Ben Reilly: Spider-Man/Scarlet Spider Appreciation 2022

[HypnoHustler]

That's Symbiobro, he's an artist that usually hangs around 4chan. And yeah, that's already underrated.

We can infer he remembers enough to think Peter is to blame for what happened to him. When he says "where you were, there is only a Chasm" to Janine, we can just file that under edgyspeak.

I'm really NOT a fan of the "you did THIS to me!!" vengeance trope. It was already tired decades ago when Venom first appeared.

[Sr. Bungle]

I'm really NOT a fan of the "you did THIS to me!!" vengeance trope. It was already tired decades ago when Venom first appeared.

In this case it woul be right.
Go get'im Benjy boy!

[Webhead]

I'm really NOT a fan of the "you did THIS to me!!" vengeance trope. It was already tired decades ago when Venom first appeared.

We really need someone to write a meta moment where Peter thinks to himself, "this used to be about helping others, but now I just fight guys who are out to kill me".

[MJM Mystery Writer]

I haven't posted in a long time, but this topic pulled me out of retirement.

First, I'll say I'm glad that at the end of all this, we still have Ben alive. His face is not scarred (like in C.C.), he still looks like Peter, and he still has his blonde hair. On top of that, Marvel didn't kill off the Janine character like I thought they would. And there is still a path to change him back to "factory settings" if a true 'Ben Reilly' fan was to get hired at Marvel and work their butt off for a chance to write for this character.

With that being said, they are putting out material and writing for the Kaine character, not Ben. Kaine is the edgier, darker spider-clone. Ben was the eternal optimist. Ben was the one who said that clones can carve out a life for themselves (in Maximum Clonage). Ben Reilly kept going... kept living... even when it seemed all was lost. In fact, the ONLY time Marvel wrote "Ben" correctly was during Spider-Verse and we were introduced to Ben Reilly from Earth-94. I re-read Spider-Verse now and am in awe just how well Ben was handled. I honestly believe that is how Ben would've ended up if Marvel would've let him continue to be Spider-man after the Clone Saga.

People seem to forget what Ben was supposed to be... he was originally going to bring back the fun-loving, single guy persona since Marvel bastardized Peter Parker so badly during the 90s. Peter was going to ride off into the sunset with Mary Jane, have a family, and let Ben Reilly take over and bring us back to "factory settings."

Since Marvel backtracked on that decision and Ben was no longer going to be the quirky, aloof "Peter" from the early stories, Marvel didn't know what to do with the character. And to this day, they still don't know how to handle the character. Whoever wrote for Ben during the Spider-Verse event should be given a chance to have their own mini-series and give the die-hard Ben Reilly fans what they've always wanted. Then, at the end of the mini-series, let Ben have his 'happy ending' and retire the character.

[Dron]

May not have ended the way everyone was hoping but Ben did get to be Spider-Man. He got to headline Marvel's flagship title. Even if it was brief he DID get to be a hero in the pages of ASM which more than I can say about any other Spider featured not called Otto. That has to count for something.

[Jonathangoop1811]

May not have ended the way everyone was hoping but Ben did get to be Spider-Man. He got to headline Marvel's flagship title. Even if it was brief he DID get to be a hero in the pages of ASM which more than I can say about any other Spider featured not called Otto. That has to count for something.

It would if at least he would have being a competent and good Spider-Man, he got beaten up all the time, depending too much in that tech of Beyond, and didn't had any epic fights.

[Minerboh]

They really need to bring Kaine back now.

[Refrax5]

I'm really NOT a fan of the "you did THIS to me!!" vengeance trope. It was already tired decades ago when Venom first appeared.

True. But at least he's alive. If they had killed him, he'd likely have died some disgraceful death and we'd never hear from him again. As long as he's alive, there's a hope this gets fixed eventually. It already seems to be a pretty unpopular move online.

[Reilly]

They really need to bring Kaine back now.

Oh god, please no. I don't want them to destroy Kaine like they did with Ben. I'd rather he's "somewhere else", it's better than being screwed over by lame writers.

[Kurolegacy]

Oh god, please no. I don't want them to destroy Kaine like they did with Ben. I'd rather he's "somewhere else", it's better than being screwed over by lame writers.

Kaine seems safe since he’s different enough from Peter despite being a clone that Marvel doesn’t screw with him. At worst, Marvel would screw up his relationship with Ben again.

[Matt Rat]

Ben makes his last official appearance as Spider-Man next week in the climax to Devil's Reign

https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/Prevue/JAN220913

[Huntsman Spider]

I haven't posted in a long time, but this topic pulled me out of retirement.

First, I'll say I'm glad that at the end of all this, we still have Ben alive. His face is not scarred (like in C.C.), he still looks like Peter, and he still has his blonde hair. On top of that, Marvel didn't kill off the Janine character like I thought they would. And there is still a path to change him back to "factory settings" if a true 'Ben Reilly' fan was to get hired at Marvel and work their butt off for a chance to write for this character.

With that being said, they are putting out material and writing for the Kaine character, not Ben. Kaine is the edgier, darker spider-clone. Ben was the eternal optimist. Ben was the one who said that clones can carve out a life for themselves (in Maximum Clonage). Ben Reilly kept going... kept living... even when it seemed all was lost. In fact, the ONLY time Marvel wrote "Ben" correctly was during Spider-Verse and we were introduced to Ben Reilly from Earth-94. I re-read Spider-Verse now and am in awe just how well Ben was handled. I honestly believe that is how Ben would've ended up if Marvel would've let him continue to be Spider-man after the Clone Saga.

People seem to forget what Ben was supposed to be... he was originally going to bring back the fun-loving, single guy persona since Marvel bastardized Peter Parker so badly during the 90s. Peter was going to ride off into the sunset with Mary Jane, have a family, and let Ben Reilly take over and bring us back to "factory settings."

Since Marvel backtracked on that decision and Ben was no longer going to be the quirky, aloof "Peter" from the early stories, Marvel didn't know what to do with the character. And to this day, they still don't know how to handle the character. Whoever wrote for Ben during the Spider-Verse event should be given a chance to have their own mini-series and give the die-hard Ben Reilly fans what they've always wanted. Then, at the end of the mini-series, let Ben have his 'happy ending' and retire the character.

Generally cosigned, though I would add they could get J.M. DeMatteis to do that idea, following up from whenever the Ben Reilly: Spider-Man miniseries (hopefully a series of minis) ends. Also cosigning everyone who wants Kaine to come back like he should have, this time to knock some sense into Ben as opposed to trying to kill him. Where's Aracely/Hummingbird these days? With her unique psychic abilities, she should be able to (help) fill Ben's mental chasm with all the memories he's still missing.

[classicgmer]

I can't lie that at least saying "Can Peter pull Ben back from the Chasm?" implies there'd be some nuance that Peter is trying to rehabilitate him unlike we got with CC/PAD, but Marvel makes it so that the answer seems to be "no, not really" as opposed to "good chances".

I'm guessing Kaine's fans (I DO like him, but I couldn't really see him as 'the one true Scarlet Spider' to put it that way) are still breathing a sigh of relief he is not mentioned at all in the slightest on these articles. Either way, I'm guessing "Chasm" is a no show for Wells' first six issues at the least.

Yeah my inclination is that Marvel must think people are pretty gullible to believe there's much of a chance if any of Peter getting Ben back to any semblance of himself when Nick Lowe just spewed forth a bunch of verbal diarrhea talking about how there's no place for Ben.

[Huntsman Spider]

Yeah my inclination is that Marvel must think people are pretty gullible to believe there's much of a chance if any of Peter getting Ben back to any semblance of himself when Nick Lowe just spewed forth a bunch of verbal diarrhea talking about how there's no place for Ben.

Maybe they should have just let him go on the road and sort himself out that way. Hell, if "Spider-Man's" going to be a corporate trademark in-universe, how about establishing "Spider-Man Unlimited," in the vein of Batman, Incorporated over at DC, and having Ben travel the world as a "brand ambassador" recruiting fellow spider-powered/-themed heroes who understand that "with great power, there must also come great responsibility" in a spiffy new Spider-Suit while Peter sticks around (pun intended) as New York's resident web-slinger?

[Sr. Bungle]

Maybe they should have just let him go on the road and sort himself out that way. Hell, if "Spider-Man's" going to be a corporate trademark in-universe, how about establishing "Spider-Man Unlimited," in the vein of Batman, Incorporated over at DC, and having Ben travel the world as a "brand ambassador" recruiting fellow spider-powered/-themed heroes who understand that "with great power, there must also come great responsibility" in a spiffy new Spider-Suit while Peter sticks around (pun intended) as New York's resident web-slinger?

All great ideas, as always