My ONE gripe with the new 'Ben Reilly' series

[MJM Mystery Writer]

I was hesitant to try this title...especially after the way Ben was portrayed in the 'Clone Conspiracy' storyline. However, I've given it a chance and I've enjoyed the issues so far. BUT, from my point of view, this person.....this clone.....is simply a character with his own series calling himself "Ben Reilly."

By that, I mean, he hasn't truly embraced the 'Ben Reilly' identity like I thought he would. There are no flashbacks of his so-called previous life. There are no recollections of his life as Spider-man (filling in for Peter), or his time on the road called 'The Lost Years." This clone never thinks of his time with Janine Tyne (his girlfriend) or his friends at the Daily Grind coffee shop. Hell, this clone doesn't even discuss the ways he was "killed" 26 times or what that torture did to him.

Right now, a person like Kaine has every right to confront this clone and call him "Ben27" like so many other posters have described the clone on this site. If PAD wants this series to succeed, he's going to have the readers BELIEVE that this clone really IS Ben Reilly and not just a generic clone with the same name as our beloved Scarlet Spider.

We need more references to his past life....maybe even a few cameos from his former supporting cast. Whatever he can do would help.....but it needs to be done soon.

[MJM Mystery Writer]

Does anyone think one of the Scarlet Spiders will be killed off eventually, too?

[MetalWoman]

Does anyone think one of the Scarlet Spiders will be killed off eventually, too?

Kaine has died like four times now, while Ben is on his 27th life. If these guys have proved anything it is that you cannot keep a good (or evil) clone down.

[SuperiorIronman]

If any Scarlet Spider is going to be killed off it will be the last MVP clone since I don't think anything has been done with him since Fear itself. Kaine is like Ultron to Hank Pym, you need him for stories in that rivalry, but Kaine dying also doesn't work since Ben is actually the more villainous of the two these days, and attempted genocide is kind of a hard thing to overlook.

It's pretty clear Ben27 is Ben Reilly in name only since so much of him is divorced from the former. He's enough Ben to have a connection but at the same time you can break that connection by blowing on it that it might as well be a new character. I'm sure eventually he will be like Ben Reilly again but the madhouse clone angle seems to come more from Clone Conspiracy rather than anything from Ben's actual run.