Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider #25 Review

Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider #25

 

 

Writer: Peter David

Artist: Bruno Oliveira

Color Artist: Rachelle Rosenberg

Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Khary Randolph & Emilio Lopez

Assistant Editors: Lauren Amaro

Editor: Devin Lewis

Executive Editor: Nick Lowe

Editor in Chief: C. B. Cebulski

Chief Creative Officer: Joe Quesada

President: Dan Buckley

Executive Producer: Alan Fine

 

“Aw, crap.” — Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider

 

The Story: Last we saw of Ben he was shot to death by Kaine. Turns out that really happened. His spirit is greeted by Mephisto and everyone else regains their memories of what really happened (they remember that Ben didn’t withhold Abigail’s cure to sell for a hefty sum). Mephistio is ready to drag Ben to his realm when a mysterious angel saves him and stops Mephisto, which angrily sends him on his way. Turns out the angel in question is Abigail and she rewards Ben for all of his sacrifices by offering to give him his life back. Ben refuses, remembering Death’s words that his soul would be shattered if he came back to life one more time. Abigail does it anyway. 

 

Ben comes back, escaping the body bag and ambulance he was in, only to be confronted by Mysterio’s daughter, Misty. Ready for revenge, she’s ready to attack when Ben punches a hole through her stomach. Turns out Mysterio so badly wanted a daughter, that he made a robot one. However, Ben didn’t know this when he punched her, and… it doesn’t bother him. In fact, he likes it.

 

Meanwhile, Aunt June is given a free place to stay at Cassandra Mercury’s casino, including free food. Cassandra’s guilt over Ben’s supposed death caused her to try and make it up to him somehow, knowing it’s what Ben would have wanted. Abigail then confronts her mom, seemingly alive (not showing off her angelic powers to her as she did with Ben).

 

Elsewhere, Kaine is also feeling guilty for the role he played in Ben’s death. This doesn’t last long, as Ben stabs Kaine several times, threatening him to get out of Vegas if he lives through this and then disappears. We next see Ben on a rooftop, laughing and sobbing in the rain, and so ends the book as we know it.

 

The Good: Uhh… Ben gets brought back to life. I like Ben, and I wouldn’t want him dead… again (then again, maybe after an ending like this, death would have been more merciful. Crap, wait, gotta stay positive…). And hey, you know, while I don’t like how Khary Randolph draws Ben’s sleeves (still), the cover had a nice lay out. I know I usually don’t like the guy’s work, but this issue was an improvement, to be sure. Perhaps I feel that way because it was sort of giving off a “Kraven’s Last Hunt” vibe to it (Web of Spider-Man #32 to be exact).

 

The Bad: Oh man, where to start… The art was not as good as it was last issue. Mephisto looked weird (that hair…!). So did Ben when he was stabbing Kaine; it didn’t even look like Ben doing it! I definitely would have liked to see Will Sliney back on here.

 

The story was surprisingly bad and all over the place. It didn’t even feel like Peter David wrote it, that’s how bad this was. There were a few lingering questions, like more answers as to what exactly the Diogenes Initiative is; we’re supposed to believe it was something concocted by agents of Heaven? Say what? And that’s it? Nothing more, nothing less? I… I just don’t get it.

 

I didn’t recall Abigail getting the cure, either, which is how they’re saying she came back to life here with angelic powers. In fact, I’m pretty sure her not getting the cure is what killed her in the first place. Yeesh.

 

I didn’t like Ben becoming this hollow, seemingly uncaring guy now that he was brought back to life. I mean, punching someone in the stomach with every intent to kill them and not caring one bit about what he’d done? It just felt so wrong and it was actually painful to read. Same goes for him stabbing Kaine. I know Kaine shot him, but he was having his mind messed with, and Ben knows that!

 

Oh, and what point did bringing Misty into all of this serve? It seemed very out of left field. Of all the subplots to tie up, this is the one you settle on? And she’s a robot?! What?! There was no hint of this being a thing in her last appearance. So somehow magic or something brought this evil robot back to life? And the robot could perform occult practices? Huh?! None of the Misty angle made ANY sense. It was pretty, well, stupid to put it mildly. Pointless and stupid. I don’t even want to talk about it anymore because it just confuses and angers me.

 

And we end with Ben, seemingly a broken man, crying and laughing on a rooftop? What a terrible ending to a book and character we’ve invested our time into for these past two years. What am I rating this book? Well, since you asked, a 0/10. Seriously, don’t even waste your money on this book; not one red cent, I implore you! You know, people like to complain about the “90’s Clone Saga” not making any sense and just being a bad read. Well, as someone who’s read the “90’s Clone Saga” in its entirety (I have all of the trade paperbacks), I can tell you that I would gladly take any of those stories over what I just read. Yes, even “Maximum Clonage”.

 

Sorry to end this “last” (I say last, but I have some back issues to catch up on for the site) review of the book on such a sour note, but I can’t remember the last time I was THIS disappointed in a book, let alone the ending of one.