What do you think?
Rate this book
Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga
The Amazing Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic, Vol. 2
Villains die and debut in the nineties' pivotal Spider-saga Spider-Man and the Scarlet Spider are both fighting crime, and there's plenty to go around when the Jackal arises - with more clones in the wings But following a team-up with Daredevil - who's having an identity crisis of his own - Spidey faces a fate that could wrap up his web-slinging days forever The answer may come down to one of Spider-Man's deadliest enemies - but what price will he pay for it, and what prize will he leave behind? Plus: Mary Jane's revelation Aerial crime warfare, terrorism and a funeral for a fiend Guest-starring Kaine, Puma and the enigmatic Nocturne Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1962) #395-399, Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #218-221, Spider-Man (1990) #54-56, Spider-Man Unlimited (1993) #8, Web of Spider-Man #120-122, and Spider-Man: Funeral for an Octopus #1-3.
488 pages, Paperback
First published June 9, 2010
13 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 18, 2016
Back from the Edge. This arc really shows how badly damaged Marvel characters were by the grim-and-gritty '90s. We already saw a deeply annoying grim-and-dark "Spider" in the previous volume. Here he's joined by dark Puma, dark Vulture, dark Owl, and dark Daredevil. Fortunately, the arc has a few saving graces: the writing of J.M. DeMatteis; a good subplot concerning MJ; and the fact that the point of the arc is to pull some of these characters out of grim and gritty [5+/10].
Web of Life. And now we swap to a Scarlet arc. Unfortunately, this battle between Kaine, Ben, and Grim Hunter suggests that Ben got the short end of the writing stick. In short: it’s dull. The protagonists spend the first two issues pussy-footing around and the last two fighting. There’s very little else, and those elements are way too decompressed [4/10].
Web of Death. Back to Peter. A shockingly good story, as we get an interesting side of Otto Octavius, the end of Peter’s dark-and-gritty sulk, and the return of MJ. This is all helped along by great writing from DeMatteis and terrific art by Mark Bagley on the one hand and Bill Sinkiewicz on the other. Mind you, the arc isn’t perfect: Tom DeFalco isn’t up to DeMatteis’ writing standards, the two (great) art styles clash, and we get the first hints of the major troubles of the Clone cycle, when we see the first hints that Peter is a clone … but it’s still one of the best stories in the books so far [7+/10].
Funeral for an Octopus. With a Sinister Four, two Spider-Men, and an opportunity to eulogize Otto, this mini-series should have been a strong comic. Instead it’s just a waste of time, presumably because it couldn’t actually do anything notable while the main comics continued on. So, we get a Kaine who fails to actually hurt anyone; and two Spider-Men who don’t actually meet up. There’s also the head-shaking stupidity of Peter wearing the Octopus arms and then being surprised while they go out of control. Overall, not worth reading [3/10].
Behind the Terror. (Spider-Man Unlimited #8.) Not a bad bit of Die-Hard-like suspense. It reads quickly and is exciting. Mind you, it’s got no depth, the continuity is slightly off the other Spider books, and there continues to be an annoying refusal against the two Spider-Men meeting up [5/10].
Smoke & Mirrors. And finally Ben & Peter *do* come together. The last story is two-thirds by DeMatteis, and by chance it ends up being two-thirds good. It’s pretty great (finally) getting Spider, Scarlet, the Jackal, and Gwen all together, to try and give some closure to this Clone Saga. But instead we get more questions and *no* closure. Though this story’s not bad, it’s probably right where the Clone Saga starts to go wrong, because it should have been coming to a close instead [6+/10].
Overall, this is a wildly erratic volume, so I’ll call it overall average/mediocre.
Web of Life. And now we swap to a Scarlet arc. Unfortunately, this battle between Kaine, Ben, and Grim Hunter suggests that Ben got the short end of the writing stick. In short: it’s dull. The protagonists spend the first two issues pussy-footing around and the last two fighting. There’s very little else, and those elements are way too decompressed [4/10].
Web of Death. Back to Peter. A shockingly good story, as we get an interesting side of Otto Octavius, the end of Peter’s dark-and-gritty sulk, and the return of MJ. This is all helped along by great writing from DeMatteis and terrific art by Mark Bagley on the one hand and Bill Sinkiewicz on the other. Mind you, the arc isn’t perfect: Tom DeFalco isn’t up to DeMatteis’ writing standards, the two (great) art styles clash, and we get the first hints of the major troubles of the Clone cycle, when we see the first hints that Peter is a clone … but it’s still one of the best stories in the books so far [7+/10].
Funeral for an Octopus. With a Sinister Four, two Spider-Men, and an opportunity to eulogize Otto, this mini-series should have been a strong comic. Instead it’s just a waste of time, presumably because it couldn’t actually do anything notable while the main comics continued on. So, we get a Kaine who fails to actually hurt anyone; and two Spider-Men who don’t actually meet up. There’s also the head-shaking stupidity of Peter wearing the Octopus arms and then being surprised while they go out of control. Overall, not worth reading [3/10].
Behind the Terror. (Spider-Man Unlimited #8.) Not a bad bit of Die-Hard-like suspense. It reads quickly and is exciting. Mind you, it’s got no depth, the continuity is slightly off the other Spider books, and there continues to be an annoying refusal against the two Spider-Men meeting up [5/10].
Smoke & Mirrors. And finally Ben & Peter *do* come together. The last story is two-thirds by DeMatteis, and by chance it ends up being two-thirds good. It’s pretty great (finally) getting Spider, Scarlet, the Jackal, and Gwen all together, to try and give some closure to this Clone Saga. But instead we get more questions and *no* closure. Though this story’s not bad, it’s probably right where the Clone Saga starts to go wrong, because it should have been coming to a close instead [6+/10].
Overall, this is a wildly erratic volume, so I’ll call it overall average/mediocre.
March 20, 2016
4,5 stars
Della saga del clone dell'Uomo Ragno si é detto ogni male possibile.
Quando la lessi all'epoca a me piacque molto ed ora é un piacere rileggerla di nuovo.
Un must read per ogni fan dell'amichevole Uomo Ragno di quartiere.
Della saga del clone dell'Uomo Ragno si é detto ogni male possibile.
Quando la lessi all'epoca a me piacque molto ed ora é un piacere rileggerla di nuovo.
Un must read per ogni fan dell'amichevole Uomo Ragno di quartiere.
September 30, 2010
The clone saga continues. The question remains, who is the real peter Parker?
March 1, 2017
Whoa! I really plowed through this one. And I even enjoyed it. It's still pretty weak material but I did get into the spirit of the thing and had fun with the book. Off to book three.
October 27, 2018
Crazy times for the wall-crawler...but I enjoyed them!
March 29, 2015
I had forgotten just how conveluted and this saga was when it originally was released
March 19, 2022
Reprints Amazing Spider-Man (1) #395-399, Spectacular Spider-Man (1) #218-221, Spider-Man (1) #54-56, Spider-Man Unlimited (1) #8, Web of Spider-Man (1) #120-122, and Spider-Man: Funeral for an Octopus #1-3 (November 1994-May 1995). Ben Reilly is establishing himself as the Scarlet Spider while Peter finds his life thrown into chaos by the possibility he could be a clone. Peter quickly learns that the clone is the least of his problems when he finds himself poisoned and his only hope could be his mortal enemy Dr. Octopus…but there is someone worse than Octopus lurking in the wings. Aunt May clings to life, and Mary Jane has a big surprise for Peter. As the Jackal makes his play Ben and Peter learn that finding the truth could be harder than believed.
Written by Tom Brevoort, Tom DeFalco, J.M. DeMatteis, Todd DeZago, Mike Kanterovich, Terry Kavanagh, Tom Lyle, and Howard Mackie, Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 2 is a Marvel Comics superhero comic book collection. Following Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 1, the series features art by Mark Bagley, Sal Buscema, Steven Butler, Phil Gosier, Stewart Johnson, Ron Lim, Tom Lyle, Mike Manley, and Tod Smith. The issues in the collection were also included in the Spider-Man Clone Saga Omnibus—Volume 1.
The Clone Saga left a sour taste in the mouth of many readers in the 1990s as it was unveiled. It was long, it was clunky, and it threatened to ruin decades of Spider-Man stories by retconning a storyline within the issues. Now decades later, Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga—Book 2 doesn’t feel as bad or dangerous as it did then…but it does suffer from 1990s art and writing.
Comics weren’t written the same in the 1990s as the Clone Saga came out. The idea of collections and trade of every issue wasn’t an option and the writers didn’t treat series like that. Here, you have a large swath of the Clone Saga, but there isn’t much flow. You have a number of issues dealing with Peter’s poisoning, a few issues involving Mary Jane’s pregnancy announcement, the occasional dip-in on Aunt May in the hospital, and the Jackal’s incoherent rambling. It is fun to read some of the issue to issue stuff, but as a whole the collection doesn’t read well.
The biggest outcome from this volume (in addition to the pregnancy reveal) is the death of Doctor Octopus. Octopus goes through valiant efforts to save Peter (he sees him as kind of a yin-yang thing) and this abruptly killed by the mysterious Kaine who snaps his neck. This eventually leads to a new Doctor Octopus and a resurrection, but it was a significant death at the time.
The series art is all over the place. Some of the art was good, but a lot of it feels under inked (something that goes the other direction in some comics). When Image broke off from Marvel in the early 1990s, it feels like a lot of the edgier artists left with it, and Marvel was scrambling. In many ways it feels like now Marvel won by having more consistent art through the period like in this collection, but it isn’t very distinctive and at this point things had kind of settled down.
Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 2 has the events of the Clone Saga motoring on, but fans of Spider-Man know that it isn’t anywhere near over with this volume. In fact this is so early in the Clone Saga that it almost feels like this is filler. While I believe that the whole Clone Saga was mapped out, this is probably the point where first reactions started to filter in…and Marvel had to be panicking. Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 2 is followed by Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 3.
Written by Tom Brevoort, Tom DeFalco, J.M. DeMatteis, Todd DeZago, Mike Kanterovich, Terry Kavanagh, Tom Lyle, and Howard Mackie, Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 2 is a Marvel Comics superhero comic book collection. Following Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 1, the series features art by Mark Bagley, Sal Buscema, Steven Butler, Phil Gosier, Stewart Johnson, Ron Lim, Tom Lyle, Mike Manley, and Tod Smith. The issues in the collection were also included in the Spider-Man Clone Saga Omnibus—Volume 1.
The Clone Saga left a sour taste in the mouth of many readers in the 1990s as it was unveiled. It was long, it was clunky, and it threatened to ruin decades of Spider-Man stories by retconning a storyline within the issues. Now decades later, Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga—Book 2 doesn’t feel as bad or dangerous as it did then…but it does suffer from 1990s art and writing.
Comics weren’t written the same in the 1990s as the Clone Saga came out. The idea of collections and trade of every issue wasn’t an option and the writers didn’t treat series like that. Here, you have a large swath of the Clone Saga, but there isn’t much flow. You have a number of issues dealing with Peter’s poisoning, a few issues involving Mary Jane’s pregnancy announcement, the occasional dip-in on Aunt May in the hospital, and the Jackal’s incoherent rambling. It is fun to read some of the issue to issue stuff, but as a whole the collection doesn’t read well.
The biggest outcome from this volume (in addition to the pregnancy reveal) is the death of Doctor Octopus. Octopus goes through valiant efforts to save Peter (he sees him as kind of a yin-yang thing) and this abruptly killed by the mysterious Kaine who snaps his neck. This eventually leads to a new Doctor Octopus and a resurrection, but it was a significant death at the time.
The series art is all over the place. Some of the art was good, but a lot of it feels under inked (something that goes the other direction in some comics). When Image broke off from Marvel in the early 1990s, it feels like a lot of the edgier artists left with it, and Marvel was scrambling. In many ways it feels like now Marvel won by having more consistent art through the period like in this collection, but it isn’t very distinctive and at this point things had kind of settled down.
Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 2 has the events of the Clone Saga motoring on, but fans of Spider-Man know that it isn’t anywhere near over with this volume. In fact this is so early in the Clone Saga that it almost feels like this is filler. While I believe that the whole Clone Saga was mapped out, this is probably the point where first reactions started to filter in…and Marvel had to be panicking. Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 2 is followed by Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 3.
April 4, 2018
Collects Amazing Spider-Man issues #395-399, Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man issues #218-221, Spider-Man issues #54-56, Spider-Man Unlimited issues #8, Web of Spider-Man issues #120-122, and Spider-Man: Funeral for an Octopus issues #1-3
I can't imagine that this is a 5-star read to anyone else but me. I started reading comic books right before the Clone Saga started. Imagine my surprise when, having only been reading "Spider-Man" for a few months, his clones shows up. I ended up loving Ben Reilly's costume, and even now, seeing the Scarlet Spider in action is one of my highlights of this reading experience. There is a lot of good art in this book. The Peter Parker-centric stories were so-so in this collection, but the Ben Reilly-centric stories were great.
It is strange that I like Reilly better than Parker in this book because they are the exact same character. Their personalities are almost indistinguishable from each other. There is a scene in which they independently respond to a question in the exact same way, even though they are miles apart when they are being asked this question by two different people.
Interestingly, there were quite a few issues in this collection that I didn't pick up when I was a kid. I didn't know about the "Funeral for an Octopus" miniseries, and it seems that I was skipping some of the titles that didn't feature Ben Reilly.
SPOILERS:
-When I first read this I understood the magnitude of Kaine killing Doctor Octopus.
-The creators were dropping lots of hints that Peter Parker was the real clone. Even dead Uncle Ben was in on the secret.
I can't imagine that this is a 5-star read to anyone else but me. I started reading comic books right before the Clone Saga started. Imagine my surprise when, having only been reading "Spider-Man" for a few months, his clones shows up. I ended up loving Ben Reilly's costume, and even now, seeing the Scarlet Spider in action is one of my highlights of this reading experience. There is a lot of good art in this book. The Peter Parker-centric stories were so-so in this collection, but the Ben Reilly-centric stories were great.
It is strange that I like Reilly better than Parker in this book because they are the exact same character. Their personalities are almost indistinguishable from each other. There is a scene in which they independently respond to a question in the exact same way, even though they are miles apart when they are being asked this question by two different people.
Interestingly, there were quite a few issues in this collection that I didn't pick up when I was a kid. I didn't know about the "Funeral for an Octopus" miniseries, and it seems that I was skipping some of the titles that didn't feature Ben Reilly.
SPOILERS:
-When I first read this I understood the magnitude of Kaine killing Doctor Octopus.
-The creators were dropping lots of hints that Peter Parker was the real clone. Even dead Uncle Ben was in on the secret.
May 3, 2012
Overall, Book 2 is much better than Book 1. In Book 1, Spider-Man has extreme emotional problems due to the Chameleon making cyborgs of Peter Parker's parents, which turn on him, thus shattering his life. Also, Aunt May ends up in a coma, and Spider-Man refuses to come home to Mary Jane because he is aching to give up his life as Peter. All of this causes Spider-Man to lash out at the Scarlet Spider, which is bothersome because they should both be on the same side. Spider-Man also whines a lot in Book 1, which was slightly annoying. Book 2, on the other hand, changes all this, and Spider-Man is actually quite normal for once. He is back to his old witty comebacks and do-good attitude. It's really quite refreshing.
Anyway, I kind of want to break it down by sections, because this book has a lot of stuff that happens, but then I can go into detail why I like this book so much.
In the first storyline Back from the Edge the Puma and Nocturne try to hunt down Spider-Man. What's unusual about this, however, is Nocturne is actually trying to help Spider-Man because she is an empath and can sense Spidey's pain. With her empath abilities, Nocturne actually clears Spider-Man's mind from whatever dark shadow was hindering him by tying Spider-Man's mind with the Puma's, so that they both could feel each other's pain and anguish, and thus understand one another. This is highly important in the story because Spider-Man feels some sympathy for Nocturne and Puma, and this is his first steps into healing from his emotional pain.
Later, Spider-Man tracks down The new Daredevil, who he thinks is the original Matt Murdock who faked his own death. Spider-Man wants to learn how Daredevil did it, but that would entail Spider-Man completely leaving his life as Peter Parker behind. At the same time The Owl and The Vulture pit against one another, however, The Vulture seems to have the upperhand, which leads to The Vulture attacking Spider-Man with one of his birds dipped in poison, which causes Spider-Man to slowly sink into a fever, which if he cannot find an antidote will be his end. In the end he does find the antidote and he feels saved.
The next storyline is Web of Life, and turns to The Scarlet Spider. Interestingly both Kaine and the Grim Hunter are trying to kill him. Why Kaine does, we have no idea, but the Grim Hunter wants to avenge his father's death. Tombstone makes a short appearance, but isn't too important. What is important is that Kaine and Grim Hunter end up fighting one another because they both want to finish Spider-Man, and one ends up ultimately paying the price. Also, we find out that Kaine is having visions of the future of Mary Jane being murdered, and he wants to stop this from happening. *hmm*
Next is Web of Death, which has Doctor Octopus and his incredibly strong blonde bombshell girlfriend Stunner. I can't ruin this story because it's so amazing, and you really have to read it to find out what happens. But the gist, is Spider-Man really wasn't cured from the antidote and Doctor Octopus takes it upon himself to find a cure for him. I suppose this is his good side shining through, but he denies this by insinuating he only wants to save Spider-Man because he could not stand the idea of his arch-nemesis leaving him. It's like he needs Spider-Man to feel that everything is worthwhile. But, I can't give away anymore, it's just too good. I actually felt a lot of remorse in the end towards what happens to one of the characters. It's really a tragedy.
The next section is pretty awesome, but Spider-Man becomes the Octo Spider. Enough said. It's too sweet for words. The Sinister Six also make an appearance, well Sinister Four I should say: The Vulture, Electro, Mysterio, and Hobgoblin. Mysterio ends up being the most intriguing of the group, and something very interesting happens in the end with him, that seems to foreshadow something, but I can't seem to figure out what.
Next we have Spider-Man Unlimited, which I found slightly bothersome because it is about a group of renegades called Terror Unlimited who plan to blow up the World Trade Center with a nuclear bomb if the cops won't give them a plane getaway and an exorbitant amount of money. I actually really liked this story despite the villains being extremely dimwitted and shallow as far as character exposition. However I felt some emotional tug at my heart from what happens to one of the characters, which I really can't spoil. It's also very awesome how the Scarlet Spider and Spider-Man both help put a stop to the terrorists in their own way. They don't actually team up with each other, but in a way it's like they do.
The final storyline is Smoke and Mirrors, and is probably my favorite storyline in the entire book. The Jackal makes a return appearance, which is extremely odd because he died in Book 1. I also extremely enjoy how Spider-Man and the Scarlet Spider become allies with one another. It's like all that emotional baggage in the last book is finally gone. Also, Scrier makes an appearance when he shows himself to Kaine, which made my inner nerd squeal inside. I actually have no idea who or what Scrier is, but he is definitely one of the most badass looking villains I've seen in Spider-Man yet. He looks like he could kill you with just a gaze he's that awesome.
I really can't spoil what happens next. Truly I can't. My mind was blown away by what ends up happening in the Jackal's lab. I was so confused what was true what was real. I was truly at the edge of my seat, and I devoured this last storyline. Smoke and Mirrors truly is a great title for this story, because there was so much truth and deception, it was crazy. I even know what ends up happening, and I was still tricked and confused.
I definitely cannot wait to read Book 3 because I can't wait to find out what happens. Overall, I strongly recommend reading Book 2 of the Complete Clone Saga Epic if you haven't already. It doesn't have any of the flaws of the first book, but I do recommend reading Book 1 first as it adds a lot and prepares you for what happens in Book 2.
Anyway, I kind of want to break it down by sections, because this book has a lot of stuff that happens, but then I can go into detail why I like this book so much.
In the first storyline Back from the Edge the Puma and Nocturne try to hunt down Spider-Man. What's unusual about this, however, is Nocturne is actually trying to help Spider-Man because she is an empath and can sense Spidey's pain. With her empath abilities, Nocturne actually clears Spider-Man's mind from whatever dark shadow was hindering him by tying Spider-Man's mind with the Puma's, so that they both could feel each other's pain and anguish, and thus understand one another. This is highly important in the story because Spider-Man feels some sympathy for Nocturne and Puma, and this is his first steps into healing from his emotional pain.
Later, Spider-Man tracks down The new Daredevil, who he thinks is the original Matt Murdock who faked his own death. Spider-Man wants to learn how Daredevil did it, but that would entail Spider-Man completely leaving his life as Peter Parker behind. At the same time The Owl and The Vulture pit against one another, however, The Vulture seems to have the upperhand, which leads to The Vulture attacking Spider-Man with one of his birds dipped in poison, which causes Spider-Man to slowly sink into a fever, which if he cannot find an antidote will be his end. In the end he does find the antidote and he feels saved.
The next storyline is Web of Life, and turns to The Scarlet Spider. Interestingly both Kaine and the Grim Hunter are trying to kill him. Why Kaine does, we have no idea, but the Grim Hunter wants to avenge his father's death. Tombstone makes a short appearance, but isn't too important. What is important is that Kaine and Grim Hunter end up fighting one another because they both want to finish Spider-Man, and one ends up ultimately paying the price. Also, we find out that Kaine is having visions of the future of Mary Jane being murdered, and he wants to stop this from happening. *hmm*
Next is Web of Death, which has Doctor Octopus and his incredibly strong blonde bombshell girlfriend Stunner. I can't ruin this story because it's so amazing, and you really have to read it to find out what happens. But the gist, is Spider-Man really wasn't cured from the antidote and Doctor Octopus takes it upon himself to find a cure for him. I suppose this is his good side shining through, but he denies this by insinuating he only wants to save Spider-Man because he could not stand the idea of his arch-nemesis leaving him. It's like he needs Spider-Man to feel that everything is worthwhile. But, I can't give away anymore, it's just too good. I actually felt a lot of remorse in the end towards what happens to one of the characters. It's really a tragedy.
The next section is pretty awesome, but Spider-Man becomes the Octo Spider. Enough said. It's too sweet for words. The Sinister Six also make an appearance, well Sinister Four I should say: The Vulture, Electro, Mysterio, and Hobgoblin. Mysterio ends up being the most intriguing of the group, and something very interesting happens in the end with him, that seems to foreshadow something, but I can't seem to figure out what.
Next we have Spider-Man Unlimited, which I found slightly bothersome because it is about a group of renegades called Terror Unlimited who plan to blow up the World Trade Center with a nuclear bomb if the cops won't give them a plane getaway and an exorbitant amount of money. I actually really liked this story despite the villains being extremely dimwitted and shallow as far as character exposition. However I felt some emotional tug at my heart from what happens to one of the characters, which I really can't spoil. It's also very awesome how the Scarlet Spider and Spider-Man both help put a stop to the terrorists in their own way. They don't actually team up with each other, but in a way it's like they do.
The final storyline is Smoke and Mirrors, and is probably my favorite storyline in the entire book. The Jackal makes a return appearance, which is extremely odd because he died in Book 1. I also extremely enjoy how Spider-Man and the Scarlet Spider become allies with one another. It's like all that emotional baggage in the last book is finally gone. Also, Scrier makes an appearance when he shows himself to Kaine, which made my inner nerd squeal inside. I actually have no idea who or what Scrier is, but he is definitely one of the most badass looking villains I've seen in Spider-Man yet. He looks like he could kill you with just a gaze he's that awesome.
I really can't spoil what happens next. Truly I can't. My mind was blown away by what ends up happening in the Jackal's lab. I was so confused what was true what was real. I was truly at the edge of my seat, and I devoured this last storyline. Smoke and Mirrors truly is a great title for this story, because there was so much truth and deception, it was crazy. I even know what ends up happening, and I was still tricked and confused.
I definitely cannot wait to read Book 3 because I can't wait to find out what happens. Overall, I strongly recommend reading Book 2 of the Complete Clone Saga Epic if you haven't already. It doesn't have any of the flaws of the first book, but I do recommend reading Book 1 first as it adds a lot and prepares you for what happens in Book 2.
June 30, 2022
3.5 which I've rounded up.
Once Spidey stopped being a depressing mess I started enjoying this more, although the revelation in the last issue might revert him back.
Really enjoyed Funeral for an Octopus.
Art is great in some issues, not brilliant in others and with each storyline straddling 3 or 4 different titles it's hard to get continuity in the art (especially with regard to Mary Jane).
Once Spidey stopped being a depressing mess I started enjoying this more, although the revelation in the last issue might revert him back.
Really enjoyed Funeral for an Octopus.
Art is great in some issues, not brilliant in others and with each storyline straddling 3 or 4 different titles it's hard to get continuity in the art (especially with regard to Mary Jane).
January 10, 2022
You know what? It's still pretty unhinged but it's more coherent than the last collection. I'm honestly having fun, enjoying the characters and the story hasn't gotten as infamously bad as it was described to me just yet. It's pretty solid and there's even a few issues within I'd recommend as baseline "good" Spider-Man stories.
July 4, 2024
This is still good stuff, even if some of the ongoing plot lines are getting a little long-winded. Kaine has been in the shadows for the first two 400+ page trades. For real? Stil, lots of good stuff, lots of classic Spider-Man villains, and the artwork is mostly decent. Bill Sienkewicz is not the man to ink Sal Buscema's pencils, however. What a contrast in style and intent.
July 9, 2017
The clone saga is still entertaining through this collection.
May 1, 2018
Det är 90-tal, det är kloner, det är ren nostalgi.
May 25, 2019
This is where the Clone Saga gets going!
This is actually really good stuff. It is not till later that the story goes off the rails.
This is actually really good stuff. It is not till later that the story goes off the rails.
July 2, 2021
This is absolutely NOT a five-star read: not with FUNERAL FOR AN OCTOPUS, UNLIMITED issue 8, and PLAYERS AND PAWNS included. But the initial build-up, with Peter finding a new lease on life and Ben discovering he wants a life now, is super compelling and surprisingly well drawn (for the time). Add in a blast of pure uncut nostalgia, and you have a book I cant help but love.
July 7, 2024
3.5⭐️
April 25, 2017
My nostalgia and curiosity get the better of me, part 2.
Almost all of what I said about volume 1 is still valid here, except the novelty of the storyline is starting to wear thin--and this is volume 2 of eleven fat volumes collecting the whole storyline.
The first problem with this volume is that "Complete" in the title: lumped into this book are 110 pages of superfluous, money-grab comics, like a three-part miniseries commemorating a villain's death that the writer later featured in a blog post entitled "Bad Comics I Wrote."
Aside from that, the main storyline itself starts out with fun twists and melodrama as Spider-Man is on the brink of death, finally pulling himself back with the help of his arch-nemesis Doctor Octopus. But then Doc Ock gets his neck snapped by the supposedly cool, new, mystery man Kaine, who then spends the rest of the book standing around and scheming to himself, and the plot gets even more unbearable from there as they pile fakeouts on top of fakeouts in terms of who the real clone is, an issue that would not be resolved for years.
Again, while this features some talented creators like J. M. DeMatteis and Bill Sienkiewicz, this volume is only for the morbidly curious comics fan with a really good library system, like me.
Almost all of what I said about volume 1 is still valid here, except the novelty of the storyline is starting to wear thin--and this is volume 2 of eleven fat volumes collecting the whole storyline.
The first problem with this volume is that "Complete" in the title: lumped into this book are 110 pages of superfluous, money-grab comics, like a three-part miniseries commemorating a villain's death that the writer later featured in a blog post entitled "Bad Comics I Wrote."
Aside from that, the main storyline itself starts out with fun twists and melodrama as Spider-Man is on the brink of death, finally pulling himself back with the help of his arch-nemesis Doctor Octopus. But then Doc Ock gets his neck snapped by the supposedly cool, new, mystery man Kaine, who then spends the rest of the book standing around and scheming to himself, and the plot gets even more unbearable from there as they pile fakeouts on top of fakeouts in terms of who the real clone is, an issue that would not be resolved for years.
Again, while this features some talented creators like J. M. DeMatteis and Bill Sienkiewicz, this volume is only for the morbidly curious comics fan with a really good library system, like me.
February 3, 2011
Peter sheds his human persona and becomes "The Spider", MJ becomes pregnant, return of the Jackal, and tons of questions about whether Peter Parker is a clone or not. What could possibly go wrong?
Alot. And it did go wrong as this tale continues on. So much so that in short order almost everything that happened here became summarily ignored or just forgotten.
But this set of comics was early in the saga, before things got a little too crazy. Although alot of radical ideas are introduced in this particular set of issues, the reader can still have hope that all isn't as bad as it seems. And plus there are some genuinely good stories here, amid all the craziness of the 1990s.
Alot. And it did go wrong as this tale continues on. So much so that in short order almost everything that happened here became summarily ignored or just forgotten.
But this set of comics was early in the saga, before things got a little too crazy. Although alot of radical ideas are introduced in this particular set of issues, the reader can still have hope that all isn't as bad as it seems. And plus there are some genuinely good stories here, amid all the craziness of the 1990s.
April 18, 2016
The arc is still incredibly convoluted (only 3 or 9 more volumes to go, depending on how you count!) but at least this volume addresses some of the concerns I had about the execution of the retcon in the first volume by the end of this one. I find it interesting that Doctor Octopus is a lynch pin of this volume, something that would be echoed in Dan Slott's take on Spider-Man in The Superior Spider-Man (even though Slott's ideas and execution are way better than the "Death" of Doctor Octopus story arc in this volume.)
Recommended for Spider-Man fans who don't mind a clusterfuck of a story arc.
Recommended for Spider-Man fans who don't mind a clusterfuck of a story arc.
June 7, 2010
Still not hating THE CLONE SAGA...however the SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED #8 included in this may have the WORST SCRIPT I've ever read. How Tom Lyle got hired as a writer is beyond me... I know my comics have tons of poor grammar and awkward sentence structures that just don't flow, but this was fucking horrible...
I dug the 'Smoke and Mirror' arc, but I can see how things might start going downhill from here...
I dug the 'Smoke and Mirror' arc, but I can see how things might start going downhill from here...
August 17, 2015
Bleh. This decision to put everything in chronological order was really dumb. I hate seeing the little notes from editors that tell me that something that "already happened" is coming.
Also Peter cures himself with tap water in one issue and then spends four more issues getting cured by Doc Ock... It made no sense.
Also Peter cures himself with tap water in one issue and then spends four more issues getting cured by Doc Ock... It made no sense.
February 23, 2025
En este segundo volumen pude comprender a Peter Parker y la constante tribulación entre usar sus poderes para ayudar y seguir con su vida privada.
Ben Ryley me sigue pareciendo un personaje sumamente interesante , su dilema entre reemplazar a Spider-Man o ser el mismo le parece uno de los mejores temas que ha manejado este tomo.
Ben Ryley me sigue pareciendo un personaje sumamente interesante , su dilema entre reemplazar a Spider-Man o ser el mismo le parece uno de los mejores temas que ha manejado este tomo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2016
Classic 90s spider man
From a forgotten era of Spider-Man. The good old days with Tom Defalco and Danny Fingeroth. I love the inking style of this era of comics.
From a forgotten era of Spider-Man. The good old days with Tom Defalco and Danny Fingeroth. I love the inking style of this era of comics.
September 6, 2016
#classic #underrated
July 27, 2016
Uh oh... starting to get not great...
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews