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Spider-Man: The Complete Ben Reilly Epic
Spider-Man: The Complete Ben Reilly Epic Vol. 6
Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #417-418, Sensational Spider-Man (1996) #11, Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #240-241, Spider-Man (1990) #73-75, Spider-Man Team-Up #5, Spider-Man Unlimited (1993) #14, Spider-Man: 101 Ways To End The Clone Saga and material from Spider-Man: Revelations & Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal.
The cataclysmic conclusion of the Clone Saga! Peter and Ben grow ever closer to unraveling the twisted conspiracy that has manipulated them both for years, but the identity of the shadowy madman pulling their strings will shock both Spider-Men to the core - and one will not survive! As Mary Jane goes into labor and a vengeful villain makes his return, lies are exposed, truths are revealed and heroes are sacrificed! Plus: Take a peek behind the curtain at what could have been as Marvel's staffers explore alternate endings to the Clone Saga! And whatever happened to Carrion?
The cataclysmic conclusion of the Clone Saga! Peter and Ben grow ever closer to unraveling the twisted conspiracy that has manipulated them both for years, but the identity of the shadowy madman pulling their strings will shock both Spider-Men to the core - and one will not survive! As Mary Jane goes into labor and a vengeful villain makes his return, lies are exposed, truths are revealed and heroes are sacrificed! Plus: Take a peek behind the curtain at what could have been as Marvel's staffers explore alternate endings to the Clone Saga! And whatever happened to Carrion?
425 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 7, 2012
About the author
Tom DeFalco
2,506 books109 followersTom DeFalco is an American comics writer and editor, well-known for his association with Marvel Comics and Spider-Man.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 29, 2026
Finally - 11/11 gosh that was sometimes very tough. This final volume is in line with the rest, sometimes great, sometimes bad, sometimes appalling.
November 12, 2023
I did it. I finally did it. After 11 (12 if you count Spider-Man: The Original Clone Saga trade paperback) chunky 400+ page trade paperbacks, I have read the entire Clone Saga in all of it's infamous glory. It was at times exhausting, at times (due to the artwork) excruciating, but it was by and large highly enjoyable. I'll admit that the ending of it was something of a clusterf**k, but Marvel had sort of backed themselves into a corner and were in an unwinnable situation.
Things start out really strong, with the resolution of the gangster Jimmy-6's storyline. I am a sucker for all of the crime lords and gang wars of the Marvel Universe, and many of my favorite Spider-Man villains turn up: Tombstone, the Rose, Caesar Cicero, Hammerhead, Silverman, and the Slug. I have always dug on Tombstone since his first appearance and am a sucker for Silver and Bronze Age villains like Hammerhead. The fact that we are treated to some stellar John Romita, Jr. artwork didn't hurt, either.
Spider-Man Unlimited #14 is horrid. Everything that it wrong with '90s comics is on display in this issue. Ill-conceived villains with ill-conceived costume designs. Horrid Image-influenced artwork by the abysmal Joe Bennett. Sloppy hand lettering. Colorists going apeshit with the then-new bells and whistles of computer color separations, coloring people's faces with four different flesh tones. Just ridiculous. I'll stop short of criticism on the coloring, though, because they were experimenting and discovering the limits of this new coloring technology. It just hasn't aged very well.
There is a continuity gaffe in Spider-Man Unlimited #14. Ben Reilly recognizes the Rocket Racer, who first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #172. This is after Reilly would have left New York, and he had not appeared anywhere where he could have possibly interacted with Reilly.
Spider-Man: Team-Up #5 is another example of comics gone wrong. I am going out on a limb here because everyone loves Gambit, but I think that he sucks. He has a stupid power, an even worse costume, and I can't stand reading his Cajun dialogue. I can imagine my own dialects, I don't need his dialect spelled out in every word balloon. The story in and of itself is good in spite of all of this. It was Steve Gerber's Howard The Duck back-up story that sucks. I have never been a Howard the Duck fan but I am a huge fan of Gerber's Man-Thing run. The story is full of so much of latter era Gerber's self reverence that it is off-putting. I realize that Howard The Duck was satire, but it was never my cup of tea. The redesigned Circus of Crime made me ill. There's even an appearance by Kiss in this issue, another nod to Gerber's '70s comics heyday. I did enjoy the Valujet and Savage Dragon spoofs, though. Apologies to all Duck and Gerber fans, but this story blew.
Luke Ross' early artwork is horrid. I was shocked when a reader pointed out to me that he did a run of newer material that I enjoyed. I did a quick look and sure enough, Ross has evolved into a fine, fine artist, and I have enjoyed many issues that he has done. His work here is pretty bad, though. Chalk it up as the work of a young artist finding his voice. Steve Skroce's artwork made me ill. There is nothing pleasing to the eye about it.
Fortunately we get treated to Kyle Hotz's unique artwork in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal. Hotz's work always has serrated edge to it, and it works really well with the Green Goblin. The one-shot spoof Spider-Man: 101 Ways To End The Clone Saga was an entertaining read and offered some interesting takes on the ending. I quite liked the whole Dr. Seward Trainer as Judas Traveller idea, even if it wasn't airtight. Coulda shoulda woulda, right?
The book ends with the one-shot Spider-Man: Dead Man's Hand, this one featuring an old favorite of mine, Carrion. It ended the book on a good note. So there you have it. Everything that you ever wanted to know about the Complete Clone Saga/Ben Reilly Epic trades but were afraid to ask.
he fourteen story pages that were exclusive to the 1997 Spider-Man: Revelations trade paperback are included here, interspersed with Spider-Man #75 as they were in that trade paperback. The entire issue was recolored by Gregory Wright for the 1997 collected edition, and that is the version collected here. Now my OCD completist self also wants to see the issue as it was originally presented and colored. Maybe the seemingly inevitable Omnibus will collect it as an extra. Why do I do this stuff to myself. Why? Why???
Things start out really strong, with the resolution of the gangster Jimmy-6's storyline. I am a sucker for all of the crime lords and gang wars of the Marvel Universe, and many of my favorite Spider-Man villains turn up: Tombstone, the Rose, Caesar Cicero, Hammerhead, Silverman, and the Slug. I have always dug on Tombstone since his first appearance and am a sucker for Silver and Bronze Age villains like Hammerhead. The fact that we are treated to some stellar John Romita, Jr. artwork didn't hurt, either.
Spider-Man Unlimited #14 is horrid. Everything that it wrong with '90s comics is on display in this issue. Ill-conceived villains with ill-conceived costume designs. Horrid Image-influenced artwork by the abysmal Joe Bennett. Sloppy hand lettering. Colorists going apeshit with the then-new bells and whistles of computer color separations, coloring people's faces with four different flesh tones. Just ridiculous. I'll stop short of criticism on the coloring, though, because they were experimenting and discovering the limits of this new coloring technology. It just hasn't aged very well.
There is a continuity gaffe in Spider-Man Unlimited #14. Ben Reilly recognizes the Rocket Racer, who first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #172. This is after Reilly would have left New York, and he had not appeared anywhere where he could have possibly interacted with Reilly.
Spider-Man: Team-Up #5 is another example of comics gone wrong. I am going out on a limb here because everyone loves Gambit, but I think that he sucks. He has a stupid power, an even worse costume, and I can't stand reading his Cajun dialogue. I can imagine my own dialects, I don't need his dialect spelled out in every word balloon. The story in and of itself is good in spite of all of this. It was Steve Gerber's Howard The Duck back-up story that sucks. I have never been a Howard the Duck fan but I am a huge fan of Gerber's Man-Thing run. The story is full of so much of latter era Gerber's self reverence that it is off-putting. I realize that Howard The Duck was satire, but it was never my cup of tea. The redesigned Circus of Crime made me ill. There's even an appearance by Kiss in this issue, another nod to Gerber's '70s comics heyday. I did enjoy the Valujet and Savage Dragon spoofs, though. Apologies to all Duck and Gerber fans, but this story blew.
Luke Ross' early artwork is horrid. I was shocked when a reader pointed out to me that he did a run of newer material that I enjoyed. I did a quick look and sure enough, Ross has evolved into a fine, fine artist, and I have enjoyed many issues that he has done. His work here is pretty bad, though. Chalk it up as the work of a young artist finding his voice. Steve Skroce's artwork made me ill. There is nothing pleasing to the eye about it.
Fortunately we get treated to Kyle Hotz's unique artwork in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal. Hotz's work always has serrated edge to it, and it works really well with the Green Goblin. The one-shot spoof Spider-Man: 101 Ways To End The Clone Saga was an entertaining read and offered some interesting takes on the ending. I quite liked the whole Dr. Seward Trainer as Judas Traveller idea, even if it wasn't airtight. Coulda shoulda woulda, right?
The book ends with the one-shot Spider-Man: Dead Man's Hand, this one featuring an old favorite of mine, Carrion. It ended the book on a good note. So there you have it. Everything that you ever wanted to know about the Complete Clone Saga/Ben Reilly Epic trades but were afraid to ask.
he fourteen story pages that were exclusive to the 1997 Spider-Man: Revelations trade paperback are included here, interspersed with Spider-Man #75 as they were in that trade paperback. The entire issue was recolored by Gregory Wright for the 1997 collected edition, and that is the version collected here. Now my OCD completist self also wants to see the issue as it was originally presented and colored. Maybe the seemingly inevitable Omnibus will collect it as an extra. Why do I do this stuff to myself. Why? Why???
July 17, 2021
The clone saga wrapped up well after a very convoluted story arc that lasted for eleven books. Some of the crossover issues in this volume, with Howard the Duck and others, were not that good but the main story was well done. The bonus issue on how the writers could have ended the clone saga in alternative ways was entertaining and an interesting look into the creative process. 3 1/2 stars
May 26, 2018
An ending that was aggressively cruel and stupid for the characters, the fans, and all creative personnel involved. Aside from Spider-Man #75, there was no nostalgic charm when rereading this clunker.
January 4, 2022
I find this story ok but long, too long. I can't believe that I had to read the Clone Saga that was broken down in 11 epic books. I can see why the storyline was so convoluted for the writers and the readers. It was a good thing that I chose to read all 11 epic books before reading the Real Clone Saga mini-series. That one was better when the original.
August 16, 2016
I almost enjoyed this a lot. Your love of the Clone Saga is probably entirely contingent on loving the Clone Saga in the first place.
In any event, this probably isn't a good place to go to feel good per the cover.
It's interesting that, at least for this reprint series, they went with "Ben Reilly Epic" rather than "Clone Saga," which they've used elsewhere.
The Amazing Spider-Man: The Original Clone SagaThe Amazing Spider-Man: The Original Clone SagaUltimate Spider-Man, Vol. 17: Clone Saga
In any event, this probably isn't a good place to go to feel good per the cover.
It's interesting that, at least for this reprint series, they went with "Ben Reilly Epic" rather than "Clone Saga," which they've used elsewhere.
The Amazing Spider-Man: The Original Clone SagaThe Amazing Spider-Man: The Original Clone SagaUltimate Spider-Man, Vol. 17: Clone Saga
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2016
It's a nice wrap to a weird story. That ending was definitely not the plan from the start, but it fit. It has all the elements of true comics: Returning Arch-Villain, Status Quo Restoring, and barely working continuity.
The reveal is a bit ruined by the choice of cover art. I don't know that I would have guessed as early as I did who was behind everything if the Goblin hadn't been on the outside of the trade.
There are some loose threads but I'm guessing those were hammered out in the pages of the Spider books in a few months after the scope of this trade.
The reveal is a bit ruined by the choice of cover art. I don't know that I would have guessed as early as I did who was behind everything if the Goblin hadn't been on the outside of the trade.
There are some loose threads but I'm guessing those were hammered out in the pages of the Spider books in a few months after the scope of this trade.
March 29, 2017
The Clone Saga had its ups and its downs and the wrap up, due to behind the scenes decisions, is a bit of a mess.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews