Ben Reilly: Spider-Man/Scarlet Spider Appreciation 2022

[Malachi]

Baseless optimism and pessimism are two sides of the same coin. We can only work with the absolute truths, and that is Marvel likes money.

For whatever reason in the mid-2000s it was decided that superheroes heroism can only be represented by their ceaseless upholding of the status quo in the face of the most deranged, disturbing, tragic, and horrific events being inflicted upon themselves or their loved ones. So what's going on with Ben seems just par for the course for how heroism is displayed in contemporary superhero comics. I have massive massive gripes about the portrayal of Ben in this story but I truly don't think the writers intended to make him look like an incompetent to fool I think it was just a consequence of the rushed job and last second planning of this so-called event.

I can't be grudge anyone who feels Marvel has it out for Ben considering how horrible clone conspiracy and the previous Scarlet spider series were. But those didn't feel malicious as much as they felt lazy. Comparing the treatment of Ben to say Wally West or even Dick Grayson, you can see a clear malicious intent in those cases whereas clone conspiracy even is just down to Dan not being a good writer.

Given comics as a whole I don't see any reason to come into this situation giving them the benefit of the doubt let the story will end in a positive way. And I think that looking at the quality of the run overall logic would dictate that the ending would be as underwhelming as the rest of the story. But I personally don't see malicious intent

Yeah I agree with pretty much all of this. Often it feels like Marvel have decided in one of their cooperate meetings that certain directions both for stories and characters are forbidden. Even if they would be a better alternative and sometimes also a much easier path. Yet they can’t do it because they are trying to make a point. A point that changes with the people in charge.

Beyond that money rules.

On Dan Slott I am still undecided if he is not good or deeply flawed. Or perhaps that distinction in itself meaningless.

[Prime]

So what would you guys do to make Ben be different than Peter?

[Sr. Bungle]

So what would you guys do to make Ben be different than Peter?

He is already different. His life experience after the explosion makes him a different person.

[Mercwmouth12]

He is already different. His life experience after the explosion makes him a different person.

Before beyond he acts different. Ambition and less baggage but also him being a clone and the ordeals him carrying different kind of baggage

[Huntsman Spider]

He is already different. His life experience after the explosion makes him a different person.

Pretty much this. Ben is basically "the path not taken" for Peter; while Peter got to go back to his normal life, such as it was, with his friends and family and other loved ones, Ben cut himself off from all that after realizing that he was a clone and therefore had no right to anything of Peter's life, thus being forced to redefine who he was outside those memories that belonged to Peter Parker. A major result of this, as well as five years of traveling around the country trying to make a life and identity for himself, was that he developed a much deeper appreciation for life in general and, despite facing traumatic events of his own, was less prone to breakdowns, having already had a few in the past trying to reconcile his existence as a clone. Also, he was more actively innovative than Peter, who'd been getting by with his standard web-shooters and spider-tracers for the last several years, while Ben was improving and upgrading the standard Spider-Man arsenal with web-shooters that could fire impact webbing, paralytic darts called stingers, and microdot tracers that were less conspicuous than Peter's spider-tracers. Of course, it could be argued that Ben wasn't actively fighting crime for the five years he was on the road until he returned to New York City, whereas Peter was engulfed in constant battles with criminals and supervillains and thus didn't have that much time to even think about upgrading his gear in comparison. Still . . .

[Prime]

Pretty much this. Ben is basically "the path not taken" for Peter; while Peter got to go back to his normal life, such as it was, with his friends and family and other loved ones, Ben cut himself off from all that after realizing that he was a clone and therefore had no right to anything of Peter's life, thus being forced to redefine who he was outside those memories that belonged to Peter Parker. A major result of this, as well as five years of traveling around the country trying to make a life and identity for himself, was that he developed a much deeper appreciation for life in general and, despite facing traumatic events of his own, was less prone to breakdowns, having already had a few in the past trying to reconcile his existence as a clone. Also, he was more actively innovative than Peter, who'd been getting by with his standard web-shooters and spider-tracers for the last several years, while Ben was improving and upgrading the standard Spider-Man arsenal with web-shooters that could fire impact webbing, paralytic darts called stingers, and microdot tracers that were less conspicuous than Peter's spider-tracers. Of course, it could be argued that Ben wasn't actively fighting crime for the five years he was on the road until he returned to New York City, whereas Peter was engulfed in constant battles with criminals and supervillains and thus didn't have that much time to even think about upgrading his gear in comparison. Still . . .

So Ben is Peter but more competent?

[Huntsman Spider]

So Ben is Peter but more competent?

He's Peter without the same stressors that Peter had in his life as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, which somewhat frees him to be more creative in terms of improving and upgrading the Spider-Man arsenal and makes him more freewheeling as Spider-Man, though he's rather less experienced in terms of fighting supervillains and such, albeit not less competent, given he managed to beat Venom early on as the Scarlet Spider. However, he does have his own hardships and struggles in terms of being a drifter trying to find his own place in the world as well as maintain, if not restore, a sense of self-worth in light of being a clone of someone else and having memories of a life he knows isn't really his rattling around in his head, even though he can and does draw inspiration from that to do good in the world, whether as Spider-Man or Scarlet Spider.

[Marvel Man]

He's Peter without the same stressors that Peter had in his life as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, which somewhat frees him to be more creative in terms of improving and upgrading the Spider-Man arsenal and makes him more freewheeling as Spider-Man, though he's rather less experienced in terms of fighting supervillains and such, albeit not less competent, given he managed to beat Venom early on as the Scarlet Spider. However, he does have his own hardships and struggles in terms of being a drifter trying to find his own place in the world as well as maintain, if not restore, a sense of self-worth in light of being a clone of someone else and having memories of a life he knows isn't really his rattling around in his head, even though he can and does draw inspiration from that to do good in the world, whether as Spider-Man or Scarlet Spider.

I'm right now re-reading Spider-Man: The Complete Ben Reilly and one of the things I like the best is that, for Peter, being Spider-man was more like a burden while trying to have a normal life while for Ben, being Spider-man was a gift, a struggling one but a gift nonetheless.

[Sr. Bungle]

I'm right now re-reading Spider-Man: The Complete Ben Reilly and one of the things I like the best is that, for Peter, being Spider-man was more like a burden while trying to have a normal life while for Ben, being Spider-man was a gift, a struggling one but a gift nonetheless.

I think there was a little of "the grass is always greener..." int how Ben approached being Spider-Man

[Sr. Bungle]

No signs of Ben's fate in May solicits

[Prime]

He's Peter without the same stressors that Peter had in his life as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, which somewhat frees him to be more creative in terms of improving and upgrading the Spider-Man arsenal and makes him more freewheeling as Spider-Man, though he's rather less experienced in terms of fighting supervillains and such, albeit not less competent, given he managed to beat Venom early on as the Scarlet Spider. However, he does have his own hardships and struggles in terms of being a drifter trying to find his own place in the world as well as maintain, if not restore, a sense of self-worth in light of being a clone of someone else and having memories of a life he knows isn't really his rattling around in his head, even though he can and does draw inspiration from that to do good in the world, whether as Spider-Man or Scarlet Spider.

Ben is his own man basically

[HypnoHustler]

No signs of Ben's fate in May solicits

No, but the solicitation for ‘Ben Reilly: Spider-Man’ #5 is there (the mini’s conclusion; Ben is taking on Ravencroft).

[Sr. Bungle]

No, but the solicitation for ‘Ben Reilly: Spider-Man’ #5 is there (the mini’s conclusion; Ben is taking on Ravencroft).

Yeah, I'll wait tll June solicits and only then I'll start freaking out :P

[Huntsman Spider]

Ben is his own man basically

Exactly. Same face, same powers, same formative memories, but gone in a different direction after a certain point and diverged enough from Peter's template in terms of experiences and perspective to be his own man, regardless of where he came from.

[Prime]

Exactly. Same face, same powers, same formative memories, but gone in a different direction after a certain point and diverged enough from Peter's template in terms of experiences and perspective to be his own man, regardless of where he came from.

All 3 Parker kids do have a certain redhead fetish though.