Why Spider-Man Fans Have Grown To Appreciate (And Even Love) Ben Reilly And Scarlet Spider
Those who were reading Marvel Comics in the 1990s likely recall the Spider-Man Clone Saga with embarrassment. From 1994 all the way through 1996, Spider-Man was embroiled in an extensive plot involving a villain named the Jackal and a villainous scheme to flood the world with Spider-Man duplicates. The story involved a Peter Parker clone named Kaine, the death of Aunt May (!), and the discovery that one of Peter's clones had been alive, living as a drifter, since the 1970s.
The Clone Saga technically began in the 1970s. The Jackal, it turns out, was an ex-teacher of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy who was creepily in love with the latter. When Gwen died, he used his skills in cloning to bring her back from the dead. He also cloned Peter, just for fun I guess. In making the clone, though, the Jackal learned that Peter was Spider-Man, and immediately sought revenge on the original Spider-Man, who he blamed for Gwen's death. Peter and his clone teamed up to fight the Jackal. The clone was killed in a bomb blast. Peter knew he was the original Spider-Man, though, because he was already in love with Mary-Jane.
Fast-forward to the 1990s, and the Jackal returned, along with the Peter Parker clone — going by the name of Ben Reilly — who had survived the bomb blast somehow. Ben Reilly developed a new costume and took to the streets as The Scarlet Spider, hero-ing alongside the original Peter. Twost of twists: it was revealed that Ben Reilly was the original all along! Peter was the clone! Peter could now safely retire and Ben was to be the new Spider-Man.
Fans didn't like it.
Until 2023. Now the Scarlet Spider is in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse."
The Scarlet Spider
In 2023, the Clone Saga is considered by many to be a low point in Spider-Man's history. Perhaps ironically, the Clone Saga was also, even to this day, one of the best-selling Spider-Man stories of all time. Even if no one liked it, everyone read it.
It's worth noting that the Scarlet Spider was one of the most 1990s of creations. His costume consisted of a ripped blue sweatshirt and was replete with the necessary wrist and belt pouches that were very much in vogue at the time. He sported bleached blonde hair and worked as a barista at a then-novel Starbucks-like coffee shop. The only way he could be more 1990s would be if he also played in a grunge band and ran a Spider-Man website (via dial-up, natch).
In the comics, Ben Reilly was similar to Spider-Man in that he was friendly, heroic, and approachable. In "Across the Spider-Verse," the character was altered to match other comic book trends of the 1990s. Andy Samberg plays the character and often mumbles about his perfectly-drawn musculature, a comment on the way most superheroes were drawn in 1994. He also is a broody character, wailing in agony when he thinks of his past. In one scene, the Scarlet Spider screams and then comments he hit upon a particularly dark memory. This is all played for laughs, of course.
While the makers of "Across" are clearly using their platform to deride the Scarlet Spider a little, they also seem to have some affection for the character. In a multiverse of Spider-People, the filmmakers had a bottomless well to draw from when it came to Spider-Men to highlight ... and they still elected Ben Reilly as their golden child.
The forgiveness of fans
Given the reaction in this author's theater, fans seemed just as excited to see the Scarlet Spider as the filmmakers were to include him.
What happened? Is the Scarlet Spider liked now? It would seem so.
Fans, you see, have a tendency to welcome most things, once enough time has passed. Films and comic book stories and characters that were once derided as terrible missteps are eventually going to be relitigated, often for the positive. One might recall "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" was once considered the worst thing that ever happened to "Star Wars." Endless video essays have been authored deriding the film and pointing out its many, many flaws. But certain kids grew up watching that film, and those kids eventually wrested popular opinion back from the naysaying, declaring "The Phantom Menace" to be "good, actually." The oldsters also came to accept that, no matter how bad the film might be, it was now canon and needed to be considered alongside the other films in the series. It has been salvaged.
Something similar seems to have happened with the Scarlet Spider. Fans lived with him for so long, they eventually, begrudgingly accepted him. Even if he came from a dark time in the comics, some began to welcome him — ironically at first, then sincerely — into the canonical fold. By 2023, fans came to love him, even if they still kind of hated him. He's now in a high-profile studio animated feature.
Not all past embarrassments are forgiven — few count the Ewok films as "official" "Star Wars" movies for instance — but some of them worm their way back into our hearts. Welcome back, Ben Reilly, you broody, '90s man.