Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider #2 Review

Back when I interviewed Peter David on Clone Saga Chronicles, he revealed that Ben wouldn’t suit up much in this issue. Well… read on true believers, as we tackle the second issue of the new Scarlet Spider series!

Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider
Issue Two

Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Mark Bagley
Inker: John Dell
Color Artist: Jason Keith
Letter: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Art (Main): Mark Bagley, John Dell & Jason Keith
Variant Cover Art:
Assistant Editor: Allison Stock
Associate Editor: Devin Lewis
Editor: Nick Lowe
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonzo
Chief Creative Officer: Joe Quesada
President: Dan Buckley
Executive Producer: Alan Fine

LAST TIME: Scarlet Spider found himself in Las Vegas, Nevada. He stole his costume from a cosplayer. He saved a life… and tried to con her out of money. He then tries to con Cassandra Mercury after saving her casino from being robbed. Then.. well… He got a gun pulled on him.

STORY: So Cassandra shoots Ben and he dodges it. Because, ya know, he’s a former Spider-Man? He grabs the gun, offers to help with Cassandra’s daughter, and then smashes the gun. We cut to Kaine, interrogating the former public face of New U, She tells him the events from CLONE CONSIRACY OMEGA, where Ben arranged for her to be beaten to save her. Kaine was going to use Enhanced Interrogation techniques, with boiling water. (Later revealed it was dry ice) Ben sees the dying girl and she wakes up. Ben then cons them into thinking he has telepathy. He then cons her out of a room, and cash. Also, for ‘Aunt June’ to be taken care of. Kaine goes to the New U offices and commits breaking and entering. He’s then attacked by two goons. To be continued.

THOUGHTS: Man, this was slow. We’ve not got much movement on the plots, as PAD has preferred to take a slower approach to this series. Cassandra is not very compelling, as her plot with Ben is forced. Slate is kinda growing on me, as the banter between Ben and him is actually kinda funny. June is straight up bonkers and the complete opposite of Aunt May. While I get the need to have that ‘Aunt/Mother’ attachment, I feel it’s not that interesting, and as a result I’m kinda bored by her. Still, if the goal was to accomplish a reaction, then consider the goal accomplished. Kaine is the real star of this issue. His actions harken back to the days where he was legit a bad guy, and his story is truly come full circle. It’s this subplot that has me interested and I’m looking forward to where the story goes from here. Ben is full on a sleeze ball, and acting nothing like Ben Reilly… except for one thing:

Ben Reilly is a survivor. Before the Jackal BS, we saw during the Clone Saga, that Ben didn’t always make the wisest of choices. See, EXILED and THE PARKER YEARS backup to WEB 123, ASM 400 and SPIDER-MAN 57 (Also collected as LOST YEARS #0) So, while a disagree with some of the things Ben is doing, I do agree that the overall notion of suriviving is a core tenant of the character.

Regardless of the story, the Artwork is stunning and I love Mark Bagley. LOVE. He can draw Spider-Man related characters forever. Please.

C+