Ben Reilly: Spider-Man/Scarlet Spider Appreciation 2022

[HypnoHustler]

So to recap the past 6 months…

OMD = has place in Spidey comics

But…

Ben Reilly = has NO place in Spidey comics

It’s becoming increasingly clear that Lowe suffers from Bob Harras-itis… that is the condition where you decide what belongs in the books you’re editing, damn what the readers want or even what the writers have planned.

He spiked OMD being resolved, and now he’s spiking Ben Reilly. Ouch. Well… I guess back to reading back-issues for me. I’ll still get the rest of JMD’s Ben Reilly mini because he’s a great guy and the story is good and he deserves support. But beyond (ugh, no pun intended) that, I’m done… mainstream comics are burning me so much these days that I might go back to just reading indie stuff like Usagi Yojimbo (consistently great for four decades with no baloney) and back issues of Spidey, preferably pre-OMD.

[Kurolegacy]

Lowe says how Ben basically has no place in the comics anymore and this was designed to give Ben a final run as Spider-Man and give a "rare" tragic ending to a hero in comics. Seriously?

This reminds me of King’s run on Batman in which he basically built up Bruce’s happiness with Selina, even having them get engaged only to pull the rug out from under him and the fans all because Batman isn’t allowed to be happy and somehow that’s meant to be deep. In reality, all it is is a colossal middle finger to both the character and his fans. It feels exceptionally tone deaf as to exactly why fans hated the ending of the previous Scarlet Spider series.

[Refrax5]

Yeah that sounds about right as guys who are high up on the totem pole like Joe Quesada and Tom Brevoort have maintained similar stances like this on Ben for years. I distinctly remember when Steven Wacker was the guy in Nick Lowe's position now he made a comment along the lines that he felt Ben's story had been told....That was i believe 2 maybe three years before CC but it just shows how consistent across the board they are regarding Ben.


It's the same way for OMD and the marriage as well so nobody get their hopes up about them changing their stance on that either as they're always going to make sure they have editors in place who feel the exact same way as the guys high up the ladder.

Then they probably shouldn't have changed their tune and brought him back.

[Refrax5]

This reminds me of King’s run on Batman in which he basically built up Bruce’s happiness with Selina, even having them get engaged only to pull the rug out from under him and the fans all because Batman isn’t allowed to be happy and somehow that’s meant to be deep. In reality, all it is is a colossal middle finger to both the character and his fans. It feels exceptionally tone deaf as to exactly why fans hated the ending of the previous Scarlet Spider series.

No kidding. It's pretty much the same exact thing as the end of the SS series. I have a Scarlet Spider figure on my table and I don't even want to look at it now.

[HypnoHustler]

As far as tragic hero endings go, PP:SM #75 was at least a great comic despite bumming me out.

This… what is this….?

They should’ve just left him dead, yikes. I can’t imagine saying that a decade ago when I yearned for his return.

[JustLuke]

All this "He should've stayed dead" talk has me thinking...is Ben Reilly officially the Shadow the Hedgehog of Spider-Man, essentially?

[Kurolegacy]

As far as tragic hero endings go, PP:SM #75 was at least a great comic despite bumming me out.

This… what is this….?

They should’ve just left him dead, yikes. I can’t imagine saying that a decade ago when I yearned for his return.

It kinda reminds me of what the X-books did to Moira; they brought her back seemed to build her up but in the end twisted her into something nobody was ever asking for. I genuinely wonder what’s up with Marvel and this cynical take. Comics are supposed to be an uplifting means of escapism yet in the past few years they think that taking things dark is somehow the best course. It’s especially insulting when they had spent a couple issues ago showing the kind of heroic resolve that Spider-Man is known for through building up Peter but they then turn around and tear Ben down. Even Kaine has gotten it better than Ben has since he came back. I can’t believe that Iron Man’s comic of all places treated him with more respect than the Spider-books.

[Sr. Bungle]

It kinda reminds me of what the X-books did to Moira; they brought her back seemed to build her up but in the end twisted her into something nobody was ever asking for. I genuinely wonder what’s up with Marvel and this cynical take. Comics are supposed to be an uplifting means of escapism yet in the past few years they think that taking things dark is somehow the best course. It’s especially insulting when they had spent a couple issues ago showing the kind of heroic resolve that Spider-Man is known for through building up Peter but they then turn around and tear Ben down. Even Kaine has gotten it better than Ben has since he came back. I can’t believe that Iron Man’s comic of all places treated him with more respect than the Spider-books.

I made the sane Moira comparison a few pages back

[HypnoHustler]

I just read the issue (it’s already on comixology). It’s not great… but I’m not mad anymore, just disappointed. I will say the art and the (non-Ben, at least) dialogue is good. I also liked the call backs to the two issues from the clone saga (although it was awkward seeing them dance around the dialogue of making room for the baby, which was originally why Ben helped Peter clean the attic). The Ben direction is definitely not ideal, but at least Peter seemed to mourn him at the end, and Janine had agency. That’s about all I’ll say. All in all, very disappointing but as far as mangled endings ASM# 74 is probably still worse. That said, I don’t think I’ll pick up the new direction by Wells.

[Refrax5]

I just read the issue (it’s already on comixology). It’s not great… but I’m not mad anymore, just disappointed. I will say the art and the (non-Ben, at least) dialogue is good. I also liked the call backs to the two issues from the clone saga (although it was awkward seeing them dance around the dialogue of making room for the baby, which was originally why Ben helped Peter clean the attic). The Ben direction is definitely not ideal, but at least Peter seemed to mourn him at the end, and Janine had agency. That’s about all I’ll say. All in all, very disappointing but as far as mangled endings ASM# 74 is probably still worse. That said, I don’t think I’ll pick up the new direction by Wells.

I don't know, man. Part of what I loved about Ben and what was so inspiring and heroic about him was how he had been through absolute hell in his life but never gave up and found a way to be a hero and make a life for himself no matter what. To end his story with him giving up and literally laying down to die because he's so miserable and broken....what an ugly, cruel way to end his story. The only Ben Reilly death I'm okay with was the one in the original Spider-Verse because it was genuinely a triumphant moment. And even that proved that Marvel won't even allow his fans to have an alternate version that gets to live and thrive.

[Spiderfan001]

I just read the issue (it’s already on comixology). It’s not great… but I’m not mad anymore, just disappointed. I will say the art and the (non-Ben, at least) dialogue is good. I also liked the call backs to the two issues from the clone saga (although it was awkward seeing them dance around the dialogue of making room for the baby, which was originally why Ben helped Peter clean the attic). The Ben direction is definitely not ideal, but at least Peter seemed to mourn him at the end, and Janine had agency. That’s about all I’ll say. All in all, very disappointing but as far as mangled endings ASM# 74 is probably still worse. That said, I don’t think I’ll pick up the new direction by Wells.

Yeah dialogue for the most part seems okay from spoilers.

And Pete finally gets to show his skills w/ that code scene, and the tease is intriguing.

But Ben is done dirty, shame

[HypnoHustler]

spoilers:

A4992A01-DD04-497A-91F2-22EA26226D11.jpg65AF7902-39D6-4F62-B5F3-DF95318E375A.jpg Probably the only part of the issue I truly liked. Ironic this homaged probably my favorite Peter/Ben interaction. If you look at all the side by side comparisons, the artist (Gleason I think?) did a great job recreating all the details from Luke Ross’s original panels.

end of spoilers

I don’t know why the pictures are so small, but anyway…

[Spiderfan001]

I don't think the spoiler tag worked on the images

[Pav]

Wow.

-Pav, who is going to sleep and let his subconscious do some thinking...

EDIT / NARRATOR: "Instead he stayed up all night writing his review."

[Matt Rat]

It kinda reminds me of what the X-books did to Moira

Apparently in today's Immortal X-Men they may have an 'out' for that