Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider Appreciation 2018

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Love these images depicting SS in motion.

[Pav]

Tom Lyle is the definitive artist for Ben's Scarlet costume.

Everything else is secondary.

-Pav, who even forgot that he created it...

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

In light of the wretched post-OMD direction, The Real Clone Saga is still my go-to version of events, somewhere Peter is happy and Ben is free to roam and do whatever he wishes. I wish the series, however, had dipped into his relationship with Janine Tyne, as that was a huge part of the acclaimed Lost Years and Redemption storylines. How long did she get jail time for her father's murder anyway?

It's Janine Godbe who's true name was Elizabeth Tyne mother of Darkdevil!

I miss her

[Webhead]

Still waiting for the mini that'll update us on whatever happened to Ben's supporting cast (the coffee shop people, Janine, Jessica). Heck I'd settle for Peter interacting with them, plenty of potential waiting to be mined there.

[Huntsman Spider]

It's Janine Godbe who's true name was Elizabeth Tyne mother of Darkdevil!

I miss her

Still waiting for the mini that'll update us on whatever happened to Ben's supporting cast (the coffee shop people, Janine, Jessica). Heck I'd settle for Peter interacting with them, plenty of potential waiting to be mined there.

That would definitely be nice. And yeah, Pav, I miss Janine/Elizabeth, too. Kind of funny that both Peter's and Ben's greatest loves were redheads, and Annabelle Adams, Kaine's second love after Louise Kennedy, started off as a redhead when she first appeared in the Scarlet Spider ongoing. Some things really are genetic, aren't they?

[Agent of Wolfram & Hart]

I love this image, wow I miss Ben!

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Here's one of Ben Reilly that I drew with Prismacolor marker, colored pencil, pen and ink

Nice, I always loved Ben's web shooters

I always loved the IMPACT WEBBING!

[Huntsman Spider]

I always loved the IMPACT WEBBING!

I still remember that one moment in the 90s animated series finale when Armored Spider-Man was shot by the Kingpin's goons and Scarlet Spider then shot down the goons with impact webbing coming out of the backs of his hands. Armored Spider-Man's reaction was priceless.

"Nice. What do you call that stuff?"

"Impact webbing."

"Why didn't I think of that?"

To get someone as arrogant and cocksure as Armored Spidey to sound genuinely impressed, one would have to be very impressive, indeed. Ben Reilly, people, Ben Freaking Reilly!

[Southern_Spider]

I still remember that one moment in the 90s animated series finale when Armored Spider-Man was shot by the Kingpin's goons and Scarlet Spider then shot down the goons with impact webbing coming out of the backs of his hands. Armored Spider-Man's reaction was priceless.

"Nice. What do you call that stuff?"

"Impact webbing."

"Why didn't I think of that?"

To get someone as arrogant and cocksure as Armored Spidey to sound genuinely impressed, one would have to be very impressive, indeed. Ben Reilly, people, Ben Freaking Reilly!

One of the best moments of that story arc, hands down. Glad I'm not the only one who really appreciated it.

[Huntsman Spider]

One of the best moments of that story arc, hands down. Glad I'm not the only one who really appreciated it.

As a kid, I just loved seeing multiple versions of Spider-Man together at once for the first time. As an adult, I can appreciate it even more because I know the comics each alternate Spider-Man came from, and the subtleties of the storytelling, with Armored Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider, and Spider-Carnage all representing some aspect of what "our" Spider-Man could have become if his life had been slightly different.

[Celgress]

I miss Ben so much. Poor guy never really had a chance. *sniff*

[Huntsman Spider]

I miss Ben so much. Poor guy never really had a chance. *sniff*

And it was never him people hated, even at the nadir of the Clone Saga, it was that Marvel was trying to use him to invalidate the guy they'd grown up reading for the last twenty years. People would have gladly read a Scarlet Spider ongoing alongside a Peter Parker: Spider-Man title about Ben finding his place in the world now that he was no longer certain he was the "original" Spider-Man, like how the Azrael ongoing spun out of KnightsEnd, the conclusion of the Knightfall saga, over in Batman. But no, they had to kill him off, and have since shown no real inclination or desire to bring him back. Thanks a lot, Marvel.

[Southern_Spider]

As a kid, I just loved seeing multiple versions of Spider-Man together at once for the first time. As an adult, I can appreciate it even more because I know the comics each alternate Spider-Man came from, and the subtleties of the storytelling, with Armored Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider, and Spider-Carnage all representing some aspect of what "our" Spider-Man could have become if his life had been slightly different.

It was some of the best storytelling the show did--certainly the best since its first season IMO. Semper & Co. did great with the layers, the drama, and then finally the reveals. Everything connected perfectly. IMO it was the pinnacle of Season 5. Best episode arc of the show outside of the first season and "Turning Point" which I thought was done really well too.

I miss Ben so much. Poor guy never really had a chance. *sniff*

I do wish they'd bring Ben back. But I know some of the higher-ups and powers-that-be at Marvel often naysay this idea when it's brought up. Ben is my far-fetched guess for the identity of the new Jackal in Clone Conspiracy, however.

[Celgress]

I hope you're wrong, as I would rather Ben not become a villain.

[Pav]

I do wish they'd bring Ben back. But I know some of the higher-ups and powers-that-be at Marvel often naysay this idea when it's brought up. Ben is my far-fetched guess for the identity of the new Jackal in Clone Conspiracy, however.

I hope you're wrong, as I would rather Ben not become a villain.

IF Ben is the new Jackal, I hope that he can be antagonistic without being an outright villain.

-Pav, who prefers when the complexity of morality is appreciated...