Ben Reilly - Steal My Kisses - Danial Carroll

[It should be noted that I have not read any Spider-Man, and know next to nothing about the Clone Saga, so if this does not fit anywhere within continuity, let's just pretend it's an alternate reality or something :P]

PAGE ONE (seven panels)

PANEL 1. Ben Reilly, wearing the standard Spider-Man costume, is perched atop a building, looking down at the street below.

CAPTION:

Before you judge me for what I'm about to do, let me ask you a question...

PANEL 2. From down at street-level, Peter Parker and Mary Jane are walking happily along, arms wrapped around each other. In the background, we can see Ben atop the building.

PANEL 3. Close-up of Peter and MJ. Peter's spider-sense is flaring, to which he looks rather inconvenienced. MJ is rolling her eyes.

MJ:

Let me guess...

PANEL 4. Peter is running into an adjacent alleyway, pulling his shirt open. MJ is just standing where she was.

PETER:

Sorry, MJ.

MJ:

...

PANEL 5. Spider-Man has lowered himself, upside-down, next to MJ. She is smiling.

SPIDER-MAN:

One for the road?

PANEL 6. Close up of Spider-Man and MJ kissing.

PANEL 7. Same view as the previous panel, except the two have pulled apart. Between them, in the background, down the end of the alley, we see the real Spider-Man swinging up off the ground.

CAPTION:

Could you ever just walk away from the one you love?

Ben Reilly - Most Valuable Clone - Matt Duarte

Ben Reilly in “Most Valuable Clone” by Matt Duarte

This page is laid out in six panels, two panels per each row, with three rows, all in same sizes. If you haven’t read Avengers: The Initiative, you might be slightly lost on this one. More info after the end of the script.

Panel 1

Description: A teenager boy, with medium length brown hair, notably big muscles, and a kind face sits in a empty bench in the middle of a desolate park. His bright blue t-shirt presents a stark contrast against the otherwise bleak background. This is Michael, and he is talking, though there doesn’t seem to be anyone around him. In his hand, he has a crumpled piece of paper.

MICHAEL: I just knew this “invitation” had something to do with you, Patrick. What do you want now?

Panel 2

Description: Behind Michael, a person has appeared. This is Patrick, and he has just gone out of his camouflage mode (which allows him to blend with the scenery around him). He is partially visible now, and he is wearing a shinning red and gold Iron Spider-Man suit. He too, is carrying a piece of paper in his hand.

PATRICK: I didn’t know you would be here. I got the same hand written invitation as you did.

Panel 3

Description: Patrick has now taken off his mask, and he is sitting next to Michael. Their faces look exactly alike, as does the shape of their bodies, but one is wearing normal clothes, and the other one the Spider-suit. They both have their heads halfway down, as if they hated each other.

PATRICK: Last time we talked, after the death of our brothers...

PATRICK: I promised I wouldn’t try to contact you again. I know you have your family to think about, and I wouldn’t break that promise.

Panel 4

Description: Michael is now furious, shouting at Patrick, who remains stoically calm.

MICHAEL: Why should I believe you? You are the only one that knew where I was! You are the only one that would think of the same places to hide!

PATRICK: Unless...

MICHAEL: Unless what?!

PATRICK: Unless there was another clone.

Panel 5

Description: Michael and Patrick have stopped arguing and they are sitting normally once again. They are looking straight ahead, directly at the reader, with a dumbfounded and quizzical face. A man is walking towards them, at the spot in the bench between them.

MAN: Clones! Aren’t they a pain in the back? You can’t even argue with them because they will think exactly like you!

MICHAEL & PATRICK (together): And who are you?

MAN: Me? Oh, just a friend of a friend of yours. I’m the one that invited you here, boys.

Panel 6

Description: The man is now sitting in between Michael and Patrick. He wears a faded black hoodie, which is covering part of his head, though we can still see some blond hair underneath it. He has his arms around both Michael and Patrick, in a friendly way, over their shoulders.

MAN: See, I know you can fight like Scarlet Spiders, but I’m here to teach you how to fight alongside each other. Like brothers should.

MAN: Name’s Ben: Your friendly neighborhood Scarlet Spider.

NEXT: The Scarlet Spiders will never die!

Note from the author: The idea for this page was based on the character MVP from Avengers: The Initiative. He too, was cloned. Several times, in fact. Now, the original is dead, with a clone sent in to replace him and one of the other clones wears a version of the Iron Spider suit. Complicated, yes, but so was The Clone Saga. 

Anyway, Peter Parker owes them one, and he thought it would be a good idea to send someone to train them both how to fight and how to deal with their peculiar lives, which is where Ben comes in (and this is something that he has experience dealing with). And how is Ben alive? I don't know, he just is, and that's all that matters.

Ben Reilly - My Spider-Man - Sime McDonald

PANEL ONE

We’re observing this scene from behind a panel of one-way glass, through the eyes of our mysterious foe. For the sake of dramatic tension – ruined by this sentence, really – I’m not going to reveal who until final panel of the page. Ben Reilly – alive, somehow - is sitting in a lavishly furnished room. It is a room that encompasses an aura of calm, of soulful deliberation. He’s sitting on a settee, relaxed, smiling, in the midst of genial conversation with the person seated opposite him. But we can’t see this person. Our view should be slightly obscured; maybe a piece of furniture at the forefront of the panel is blocking our view; maybe something else (never let it be said I don’t allow for artistic license!)

CAPTION (1)

Heartbeat remains steady.

No sign of elevated sweat production.

CAPTION (2)

We’ve come a long way since our first session.

PANEL TWO

Flashback! Reilly’s backhanded Norman Osborn across the room. The force of the flow makes it quite clear; Osborn’s dead. (What?!)

CAPTION (1)

No instinctive defensive movements.

No emotional response.

CAPTION (2)

(Good thing, too. I was running out of clones.)

PANEL THREE
Tight on our mysterious foe’s maniacal smile.

CAPTION

Success.

PANEL FOUR

Back on Reilly. He’s talking animatedly. He’s loving it, this simple thing, talking, socialising, entertaining. He’s happy. He’s at peace. And that’s a big thing, because this guy, he’s experienced so few truly happy moments.

CAPTION (1)

Years of conditioning, years of manipulating his psyche, years of gradually erasing his innate fear of me…

CAPTION (2)

Worth it.

PANEL FIVE

And now we see Reilly’s compatriot, sitting across from him. It is Norman Osborn. Not at all menacing; he is – rather chillingly – smiling genially, very much playing the part of Reilly’s buddy.

CAPTION

Because now, once again, I have my very own Spider-Man.

As much my ally as Parker is my foe.

PANEL SIX

Our mysterious foe steps out from the hidden doorway. Osborn, still seated, doesn’t react. He expected this, knew this moment was coming. His job is done. Reilly does react; he’s shocked, eyes wide, pupils dilated. Because although we’re staring at the back of our foe’s head, his identity is obvious. Who else has hair like Norman Osborn?*

CAPTION

And now, my clone can rest.

It’s time for Daddy to get to work.

Continued...

*Thanks go out to Rol who pointed out Harry Osborn has hair like his father. A feature the author conveniently forgot... **

**Sime is currently accepting applications to edit his work...

Ben Reilly - A Clone Again, Naturally - Rol Hirst

Panel One.

Ben Reilly stares into a mirror. His hair is dark, not the blond he dyed it in later appearances: for all intents and purposes he is Peter Parker.

CAP (Ben): This is not my face.

Panel Two.

Ben’s face or profile fades into a montage of memories. Spider-Man defeating the burglar who killed his Uncle Ben… Peter getting shouted at by J. Jonah Jameson… dancing with Gwen and MJ… Spidey holding Gwen’s body on top of Brooklyn Bridge while the Green Goblin flies overhead…

CAP (Ben): These are not my memories.

Panel Three.

Ben stands in a loft apartment somewhere in downtown Manhattan. There is no furniture, except the mirror he’s still standing before, no carpets or décor. There is however a large amount of scientific equipment – including cloning chambers – lined up down one side of the room. The loft’s skylight windows are open and we can see the Empire State Building or some other prominent landmark in the distance. It’s late in the day and the light is fading… shadows are creeping across the loft. Ben is wearing civilian clothes… because, let’s face it, if Marvel did resurrect the character for the 21st Century, the least they could do would be to give him a new costume… and clenching his fists at his side.

Ben: This is not my life. It wasn’t the first time, it isn’t now – it won’t ever be, no matter how many times you scrape up my remains into a petri dish and programme these phony cells to grow again…

Panel Four.

Ben turns towards the shadows. The Jackal steps out of the gathering gloom, his body twisted in one of those kooky Jackal poses. He’s grinning… but I’m not sure he can do anything else, wearing that mask. (Yes, he’s wearing his original Jackal costume – not the 90s “I am a Jackal, this is no costume” look. Because he’s had to regrow his own body as a clone and transfer his consciousness into that… again. All this would be explained. If I had to.)

Ben: …Professor Warren.

Jackal: Ah, but Ben, my boy, this time the choice wasn’t mine. As they used to say in Nazi Germany… “I voz only obeyink orderz!”

Panel Five.

Close on Ben, glaring at the Jackal.

Ben: Really, Professor? Whose orders this time…? Norman’s?

Voice (off-panel): No. Mine.

Panel Six.

Looking over Ben’s shoulder (the lines of his Spider Sense are buzzing) we see a second figure step out of the shadows behind the Jackal. It’s Mary Jane Watson. She is Serious.

Mary Jane: I mean, to paraphrase a certain princess…

Mary Jane: Help me, Ben Reilly – you’re my only hope.

Ben Reilly – Slowly Losing My Fidelity – Ryan K Lindsay

1. Peter Parker stands above Ben Reilly’s grave, his shoulders are slumped. This angle will be kept for the next 6 panels.

Caption: There are so many things to be said.

2. Peter looks over his shoulder, at us, to the bushes behind him. He obviously sees nothing out of the ordinary.

Caption: Yet silence seems to say the most.

3. Peter walks past the gravestone, lays a hand on it as he goes.

Peter: Rest still…brother.

4. A man walks out from the bush, we only see the back of his head, with a hat like The Goon wears, Parker is further away in the distance.

Caption: I must talk to this man. My family.

5. The man has walked further out, we can see his body outline, nothing specific, a long coat, gloves.

Caption: But not yet. Not today.

6. The man has turned back around and we see his face, it’s almost like it’s melted, this guy isn’t alright at all, he’s a smudge of humanity.

Caption: Never today.
Caption: Fact – When copying from a master you can be assured of a percentage of quality. When copying from a copy you lose fidelity in each generation.

Ben Reilly - Return - Ben Rosenthal

1. We are looking down on a cell. Half of the cell is bathed in bright light, while half appears to be in darkness. We can see a faint outline of a bed, and a table. On the table is a large glass of water, with a glass. On the light side are some shabby rags in a pile. There is also a table with a large glass of water on it, however the water inside is visibly dirty. A single figure sits towards the back of the cell, knees pulled up to his chest. His arms are holding his legs, his head face down, resting on his knees. He is dressed in rags. An IV drip hangs from his arm, with enough length on it to surmise that this person could move around freely with it still attached. The IV drip goes into the wall.

REILLY (Caption)
A fight. Black. This cell.

REILLY (Caption)
Norman did it. Caught me by surprise. Replaced me with another clone, and killed it. Everyone thinks I’m dead. Peter...

2. A close up of the man, his head raised. It is a severely thin and malnourished Ben Reilly. His blonde hair has grown out and been hastily cut, with the original brown hair grown in its place. He once again looks identical to Peter (besides the severely thin and malnourished part).

REILLY (Caption)
May as well be...

REILLY (Caption)
I AM the clone. Norman told me that. Repeatedly.

3. Reilly is standing up, the best as he can. His gaunt frame almost folds under its own weight.

REILLY (Caption)
No way to think. Too weak to keep trying to escape. Just have to survive. Thirsty.

4. Reilly’s hand is touching the glass in the white.


5. Reilly being electrocuted, due to touching the glass of water on the light side of the cell.

REILLY (Caption)
YARGHHHHHHH!

6. Reilly looking towards the dark side of the cell. His face is that of a broken man.

REILLY (Caption)
I’m only the clone. It won’t matter. Just...just so tired.

7. Reilly walks into the dark side of the cell from the light.

REILLY
Sorry, Peter.

GREEN GOBLIN (off panel)
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

Why Ben Reilly?

I’m going to explain the Clone Saga as quickly as I can. Deep breath now....

He was Peter Parker, The Amazing Spider-Man’s clone. An exact duplicate of Peter, implanted with his memories and feelings by the morally corrupt lecturer Miles Warren. Then he died in an explosion. Or did he?

No. Peter’s clone awoke from his death-like state and took to the road. Realising that he was but a replica of the person he believed himself to be, he hit the road, spending five years travelling from town to town, trying to find a purpose for his fake life.

On returning due to Aunt May’s rapidly deteriorating illness, the clone who was now calling himself Ben Reilly, could not resist the urge to web sling, donned a hooded jumper and became the Scarlet Spider, Spider-Man’s amazing clone. Or was he?

No! Tests confirmed that he was the real Parker, and the Parker who had married Mary Jane and was expecting a child was the clone! EGAD!

Do not fret – turns out that Norman Osborn was behind it all, and had been planning the whole thing since his apparent death. Norman revealed himself to Ben, beat him up, donned the green and told Parker that he was the real deal, not Ben.

Ben died saving Peter, and disintegrated as a result forever proving that the Peter Parker we knew and loved has always been the real deal.

Man, Norman is a douche.

That was as simple as I could make the Clone Saga, a storyline which was meant to run through the Spidey titles for two years ended up going for almost five. The reason? At the time, Spidey was the only character making money, and Marvel had a bankruptcy to (at the time) avoid.

So what’s the difference between Ben and Peter, I hear you think. Ben is a darker, more moody than Peter. He constantly reminds himself over, and over, and over, that he is nothing but a worthless clone as he tries to justify a life for himself.

Ben was originally designed to replace the married and soon to be father Peter, once again making Spidey single and carefree, while Peter went on to live happily ever after. Not happy with having cake and eating it too, fans cried out in anger, and the plan was scrapped. Thus ends a very confusing, but somewhat awesome chapter in Spidey’s history.

I’m just happy that we got Norman back, no matter how big a douche he is.