Spider-Man's Clone Saga Finally Gets The Resolution Fans Waited For
Warning: Contains a preview for The Amazing Spider-Man #93
The most controversial storyline in Spider-Man's history, the Clone Saga, is finally getting the resolution that fans wanted so many years ago. In a preview for The Amazing Spider-Man #93 by Zeb Wells, Sara Pichelli, Mark Bagley, Patrick Gleason, and Bryan Valenza, the "original" clone, Ben Reilly, is getting rid of Peter Parker, both figuratively and literally.
Running from 1994 to 1996, the Clone Saga was supposed to revolutionize Spider-Man. A clone of Peter Parker created years before by the Jackal, reappears but DNA tests reveal that Peter is the actual clone. It was a huge, shocking reveal: a beloved character was not who the fans believed, and his life would change dramatically. In the end, however, very little changed after two years and a half of storylines. It was revealed that the results were altered, Peter was the original, and the clone Ben Reilly died heroically while fighting against the Green Goblin. Many fans felt that Marvel lacked the courage to deliver on its promise of changing things forever for Spider-Man, and took the easy way out.
Ben resurfaced years later, resurrected by the Jackal once again. He moved to Las Vegas in an attempt to build a new life for himself, but that was not an easy task. Ben is a perfect copy of Peter, and he not only possesses all his powers, but also the same memories. While this contributes to making Ben a hero just like Peter is, at the same time it makes him feel like an impostor, regardless of how far away from Spider-Man he stays. Recently, Ben returned to New York and was contacted by the Beyond Corporation, a mysterious enterprise that acquired the rights to the Spider-Man name and image and wanted Ben to become their own trademark superhero. Ben's doubts were dispelled when Peter was injured during a fight with the U-Foes and appointed Ben as his substitute while recovering. However, things did not turn out that well, as Ben became a pawn for the Beyond Corporation's nefarious plans, ultimately leading to a confrontation with original Spider-Man Peter Parker. Check out the preview images for The Amazing Spider-Man #93 below:
As a way to improve his performance on the field, Beyond put Ben through a process that erased most of Peter's memories from his brain, including those regarding key figures such as Uncle Ben. This made Ben less heroic and more ruthless, and also took away a big part of what makes him "himself." Ben's reference to the fact that Peter's voice, telling him who he is and where he is from, is no longer in his head could be taken as a positive result but that's not the case. Ben was already terrified that Peter could "take back his life," a condition that his therapist calls "loss of personal identity." This is essentially what Beyond did to him, and Ben just can't take it, but it's exactly what fans wanted from the Clone Saga. If Ben is no longer Peter, then whoever remains at the end of this confrontation will be the one and only Spider-Man, with no more chances of taking each other's place and then resetting everything again.
The Clone Saga certainly changed the face of Spider-Man's world forever and defined Marvel throughout the 1990s (mostly in a bad way). Ben Reilly is a tragic character who can never be sure if he is "real" or just someone else's copy. The Clone Saga decided to not explore the consequences of this premise in full, and just returned everything to the status quo, but Ben losing his memories of Peter, and the confrontation between the two Spider-Men, could finally bring to this story that resolution that fans have been waiting for decades. Find out when The Amazing Spider-Man #93 goes on sale March 30.