Ben Reilly: Spider-Man #1 Review

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Writer: J. M. DeMatteis
Artist:  David Baldeón
Colorist: Israel Silva
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: Steve Skroce and Dave Stewart
Variant Cover Artists: Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding & Alex Sinclair; Skottie Young; Alex Maleev; Dan Jurgens & Alex Sinclair
Designer: Anthony Gambino
Executive Editor: Nick Lowe
Editor in Chief: C.B. Cebulski

“What’re you babbling about? I’ve known you since you were a scrawny, pimple-faced adolescent! And… And what’s with the blond hair? Geez, Parker, you look ridiculous!” –J. Jonah Jameson

The Story: This story is set entirely in the past during Ben Reilly’s original, brief tenure as Spider-Man. Ben is believed to be the original Peter Parker. Peter (believed to be the clone, of course) and Mary Jane are in Portland, and Ben is working at the Daily Grind coffee shop. The story opens with Ben passing the always pleasant (Ha!) J. Jonah Jameson on the street. Of course, Jameson mistakes Ben for Peter, only to be told he’s mistaken. Befuddled, Jameson is left confused as Ben makes his way back to the apartment.

The television alerts Ben that Carrion has escaped from the Ravencroft Institute and soon makes his way to the cemetery to confront him as Spider-Man. After a brutal series punches (in Ben’s defense, Carrion did try messing with his head, and after months of manipulation by the Jackal and others, Ben wasn’t in the mood for it), Ben discovers that Malcom McBride’s mother died from a stroke, and used Carrion as an outlet for his grief. This compassion and understanding from Ben allow for McBride to resume control, and the second Carrion soon passes out before being taken back to Ravencroft.

It’s soon discovered that Peter Parker had confided in Kafka about his clone troubles (!) so that he could move on with his life and focus on having a future with Mary Jane. At some point, Peter apparently let Ben in on this information, and Ben soon unmasks and reveals himself to Kafka. Kafka offers him friendship as opposed to psychiatry, but Ben rejects the idea, although Kafka won’t rule it out. Ben meets a rather odd customer at the Daily Grind named John Diaz as they watch a news report detailing the murder of 24-year-old Gail Harrison; she’s the latest in what are being called “First Date Murders”. We know from an earlier scene that this killer uses the name “Joshua” and that he met Gail online, but aside from those details and his brown hair, not much else is known about him.

After his shift, Ben heads home. He’s soon awoken by a scorpion in his bed! Ben knocks it onto the floor before it’s soon squashed by… the Scorpion! Even worse? He knows Ben is Spider-Man…! Uh-Oh…

The Good: It feels great to review another Ben Reilly solo book again! This comic is literally like a time travelling device. It’s as if DeMatteis never left the books, and I could not be more grateful for that. As I recall, he had left “The Amazing Spider-Man” before Ben became Spider-Man, but eventually came back once the Clone Saga had wrapped up in “The Spectacular Spider-Man”. It’s going to be great to get these never-before-seen stories from one of Spider-Man’s most prolific writers. DeMatteis uses Ben as the narrator of this story, and if you read his stories during the Clone Saga, you know that he used this as a way to really peel back the layers of the characters’ minds he was writing; he does so here again to great effect.
DeMatteis really makes one feel for Ben as a character trying to start a life for himself, and you really want to see him succeed, despite knowing how his story will end (at least, for quite a few years). I can already tell that this story will fit in seamlessly with the Clone Saga, and Ben’s tenure as Spider-Man in particular. DeMatteis also remembers great obscure characters and continuity from Spidey and even Ben’s past, including Malcom McBride’s mother, and Shirley, Ben’s boss at the coffee shop. J.M. DeMatteis is a lot like Spider-Man: While Spider-Man weaves a web, Dematteis weaves a story, and while Spidey uses his web to stick to buildings and foes alike, a DeMatteis comic will stick to your fingers from beginning to end, as there is no use in trying to put it down until you’re done with it. I found myself once again immersed in an era of Spider-Man comics that I personally really enjoyed, and, as a result, I can tell you that I’ll be in this for the long haul.

While the writing is fantastic, to put it mildly, let us not forget the artwork. David Baldeón and Israel Silva really knock it out of the park! David’s pencil’s are dynamic and captivating, while Silva’s delightful colors really make those images pop right off of the page. Everything flowed and blended so well together that I eagerly anticipated the next panel and page.

The creative team could not be commended more!

In regards to the story, I’m curious to see where the team is going with “Joshua” and John. Could they be the same person? The two look nothing alike, but one can never be too sure in the world of comics. And seeing Scorpion show up at the very end has me dying to read the next issue! Just how did he find out Ben is Spider-Man? How was Scorpion in the apartment without Ben’s Spider-Sense alerting him to the fact? I have questions, and the hopeful wait for answers in issue two is going to be a killer! J. Johnah Jameson’s reaction to Ben at the beginning of the issue was something I always found missing from the Clone Saga, so I thought this was a much needed inclusion and a great way to kick things off. Also, seeing Ben win the Carrion fight with his heart and brain and not his fists was a delight, and it had that delightful J.M. DeMatteis charm about it. Great stuff.

Another nice thing is that new readers can jump on board and not worry about having missed out on the Clone Saga. The creative team fills you in as they go and where needed.

The Bad: The ride was over before I knew it! I needed a “Double-Sized Collector’s Issue”; you know, the kind of premier issue that the 90’s was known for. My only other complaint is my concern about Kafka having known that Peter was Spider-Man. I don’t have a problem with her knowing, but it doesn’t really match up with the comics that follow Ben’s time as Spider-Man. Of course, that’s the difficulty in writing a comic set in the past, but such a huge revelation might seem hard to believe, unless she somehow loses her memory before Peter resumes the role, which I assume is possible. Also, what’s up with Scorpion dropping a scorpion in Ben’s bed before squashing it? Maybe it’s all in Ben’s head, but it just struck me as odd.

As far as first issues go, this was an excellent read! I’m giving it 9/10 scorpions.