Ben Reillys New Identity Chasm Is Doomed to Fail

Ben Reilly’s New Identity Chasm Is Doomed to Fail

Former Spider-Man Ben Reilly’s transformation into the villainous Chasm at the conclusion of the “Beyond” storyline may be destined to fail.

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Ben Reillys New Identity Chasm Is Doomed to Fail

The following contains spoilers for recent issues of Amazing Spider-Man, on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Ben Reilly, the clone of Spider-Man, has gone through many changes over the years. While he once was the heroic Scarlet Spider, his latest transformation into Chasm has rattled many of his longtime fans. Ben, a perfect copy of Peter Parker, had recently been operating as Spider-Man while Peter recovered from injuries that he sustained in Amazing Spider-Man #75 (by various writers and artists). For fans of Reilly, it was a dream come true seeing Peter give him his blessings to carry on for him as Spider-Man. However, during the storyline Ben had his memories wiped by the Beyond corporation, leading to the degradation of his mind and soul until he was a blank slate and took up the villainous identity.

It has been a long journey for Ben Reilly, who was created by one of Peter Parker’s enemies for the sole purpose of destroying the webslinger. After a battle with his double in Shea Stadium in Amazing Spider-Man #149 (by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru), Ben escaped and exiled himself to the road for five years. His years away forged him into something completely different, as he didn’t have Peter’s support structure to rely upon. He only had himself and the memories of Parker to guide him on his journey of self-discovery. Ben didn’t expect help from anyone, and everything he accomplished was done in spite of his troubled past.

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Ben Reillys New Identity Chasm Is Doomed to Fail

Ben eventually returned to New York in Web of Spider-Man #117 (by Terry Kavanaugh and Steven Butler) and carved out his own path as the Scarlet Spider. After an antagonistic reunion with Peter, the two joined forces to fight the Jackal and started to form a brotherly bond. When Peter’s wife Mary Jane found out she was pregnant, pressure was put on Parker to retire his webs. Ben now believed himself to be the original Peter Parker due to a doctored test result and was thrilled to once again don the Spider-Man costume in Peter’s place. However, in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #75 (by Howard Mackie and John Romita Jr.), Norman Osborn, the original Green Goblin, returned from the grave and murdered Ben, who heroically sacrificed himself to save Peter. Ben degenerated into dust upon death (proving he was the clone all along) and Peter became Spider-Man once again.

What was happening behind the scenes at Marvel was as complicated as the storyline unfolding in the Spider-Man titles. While initially good, sales started to decline once Ben took over as the iconic wall-crawler. Marvel overreacted to this plight and dispatched him with true finality. The publisher was so eager to put what was now known as the “Clone Saga” behind them that Ben Reilly was barely mentioned over the next twenty years. However, he left behind a small but loyal fanbase that always yearned for him to one day return.

In 2016’s Clone Conspiracy mini-series (by Dan Slott and Jim Cheung) Ben finally returned as the new Jackal, obsessed with an insane plan to kill everyone and replace them with clones. This resulted in the predictable fan uproar that usually occurs when established characters are changed so much that they barely resemble their former selves. Over the next couple of years, Marvel seemed confused about how to properly handle Ben, with him flitting between being good or evil in runs like Peter David’s Scarlet Spider series and the Spider-Geddon event. But then came Beyond, and Ben was Spider-Man once more…until he wasn’t. With the destruction of many of the elements of his personality, Reilly became a hollow vessel bent on vengeance. The former Spider-Man’s actions as Chasm have thus far been anything but heroic, triggering a new wave of complaints from his fanbase.

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Spider-Man editor Nick Lowe has admitted that it’s difficult to find a place for Ben in the modern books, and the sentiment is completely understandable. Miles Morales already brings much-needed diversity to the mantle, and Peter is now single, rendering Reilly’s original purpose moot. However, works such as J.M. DeMatteis’ riveting Ben Reilly: Spider-Man mini-series shows there’s still a lot of ground to be explored with the character beyond being made into yet another Spider-villain.

Link Source : https://www.cbr.com/ben-reilly-chasm-doomed-spider-man-marvel/

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