Thoughts about how Ben Reilly's return was handled?

[classicgmer]

Yea and he was being a surly dick on the bus ride to the motel (don't think he was drunk during the road trip). Really this actually helps point out to people understand why the "new Ben" is behaving the way that he is (although I still believe a few more issues would have made him seem less Bipolar in his decision to terminate Peter but...27 deaths). I double checked TASM #149 & 150 and yea they don't meet up so it must have been in the 90's clone saga somewhere.

The instances you're pointing out of Ben being a "surly dick" are pretty much after the. battle at shea stadium and befoe he leaves NY. He hasn't always been all smiles and sunshine which given what's been put on his plate but despite it all for the bulk of his publication history he's been potrayed as an overall decent human being so I personally don't see he acted in CC or the new direction he's being taken as "back to basics" in any way other then it's more in the vein of the lost years era.

[Spiderfang]

The instances you're pointing out of Ben being a "surly dick" are pretty much after the. battle at shea stadium and befoe he leaves NY. He hasn't always been all smiles and sunshine which given what's been put on his plate but despite it all for the bulk of his publication history he's been potrayed as an overall decent human being so I personally don't see he acted in CC or the new direction he's being taken as "back to basics" in any way other then it's more in the vein of the lost years era.

Okay so he's not emotionally or mentally the same Ben Reilly as the 90's Clone Arc... but it is going back to basics for Ben or square one actually, he had a whole contingency plan into effect that if Peter said no that he would have him killed and would assume his place, and when that didn't work out he fled. And now that his whole empire has crumbled and he himself is left with nothing he has to start over and judging by the coming Scarlet Spider covers I'm assuming (based solely on the cover mind you) that at some point he will more or less go back to his old persona. My earlier wording actually should have been more like "post CC Ben is back to basics" because without the power, the money or the pills he has nothing and now has to recreate an identity for himself.

[classicgmer]

Okay so he's not emotionally or mentally the same Ben Reilly as the 90's Clone Arc... but it is going back to basics for Ben or square one actually, he had a whole contingency plan into effect that if Peter said no that he would have him killed and would assume his place, and when that didn't work out he fled. And now that his whole empire has crumbled and he himself is left with nothing he has to start over and judging by the coming Scarlet Spider covers I'm assuming (based solely on the cover mind you) that at some point he will more or less go back to his old persona. My earlier wording actually should have been more like "post CC Ben is back to basics" because without the power, the money or the pills he has nothing and now has to recreate an identity for himself.

If you wanna say that he's being somewhat reset to the status quo before he left NY and who was at first indifferent to the guy he met who was about to commit suicide then I guess that's fair but for me personally there's not a whole lot of appeal to the character from that small period in his life.


Also why do people seem to think he's going to eventually revert back to something closer to his 90's personality? If I believed for even a second there was a chance of that happening then I'd be willing to give the new ongoing more of a chance but the entire reason for him being dead 20 years was because "he's too similar to Peter." Marvel has now significantly differentiated him from Peter so I don't see them going away from that.

[Spiderfang]

If you wanna say that he's being somewhat reset to the status quo before he left NY and who was at first indifferent to the guy he met who was about to commit suicide then I guess that's fair but for me personally there's not a whole lot of appeal to the character from that small period in his life.


Also why do people seem to think he's going to eventually revert back to something closer to his 90's personality? If I believed for even a second there was a chance of that happening then I'd be willing to give the new ongoing more of a chance but the entire reason for him being dead 20 years was because "he's too similar to Peter." Marvel has now significantly differentiated him from Peter so I don't see them going away from that.

He can regain his old identity while still being different, he doesn't have to be "Peter 2.0" in fact which is why I believe they went in the direction they did with the Clone Conspiracy and made him a sort of Neutral-Evil extremist with "good intentions" with a witty sense of humor. He'll have to recreate all of that and carve out his own identity with the current persona that has been pushed upon him, that is to say if that is even the direction that Peter David is going to go with the Scarlet Spider series for all we know Ben could be a "hero for hire" demanding payment for the deeds he does, or an opportunistic antihero/villain certainly seems plausible given the events of the Clone Conspiracy.

[DVGamer7]

It's not the same Ben Reilly.

It's Ben Reilly's clone.

[Spiderfang]

It's not the same Ben Reilly.

It's Ben Reilly's clone.

For all intents and purposes of the story "Jackal" is Ben (even scooped from his original genetic material). And even the "perfect" proto-clone, that is if it even was molded after Ben/Peter would not be "the same Ben", because that Ben dissolved 20 years ago so to repeat my earlier phrasing for all intents and purposes of the story Jackal=Ben=Scarlet Spider now so no not the same Ben, but at the same time he is the same Ben.

[Pav]

It's not the same Ben Reilly.

It's Ben Reilly's clone.

You say potato. I say potato.

-Pav, who said them the same in his head..

[boots]

You say potato. I say potato.

-Pav, who said them the same in his head..

welll, to be fair, with the revelation of the original prowler and co at the end of cc....the interpretation that this is a clone of ben holds some water.

[classicgmer]

welll, to be fair, with the revelation of the original prowler and co at the end of cc....the interpretation that this is a clone of ben holds some water.

I think that it's fair to say that this isn't the original Ben Reilly but then again the upcoming " Cable" book isn't featuring the original either and it doesn't seem to bother his fans that i know of. Of course Cable doesn't seem to be as psychologically broken by his many deaths as Ben but i somewhat attribute that to his being a soldier, and having the mentality of "whatever it takes to get the job done"

[boots]

I think that it's fair to say that this isn't the original Ben Reilly but then again the upcoming " Cable" book isn't featuring the original either and it doesn't seem to bother his fans that i know of. Of course Cable doesn't seem to be as psychologically broken by his many deaths as Ben but i somewhat attribute that to his being a soldier, and having the mentality of "whatever it takes to get the job done"

well, yeah...that's the official interpretation. for all intents and purposes; this is the real deal br. but contrary head canon in this case is very easily justifiable.