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Marvel’s Most Infamous Spider-Man Story Was Actually Its Best Mistake
When a comic book story ingrains itself into the minds of fans, it only does so for one of two reasons. Either the story is incredibly, generation-defining good, or it’s so bad that it will haunt fans’ nightmares for the rest of time. The more popular a character is, the more likely they are to have a few of both types. Spider-Man, being Marvel’s premier superhero, naturally has plenty of awesome stories under his belt, but one of his most famous can never be forgotten for all the wrong reasons. The “Clone Saga” is widely regarded as fighting tooth and nail for the worst Spidey comic award, only given competition by the ever-controversial “One More Day.”
The “Clone Saga” was an overbloated, convoluted mess that went on well longer than anyone wanted or intended. A story meant to only last a couple of issues wound up getting stretched to two and a half years of retcons, revelations, and roundabouts to all end up right where we started, seemingly only more tired and worse off than before. There’s no denying that the “Clone Saga” was abysmal in just about every way, but it actually had a lot more redeeming qualities than fans give it credit for. It might be one of Marvel’s biggest messes, but it was also one of their most successful.
New Takes on Classic Ideas
Without a doubt, the strongest aspect of the “Clone Saga” was the whole suite of characters that it introduced. Most notably, it is the story where the Spider-Man clones Ben Reilly and Kaine hail from. Say what you will about how they were introduced, but it is undeniable that both of these men have grown into spectacular characters in their own right, and have strong individual fanbases. Ben briefly took on the role of Spider-Man himself, and to this day fans love to see him come back and work alongside Peter, or even step in and be Spider-Man in his stead. When he’s written well, Ben is one of the best examples of Spider-Man’s classic resolve to do the right thing and optimistic struggle for a better life, which is what the Wall-Crawler is all about. The Scarlet Spider suit is iconic, too, of course. And naturally Kaine is just as important to the Spider-Man mythos, being the imperfect clone that is almost like Peter, but just a little broken. He’s a dark reflection of who Peter could be, constantly isolating himself and choosing bloody paths, but still trying to be a hero deep in his heart.
Ben and Kaine are Peter’s brothers, and they are essential to his growth as a character. When Peter first met these two, he was down in the dumps and losing his mind, adrift in the pain and darkness that life constantly flings at him. But meeting them and seeing how they fought and keep fighting to find their own identity made him realize how lucky he is to have the people he does and the life he lives, and through their interactions has become a stronger, more secure man. And while the concept still hasn’t come to fruition, this storyline also gave us the idea that MJ and Peter could have a kid together with MJ getting pregnant. The idea of Spider-Girl became super popular after this story, which could have only happened because of the “Clone Saga.” The presence of and love for Mayday Parker can be felt in the Spider-Man fandom to this day, and it did kind of start here.
Beyond new characters, the “Clone Saga” also brought about the reintroduction of some of Spider-Man’s greatest villains. Both Norman Osborn and the Jackal Miles Warren were thought long dead, and while it did it in quite possibly the worst way imaginable, this story did bring them both back, which allowed them to continue to push Spider-Man to the edge to this day. The “Clone Saga” didn’t just bring Norman back, either, but firmly established him as Spider-Man’s number one archenemy. His role in the story is positively insane, but it set the standard that Norman was a master planner and willing to dedicate years of his life to staying hidden from the world just to get revenge, which has been a throughline to his character ever since. The “Clone Saga” transformed Norman from an insane monster to a cruel, cunning, hyper-prepared, insane monster.
There’s no denying the many structural and editorial issues with the “Clone Saga,” which left both fans and Marvel’s staff at a loss for how they got there in the first place. Still, there’s a lot to love that this story gave us, so while it might not be anywhere near one of Spider-Man’s best adventures, it’s safe to say that it did give us a whole lot more than we let on. So let’s give the “Clone Saga” the credit it deserves for the great additions it gave to the Spider-Man mythos, but be sure not to give it a speck more. What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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