Marvel Comics introduces Chasm, the latest attempt at regressing and ruining Ben Reilly

[flaxknuckles]

I actually think Ben Reilly being a villain is fine as there are already a ton of heroic Spider-people running around. And I dig the suit and name. But I don't care for the reason Ben is bad now or back when he was the Jackal. Like, just make him turn bad instead of having his memories or sanity fucked with.

 

[EYEL1NER]

I just saw that Spidercide is back and now they turn Ben back into a villain? I think this design looks kinda cool but I'll just try to forget that Ben is back until he's either "dead" again or Peter is able to break through whatever mind control or programming from Beyond that will be revealed to be behind all of this.

 

[ev0]

I'm not even a Ben Reily fan and this upsets me. They did him dirty. And boy that dialogue is 90s edgelord. And the splash has only one sentence on it..

 

[IrishNinja]

I just saw that Spidercide is back and now they turn Ben back into a villain? I think this design looks kinda cool but I'll just try to forget that Ben is back until he's either "dead" again or Peter is able to break through whatever mind control or programming from Beyond that will be revealed to be behind all of this.

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wait i'm mostly only reading ASM and miles at the moment, where did spidercide come back? he's like the one character from that arc i'd have left dead

which is to say i'd prolly bring back judas traveller and scrier and not fuck it up somehow

 

[KtotheRoc]

wait i'm mostly only reading ASM and miles at the moment, where did spidercide come back? he's like the one character from that arc i'd have left dead

which is to say i'd prolly bring back judas traveller and scrier and not fuck it up somehow

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There's a Ben Reilly book set during the 90s Clone Saga currently being published.

 

[Sagroth]

I'd also like to point out how damned annoying of a trope it is to have Ben (or any of Peter's clones) be envious of Peter's life. Like, has any of them actually paid any attention? Peter's life is shit because the writers won't let him be anything other than a perpetual loser. Why not let Ben or Kaine actually fulfill the promise of the "Big Time" run and let them be successful since they're not tied down by Peter's baggage? Why not let Ben have a successful marriage and hero/life balance to show that Peter's self-flagellating guilt has a cost that he's really bringing on himself?

If the writers and editorial don't think Ben has a place in Spidey's world, then maybe they need to stop either having him be either Hobo Peter or a villain, and actually let the character PROGRESS for once. It worked for Venom, FFS.

 

[Oneandonly16]

Does Marvel hate Ben Reilly?

 

[IrishNinja]

There's a Ben Reilly book set during the 90s Clone Saga currently being published.

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ohhh totally forgot bout that with the beyond stuff....is it any good?

 

[KtotheRoc]

ohhh totally forgot bout that with the beyond stuff....is it any good?

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It's written by JM DeMatteis.

 

[ZeoVGM]

this is it 100%, by the way

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Here we go, I found it. One of my favorite and most vivid comic pages from the 90s. It's from part 1 of Revelations, the final arc of the Clone Saga.

This is why fans wanted Ben back.

 

[Emperor_El]

Could've just let Ben be West Coast Spider-Man.

 

[CrocodileGrin]

I haven't read any of the new Ben stuff, but he'll always be my favorite Spidey. It's amazing how Marvel still find ways to ruin the character. Like, what made Ben great was that he was Spider-Man without the limitations and responsibilities that were a constant burden on Peter, as he often disappointed his friends and family being Spiderman. Now Ben is an edge-lord that's jealous of Pete, someone that was like a brother to him???

smh, c'mon Marvel.

 

[CaptainKashup]

"There can only be one Spider-Man. Except for Miles. And Spider-Gwen, who's literally just Spider-Man but a girl, down to having the exact same origin story as Peter. And Silk. And..."
"What about Ben?"
"ONLY ONE SPIDER-MAN"

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Don't talk about Gwen like that. :'(

 

[Sagroth]

It's written by JM DeMatteis.

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So…no then?

Edit: mistook him for a different writer. My bad, y'all.

 

[KtotheRoc]

So…no then?

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DeMatteis is one of the best Spider-Man writers.

 

[PhoenixAKG]

The only upside is he might get some neat powers from this......

 

[Lukar]

I have no opinion on this other than "that's a really rad design". I love it.

 

[Sagroth]

DeMatteis is one of the best Spider-Man writers.

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Oh wait, I think I was mistaking him for the writer that had Gwen bang Norman Osborn.

 

[Deleted member 34949]

So…no then?

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Dude wrote Kraven's Last Hunt

He's legit

 

[Lord Fanny]

So Ben has Baja Blast powers now?

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The Dew must flow

 

[Lord Fanny]

Oh wait, I think I was mistaking him for the writer that had Gwen bang Norman Osborn.

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J. Michael Straczynski

 

[AlgusUnderdunk]

This is dumb.

But how many Spider-Man's are running around right now?

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Depends, how many are we counting Spiders-Man as?

Also... wasn't Ben Reilly ALREADY put through a villain turn as the new Jackal? The Jackal that actually resembled a jackal?

 

[Sagroth]

J. Michael Straczynski

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Ah, it was them both starting with J. M that threw me off.

 

[AlgusUnderdunk]

He... looks kinda like a grape in the Chasm costume.

Not going to lie, I kinda want to put him in my fruit salad.

 

[Maximum Spider]

Other's have said it, but it needs reiterating, why can't he just be The Scarlet Spider. Ugh, this is all so stupid. Maybe they'll feel inspired to do right by him if the MCU and Sony have any plans for Ben.

 

[KtotheRoc]

Other's have said it, but it needs reiterating, why can't he just be The Scarlet Spider. Ugh, this is all so stupid. Maybe they'll feel inspired to do right by him if the MCU and Sony have any plans for Ben.

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I'm not sure how the MCU would handle Ben Reilly, lol. Probably would be easier to hope he shows up in a Spider-Verse movie. (Although blonde Peter voiced by Chris Pine sort of was Ben Reilly.)

 

[Maximum Spider]

I'm not sure how the MCU would handle Ben Reilly, lol. Probably would be easier to hope he shows up in a Spider-Verse movie. (Although blonde Peter voiced by Chris Pine sort of was Ben Reilly.)

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Yeah, I don't think the Clone Saga is something that can really work outside of a TV show. And in that case, you'd have to plant the seeds in earlier seasons and then have it pay off later.

 

[KtotheRoc]

Yeah, I don't think the Clone Saga is something that can really work outside of a TV show. And in that case, you'd have to plant the seeds in earlier seasons and then have it pay off later.

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I was just thinking about how they just did a multiversal team-up film so they aren't going to have the next movie be about Peter and his clone(s).

 

[SquirrelSr]

Not really following the comics but what was Ben Reilly doing before he became Chasm?

 

[Trigger]

The costume is legit tho. I really like the coloring.

 

[IrishNinja]

It's written by JM DeMatteis.

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...say no more, ill catch up soon

Here we go, I found it. One of my favorite and most vivid comic pages from the 90s. It's from part 1 of Revelations, the final arc of the Clone Saga.

This is why fans wanted Ben back.

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this is good. i totally missed this arc in the day, because i'm pretty sure i dropped out sometime after the reveal, or maybe it was timebomb

Could've just let Ben be West Coast Spider-Man.

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there's literally zero reason he couldn't set up a spider franchise there, yeah

Oh wait, I think I was mistaking him for the writer that had Gwen bang Norman Osborn.

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J. Michael Straczynski

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to be fair, JMS had a mostly fun run without awful bits like that. ultimate aside, the character was kinda in the toilet before and he tried some stuff, the totem things were weird but it was obvious to me he really wanted to be writing dr strange or something as the run went on

I'm not sure how the MCU would handle Ben Reilly, lol. Probably would be easier to hope he shows up in a Spider-Verse movie. (Although blonde Peter voiced by Chris Pine sort of was Ben Reilly.)

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in an alternate timeline tobey plays the clone in no way home, and it's no less messy

 

[ZeoVGM]

this is good. i totally missed this arc in the day, because i'm pretty sure i dropped out sometime after the reveal, or maybe it was timebomb

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Yeeeeeaaaaaahhhh...

 

[Naijaboy]

Feels like the people who want MJ dead and make Clone Saga happen are still in power in Marvel. It's all been downhill with the goodwill since they failed to undo One More Day.

 

[y2kyle89]

...so is he a symbiote now or what?

 

[PanzerKraken]

Theres too many spider people, really never cared about Ben either so them bringing him back was a huge groan worthy moment. Him being bad was ugh, then making him good again? Oh for fucks sake. Now this....

Just kill him off for good

PS: Kaine was better

 

[IrishNinja]

Yeeeeeaaaaaahhhh...

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that's the one. i get that we had to deal with kaine's loose end there, but pete crossed a line that most folks forgot but ended up defining hank pym

 

[Nakenorm]

Here we go, I found it. One of my favorite and most vivid comic pages from the 90s. It's from part 1 of Revelations, the final arc of the Clone Saga.

This is why fans wanted Ben back.

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Yeah. Sad thing is they straight up had this scene be part of the last Beyond issue as well.

...so is he a symbiote now or what?

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He fell in some experimental weird goo, but doubt it's a symbiote.

 

[KtotheRoc]

that's the one. i get that we had to deal with kaine's loose end there, but pete crossed a line that most folks forgot but ended up defining hank pym

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MJ was pregnant at the time too.

 

[Drakeon]

Poor Ben. I thought they were doing him right by giving him time as Spiderman again, but this ain't it.

 

[flaxknuckles]

So Ben has Baja Blast powers now?

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And the Hulk now has Code Red vision. They both got Mountain Dew powers on the same day.

 

[KtotheRoc]

Yeah. Sad thing is they straight up had this scene be part of the last Beyond issue as well.

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That scene and this scene with Ben and MJ were in the last issue of Beyond.

 

[Mancha]

As someone that hates Ben Reilly, I hope that he finally works as a villain or they just stop talking about him altogether. The whole Spider-Man clone saga is boring, this is an interesting twist.

I actually think Ben Reilly being a villain is fine as there are already a ton of heroic Spider-people running around. And I dig the suit and name. But I don't care for the reason Ben is bad now or back when he was the Jackal. Like, just make him turn bad instead of having his memories or sanity fucked with.

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Also this.

 

[just_myles]

Makes perfect sense. Great job marvel!

 

[Pharaun]

Why they got to do my boy Ben like that? Just let him be Scarlet Spider in somewhere that's not NYC and leave him alone.

 

[IrishNinja]

so, prior to the twist, i really don't get why 90s spidey fans didn't enjoy the clone saga

- new villains being introduced (again i really thought traveller/scrier started out interesting too)
- aunt may has one of the most tasteful deaths of that era
- pete's supporting cast finally grows beyond the usual suspects
- ben shows up on the scene and absolutely handles venom with impact webbing/etc, you can see the differences in them early
- spidey costume variations are almost always dope
- jackal isn't the best mastermind but we finally have something that wasn't tied to osborn, until the bullshit mea cupa final act
- shit man kaine's running around snapping classic villain necks, stunner wants revenge, pete's trying to deal with this after losing aunt may and hearing the prophecy of harm coming to MJ and also she's preggers and all 4 spidey books are bouncing around fun stuff what more do you want

still sad the life & times of ben reilly went offline, the writer notes in there were interesting (again kaine's powers were meant to be an evolution of pete's, etc)

 

[PanzerKraken]

so, prior to the twist, i really don't get why 90s spidey fans didn't enjoy the clone saga

- new villains being introduced (again i really thought traveller/scrier started out interesting too)
- aunt may has one of the most tasteful deaths of that era
- pete's supporting cast finally grows beyond the usual suspects
- ben shows up on the scene and absolutely handles venom with impact webbing/etc, you can see the differences in them early
- spidey costume variations are almost always dope
- jackal isn't the best mastermind but we finally have something that wasn't tied to osborn, until the bullshit mea cupa final act
- shit man kaine's running around snapping classic villain necks, stunner wants revenge, pete's trying to deal with this after losing aunt may and hearing the prophecy of harm coming to MJ and also she's preggers and all 4 spidey books are bouncing around fun stuff what more do you want

still sad the life & times of ben reilly went offline, the writer notes in there were interesting (again kaine's powers were meant to be an evolution of pete's, etc)

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Clone Saga was massive and lasted way way too long. They kept also pulling the rug from under readers on whose who, what's real, and it's clear the editors at Marvel kept changing their minds as it went back and forth for years. Lot of fans also loved Peter and he was established as his Spiderman, to have someone come in and go "your not real, this is now the real spiderman", was a kick in the groin for many fans too. But then again it went on for years and they kept backing off on the twists with new twists and it required following so so many books. It just was frustrating as all hell at the time.

It's common to see and hear from fans how they quit during this period, they got sick of years of this storyline just never ending, and then disappointed twists making folks mad and then changing it later. It just pissed lot of folks off. Folks happy with Ben, but angry Peter fans. Then you get Peter fans happy again who stuck around and only to have them make the Ben fans upset. It kept doing shit to both sides and then the cop out ending to it all

 

[IrishNinja]

Clone Saga was massive and lasted way way too long. They kept also pulling the rug from under readers on whose who, what's real, and it's clear the editors at Marvel kept changing their minds as it went back and forth for years. Lot of fans also loved Peter and he was established as his Spiderman, to have someone come in and go "your not real, this is now the real spiderman", was a kick in the groin for many fans too. But then again it went on for years and they kept backing off on the twists with new twists and it required following so so many books. It just was frustrating as all hell at the time.

It's common to see and hear from fans how they quit during this period, they got sick of years of this storyline just never ending, and then disappointed twists making folks mad and then changing it later. It just pissed lot of folks off. Folks happy with Ben, but angry Peter fans. Then you get Peter fans happy again who stuck around and only to have them make the Ben fans upset. It kept doing shit to both sides and then the cop out ending to it all

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no no, i'm not arguing at the point of "the reveal/twist"....something like 80% (i wanna say?) of the readership dropped off by then, and with good reason. i was one of them, i read some of ben's sensational stuff but was largely checked out...x-books were kinda struggling soon after, it was a rough time for flagship books

you're not wrong that it went on way longer than need be, but the stuff i posted about is largely in the first half of the event, and that's when i think it was really great. by the end (having gone back & read it, after basically just letting wizard spoil it because i was salty) the whole tying in osborn/offing ben was obviously reactionary and something of a mercy killing anyway

 

[devenger]

...




🤔

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Miles Per Owler?

 

[SinnyIndonesian]

That one issue worked so hard to destroy Ben's character. I knew it was coming since people here told me about the leak, but reading the actual issue was way worse.

 

[Nateo]

Should have just let him be Spiderman in another country just rip off Batman incorporated.