Spider-Man: The Clone Saga- Power and Responsibility
Writers: Terry Kavanagh, J.M. DeMatteis, Howard Mackie, and Tom DeFalco
Artists: Steven Butler, Mark Bagely, Tom Lyle, and Sal Buscema
A lackluster start for THE CLONE SAGA that has great moments with Ben Reilly, but is seriously undermined by Judas Traveller…
Ranking: 3 stars
Welcome to CLONE MADNESS dear readers, a series of reviews where I will be doing an in-depth critical analysis on one of the most controversial and infamous periods in both Spider-Man and comic book history… THE CLONE SAGA!!!
In two of my past reviews, I have elaborated on one of the most infamous story lines in not only the history of Spider-Man, but in the history of comic books as a whole… THE CLONE SAGA! Out of any comic I’ve have read or encountered, none has ever achieved the infamy and hatred of comic book fans as this story has. For those who are unaware, THE CLONE SAGA was Marvel’s response to a financial crisis that would eventually force the company to declare bankruptcy in 1996. The Spider-Man comics in particular were suffering in sales as a result of multiple creative decisions that were unpopular among readers, including the revelation that Peter Parker's supposedly resurrected parents were actually robots designed to kill him as part of a revenge plan from the deceased Harry Osborn, his former best friend and the second Green Goblin. The stress of this reveal resulted in Peter suffering a mental breakdown, causing him to put further distance from his humanity, become more violent in his vigilante activities, and began referring to himself in the third-person as “The Spider.” Decisions such as these were causing readers to leave the book, and desperate to save both the character and their company, Marvel decided to shake up Spidey’s world with a massive event. Following the route that DC took with stories like THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN and BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL (both of which I highly recommend), Marvel decided to resurrect a clone of Spider-Man from a story back during the 1970’s. The basic premise of THE CLONE SAGA would be that the clone would actually be the real Peter Parker, have the clone take over for awhile, and then finally reveal that the original was the real Spider-Man all along (though some of the original creators have now stated that they actually intended for the clone to permanently replace Spider-Man). Due to interference from Marvel’s marketing department however, the creators were forced to drag on the saga for as long as possible, which caused the entire CLONE SAGA to collapse under multiple bad storylines and confusing characterizations. It is considered by many Spider-Man fans to be the absolute worst Spider-Man comic to ever be published (though I would say that it's Shakespeare in comparison to the atrocity known as ONE MORE DAY).
As evident in my reviews of SPIDER-MAN: THE “REAL” CLONE SAGA and SCARLET SPIDER, I possess fair knowledge of both the stories and creative decisions made behind the scenes, and have expressed that ideas such as the characters Ben Reilly and Kaine were great, and could have been tremendously successful had the saga as a whole not have failed so badly. Despite my fascination and prior knowledge about the story however, I have not read the entirety CLONE SAGA outside of one or two story arcs (though I will be reading more of them as I write these reviews). The primary reason for that is because the entire saga lasted for three whole years and spans both five COMPLETE CLONE SAGA EPIC volumes, and six COMPLETE BEN REILLY EPIC volumes. Not only would it take me over a year to read that many stories, but it would also be incredibly expensive (they’re about $39.99 per volume). So what information I do know about THE CLONE SAGA comes from the stories that I have read from it, as well as from Internet reviews that cover entire story arcs from the saga. However, ever since I was a kid, THE CLONE SAGA has piqued my curiosity as I feel that several of the concepts that it introduced were actually great, some of it’s stories have caught my interest, and I'm genuinely curious on whether or not it’s really as bad as everyone claims it to be. Because of this, I’m going to start doing a series of reviews that will cover multiple story arcs from THE CLONE SAGA. I’m not going to be reviewing all of the storylines that it produced as I don’t have the time or money, and many of the stories ultimately became completely pointless. Instead I’m only going to look at stories that were significant to the overall narrative of the saga, which includes story arcs that introduced vital plot elements or were heavily controversial. I’ll be analyzing these story arcs in order to determine if they are truly deserving of their criticism, or are legitimately good in one way or another (though I bet even the worst story arcs from the saga will be more tolerable than ONE MORE DAY). In addition, I’ll also be providing information from THE LIFE OF REILLY, which is an online essay that provides a behind-the-scenes perspective on THE CLONE SAGA, and the writer’s input on how they felt it all went wrong. It’s also important to mention that there will be spoilers throughout these reviews, as I’ll be providing in-depth analysis on specific characters and plot points in each story, and their connection and relevance to the saga as a whole. So if you are genuinely curious about the saga, I suggest you stop reading right here and go check it out for yourself, as it can be found in both graphic novel format and digitally on Comixology. With all that out of the way, let’s begin this exploration into the madness and insanity that is THE CLONE SAGA! And what better place to start off this series of reviews than with the saga’s opening story arc, POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY, which was a somewhat lackluster way to kick-start this big event in Spidey’s mythos. While it's technically not a bad story, as it's well-written in several areas and greatly establishes Peter’s clone Ben Reilly as a character, it is seriously undermined however, by it’s underdeveloped and unnecessary antagonist Judas Traveller…
POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY opens directly after the ominous cliffhanger from SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #216. In the previous issue, a mysterious individual had come to see Aunt May in the hospital, who was lying in a comatose state from a stroke she suffered back in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #391. However, the stranger attempted to flee when he saw Spider-Man swinging towards the hospital, but unfortunately he ran into the wall-crawler on building’s rooftop. It was here that the stranger was revealed to possess the exact same face as Peter Parker. Shocked by this bizarre phenomenon, a crazed Spider-Man lashes out against the stranger, resulting in a violent battle between the two. Desperate to avoid a fight however, the stranger reveals that he is actually the clone of Peter Parker created by the Jackal that was believed to have previously been killed during original CLONE SAGA. Unknown to Spidey, the clone had survived and spent the previous five years wandering across the country when he realized that he was not the real Peter Parker, but his clone. Since he shared Peter’s memories, the clone adopted the name Ben Reilly (“Ben” after Peter’s late Uncle Ben, and “Reilly” after Aunt May’s maiden name) and attempted to distance himself from Peter’s life, but had returned to New York upon learning about May’s stroke. The fight soon comes to an end when Ben knocks Spider-Man unconscious and retreats. When Spider-Man wakes up he has no time question the situation as he is immediately confronted with another challenge: The Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane has been taken over by a mysterious individual known as Dr. Judas Traveller, a world renowned psychologist who is also a mystical being with god-like powers. With Traveller and his followers, known as The Host, threatening to kill the inmates as part of an experiment to discover the true nature of evil, the once noble hero who has now been reduced to the dark vigilante calling himself “The Spider” attempts to brave Traveller’s gauntlet all on his own! When Ben learns of this he fears that Peter, who is on the verge of insanity, will be unable to survive against Traveller’s power, but is conflicted on whether or not to save his genetic twin. If Peter were to die, Ben would have the chance to reclaim the life that he believes should have been his, but at the same time, he would be betraying his memories of Uncle Ben and Aunt May, whether they be artificial or not. Will Ben allow Peter to snap under the madness brought on by Judas Traveller, or will he overcome his identity crisis and take on the mantle of power and responsibility and save Peter despite being a clone?
My feelings on POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY are very mixed as while the story is well written in several areas, and the dilemma of Ben Reilly is well developed and highly engaging, it’s pretty underwhelming as an opening arc for what was intended to be a massive event comic that would revitalize Spider-Man’s mythos. The majority of the comic’s faults can be aimed solely at the presence of Judas Traveller. As I stated in previous reviews, Marvel used THE CLONE SAGA to introduce new villains in the hopes of piquing reader interest again. Among these new villains were Judas Traveller, Scrier, and Kaine. Out of those three, Kaine was the only character that contributed to the plot due to his rivalry with Ben, and identity as another Spider-Man clone, therefore establishing connections between him, Peter, and Ben. Traveller and Scrier (to a much lesser degree than the former) on the other hand were both underdeveloped antagonists that served no purpose to the overall narrative, or Spidey’s mythos in general. I'm only going to discuss Traveller here as while Scrier also debuts in this story, he's little more than a back ground element in this comic. The only positive thing that I can attribute to Judas Traveller is that he has a silly yet interesting design as he wears an outlandish blue cape, wears Mr. T-style jewelry, and his physical appearance strongly resembles that of Gandalf the Grey from LORD OF THE RINGS, which effectively reflects his magical powers. Everything else about him is completely pointless and irrelevant to both POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY and THE CLONE SAGA as a whole. The primary problems surrounding Traveller as a character can be summarized by a quote from former Spider-Man editor Glenn Greenberg in the online THE LIFE OF REILLY essay (which details the entire CLONE SAGA from the writer’s perspective), “the only thing I can really add is that no one -- not the writers, not the editors -- seemed to know who or what the [heck] Judas Traveller was. He was seemingly this immensely powerful, quasi-mystical being with amazing abilities, but what was the real deal with him?”
Basically what Greenberg is stating is that Traveller was randomly thrown into the story without any established backstory or motivation. All the reader knows about him is that he’s some god-like mystical being with a bizarre fixation on Spider-Man. The only thing hinting at a motivation was that he wants to study the nature of good and evil, hence why he has pitted Spidey against the inmates of Ravencroft. But this explanation does not make sense as if he wants to study good and evil, then why does he think that Spider-Man is the only specimen that can provide him the answers that he seeks (he’s not the only superhero in the Marvel Universe)? And what does seeing a hero fight insane inmates teach Traveller about good and evil? Why can’t he just research history and philosophy books if that’s all he wants? Because of how illogical and nonsensical Traveller’s motivations are, it makes a dilemma that is supposed to be engaging ultimately boring and underwhelming. Another major problem with Judas Traveller is that he doesn’t fit within the context of Spider-Man’s universe. Traveller is established as a mystical god-like being with neigh improbable powers, but that’s not the kind of villain that belongs in a Spider-Man story. Going back to the comments made by Glenn Greenberg, the situations that Spider-Man encounters are mostly down-to-earth and realistic, and the villains he faces are often science-based. Now that doesn't necessarily mean that writers are not allowed to create enemies that deviate from the norm. For instance, while Venom and Carnage are alien symbiotes, both characters stand as some of the Spidey’s most popular antagonists. In my opinion, even magic-based villains can work in Spider-Man stories when having the correct writer on board, as the character Morlun from J. Michael Straczynski’s run is one of my personal favorites! In the case of Traveller however, the magical element does not work here as the character’s powers are basically god-like and indescribable. Personally, I feel that magic-based villains can only work in Spider-Man comics if their powers are more limited to a particular skill-set (such as Morlun being an energy-vampire who feeds on totemistic life-forces), or are simply casting parlor-tricks and illusions (such as with Mysterio being a former special-effects artist). If Traveller’s magic was more limited or just simple illusions, he would feel more down-to-Earth and properly integrated into Spider-Man’s universe. But because Traveller’s powers are neigh-omnipotent, he instead feels too out-of-place in the plot, and therefore his presence lacks any real weight or substance.
Because Traveller is one-dimensional and underdeveloped, not only is the character himself boring, but he seriously hurts the narrative of POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY as a whole. As I stated, this storyline was meant to be the opening arc of the entire CLONE SAGA, whose premise was centered on the return of Peter’s clone. Because of this, the primary focus of POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY should have been focused solely on Ben Reilly’s return and conflict with Spider-Man. Not only would it have properly set up events that would come later in THE CLONE SAGA, but would also provide readers incentive to become invested in Ben and want to continue reading about him (especially since writers were debating on having him replace Peter as Spider-Man). But since more focus is placed on Judas Traveller’s nonsense, the main plot feels restricted, as its confined to a smaller number of pages than it should have been. It also forces Traveller to be the factor that places Ben in the position of whether he should save Peter or take over his life. I’m not against Ben’s dilemma being caused by a villain threatening to kill Peter, but it should have been a villain who was more integral to the plot, or had previously established roots in Spider-Man’s mythos. But because Traveller is the driving force of the situation, it undermines Ben’s return into Peter’s life, and makes the opening of THE CLONE SAGA feel less important than it was built up to be.
Despite the flaws surrounding the book’s antagonist, POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY does manage to succeed in several areas, saving it from being a total loss. While the writing does come across as pretentious at points (particularly with Peter’s overly dark narration as “The Spider”) it does convey the psychology of Peter and Ben considerably well, therefore allowing the reader to understand and feel for both of them. Peter’s declining mental health is perfectly understandable considering the fact that he had just lost his former-friend/enemy Harry Osborn, was faced against Carnage’s destructive massacre in MAXIMUM CARNAGE, discovered that his long-lost parents were actually cyborg robots programed by Harry to kill him, and found out Aunt May was dying. Going through all of that crap would put any man through serious emotional stress, and while I can understand reader’s complaints about Peter abandoning his human-life as “The Spider,” I can’t blame him after what he’s recently endured. As such, it makes his remembrance of both his humanity and responsibilities as a superhero all the more satisfying later on in the story.
The area where POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY truly excels however, is with Ben Reilly. Although his involvement in the story is seriously limited by Judas Traveller’s interference, the stuff that we do get with him is handled exceptionally well. Ben serves as an excellent foil for Peter in this story, as he too has suffered painful losses due to to his status as a clone with someone else’s memories. But unlike Peter, who allowed the pain to damage him on a psychological and emotional level, Ben’s suffering allowed him to become stronger person. Because he understands the pain of losing what’s precious to him, it has allowed him to appreciate the value of life, holding onto whatever happiness that he can, and having an identity for oneself. These revelations have allowed Ben to become a more optimistic and noble individual as a result, and in essence, a separate character from Peter despite being his clone. In relation to being a foil to Peter’s suffering, I also felt that Ben served as an effective allegory to the current situation plaguing the Spider-Man titles on a meta-textual level. As I previously stated, THE CLONE SAGA was conceived because several fans stopped buying the book due to several poor decisions, particularly Peter becoming a dark 90’s-style vigilante. Essentially, Spider-Man was acting wildly out of character as he was actively ignoring the lessons in power and responsibility that Uncle Ben had taught him. But then comes in Ben Reilly, embodies all of the best aspects of Peter’s character. In essence, Ben can be interpreted as a representation of the fan’s dissatisfaction, as he is shocked and repulsed by Peter’s irresponsible behavior, and attempts to remind him of who he is supposed to be, which is effectively summarized in his statement of, “You’ve changed Parker! You used to have a sense of humor, a flair for jokes and witticisms! What happened? Why are you so bitter and angry?!”
While this idea doesn’t get too much attention due to Judas Traveller hijacking most of the plot, I felt it was an effective commentary on the character of Spider-Man and what he represents, as well as a sign of THE CLONE SAGA’s potential to succeed had it not faltered later down the line. The final aspect of Ben’s character arc in POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY that I found compelling was the dilemma he faces midway into the story. When Peter is revealed to have been defeated by Judas Traveller, Ben is forced to decide whether or not he should save Peter, or take Peter’s life for himself. If Ben chooses to save Peter he’ll be violating his vow to never interfere with Spider-Man’s life, but if he lets Peter die he’ll be betraying the moral values he upholds. In the end, Ben is able to overcome his own personal desires, and embraces Uncle Ben’s lesson of, “with great power comes great responsibility,” while also arriving at the conclusion that even if he is a clone, he is still Peter Parker at heart, and is therefore obligated to uphold the moral principles that his Uncle taught him. What makes this dilemma so engaging is that it not only reinforces Ben’s nobility, but it also leads to an exciting second-half of the story where Ben faces off against Traveller’s minions, and later teams up with Peter to fight off the escaped inmates of Ravencroft. This climax helped prevent POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY from getting a lower rating, as once Ben became involved in the central conflict, the story immediately transitioned from being somewhat boring and lackluster, to outright awesome and compelling! Overall, Ben Reilly is the ultimate saving grace of POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY as he’s perfectly established as a three-dimensional character with strong moral principles and an identity similar, yet distinctive from Peter’s, while simultaneously serving as an effective foil. I feel that it’s these aspects of Ben’s character that have contributed to his popularity among fans, despite THE CLONE SAGA’s overall infamy.
For my final verdict, I would say that while POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY fails stand strong as an opening arc to THE CLONE SAGA, it still manages to succeed in several areas despite its flaws. The story is well written and flows naturally, the psychological conflicts of its two main characters are decently set up, and it exceptionally excels in developing Ben Reilly as a compelling character. Its shortcomings are primarily contributed to its antagonist Judas Traveller, who is not only underwhelming and underdeveloped, but is takes up too much focus from the narrative and heavily weighs down the story as a result. Had the primary focus of the narrative been centered around Ben Reilly’s return to Spider-Man’s life, I feel that POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY could have fared much better as an introduction storyline, and would have prevented many of the bad stories that would later plague the saga as a whole. As it stands, POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY is far from the worst that THE CLONE SAGA had to offer, as it does contain several redeeming qualities and interesting elements that help make it feel somewhat worthwhile. But this is only beginning of the dreaded CLONE SAGA my friends, with much more controversial stories to come as we dive further into one of the most infamous moments of both Spider-Man and comic book history!
“I was having trouble making ends meet, and my beginnings weren't meeting either.”
-Allan Sherman
