In the past few years, the legacy of Spider-Man has expanded across film and television. Both Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: No Way Home feature multiple web-slingers uniting across time and space — and they happen to be critical and commercial successes to boot! On top of that, Sony is continuing to flesh out the Spider-Verse with two new Prime Video series based on Silk and Spider-Man Noir, although the latter will be quite different from Nicolas Cage's take on the private eye turned wall-crawler. But there is one Spider-Man who has yet to make his way to the big screen: Ben Reilly.
Who Is Ben Reilly's Spider-Man in the Comics?
Reilly made his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #149, as the result of an experiment by Peter Parker's college professor Miles Warren. In typical supervillain fashion, Warren had adopted the name of "the Jackal" and became obsessed with successfully cloning humans, beginning with Peter Parker. Miles had harbored an obsession with Parker's late girlfriend Gwen Stacy and cloned her too, making her watch as both Spider-Men — one of whom was Peter, and one of whom was the clone — engaged in battle. Eventually, the real Parker emerged victorious...or so he thought. It turns out that the clone didn't actually die in the fight, instead choosing to exile himself for five years under a new identity: Ben Reilly. The "Ben" came from Parker's Uncle Ben, whose death led to the birth of Spider-Man. The "Reilly" came from his Aunt May's maiden name.
After traveling the United States, Reilly eventually returned to New York when he learned that May had suffered a stroke. He ran afoul of Peter Parker, who wasn't in the best of moods — but eventually, the two reconciled after stopping a jailbreak at the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane. Reilly would eventually become the Scarlet Spider, donning a red bodysuit and blue hoodie. But he soon had to contend with the return of the Jackal, who intended to wipe out humanity with a genetically modified virus and replace them with clones! During the battle, Peter uncovered evidence that, to his shock, he was actually the clone and Reilly was the original. This revelation, alongside a near-death experience, prompted Peter to hand the webs over to Reilly and attempt to live a normal life with his wife Mary Jane Watson.
Reilly would modify the Spider-Man costume, giving it a more modern flair. He also created new forms of webbing including "impact" webs that ensnare their target and "stingers" that paralyze his foes. He'd have a number of adventures, coming into conflict with another Spider-Man clone in the form of the scarred & brutal Kaine. But perhaps the most surprising moment involved his then-girlfriend, Jessica Carradine. She had a vendetta against Spider-Man, and it was connected to her father Dennis — who happened to be the burglar that shot Peter Parker's Uncle Ben dead! And that wasn't even the worst part: Norman Osborn made his triumphant return and revealed that Reilly was in fact a clone. Tricking Peter into believing he wasn't the original was all an elaborate hoax he was pulling from behind the curtains. This didn't stop Reilly from taking a fatal blow meant for Peter, and he died in his "brother's" arms.
This wasn't the end for Reilly, as the Spider-Man storyline The Clone Conspiracy saw him get resurrected by Miles Warren — and then killed over and over as Warren tried to solve the problem of clone degradation. Eventually Reilly broke free, subjugating Warren to the same treatment and eventually taking up the mantle of the new Jackal. This brought him into conflict with Peter Parker, who eventually destroyed his cloning tech. Reilly managed to escape and start a new life in Las Vegas, though he was suffering from schizophrenia as well as a degrading body. This was eventually reversed by Doctor Octopus.
Recently in the comics, Reilly took up the mantle of Spider-Man after Peter Parker was injured in battle, with the full backing of the Beyond Corporation. But he soon learned that Beyond was manipulating him, and a scuffle left him missing several important memories. Reilly attempted to force a machine on Peter that would transfer his memories to him, but was trapped in a strange slew of chemicals as Beyond destroyed its main corporate headquarters. This left him with a new green and black costume, a burning hatred for Peter Parker, and a new name: Chasm.
Is There a Future for Ben Reilly's Spider-Man in the MCU?
Recently, Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige revealed that the story for a fourth Spider-Man film was being worked on. “All I will say is that we have the story. We have big ideas for that, and our writers are just putting pen to paper now," he said. Though that is a vague statement, an adaptation of the Clone Saga — whether it features Reilly as friend or foe — could be a great place to start, especially as the events of No Way Home have left Spider-Man without an identity. It could also give Tom Holland the chance to flex his acting chops and play two different versions of the same character.
In the meantime, Reilly will make his debut as one of the many, many Spider-Men in Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, as seen on the latest poster for the film. And even if he doesn't play a huge role, the character will remain a fan favorite.
Read up on everything we know so far about the upcoming Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and check out the trailer below.
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