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Quote1 You've changed, Parker. You used to have a sense of humor. What happened? Why are you so angry? Quote2
Ben Reilly

Solicit Synopsis

Spider-Man's clone is back - and the real Spidey is beside himself! Peter thought his clone was long dead, but where has Ben Reilly been for the last five years? Why has he returned? Is he Peter Parker's dark side...or his better half? And does Miles Warren, the unbalanced Jackal, have anything to do with it? Everyone wants answers, and the cloaked killer Kaine is ready to rip them out of whoever has them! Plus: Venom and Vermin! Carnage and Chameleon! New allies, new enemies and a new crime-fighting identity! No other Spider-storyline was as innovative or infamous as the 1990s Clone Saga, and you can follow it right from the start!
This issue collects following issues:

Notes

  • The issues are slightly out of order, but they are printed in story order due to several backup stories in issues.
  • This TPB also reprints several pages leading up to Web of Spider-Man #117 where it showed a shadow figure, soon to be revealed as Ben Reilly, calling May and talking to her on the phone, etc.
    • Excerpt from Web of Spider-Man #114: In Forest Hills, Aunt May is returning home from shopping. Her mind is on the impostors that were posing as her in-laws and wonders how her nephew Peter is handling this.[Continuity 1] She then answers a phone call and begins talking to a young man she is has spoken with before. He has called in to check and see how she is doing. She hopes that this man will come to New York so they can meet her family. Unfortunately, she has to let the young man go when she sees the front page story in the Bugle about Lance Bannon's death so she can call her nephew and see how he is taking this recent tragedy. Sensing that there is trouble with the Parker family, this mystery caller decides to go to New York and investigate this.
    • Some time later...
      Excerpt from Amazing Spider-Man #391: Aunt May sees a visiting Mary Jane out. Once Mary Jane is gone, May suddenly feels a gripping pain in her cheast, and tries to fight off the coming pain because Peter needs her.

      Mary Jane eventually returns to Aunt May's house to talk to her some more. Calling out to May, she gets no response. Looking around, Mary Jane is horrified to discover Aunt May laying completely still on the floor.
    • Some time later...
      Excerpt from Spider-Man #48: Mary Jane is just on her way out of the house when the phone suddenly rings, Mary Jane hopes that it is her husband Peter. When she answers the phone, the person on the other end of the line doesn't see anything. Mary Jane hangs up, not wanting to deal with anymore weirdness after Aunt May suffered a stroke. At a payphone miles away, the mystery caller is surprised that it was Mary Jane who answered the phone.
    • Some time later...
      Excerpt from Web of Spider-Man #115: Mary Jane answers the phone and can barely hear the person on the other line. The mystery caller is surprised that it is not May Parker who answered the phone. That's when Mary Jane tells him that she is in the hospital after suffering a stroke. She then tells him to contact the hospital for more information as she wants to keep the line open in case her husband calls. The mystery man hangs up, upset that this has happened to May Parker. He then rushes out of his cabin and hops onto the motorcycle waiting for him outside.
    • Excerpt from Spider-Man #49: Out west, the strange man has collected his last paycheck from the diner he was working at so he can head east. His former co-workers are concerned because he was so troubled, and they hope everything turns out all right.
    • Excerpt from Spectacular Spider-Man #215: One afternoon, Spider-Man is scouring the city looking for the Scorpion, unimpressed having to deal with him so soon after their last battle.[Continuity 2] Meanwhile, the mysterious man has just walked out of a grocery store to get some food. His worries are quickly put aside when he spots a child running across the street about to be struck by an oncoming car. This man is able to leap across the width of the road, pulling the child out of harm's way. After handing the boy over to his father, the man runs away before someone recognizes who he is. Meanwhile, Spider-Man has forced information about the Scorpion out of a local stoolie. He learns that the Scorpion is trying to get a group of men for a job.
    • Excerpt from Web of Spider-Man #116: At a hospital in Forest Hills, Mary Jane watches over Aunt May, hoping that her husband Peter eventually arrives to be with them. At that moment, the mysterious man arrives at the hospital, coming to check on May Parker. However, when Peter finally arrives, this man decides to flee the scene before he is identified by Peter. However, Peter Parker is not ready to face the reality of his civilian life and leaves soon after. While at a nearby pay phone, the mystery man calls the hospital and is advised that Aunt May is in stable condition.
    • Excerpt from Amazing Spider-Man #393: At the gravesite of Gwen Stacy, the mysterious man shows up and leaves a single flower on her grave before turning around and leaving.[Continuity 3]

      Meanwhile, Mary Jane visits Aunt May in the hospital. She decides to talk to May about everything that is going on, even though May not be able to hear her. She explains that her husband, Peter, has completely withdrawn from his feelings. The recent tragedies have become too much and he has ran away from everybody. She now realizes that Peter is doing the same thing that she has been doing for years, running away from her problems. She has decided that she can't fix their marriage unless she comes to terms with her own past. Tearfully, she explains that she needs to leave and reconcile things with her father.[Continuity 4] However, Mary Jane isn't leaving May alone, she has called her Aunt Anna, who is coming up from Florida to keep an eye on her.

      Meanwhile, the mystery man who visited Gwen Stacy's grave has come to Midtown High. His silent vigil is interrupted by a security guard who asks him what he is doing. The mystery man explains that he used to go to Midtown High for what feels like lifetimes ago.[Continuity 5] The guard can understand his feelings for nostalgia but tells him to go without causing any trouble. No sooner as those words are out of the guard's mouth, does he notice that the mysterious stranger has disappeared.

      By this time, Spider-Man has brought Shriek to a hospital. After she is carried away by the doctors on staff, he realizes that he subconciously came to the hospital where Aunt May is resting in a coma. He decides to finally pay her a visit. Climbing into the room, Peter removes his mask and stares at his infirm Aunt for a time before leaving. When he returns home, he finds another note from Mary Jane, telling him that she has left to sort thinks out with her father. This is yet another nail in the coffin for the wall-crawler, who goes out into the night again.
    • Excerpt from Spider-Man #50: At the home of Aunt May in Queens, the stranger is looking through the home. He pauses to look at a photo of a young Peter Parker with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May, and thinks about how happy their family was. Suddenly, he hears someone coming, and rushes to find somewhere to hide. It turns out to be Spider-Man, who spots the intruder and assumes that it is a burglar, and becomes angry.[Continuity 6] Spider-Man rushes out to the backyard but has lost all trace of the intruder. Going back inside, the wall-crawler finds the same picture of himself with his aunt and uncle and reminds himself that he became Spider-Man all for them.

      The wall-crawler goes looking around the house to see if something was stolen. Up in the attic, he goes looking through an old trunk and comes across Miles Warren's old journal.[Continuity 7] This makes him think about the time that Miles Warren tried to destroy him with a clone of himself, and how he failed. This leads to thoughts about how Kraven the Hunter also tried to kill him and failed. These memories anger him, prompting Spider-Man to leap out the window, vowing that nobody can take away the fact that he is Spider-Man.
    • Excerpt from Spectacular Spider-Man #216: At the hospital, the mystery man who has been coming to visit Aunt May is about to visit her again. Unfortunately, he spots Peter Parker coming to the hospital and decides to make himself scarce before Peter spots him. Parker is coming to visit his Aunt, but his mind is racked with guilt. After striking Cussler and how he treated the car thieves, Peter wonders if he is starting to lose his grip and hopes of seeing his Aunt will put his mind on the right track.

      Peter Parker visits his Aunt May, telling her unconscious body how much he cares about her. He considers her to be the mother he never had, especially after his Uncle Ben died. He admits that he is afraid of losing her because he doesn't know what he would do with himself. Suddenly, Peter's spider-sense goes off and he recognizes Mac Gargan as he walks past May's room. Parker tries to follow after Gargan but runs into J. Jonah Jameson in the hallway. Jonah offers his condolences to Peter, having heard of his Aunt's stroke. He is proud of Peter, telling him he is a good nephew for putting his Aunt's health high on his list of priorities. Not wanting Gargan to get away, Peter thanks Jonah and tells him that he is running late for an appointment and rushes off.

      Some time later...
      A man who appears to be Peter Parker is sitting next to Aunt May, telling her about how confused about who he is. He wishes that May was awake to give him some advice. That's when the nurse comes in and sees that Peter has come back. She then notices Spider-Man swinging by. This other Peter Parker is horrified to see the wall-crawler is here and tries to get out as quickly as he can. Upon the roof, Spider-Man figures it was a good idea to let Gargan go, thinking he was sincere about his wanting to reform, even though he can't believe he only got a slap on the wrist after their last encounter. Suddenly, he hears someone coming up onto the roof, and wonders why it hasn't triggered his spider-sense. When Spider-Man turns to look and see who it is, he's shocked to see himself looking at Peter Parker.

See Also

Recommended Reading

Continuity[]

  1. A couple claiming to be Richard and Mary Parker tracked down May and Peter in Amazing Spider-Man #365. They were later revealed to be impostors in Amazing Spider-Man #388. The real Richard and Mary Parker were killed two decades prior to this story as explained in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5.
  2. The Scorpion was last active in Shroud #14.
  3. Gwen Stacy was murdered by the Green Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #121.
  4. Mary Jane's father was an abusive alcoholic who broke the Watson family unit as explained in Amazing Spider-Man #259.
  5. This clone has all of Spider-Man's memories, hence his comments here, however, he never attended Midtown High himself. That said, Peter Parker attended Midtown High until he graduated in Amazing Spider-Man #28. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, It has been roughly nine years since Peter graduated from high school.
  6. Spider-Man is angered by the idea of a burglar being in his Aunt's house is because it was a burglar who murdered his Uncle Ben years earlier, as seen in Amazing Fantasy #15.
  7. Peter Parker has had a copy of what he believes to be Miles Warren's journal since he discovered it in Spectacular Spider-Man #149. The wall-crawler is unaware that this is a forgery created by the High Evolutionary as revealed in Scarlet Spider Unlimited #1.

Errors[]

Links and References

References

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