Customer Reviews

Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic, Book 1

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I look back on the Clone Saga with a mixture of frustration and nostalgia. These were my prime comic reading days...and some parts of the story were good. So when I heard that a series of volumes would finally collect this massive plotline within several books, I was pretty excited. After all, I never did read the entire thing...how could I? Almost every story was a crossover, meaning that you had to buy at least four comics a month to get everything. My allowance couldn't quite support that.

So right away, I was grateful for the idea to finally fill gaps in my knowledge of this saga which had lingered for years! Spoilers will abound, so if you don't want 15-year-old story twists ruined for you, turn back now.

So let's kick this off with some context: Peter Parker was really depressed following the revelations of the "robot parents" storyline, and was swinging around all dark and moody and calling himself "The Spider." Aunt May was in the hospital for a stroke, which didn't help things. Most of this is recapped quickly in the collection using random pages from various issues to help get us up to speed.

We start with "Birth of a Spider-Man," which was a supplemental story published in other issues that serves as a retelling of the very first 1970s Clone Saga from the clone's point of view. At the end of that first confrontation, Peter believed his clone was dead. Not so. This short story is really dark and kind of ugly, but it does help capture the most essential points from the 70s tale - the entirety of which is in a trade called "Clone Genesis," not sure if that's still in print.

Next is "The Parker Legacy," another short story about the clone's existential woes upon learning he is not the real Peter Parker. I always liked this story. Despite the fantastical subject matter, there was something very human and poignant about what the character was dealing with. It also introduces the clone's chosen name for himself - Ben Reilly.

The same creative team from that story (J.M. Dematteis and John Romita Jr) did the "Spider-Man: The Lost Years" mini-series, which touches on Reilly's adventures while living the nomadic lifestyle in Salt Lake City. I had never actually read this until now, and it was impressive. This is barely a superhero story, it's more like a straight up crime drama involving a few superpowered characters. The character of Kaine, an early attempt at cloning Peter Parker that went awry, was ubiquitous during the Clone Saga and he was never cooler than he is in this story. This three-issue story is some of the best stuff that came out of this whole saga.

Following that, the "Power and Responsibility" storyline that officially kicked off the new Clone Saga is a disappointment. Peter meets his clone, who returned to NYC to visit the ailing Aunt May, and the two of them get wrapped up in the sinister machinations of one Judas Traveller. Right from the first chapter of this, the writing was just weak. Of course, that may be the fault of Terry Kavanagh, who wrote "Web of Spider-Man" for quite a while around this time. Even as a kid, I knew this guy's writing was bad. Almost every bit of dialogue is a run-on sentence that stretches on through at least two panels. Hard to explain without showing you an issue, but trust me when I say it gets very repetitive. During "Maximum Carnage," which ran a couple years before this, Kavanagh was the genius who had the poor, unedcuated Cletus Kasady spitting off ham-fisted lines like "Your pathetic arrogance, fools, will be your very downfall!" *groan*

Still, the story has plenty of other problems. Traveller is just kind of a lame villain, his motivations about understanding the nature of evil or whatever are really boring and trite, and the scene where Spider-Man has a full-on whimpering meltdown in front of him was just embarrassing. I winced when I read that in the 90s and it made me wince now. By the time the four-part story ends, it doesn't seem anything all that important happened, except for Reilly's return.

The final story in this first collection is "The Exile Returns," a Ben Reilly solo adventure. This story has a lot going for it. I really like what the clone has to deal with - the cheap, homemade costume, the sense that he has to lay low or else risk messing things up for Peter. It was fairly compelling - plus the clone (who would be named The Scarlet Spider) got to beat Venom! Venom was ludicruously overexposed during the 90s, he deserved the beat down he got in this story. With that, the first installment of the collected Clone Saga ends on a triumphant note.

By itself, bringing the Spider-Man clone back was a good idea. Having two Spider-Men running around was kind of cool, and Ben was a good character. It's a shame the promise seen here would be ultimately undone by horrible writing decisions down the road, and indeed symbols of that decline are visible in this first book.

So...how to review this...
The storyline is an absolute "must read" for true Spidey-heads. This is the book that nearly brought it all down. Overly-long, with confusing twists and turns for the sake of those twist and turns, the saga will begin to meander. I have no idea how many volumes will be in this but I am assuming 4 to 6. At $35 a pop (MSRP,) this set is expensive. It also has been errataed out of existence. I remember reading at one point in early 2000 that this set would NEVER see the light of day as a trade paperback. That, my friends, is the negative aspects.

The book is gorgeous. If you dig John Romita, Jr. then you need to read this. The crisp art work is a marvel to behold easily rivaling any of his Strazinsky work. This work is historic. It shows a worse time for comics. It was indicative of all that was wrong in the mid-90s that lead to Marvel's bankruptcy (and D.C.'s purchase by Warner.) Huge cross-overs emptying our wallets, new characters that never needed to see the light of day, umpteen foil-holographic, glow-in-the-dark, diecut, scratch-and-sniff "collector's editions" of every single issue on the rack. This story will take you back to a time that almost killed comics. And yet, there is a story here. What Tom DeFalco and co. wanted to do took cahones. Granted, it took so much cohones that they were told to stop, but I wonder what would have happened if they would have been able to do it. As I read current post-Brand New Day Amazing Spider-Man, I can't help but see the vision of the creators of the Clone Saga. Also, this set has a return-to-vicious Venom and I know you'll love that.

So is this set for everyone....heck no. This is for those that love a little existentialism. It is for those that like to rubber-neck at a train wreck. It is those that wax-nostalgic about how awful the 90s' comic scene truly was. If this is you the run (don't walk) to the check out screen. If this sounds like a product you aren't interested in...please ignore it. I hope this (my first review!) was helpful!

I think "J. Jones" did a pretty good job of establishing the context in which the looong Clone Saga was written. I figured I would write a supplementary review offering my perspective on matters, because I did not start reading comics regularly till 2001, a few years after the saga concluded. The first comic that really *hooked* me was an issue in the J. Michael Straczynski/Romita Jr. run of Amazing Spider-Man (the first Morlun story), and I was about 12-years old. I've collected every ASM issue since then, and I've taken it upon myself to read up as much as possible on the character's history.

Everything I ever read about the Clone Saga made it sound like an incredible idea that, through the fault of higher-ups saying "this is selling too well to just LET IT END now!", ended up straying severely from what its progenitors envisioned. That's frankly too bad. However, that whole "straying severely" part is not something you will see in this first volume! This volume is mashed potatoes and gravy--practically every story oozes excitement and creativity. You will absolutely come to understand just how much it sucks (or sometimes how convenient it can be!) to be the clone of Spider-Man. The writing here is primarily top notch, with the pinnacle being DeMatteis/Romita Jr.'s The Lost Years, where the art is as spectacular as the writing.

Basically, even if you don't care about Ben Reilly or Kaine or anyone else in the Clone Saga, there are still some pretty fun stories here. Carnage and especially Venom make several appearances (which seemed to be mandatory in the 90s), which should be enough to satisfy the action junkies when Peter Parker or Ben get too mopey. The only hindrance here is the price tag, which is already much less if you buy it through Amazon. But look at how much you get! This is one of the meatiest standard trade paperbacks I own, and I look forward to picking up all subsequent volumes as a major Spidey fan. But even if you don't plan to buy the next volume, it shouldn't really matter. This volume does a good job of answering the "Who is Ben Reilly?" question that new fans seem to stumble upon these days, and on top of that, this volume is just a plain fun read.

SPIDER-MAN: THE COMPLRTR CLONE SAGA EPIC, BOOK 1

If you were to talk to any one who knows me and asked them what my favorite comic is they would answer easily with "Spider-Man". They would tell you that I love everything that has Spider-Man and such, from comics to cartoons to movies and whatever. If you were to ask them who my favorite comic character is then you would assume they would answer Spider-Man, well you would be wrong. The correct answer is The Scarlet Spider aka Ben Reilly which would then lead into my favorite storyline of all time. I don't mean in Spider-Man history or even in Marvel Comics history, I mean in all of comic history.

Now I know that most of you reading this are saying "I have heard of Spider-Man but who is The Scarlet Spider? Well The Scarlet Spider aka Ben Reilly is the clone of Spider-Man in one short answer, more on him as the review progresses. Now I am sure the rest of you are saying "The Clone Saga is your favorite storyline ever? The quick answer to that one is a very loud and hard YES. I am sure you are wondering why and well there are many answers I could give you that are all true. For one I identified with Ben Reilly for some reason more so than Peter Parker for during that time. Also to be honest The Scarlet Spider costume was just cool looking, honestly I don't think any one will disagree with that. Also because he was Peter but at the same time not Peter with his own problems and personality he was familiar and new at the same time, that made him more interesting to me.

But I guess if I would give you one answer that would be the real reason this is the all time greatest story ever is because of my Mom. You see during the time when Ben Reilly was around my Mom had her first seizure. This of course led to the doctors finding a brain tumor, she had cancer. I was destroyed by the news and was told she had months to live; I retreated into what would keep my mind off of it. To this day no one can tell me anything bad about pro wrestling, MMA, certain music, certain movies and shows, and of course comics. In particular this storyline which for some reason I really went back and read from the already released ones all the way to the new ones. Sitting at the hospital all I had were these comics and some wrestling magazines, it helped get me through and now you know why I love it.

As for this product this is the first collection of stories from the clone saga collecting Amazing Spider-Man #394, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #217, Spider-Man #51-53, Spider-Man Unlimited #7, Web of Spider-Man #117-119, Spider-Man: The Lost Years #1-3, as well as additional selections dealing with the story. The Clone Saga to this day is a controversial topic for comic fans, I honestly don't understand why. The most popular thing is that the story line went on to long and I can see that, I understand that for real. Honestly though I don't see it personally because it really is all one big storyline until a reboot. Every story before The Clone Saga is still apart of the same story, Green Goblin's killing of Gwen Stacy was one storyline along with his death. Still that storyline directly started the Clone Saga so to me it is still the same continuing storyline. Not sure if I am making sense but it makes sense in my head. Plus that story comes into play once more in this, but I won't ruin it.

Coming into this we get the telling of the original clone saga or should I say retelling of that story called "Birth of a Spider-Man". The difference this time around is that it is told from the clone's side of things which was a great way to bring it back. I always liked this story and really liked when he realized he was the clone, I mean when it really hit him. I always just felt bad for him and could some how feel it through the writing and the picture. That is a great pic when he looks up and screams that he is the clone into the night. The picture on the final page in the middle panel is very sad looking and my favorite of the story I think.

This leads right into the next story called "The Parker Legacy" which picks up right where we left off with the clone dealing with this new found revelation. This to this day is one of my favorite stories in all of comics, it felt real and it read real. The story follows the clone on his journey leaving New York and trying to leave it all behind. He is a no one with no real history, he is a copy of a man and he has to deal with that. It is in this story that we hear for the first time his new name, Ben Reilly. A combination of Parker's Uncle Ben and his Aunt's maiden name, I still to this day love that name. It is in this story that we get to see a man dealing with something no one could truly understand, or so you would think. In this story Ben comes across a man on the bus ride out of town that may become his first real friend. The men while both very different have a chance meeting that may lead to them helping each other in ways they didn't think another could.

Following that we get the great "Spider-Man: The Lost Years" which like the last story remains a favorite of mine due to its realistic style and approach to the story telling. During these pages we get to learn about Ben during his five year hiatus from New York as a nomad like figure. We find him laying his hat for at least a while in Salt Lake City looking to make some quick cash and then get on the road again. Still wanting to run as far away as possible from a life he believes he has no write to be connected to. The thing regardless of where he goes he still feels that need to be the hero or adhere to some moral code of a guy he is a copy of. But it is here that he may finally make some sort of home for himself. He has a good job thanks to Dr. Seward Trainer and may finally find a woman that could really love him for him. The thing is a mysterious man named Kaine follows Ben from the shadows and may or may not have his best interests at heart. You see Kaine is the first failed clone of Parker and thus so is degenerating. But he may find something in this town he thought he could never have either, a woman that loves him. Add in a mob storyline and a great detective like story and you have a more realistic Spidey story that also happens to have a great ending.

At this point you will get some exerts from other Spidey storylines that deal directly with the over all clone story. Like Aunt May getting calls form a mysterious man whom she actually enjoys talking to, as if she may already know him. Of course Aunt May being put in the hospital which leads this man back to New York to see her, the clone finally returns. We also see the after effects of a previous story that puts Peter Parker into a mental breakdown situation. The story involved the return or not so much returns of his parents, now he has a hard time between the man Peter and the entity Spider-Man.

From here we get into the "Power and Responsibility" story in which Peter and Ben finally come face to face after all those years. Given Peter's mental state at the time this was really the wrong time for Ben to run into him, but what can you do? Any way in this story we get to meet Judas Traveller and Scrier who put Peter to the test. They want to see what makes Spider-Man tick so they take over the prison/mental hospital that all you favorite Spidey villains are held in and bring Peter there. Famous characters such as Carnage make appearances here but the real story is with Peter and Ben. After Peter seems to have a mental breakdown Ben is called into the mix. Even as a huge Spider-Man fan I will admit that this story can be confusing.

Finally we come across the final story in the first collection called "The Exile Returns" which is another big time favorite of mine. In this one Ben finally debuts as The Scarlet Spider and goes on a one man mission to take out Venom. That's right kiddies every ones favorite villain turned hero is back and here to do battle with another spider, The Scarlet Spider. Of course Kaine returns as well and is still following Ben watching from the shadows once more. In this story Ben is wondering how Peter could possibly allow Venom to roam free unaware of the deal the two had previously made. Of course Venom is all to found of the idea of being able to eat the brains of a spider.

I have to say that I did enjoy all of the stories and loved some more so than others; the writing differs throughout the set depending on taste but I liked it all. The art is really well done and over all everything is really good. I did enjoy all of the battles here although like I said that "Power and Responsibility" story may throw some off, that is more so the story though. The battle between Ben and Venom is epic in that Venom gets handled and Ben and Kaine are apart of a great story and battle in "The Lost Years". I honestly could go on and on about this set itself let alone "The Clone Saga". I do highly recommend this story because, well, I personally love it.

You apologize by making the whole thing available, in order, so your entire mistake is on display for everyone to see.

To be fair, this volume isn't that bad. I had gotten out of comics shortly before this whole thing started, but the rumblings that I heard about it made me more puzzled.

Crossover storylines can work just fine. I didn't mind the Maximum Carnage storyline, since that was limited to just the Spider titles, and there weren't any one shots or limited series storylines to tie into everything.

In past years, I've attempted to follow the Clone Saga, and it's way too convoluted to parse out the sequence of issues to read.

But as I said, this volume isn't that bad. I think the clone itself is a pretty decent idea. The problem was in the execution. Instead of focusing on the relationship between Peter and his clone, there's far more focus on just integrating the clone into a sub-par story involving Judas and some more nonsense.
Spider-Man doesn't seem to have nearly as much interest in his clone as he should.

The character of Ben Reilly isn't too bad either. He's got some complex problems that would be difficult for anyone to understand. But even his story is brought down by the annoyances of characters like Kaine.

Regardless of these flaws, the story is worth reading. There were serious problems at Marvel during this time, and it results in stories that are pulling in different directions over time.

I'm very glad that they're printing the whole storyline in this format, so I can at least fully understand what happened.

Everyone knows the Clone Saga was a mess. Heck it Drove me away from Spider-man at the time. But what everyone doesn't know is that after the Saga was over the Story was actually fun and is the longest story arc the web spinner has ever had. Sure there are ups and downs and less then stellar parts but its one Large Epic story.
Its Marvels Answer to the Death/Rebirth of Superman

minor Spoiler Warning just in case

At the time the the story was dragged out and across multiple titles and hard to follow and cost prohibitive to some (me included) and the thought of the spider-man we have read for years was not the true spider-man but a clone and was going to be Replaced by a different spider-man, one who did not have the history we all have read about was appalling. Now years later and the Arc over and the knowledge that is not how the story will truly end its a Great Super Hero Soap Opera that spans close to if not over 100 issues. Complete with Major Character Deaths (like those last I know) Event Crossovers, Twist and Turns (some good some bad) and the introduction of new Characters i.e. Ben Riley the Scarlet Spider and Kain. Could the Story have been shorter? Yes and Recently they did basically a "what if" on. but for me I like the length. It Gave the Webspinner a huge Story where his role changed a few time and what happened before had a direct impact on what was coming. something that now a days is rare as every 6 months there is a new Direction or new Creative team on titles and nothing that came before is to important. (except the current Dan slott Spider-man Arc Called Big time)
Art Wise its a mixed bag for the entire Series. you get no less than 9 different artist. and this is due to it being a crossover event that took place in different titles. so the Art from Issue to issue will jump drastically. You need to know that going in. but with people like Tom Lyle, Mark Bagley, Sal Buscema, John Romita Jr. and Ron Lim in this first trade you can can't go wrong
to round out the art team you even have Phil Gosier, Tom Palmer, Steven Butler , and Liam Sharp.

The Writing will feel a little dated and with exception of Howard Mackie the Writing team is solid. I great read for Spider-man Fans. the whole series will be little pricy at 7 Trades and still counting to get the whole Store. DARN you marvel!! but definitely worth a look

I remember when this story arc first saw print. As a whole, the Clone Saga is a deep psychological thriller.
This is not for the faint of heart; it's extremely emotional at times. I agree with others that it went on a little too long before it finally ended, but it's still a good storyline.

This paperback reprints some of the early crossover issues.

The Double 1-4, and The Lost Years #0: The Parker Years 1-3. This is the birth of the clone and is a good opening for the book.

Next is The Lost Years #1-3. This should have been saved and published in the upcoming Complete Ben Reilly epic portions of the reprints. I won't spoil the details in this review. The storyline reveals the answers of the Lost Years concerning Ben and Kaine which come back to haunt everyone over the course of the Complete Clone Saga epic Books 1-5. I suggest skipping over this section until after you've read through Book 5 to not blow the mystery.

After this is a page telling what Peter and everyone else in New York are up to. There are also key page reprtints from what was known as the "Mystery Man" storyline and the dark "Shrieking" storyline in Amazing. Key plotpoints concerning Mary Jane begin in these pages. These set up pretty well Peter and Ben's meeting at the beginning of...

Power and Responsibility 1-4. Peter and Ben, face to face after 5 years, about 20 in real world time. They're not exactly best friends at this point.

The Exile Returns 1-4. Ben takes on Venom, and several key players for the Clone Saga emerge.

I'm thrilled Marvel is finally collecting the entire saga! I'll be reviewing each trade as they come out.