Ben Reilly
Benjamin "Ben" Reilly (/ˈraɪli/), also known as the Scarlet Spider, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Grown in a lab by Miles Warren/Jackal, he is a clone of Peter Parker/Spider-Man tasked with fighting him but instead becoming an ally, later even regarded as a "brother". Created by writer Gerry Conway, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #149 (October 1975) and is seemingly killed in the same issue. The character returned and featured prominently in the 1994–96 "Clone Saga" storyline, adopting the "Scarlet Spider" alias with a costume similar to Spider-Man's consisting of a red spandex bodysuit and mask complemented by a blue sleeveless hoodie sweatshirt adorned with a large spider symbol on both sides, along with a utility belt and bulkier web-shooters. This Scarlet Spider costume was designed by artist Tom Lyle.[2] When Peter Parker temporarily left the Spider-Man role, Ben became the new Spider-Man while wearing a new costume variation designed by artist Mark Bagley. However, Reilly dies at the hands of Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, sacrificing himself to save Parker who then resumes the Spider-Man role.
This article is about the fictional character. For the similarly named musician, see Ben Riley. For the similarly named British politician, see Ben Riley (politician).Ben Reilly
As Peter Parker's clone:
The Amazing Spider-Man #149 (October 1975)
Return:
Web of Spider-Man #114
(May 1994)
Identified as Ben Reilly:
Spider-Man #51 (October 1994)
As Scarlet Spider:
Web of Spider-Man #118
(November 1994)
As Spider-Man:
Sensational Spider-Man #0
(January 1996)
As Jackal:
The Clone Conspiracy #3
(December 2016)
As Chasm:
The Amazing Spider-Man #93
(March 2022)
Gerry Conway (writer)
Ross Andru (artist)
(based upon Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko)
Benjamin Reilly (né Peter Parker)
Human mutate clone
The New Warriors
New U Technologies
The Midnight Sons
The Spider-Army/Web-Warriors
Chasm, Scarlet Spider, Spider-Man, Spider-Carnage, Peter Parker, Henry Jones, Jackal, Man in Red, Canadian Spider-Man[1]
As Scarlet Spider:
- Superhuman strength, speed, durability, agility, stamina, reflexes/reactions, coordination, balance and endurance
- Spider physiology: high pain tolerance, precognitive spider-sense ability, cling to most solid surfaces
- Master hand-to-hand combatant and expert swordsman
- Spider-sense helps against enemies
- Genius-level intellect:
Proficient scientist and inventor - Utilizes wrist-worn web-shooters to fire various projectiles include a strong air-expanding adhesive substance in variety of forms of artificial webbings (web-lines and impact webbing), sedative stingers, and mini-dot tracers
- Undetectable to Spider-Man's spider-sense
As Spider-Carnage:
- Limited shapeshifting and camouflage
- Symbiote's autonomous defense capabilities
- Healing factor
In 2017's Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy story, the character is revealed to be alive, his mind forcibly transferred to new clone bodies by the Jackal repeatedly before his resurrection was successful. Driven mad by the experience of being reborn and dying repeatedly, he became the new Jackal and started his own criminal enterprise. After being defeated by Spider-Man and others, Reilly reclaims his Scarlet Spider identity in the series Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider. Reimagined as an antihero, he first hopes to escape his past then embarks on a spiritual quest to redeem himself. This arc is completed in "Spider-Geddon" (2018), during which he sacrifices himself to protect others when his life force is absorbed by an enemy who inadvertently absorbs his many death traumas as well. Ben is then resurrected in a new clone body, his mind and soul healed and restored. During the events of the 2021–2022 storyline "Beyond", Ben temporarily became Spider-Man again, only for him to have his memories purged from him and becoming a new villain called Chasm. Due to his many resurrections in different clone bodies, the 2017–2018 comic series Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider states he has died and returned more than anyone else in the Marvel Universe, leading to him becoming favored by Lady Death.
The character made his cinematic debut in the 2023 feature film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse voiced by Andy Samberg.[3]
Fictional character biography[edit]
Creation[edit]
Professor Miles Warren, unhealthily obsessed with his late student Gwen Stacy who died at the Green Goblin's hands, attempts various experiments, learning Peter Parker was Spider-Man. Blaming the web-slinger for marking Gwen as a target, the Jackal attempts to clone the hero. Parker's first clone suffers from clone degeneration and is dismissed, but successful clones of both Parker and Stacy with stable cell structures are later created. After multiple attacks on Spider-Man, the Jackal forces the hero and his clone to fight, each believing the other is the clone. The two team up to save Parker's colleague Ned Leeds and Gwen's clone. In the process, Warren and Spider-Man's clone appear to be killed in an explosion.[7] Spider-Man's clone survives and realizes he is not the real Peter Parker. Rather than attempt to replace Parker, he leaves New York to embark on a nomadic life, dubbing himself "Ben Reilly" as a nod to his original self's uncle Ben Parker and May Parker's maiden surname.[8]
Exile[edit]
During his travels, Ben Reilly befriends geneticist Seward Trainer, becoming the man's lab assistant and honing his scientific prowess to university graduate level under his mentorship. Ben trusts Trainer with his secrets and the man becomes a father figure.[9] During his travels, Reilly is hunted by Kaine, the scarred and resentful failed clone of Peter Parker. Later, Reilly works with scientist Damon Ryder, who mutates himself into a man/dinosaur hybrid. An attack by Kaine causes a fire that kills Ryder's family, though the scientist blames Reilly for this tragedy.[10] At one point, Reilly finds love with college student Janine Godbe who then reveals her true identity is Elizabeth Tyne, a fugitive who killed her father after enduring incestuous rape. After Janine apparently commits suicide out of guilt for her crime, Reilly continues his travels.[11][12][13]
Scarlet Spider[edit]
Five years after leaving New York City, Ben Reilly discovers May Parker suffered a stroke and may not recover. He returns to New York City, leading to a confrontation with the original Peter Parker who at this time is bitter, angry, and prone to violent rages following recent traumatic events. After the two handle a hostage situation at the mental hospital Ravencroft Institute, Peter attempts to reclaim his humanity and Ben decides to remain in the city for a while.[14]
When Venom (Eddie Brock) goes on a rampage, Reilly decides to stop Venom, donning a red bodysuit along with a blue spider hoodie he buys at a museum.[15] Armed with improved web-shooters he developed, he defeats Venom and is dubbed the "Scarlet Spider" by Daily Bugle reporter Ken Ellis (a name Ben dislikes at first).[16] Ben and Peter later reunite and discover the Jackal is alive.[17] After Seward Trainer finds indicators that Peter is actually the clone and Ben the original, Peter and Ben use his equipment and come to the same results.[18] This leads into Maximum Clonage where the Jackal hopes to eliminate the human race with a new version of the Carrion virus and replace people with genetically improved clones. Initially feeling lost, Peter works with the Jackal and his new henchman, an evil clone called Spidercide. Eventually, Peter joins Ben in stopping the Jackal who seemingly falls to his death. Ben concedes he has no desire to be Spider-Man again since he has evolved into a different person.
After working with them to stop the Carrion virus, Scarlet Spider joins the New Warriors for a brief time and develops an attraction to teammate Firestar.[19] After a few more adventures, Peter is nearly killed in action and decides to retire as Spider-Man to be a better husband and father.[20] He and Mary Jane leave New York City. During gang warfare between the second Doctor Octopus and Alistair Smythe, a holographic duplicate of the Scarlet Spider ruins Reilly's costumed reputation with a vicious rampage. Reilly decides to drop the Scarlet Spider identity.[21][22]
Powers and equipment[edit]
As Spider-Man's clone, Ben Reilly possesses proportionate spider-like abilities and traits identical to Peter Parker's, including superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, stamina, resiliency, and agility, along with the ability to cling to almost any surface granted by consciously commanding his body to do so (the process seems similar to the van der Waals force and has been described as "the ability to mentally control the flux of the inner-atomic attraction between molecular boundary layers).[79] Reilly's reflexes and stamina operate up to 40 times faster than an average person's, while his strength allows him to lift 150 times his own weight (approximate limit of 10 tons). He can leap thirty feet into the air from a standing position. Ben's superhumanly enhanced muscles, bones, and body are more resistant to injury than the average human.[80] Like Peter, Ben has a precognitive "spider-sense" warning him of incoming danger and threats, manifesting as a buzzing in the base of his skull. In battle, Ben can allow this sense to guide his reflexes to help dodge attacks.[80]
Ben possesses Peter Parker's genius-level scientific intellect with particular talents towards applied science, chemistry, biology, engineering, physics, mathematics, and mechanics. During his travels, Ben was able to spend more time improving his scientific knowledge and experience and came to surpass Peter's skill in some fields. Because Reilly was not in the role of Spider-Man for five years while traveling, and didn't engage in regular combat during his time as the Jackal, his fighting style is less polished than Parker's. Kaine notes that Reilly is more reliant on tactics rather than his physical skill and is a calculating and cunning combatant.
Like Peter Parker, Ben is armed with wrist-worn web-shooters that each holds several cartridges of "web-fluid", a chemical mixture that solidifies on exposure to air. Released from a pressurized valve, the web-fluid can (depending on the valve's adjustment) become an expanding net, a thin web-line, or an adhesive, malleable goo. Reilly's web-shooters use more advanced triggers than Parker's and include features such as "impact webbing", temporary paralysis-inducing "stingers", and "mini-dot" tracers (a smaller version of Parker's spider-tracers). Due to these advances, Reilly's web-shooters are bulkier than Parker's, so he wears them on the outside of his costumes. Like Parker, Reilly wears a belt that carries spare web-fluid cartridges.[81]
Following Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy, Ben had scarring on his face and body. After his encounter with the cosmic entity Death, the scars were removed but would return if he behaved in corrupt ways. Following his resurrection in Spider-Geddon, these scars are completely gone.
When operating as the new Jackal, Ben Reilly begun harvesting the DNA from the remains of those he planned to clone, rather than using the blood sample that Miles Warren had gathered to grow the clones. Dubbing them "Reanimations," these new creations have all the memories that span all the way to their deaths.[82] The following are reanimations created by Jackal: