Stillanerd Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #24
By Mike McNulty
Spider-Man’s clone, “Ben Reilly,” continues soiling whatever reputation and good will he has left in this last Clone Conspiracy tie-in.
Ben Reilly shouldn’t have come back. Not the one that’s been pushed on readers all during Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy anyway. The only saving grace is that, technically, this “Ben Reilly” isn’t the original Scarlet Spider, and former Spider-Man, back from the dead. Instead, this Ben is the twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth clone (I think) of Peter Parker calling himself “Ben Reilly.” In any case, “Ben Reilly”/Jackal/Anubis/The Man in Red/Ben27 has proven a terrible choice of antagonist for this Spider-Man crossover event. Unfortunately, Marvel also counted on fans being so ecstatic over Ben Reilly’s “return,” that they also green-lit a new ongoing Scarlet Spider series with him as the headliner. Which means writers Dan Slott and Christos Gage must pave the way to salvage him before the new series begins. Well, it that was Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #24’s main goal, then it has failed miserably.
It does, however, clear up a few loose ends left from Clone Conspiracy #5. For instance, we revisit the scene in which Spider-Man (during the only time he appears in his own comic) activates an “inverse frequency” to reverse the effects of the Carrion virus pandemic caused be degenerating clones. This time, however, Slott and Gage give Spidey added dialogue and narration which better explains the effect this “inverse frequency” will have on the clones and those infected. Moreover, a series of panels showing that frequency broadcast around the world via Parker Industries’ Webware–and some people destroying the devices to stop the painful noise–provides readers with a greater scene of scope and consequence in Spider-Man’s method for saving the world. It would’ve been even better if Slott had done this with Clone Conspiracy #5 instead of consigning it to a tie-in, but I digress.
Credit: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, and Jason Keith (Marvel Comics); from Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #24
“Ben Reilly” isn’t some tragic, misguided hero who’s fighting for his own survival while on a quest for personal redemption; he’s a delusional, unrepentant villain trying to save his own backside.
We also see how Ben27 survives, and thankfully, it’s not the result of him uploading his mind into the “Proto Clone,” although he certainly does try. That, rather, is how Doctor Octopus cheats death. Because he’s “The Superior Spider-Man,” and this was his plan all along, don’t you know? Which no longer makes Doc Ock’s return seem a total waste of time like Clone Conspiracy #5 suggested, even if it also makes him a (neural) clone of a clone of a clone of a clone, who, having possessed his own clone, now resides inside the body of yet another clone. In any case, it forces Ben27 to resort towards alternative methods of self-preservation. Like popping his New U degeneration prevention pills like M&Ms, or huffing the “inverse frequency” from a stolen Webware. But he must also contend with the real Jackal, Miles Warren, who’s understandably–and hypocritically–furious over Ben27 tricking him into believing he was just another clone himself.
Thus what we have is Peter Parker’s clone fighting two of Peter Parker’s major villains on two different occasions in one issue. Should be exciting…except why should we root for “Ben Reilly?” Because he’s the original Scarlet Spider finally back from the dead, even though, according to how the cloning process works, he actually isn’t? Because he had “good intentions,” even though he’s clearly a psychopath? Or is it because he’ll be the protagonist of his own upcoming comic book series?
Credit: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, and Jason Keith (Marvel Comics); from Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #24
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See, the biggest problem with The Clone Conspiracy, and with this comic specifically, is it assumes readers will see “Ben Reilly” as someone inherently good no matter what his actions “just because.” When Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #22 showed how Ben27 lost his sanity, it assumed we’d see him as a source of pity more so than a source of evil that Spider-Man must defeat. And now, after showing “Ben Reilly” as the bad guy throughout the entire crossover, this comic now assumes we’ll see him as the good guy again, even though it does nothing to actually to earn this. “Ben Reilly” isn’t some tragic, misguided hero who’s fighting for his own survival while on a quest for personal redemption; he’s a delusional, unrepentant villain trying to save his own backside. When Ben27 pulls down a support column to bury the Jackal alive in flaming rubble, I crossed my fingers in the hope he’d bury himself, too. Because within the context of the story, it’d be no less than what he deserved.
Besides, what purpose does it serve to have another supposed antihero with spider-powers? There’s already Kaine, who himself is Peter Parker’s clone with a darker edge, and whose legitimately more sympathetic. If the “proto-clone” is genetically identical to Peter, too, then Doc Ock already reclaims the mantle of a “Spider-Man” who’s actions are morally questionable. One can even argue that Venom satisfies this, also. So not only do we have a character whose transformation from hero to villain poorly executed, there’s no legitimate reason for him even still being around other than Marvel wanting another Spider-Man spin-off comic.
Credit: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, and Jason Keith (Marvel Comics); from Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #24
after The Clone Conspiracy and Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #24, readers will likely say to themselves, “if this is the Ben Reilly we’re getting from now on, then he was better off as a pile of clothes and ash.”
Equally unnecessary is devoting an entire comic towards this. What passes for plot is stretched far too thin, and would’ve been better served if it were cut in half and used as a back-up for Clone Conspiracy #5. Part of this is because of Slott and Gage’s script, of course, but also because of artist Giuseppe Camuncoli. Aside from having two splash pages and two double-page spreads to fill out the page count, there’s no more than five panels per page. But on the bright side, Camuncoli does provide some great looking visuals. The scenes of the various Miles Warren clones melting is are appropriately horrific, while the real Miles Warren melodramatically holding up his Jackal mask amidst rising clone dust is perfect in its pure visual storytelling. Likewise, the two fight sequences between Ben27 and Doc Ock in the New U lab, and later Ben27 and Jackal in the burning replica of the Parker’s Forest Hill house are some of the liveliest, arresting, and cinematic visuals he’s illustrated in some time. Also, with Camuncoli’s depiction of “Ben Reilly,” his skin wrinkled and cracked, eyes wide pupils constricted to the size of pinpoints, we not only see the depths of his insanity, we see how whatever vestiges of Peter Parker that remain are now as physically distorted as his own psyche.
Even so, after The Clone Conspiracy and Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #24, readers will likely say to themselves, “if this is the Ben Reilly we’re getting from now on, then he was better off as a pile of clothes and ash.” And while I’m confident that Peter David and Mark Bagley will do an excellent job with Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider, but the damage done to “Ben Reilly” and his “return” is still off-putting as it is overwhelming. When then Marvel Editor-in-Chief, Bob Harras, ordered Ben Reilly killed off during the 1990s Clone Saga, fans and creators alike, having grown to love the character, hated his decision. They believed Ben Reilly, even if he wasn’t the real Spider-Man, still had a place in the Marvel Universe, and shouldn’t be the scapegoat for the Saga’s failures. Looks after twenty years, those folks may owe Bob Harras an apology.
Stillanerd’s Nerdy Nitpicks (spoilers ahead)
Credit: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, and Jason Keith (Marvel Comics); from Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #24
Don’t feel too bad, Nick Lowe, Devin Lewis, and Allison Stock. Because I, too, have difficulty spelling Gabriele Dell’Otto’s name correctly.
And still no explanation as for why some clones fall apart faster than others, I see.
“That body was supposed to be mine!” Really, Ben27? Because I seem to recall you offering that same body to Anna Maria as a reward for her help not too long ago.
Aside from Ben27’s “Don’t do drugs” monologue being a poor attempt at sounding like Deadpool, it’s also factually incorrect. Because none of the clones, including you, have turned into a “zombie.” At least not the kind Kaine and Spider-Gwen encountered in all those other dimensions.
Gee, Ben27 sure is lucky he and the Miles Warren clones have the exact same shirt size.
“It’s the most popular electronic device on Earth!” I think Apple–whose iPhone Parker Industries clearly ripped-off–would beg to differ, Ben27.
Hey, Miles Warren? You know what would’ve saved you a lot more time and effort? If you had killed Ben27 at the New U headquarters while he was still unconscious.
“The Original was more on the ball.” Does Miles Warren Peter Parker, or the original Ben Reilly? Fits either way, I guess.
If that replica of the Forest Hills house was filled natural gas, then 1) how can the Jackal still be alive and breathing if he’s been waiting inside that gas-filled house for Ben27 all that time? And 2) Why didn’t the house immediately explode after he lit that match?
Given all the chaos that’s probably still going on during the aftermath of a world-wide contagion, it’s amazing the rapid response time of the San Francisco Fire Department responding to some random house fire, isn’t it?
So nobody mistakes Ben27 for Peter Parker? The same Peter Parker that’s now a world-famous CEO of a multinational corporation worth billions of dollars, and the inventor of “the most popular electronic device on Earth?” They don’t question how some guy who looks like Peter is displaying powers just like Spider-Man’s? Gee, I guess if Parker Industries really did go bankrupt, everyone really would forget all about Peter Parker in less than a week.