COMMENT: The Clone Saga & The Other - Part 3

Here is the final installment of The Clone Saga & The Other. [Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 first, if you haven't already.] It's time to finally reveal my harebrained scheme as to how these two story arcs could tie into each other. At the end of this post, you'll find links to all the web sites I used to gather information for this three-part series.

Over the last 2 years, the traditional Marvel Universe has been shaken up and some of its bigger characters have been relaunched. The Avengers were disassembled, then reassembled into a new team. Scarlet Witch suddenly became the most powerful mutant in the world. The X-Men are always in flux, but it seems like even more so recently. Wolverine has his memory back. Captain America's sidekick Bucky was revived and is now a badass cyborg assasin. Spider-Man has more of a mystical origin, in addition to organic web shooters. And the aftermath of House Of M has shaken up the entire Marvel U. and cut down their massive set of mutant characters.

All the shakeups, all the deaths...yet Spider-Man still seems to be mostly the same. Thanks to J. Michael Straczynski, we have a new mystical angle to explore, but it's still the same old Spidey while things have really changed for so many of the other characters. Well, I think The Other: Evolve or Die will really do a number on Spider-Man.

Currently, our favorite wallcrawler is halfway through the 12-part story arc that's crossing over all three monthly Spider-Man titles, and it's clear that something really big is going to happen to good old Pete. If you've been following the series, you know nothing really happened in the first 5 issues. Issue #6, though, is another story, and may be helpful to my theory. No spoilers here, but lets just say Pete's gonna have a hard time renewing his drivers license, if he even has one!

Over the years, I've read a handful of articles saying that a story the big shots at Marvel would like to tighten up and "fix" is The Clone Saga. I'm paraphrasing but, I remember Quesada recently commenting how the idea of The Clone Saga was good, but not executed properly. Seeing as how the Marvel U. is in upheavel right now, isn't this as good a time as any? Spider-Man must evolve or die, and the Marvel U. is in the process of a total redo. Getting a little clone action in the mix doesn't seem all that implausible at this point, does it?

I'd just like to emphasize thatI've read no previews for The Other, or have searched the online rumor mill. This theory is 100% certifiable Dan.

All we've heard for the last 6 issues of The Other is that Spider-Man is sick and going to die. In fact, we don't even know exactly what's wrong with him. The only clue we've recieved is that it's a radiation-based illness. The covers released by Marvel for upcoming issues of The Other do give us some clues. A few of them show Spidey severely beaten, and a couple show a person coming out of a pod.

[Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler]



Issue #6 of The Other contains one of the most shocking moments of the year. Mourlon rips out and eats one of Spider-Man's eyeballs. Seems like Spidey's gonna need some serious work done on him.



[End Spoiler End Spoiler End Spoiler End Spoiler]

I believe that all of these events are clearing the path for Ben Reilly to come in and save the day, and here is how it's gonna go down:

The cause of Spider-Man's illness has not been determined, but I'm guessing it happened after pre-Ben Reilly clone saga. Maybe it has something to do with the metamorphsis that gave Spider-Man organic shooters; I don't know. But if indeed it was after the pre-BR clone saga, then the only way to genetically repair Spider-Man would be to use his healthy genes. And his healthy genes could be gathered from the remains of Ben Reilly. If these genes are somehow collected, they can be used to cure his illness and repair any injuries he has. In the process, Ben Reilly could be brought back to the Marvel U.

I really do think Ben Reilly is coming out of the pod here, not Parker. If this were to happen, Marvel could have Spider-Man and Ben Reilly coexist without the fans going crazy. It would also put a good light on the whole Clone Saga, because ultimately, it saved Spider-Man's life. And think about this for a second, just about all major super-heroes have sidekicks or "mini" versions of themselves. Superman has Connor Kent; Batman has Nightwing, Robin etc..; and Wonder Woman has Donna Troy. Who does Spider-Man have?

This would be a great move for Marvel to extend the Spider-Man franchise. Though I don't believe Ben would be Spider-Man's sidekick or stand-in. Remember, even though Ben is a clone, he lived his own life for five years. He has a perspective on life and events that Parker doesn't have. I'm not talking about a big brother type of relationship going on, I see it as being more like colleagues that understand each other. Each person offering something to the other that they lack. People didn't hate Ben Reilly, all the accounts I've read indicate the fans really liked the character on many different levels.

Lets not forget Mourlon. He is practically unstoppable, but if both Spider-Men are in play, who knows what can happen.

Well there you have it. What do you think? Is it a load of crap, or maybe, just maybe, we have a resurfacing of Ben Reilly? As I stated before, I don't know. Heck, the outcome of The Other may have leaked out already, I don't know. But if by chance The Other ends up as I predicted it, there will be at least one really happy fanboy out there.

References for The Clone Saga

1.Wikipedia: If you've never used this online encyclpedia, you're missing out. It's just fun to surf around in there and see what comes up.

2. Inro To Philosophy - The Clone Saga: This site was a great help. It has dozens of scanned pages of the major events in the saga. Let me warn you, though, you may spend long time going through all of it. The web site seems to slow down my computer, but it's worth it.

3. Clone Saga Timeline: This is probably your quickest and easiest way to get a more detailed overview of the saga. It's all broken down, issue by issue.

4. GrayHaven Magazine - Life of Reilly: Here you'll find a very comprehensive look at The Clone Saga. There are 35 articles to sift through and they include commentary by former Marvel writer and editor, Glenn Greenberg.