a new name so Ben and Kaine agree to use Peter's Dad's name: Richard aka Dick

[Tony Stark]

Hey I was wondering if you guys could help me. I have a friend just wanting to get into comics and he said he picked up a book featuring Ben Reilly as Spider-Man. He wanted to know the differences personality wise between Ben and Peter. Could you guys help me out by telling me some? I haven't read a book with Ben in so long I couldn't really remember.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Hey I was wondering if you guys could help me. I have a friend just wanting to get into comics and he said he picked up a book featuring Ben Reilly as Spider-Man. He wanted to know the differences personality wise between Ben and Peter. Could you guys help me out by telling me some? I haven't read a book with Ben in so long I couldn't really remember.

He's more angry and questioning himself over his roots. Just judging from the first issue of Ben Reilly:Spider-Man.

[Huntsman Spider]

Hey I was wondering if you guys could help me. I have a friend just wanting to get into comics and he said he picked up a book featuring Ben Reilly as Spider-Man. He wanted to know the differences personality wise between Ben and Peter. Could you guys help me out by telling me some? I haven't read a book with Ben in so long I couldn't really remember.

Personality-wise, Ben, at least in the 90s, doesn't brood as much as Peter does and generally seems to enjoy and appreciate life a lot more in comparison. For him, being Spider-Man is ultimately more of a blessing than merely the heavy burden of great responsibility. Philosophically speaking, though, Ben is basically a Peter Parker whose path diverged or bifurcated after the original Clone Saga; since he couldn't just step back into "his" normal life as Peter, he had to figure out how to make a life and identity for himself despite not being the man his own face and memories told him he was. That said, if you're referring to Ben Reilly: Spider-Man #1 by J.M. DeMatteis (who was probably the best writer of the 90s Clone Saga), he does get a fair bit broodier and edgier compared to how he's normally depicted. However, given he has a fight with Carrion in that issue, it might be somewhat understandable that he's more on edge than usual.

[HypnoHustler]

Hey I was wondering if you guys could help me. I have a friend just wanting to get into comics and he said he picked up a book featuring Ben Reilly as Spider-Man. He wanted to know the differences personality wise between Ben and Peter. Could you guys help me out by telling me some? I haven't read a book with Ben in so long I couldn't really remember.

Copying/pasting something I wrote a while ago:

Ben's years on the road made him more impulsive and hot tempered than Peter. But on the other hand, he was also more optimistic about the future and counted his blessings because he knew what it was like to have nothing. His years on the road also made him more open to new experiences. Peter is a bit more reserved, and I felt he was a bit more conceited than Ben, sometimes treating him condescendingly especially in the beginning when he thought Ben was a clone. Peter was also more wary of trusting others, and didn't like or trust Ben's best friend Seward Trainer. But Ben desperately seeks validation and that’s why he’s so often manipulated by others who betray him such as Seward Trainer and Beyond. Ben's fighting skills as Spidey were also more raw, but he lacked Peter's experience. I think Ben being single and being more in touch with youth culture also helped separate him from Peter. There is also the fact that Ben was a bit grungier and hipper with his blonde hair and flannel shirts; a lot of people resented that, but in retrospect he was such a perfect encapsulation of the 90s, a decade in which I came of age and started reading Spidey and he seemed like he would be the perfect “cool uncle” for Peter’s baby daughter. But the best aspect was the brotherly dynamics between Peter and Ben... them going from suspicious rivals to brothers was some of the most natural and organic characterization I've seen in the Spidey books.

[Tony Stark]

He's more angry and questioning himself over his roots. Just judging from the first issue of Ben Reilly:Spider-Man.

Personality-wise, Ben, at least in the 90s, doesn't brood as much as Peter does and generally seems to enjoy and appreciate life a lot more in comparison. For him, being Spider-Man is ultimately more of a blessing than merely the heavy burden of great responsibility. Philosophically speaking, though, Ben is basically a Peter Parker whose path diverged or bifurcated after the original Clone Saga; since he couldn't just step back into "his" normal life as Peter, he had to figure out how to make a life and identity for himself despite not being the man his own face and memories told him he was. That said, if you're referring to Ben Reilly: Spider-Man #1 by J.M. DeMatteis (who was probably the best writer of the 90s Clone Saga), he does get a fair bit broodier and edgier compared to how he's normally depicted. However, given he has a fight with Carrion in that issue, it might be somewhat understandable that he's more on edge than usual.

Copying/pasting something I wrote a while ago:

Ben's years on the road made him more impulsive and hot tempered than Peter. But on the other hand, he was also more optimistic about the future and counted his blessings because he knew what it was like to have nothing. His years on the road also made him more open to new experiences. Peter is a bit more reserved, and I felt he was a bit more conceited than Ben, sometimes treating him condescendingly especially in the beginning when he thought Ben was a clone. Peter was also more wary of trusting others, and didn't like or trust Ben's best friend Seward Trainer. But Ben desperately seeks validation and that’s why he’s so often manipulated by others who betray him such as Seward Trainer and Beyond. Ben's fighting skills as Spidey were also more raw, but he lacked Peter's experience. I think Ben being single and being more in touch with youth culture also helped separate him from Peter. There is also the fact that Ben was a bit grungier and hipper with his blonde hair and flannel shirts; a lot of people resented that, but in retrospect he was such a perfect encapsulation of the 90s, a decade in which I came of age and started reading Spidey and he seemed like he would be the perfect “cool uncle” for Peter’s baby daughter. But the best aspect was the brotherly dynamics between Peter and Ben... them going from suspicious rivals to brothers was some of the most natural and organic characterization I've seen in the Spidey books.

Thanks so much for your help. It’s greatly appreciated and I will be sure to pass this information onto my friend.

[Huntsman Spider]

Thanks so much for your help. It’s greatly appreciated and I will be sure to pass this information onto my friend.

You're very welcome.

[Sr. Bungle]

More confirmation of Ben going to Holywood in the future:

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/mira...-3rd-printing/

[HypnoHustler]

More confirmation of Ben going to Holywood in the future:

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/mira...-3rd-printing/

If he’s not fixed by the end of Beyond, I’m not picking it up. We already got one failed series with him being an antihero missing that Parker sense of responsibility in the PAD run (coincidentally also on the west coast).

[Reilly]

You could make Ben a clone of Andrew Garfield's Peter.

I think it would be too much. First we need a whole movie about Clone Saga for this. And we don't need it, Peter from another universe (Andrew) is still pretty much like Ben if it comes to MCU standards (about rewritting things).