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Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga
The Amazing Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic, Vol. 3
Clones, and jackals and symbiotes--oh my! Spider-Man's clone is back, costumed as the Scarlet Spider, and neither is sure which is the genuine article! Will the real Peter Parker please stand up? Plus: Aunt May on her death bed! Mary Jane pregnant! Peter arrested for murder! The true origin of Venom revealed as Symbiotes invade the planet! The Lizard! Electro! Shriek! And more! Don't miss one of the most controversial Spider-Man stories of all time!
464 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2010
8 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
J.M. DeMatteis
1,912 books233 followersAlso Credited As:
DeMatteis, John Marc
Ellis, Michael
Lombego, Wally
Bio:
J.M. DeMatteis was a professional musician/singer and rock music journalist before entering comics in the late 70's.
Credits include Spider-Man, Moonshadow, Brooklyn Dreams, Justice League, Abadazad, Hero Squared, the Life and Times of Savior 28.
Created I, Vampire , Creature Commandos, Moonshadow, Hero Squared (co-creator), Abadazad, Stardust Kid, Savior 28 and more.
DeMatteis, John Marc
Ellis, Michael
Lombego, Wally
Bio:
J.M. DeMatteis was a professional musician/singer and rock music journalist before entering comics in the late 70's.
Credits include Spider-Man, Moonshadow, Brooklyn Dreams, Justice League, Abadazad, Hero Squared, the Life and Times of Savior 28.
Created I, Vampire , Creature Commandos, Moonshadow, Hero Squared (co-creator), Abadazad, Stardust Kid, Savior 28 and more.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
October 29, 2018
More crazy times for the wall-crawler...but still great fun!
October 5, 2021
Collects Amazing Spider-Man issues #400-401, Amazing Spider-Man Super Special #1, Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man issues #222-224, Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man Super Special #1, Spider-Man issues #57-58, Spider-Man: The Clone Journal, Spider-Man Super Special #1, Spider-Man Unlimited issue #9, Web of Spider-Man issues #123-124, Web of Spider-Man Super Special #1, and Venom Super Special #1
Reading this collection brings back so many memories for me. Even though I read comic books as an adult, the issues in this collection came out at the height of my comic book fandom. I still remember where I was when I read Amazing Spider-Man issue #400. I owned most of these issues as a kid, but there are some things that I missed that I'm just now reading for the first time. Ben Reilly as the Scarlet Spider remains my favorite Marvel character.
Reading this collection brings back so many memories for me. Even though I read comic books as an adult, the issues in this collection came out at the height of my comic book fandom. I still remember where I was when I read Amazing Spider-Man issue #400. I owned most of these issues as a kid, but there are some things that I missed that I'm just now reading for the first time. Ben Reilly as the Scarlet Spider remains my favorite Marvel character.
March 2, 2017
We had a weather forecast of 50% 1" hail & 40% chance of tornadoes so I stayed up most of the night awaiting the three waves of the storms. Hate tornadoes. Tornadoes in February! Now that is a first for this part of the world.
So - I stayed up reading the Complete Clone Saga Epic. It kept me awake and going without caffeine so that's a pretty good recommendation in itself. I've been plowing through all the books one after another so I can't quite comment on the particulars of this one. Other than it's more fun and perhaps better than the reputation would have you believe.
And off to Book 5! Sadly - I'm missing Book 4. If you have a copy please mail it to me! It's driving me nuts. Can't find a copy under $100.
So - I stayed up reading the Complete Clone Saga Epic. It kept me awake and going without caffeine so that's a pretty good recommendation in itself. I've been plowing through all the books one after another so I can't quite comment on the particulars of this one. Other than it's more fun and perhaps better than the reputation would have you believe.
And off to Book 5! Sadly - I'm missing Book 4. If you have a copy please mail it to me! It's driving me nuts. Can't find a copy under $100.
July 5, 2016
"Amazing Spider-Man" #400 almost bumped this up to 4 stars for me. A great story that should likely never been retconned.
However, you can definitely see the Clone Saga getting rough around the edges at this point after what was a pretty intriguing start. There are a lot of potential Peter Parkers floating around at this point, and a lot of villains that don't quite line up, overall. But even with the missteps, at this point, the story isn't as bad as it gets blame for being. (However, from what I recall, things get worse before they get better.)
However, you can definitely see the Clone Saga getting rough around the edges at this point after what was a pretty intriguing start. There are a lot of potential Peter Parkers floating around at this point, and a lot of villains that don't quite line up, overall. But even with the missteps, at this point, the story isn't as bad as it gets blame for being. (However, from what I recall, things get worse before they get better.)
December 30, 2013
Amazing Spider-Man #400 is, in my opinion, the best Spider-Man issue of all time. The rest of this collection is hit or miss - as is the rest of the clone saga - but this one is definitely worth reading for #400.
July 9, 2017
The stories that are moving the clone saga forward are pretty good, but the "Planet of the Symbiotes" stories are a mess
July 4, 2024
Amazing Spider-Man No. 400 is quite touching, and much of its emotional impact would be undone by a ret-con down the road. Even though these issues graced the stands some 15 odd years ago, I try to keep this a no spoiler zone.
Oddly enough, my least favorite material in this book is done by one of my favorite writers, Tom DeFalco. His dialogue for the Jackal is particularly bad. Oh well, everyone has off days, so I will chalk it up as a bad run for him. I know that he gets better later on in Spider-Girl. My only other criticism is that Peter Parker and his personal life is almost non-existent. This is all-action nearly all of the time, which is fine, but Spider-Man has always been at its best when the 'soap opera' aspect is played up and it somehow ties into the overall story or outcome of the action portion.
The Planet of the Symbiotes arc is pretty bad. Did they really need to spread this out across five double-sized issues? Plus, Venom as a hero sucks. Whose brilliant idea was that? He was great as a villain in his first two appearances, but once he got a tongue and sharp teeth, he jumped the shark.
On a more positive note, I absolutely love these big honkin' chunky trades, each being well over 300 pages. There is some real heft to these books, and in the world of trade paperbacks/ collected editions/ graphic novels, bigger truly is better.
Oddly enough, my least favorite material in this book is done by one of my favorite writers, Tom DeFalco. His dialogue for the Jackal is particularly bad. Oh well, everyone has off days, so I will chalk it up as a bad run for him. I know that he gets better later on in Spider-Girl. My only other criticism is that Peter Parker and his personal life is almost non-existent. This is all-action nearly all of the time, which is fine, but Spider-Man has always been at its best when the 'soap opera' aspect is played up and it somehow ties into the overall story or outcome of the action portion.
The Planet of the Symbiotes arc is pretty bad. Did they really need to spread this out across five double-sized issues? Plus, Venom as a hero sucks. Whose brilliant idea was that? He was great as a villain in his first two appearances, but once he got a tongue and sharp teeth, he jumped the shark.
On a more positive note, I absolutely love these big honkin' chunky trades, each being well over 300 pages. There is some real heft to these books, and in the world of trade paperbacks/ collected editions/ graphic novels, bigger truly is better.
January 14, 2022
Mary Jane Parker had Ben Reilly unmasked in her living room, let him (and VENOM!!!) eat her canned foods and drink her sodas, and even sat directly across from him at the kitchen table in one issue and three issues later she's acting as though she's never seen him and doesn't know what he's about. She's actually *afraid* of him in the latter. Iconic to say the least.
Additionally there was no continuity in the art at all in some issues of the Symbiote arc, up to and including Eddie Brock's shirt disappearing and then reappearing at random. I can give the slightest pass to art not being totally cohesive issue to issue especially given that the entire team would switch each other out seemingly every arc if not every issue but, realistically, how hard is it to look back at the pages you've already drawn and see that a character looks a certain way or that graves are laid out in a certain order in a cemetery and then go from there?
So why is it still rated highly by me? I'm having the time of my life reading these. They're riduculously entertaining and I say that with no irony in my voice.
Additionally there was no continuity in the art at all in some issues of the Symbiote arc, up to and including Eddie Brock's shirt disappearing and then reappearing at random. I can give the slightest pass to art not being totally cohesive issue to issue especially given that the entire team would switch each other out seemingly every arc if not every issue but, realistically, how hard is it to look back at the pages you've already drawn and see that a character looks a certain way or that graves are laid out in a certain order in a cemetery and then go from there?
So why is it still rated highly by me? I'm having the time of my life reading these. They're riduculously entertaining and I say that with no irony in my voice.
May 10, 2021
I'm writing this review solely for the Planet Of The Symbiotes storyline, as part of my Venom/Carnage read through of the Marvel Universe. Someday, when I'm really masochistic, I'll read the whole Clone Saga.
The Planet Of They Symbiotes storyline is almost good. Its premise, that Eddie Brock rejects his Symbiote, causing it to cry out in pain, attracting other members of its species is good.
I want to know more about what Venom and Carnage actually are.
The answer, however is pretty basic, not much fun, and only really explain how the Venom Symbiote came into contact with Peter Parker and then reached Earth.
It would still be a three star story except that
1.) Is supposedly part of Marvel continuity but there is a news report about heroes killed by the invasion that clearly never happen.
and
2.) The resolution happens too swiftly and doesn't really make sense. I hate to say it but the story needed another issue.
I don't feel like reading it was a waste of time but it definitely met my expectation of being from one of the low points in Spider-Man's run.
The Planet Of They Symbiotes storyline is almost good. Its premise, that Eddie Brock rejects his Symbiote, causing it to cry out in pain, attracting other members of its species is good.
I want to know more about what Venom and Carnage actually are.
The answer, however is pretty basic, not much fun, and only really explain how the Venom Symbiote came into contact with Peter Parker and then reached Earth.
It would still be a three star story except that
1.) Is supposedly part of Marvel continuity but there is a news report about heroes killed by the invasion that clearly never happen.
and
2.) The resolution happens too swiftly and doesn't really make sense. I hate to say it but the story needed another issue.
I don't feel like reading it was a waste of time but it definitely met my expectation of being from one of the low points in Spider-Man's run.
July 2, 2022
Art is still all over the place with some great and others not so good.
Story though, that's getting messy but I think I'm still following (just).
This includes Planet of the Symbiotes but its hard to see where it fits in the continuity. It's fun though watching Peter, Ben, and Eddie working together.
Story though, that's getting messy but I think I'm still following (just).
This includes Planet of the Symbiotes but its hard to see where it fits in the continuity. It's fun though watching Peter, Ben, and Eddie working together.
April 16, 2018
Mostly solid, with some fat around the edges that sometimes ruined things.
"The Gift" may very well be the best of this entire era of Spidey comics.
One of the better books in this series!
"The Gift" may very well be the best of this entire era of Spidey comics.
One of the better books in this series!
May 25, 2019
There is good stuff in this book, but it is also where the Clone Saga starts to go nuts!!!!
This is one is full of twist and turns!!!!
This is one is full of twist and turns!!!!
October 5, 2019
certainly the best of - and the real meat - of the Clone Sage thus far....
February 14, 2021
Weirdly entertaining. Plus ASM #400... damn.
July 3, 2025
3.5*, rounded up because I actually enjoyed the Mark of Kaine storyline quite a bit, and issue #400 lived up to its billing. The symbiote planet story was terrible, though.
December 4, 2013
This volume starts off with an issue-long story-so-far … which is always a pretty bad sign that your story has gone on for too long.
Players & Pawns. The first actual story seems to support that idea. It starts off with a really horrorific mish-mash of everything under the sun, including Jackal, Jack, Scarlet, Spider, a third Peter Parker, and even Scrier. It scarcely makes any sense as it jumps rapid-fire between all these characters. The second issue is better, and thankfully puts Jackal and Jack to rest for now — following their unwanted return immediately after the last arc with them in it, but it’s not enough to really save this short story [4/10].
Planet of the Symbiotes. If for no other reason, this story is great because it gets away from imploding Clone plotlines. It even has some sort of neat elements, like a planetful of symbiotes, a full-out attack on Earth, and an origin for Venom. On the downside, there’s a weird plotline about Scarlet carrying around a symbiote since nearly his first appearance, more annoying “I’m just a clone” dialogue, and almost no characterization. On average, a pretty average story for. the ‘90s [5/10].
The Gift (400). This was a great story — and no surprise, it was once more by DeMattheis. If Aunt May were going to die, this was the way to do, so it’s a darned shame that Marvel refused to let it stick. The story is dreamy, touching, and really does feel like a gift [8/10]. Stan Lee’s followup should largely be ignored: it’s not horrible, but it ends on some bad cliches about why death is so great.
Aftershocks. Another annoying sequence where the authors insist on throwing everything into the blender, including: Judas Traveller, Kaine, the Jackal, the Carrion Virus, three Peter Parkers, and piles more stuff that I've forgotten. The result doesn’t really make sense and it also ensures that the plot doesn’t really go anywhere [4/10].
The Mark of Kaine. Do you not realize that you've gone overboard when you've suddenly got *three* Peter Parkers facing off (not even counting Caine)? That's some of the Clone Saga's worst excesses — ditto the continued mysterious use of Traveller and his Amazing Friends. At least this story is coherent (unlike its predecessor), and at least it has some plot (even if it's just defeating yet another clone) [4+/10].
Spider-Man Unlimited. I'm not thrilled by these Unlimited stories, which always seem to be much too long for their content. Here we get about 10 pages of padding of villains looking for Kaine, before we get a battle royale that drags and drags and drags. None of it is that interesting or that meaningful for the plot. On the plus side, we get some interesting plot movement for MJ and for Ben and even for the Black Cat … but it's all the minority of the story. [4/10].
As a whole, it's obvious that the Clone Saga has lost its way with this volume. There's too much going enough (sometimes WAY too much), the story is often fractured, and the writers keep returning to the same tropes too often. "The Gift" is a gem amongst these stories, and generally DeMattheis is better than anyone else … but it doesn't save the volume.
Players & Pawns. The first actual story seems to support that idea. It starts off with a really horrorific mish-mash of everything under the sun, including Jackal, Jack, Scarlet, Spider, a third Peter Parker, and even Scrier. It scarcely makes any sense as it jumps rapid-fire between all these characters. The second issue is better, and thankfully puts Jackal and Jack to rest for now — following their unwanted return immediately after the last arc with them in it, but it’s not enough to really save this short story [4/10].
Planet of the Symbiotes. If for no other reason, this story is great because it gets away from imploding Clone plotlines. It even has some sort of neat elements, like a planetful of symbiotes, a full-out attack on Earth, and an origin for Venom. On the downside, there’s a weird plotline about Scarlet carrying around a symbiote since nearly his first appearance, more annoying “I’m just a clone” dialogue, and almost no characterization. On average, a pretty average story for. the ‘90s [5/10].
The Gift (400). This was a great story — and no surprise, it was once more by DeMattheis. If Aunt May were going to die, this was the way to do, so it’s a darned shame that Marvel refused to let it stick. The story is dreamy, touching, and really does feel like a gift [8/10]. Stan Lee’s followup should largely be ignored: it’s not horrible, but it ends on some bad cliches about why death is so great.
Aftershocks. Another annoying sequence where the authors insist on throwing everything into the blender, including: Judas Traveller, Kaine, the Jackal, the Carrion Virus, three Peter Parkers, and piles more stuff that I've forgotten. The result doesn’t really make sense and it also ensures that the plot doesn’t really go anywhere [4/10].
The Mark of Kaine. Do you not realize that you've gone overboard when you've suddenly got *three* Peter Parkers facing off (not even counting Caine)? That's some of the Clone Saga's worst excesses — ditto the continued mysterious use of Traveller and his Amazing Friends. At least this story is coherent (unlike its predecessor), and at least it has some plot (even if it's just defeating yet another clone) [4+/10].
Spider-Man Unlimited. I'm not thrilled by these Unlimited stories, which always seem to be much too long for their content. Here we get about 10 pages of padding of villains looking for Kaine, before we get a battle royale that drags and drags and drags. None of it is that interesting or that meaningful for the plot. On the plus side, we get some interesting plot movement for MJ and for Ben and even for the Black Cat … but it's all the minority of the story. [4/10].
As a whole, it's obvious that the Clone Saga has lost its way with this volume. There's too much going enough (sometimes WAY too much), the story is often fractured, and the writers keep returning to the same tropes too often. "The Gift" is a gem amongst these stories, and generally DeMattheis is better than anyone else … but it doesn't save the volume.
May 27, 2012
I just devoured this book in less than a day: it was that good. I noticed the other reviews of this book don't rate it very well, but truth be told, the story is not that bad. What is kind of bad is the artwork. What the heck is going on with Planet of the Symbiotes Part 2. The outline of the characters are so squiggly, especially the muscle definition on Peter's shirtless body, that I felt like I was looking at something from Comedy Central's Dr. Katz.
What was particularly distracting was what the artists were thinking in Planet of the Symbiotes Chapter 3. Eddie Brock goes from wearing a green t-shirt to being shirtless, to wearing a green t-shirt that is ripped so you can see his chest, to not wearing a t-shirt again, and then back to wearing a t-shirt. It makes zero sense! What the heck?? And then later they paint the Scarlet Spider's mask as blue. What the heck? It's like the colorer thought they were coloring in Venom, but if you look at the dialogue it is obviously Ben.
Besides that though, I actually really liked the story. I particularly liked Venom Captain America in Part 4 — hilarious! It's really a must read for any Spider-Man fan, so I don't see what's not to like.
But the real crème de la crème is The Amazing Spider-Man Issue #400 "A Death in the Family..." Holy moly is that issue good!
And then next we really get a sense of what Traveller's plans are for Peter and the clones. I only wish Scrier could have been as bad-ass as he was in Book 2, but you take what you can get.
Also, I love the turn of events that happen with the Spidey clones. Here, we still don't know who the true Peter Parker is, but here we have Peter and three clones! Yes! Three! The one who we think to be Peter Parker, Ben Reilly, Kaine, and the one that came out of the Jackal's pod. But the only ones that actually think they are the real Peter is the one who we think to be Peter Parker and the new one that comes out of the pod. Could he be Peter stuck in a cryogenic state by Professor Miles Warren? You'll have to read this book to find out! :)
So, overall, I really liked this book. The Jackal is kind of annoying though: he's such a jackass. But villains must be villains, and Spider-Man's good-natured heroism more than makes up for the Jackal's annoying personality.
Would I recommend this book? Absolutely! I've never read these issues before, and I'm gobbling them up like French parfaits. I don't see what other people's hubbub is about this story arc, but I find the whole idea of Spider-Man teaming up with and fighting against his clones to be fascinating!
What was particularly distracting was what the artists were thinking in Planet of the Symbiotes Chapter 3. Eddie Brock goes from wearing a green t-shirt to being shirtless, to wearing a green t-shirt that is ripped so you can see his chest, to not wearing a t-shirt again, and then back to wearing a t-shirt. It makes zero sense! What the heck?? And then later they paint the Scarlet Spider's mask as blue. What the heck? It's like the colorer thought they were coloring in Venom, but if you look at the dialogue it is obviously Ben.
Besides that though, I actually really liked the story. I particularly liked Venom Captain America in Part 4 — hilarious! It's really a must read for any Spider-Man fan, so I don't see what's not to like.
But the real crème de la crème is The Amazing Spider-Man Issue #400 "A Death in the Family..." Holy moly is that issue good!
And then next we really get a sense of what Traveller's plans are for Peter and the clones. I only wish Scrier could have been as bad-ass as he was in Book 2, but you take what you can get.
Also, I love the turn of events that happen with the Spidey clones. Here, we still don't know who the true Peter Parker is, but here we have Peter and three clones! Yes! Three! The one who we think to be Peter Parker, Ben Reilly, Kaine, and the one that came out of the Jackal's pod. But the only ones that actually think they are the real Peter is the one who we think to be Peter Parker and the new one that comes out of the pod. Could he be Peter stuck in a cryogenic state by Professor Miles Warren? You'll have to read this book to find out! :)
So, overall, I really liked this book. The Jackal is kind of annoying though: he's such a jackass. But villains must be villains, and Spider-Man's good-natured heroism more than makes up for the Jackal's annoying personality.
Would I recommend this book? Absolutely! I've never read these issues before, and I'm gobbling them up like French parfaits. I don't see what other people's hubbub is about this story arc, but I find the whole idea of Spider-Man teaming up with and fighting against his clones to be fascinating!
December 3, 2012
It's just nostalgia and a really good library system keeping me reading at this point.
For the most part, the plot continues to deteriorate and lose its way. The storyline was stretched out well beyond its intended endpoint in order to take advantage of sales, and the padding shows in a horrible way. A second clone is added to the mix and runs around achieving nothing but filling more pages.
This volume is marginally better (but not a star's worth) due to the inclusion of Amazing Spider-Man 400, a veritable diamond in the rough with a moving story and a killer cliffhanger. It's worth picking up in the back issue bins, but don't bother following up that cliffhanger. In the true fashion of this story arc, it took nine-plus issues to fully resolve.
For the most part, the plot continues to deteriorate and lose its way. The storyline was stretched out well beyond its intended endpoint in order to take advantage of sales, and the padding shows in a horrible way. A second clone is added to the mix and runs around achieving nothing but filling more pages.
This volume is marginally better (but not a star's worth) due to the inclusion of Amazing Spider-Man 400, a veritable diamond in the rough with a moving story and a killer cliffhanger. It's worth picking up in the back issue bins, but don't bother following up that cliffhanger. In the true fashion of this story arc, it took nine-plus issues to fully resolve.
April 22, 2016
Like the first two volumes, the story line is incredibly convoluted. Just how many goddamned clones of Spider-Man do there need to be? Also, I am assuming volume one's Spider-Man: The Lost Years ruins part of this volume, since I am pretty sure we all know who Kaine is by this point in time . And Peter becoming the Scarlet Spider at one point just seems forced. That said, though, there is some decent stuff in here and since I've made it through three volumes, I may as well hit the last two (or eight.)
October 15, 2015
I surprisingly hated this volume much less. Perhaps with the previous volumes under my belt I expect far less. Also, I think most of this was in actual publication order as well as chronological order. So it didn't seem as off.
Lots of Bagley art which is pure positive. Even if this is super 90's Bags.
There were at least a few instances of women with impossible proportions but overall not as bad as some.
Lots of Bagley art which is pure positive. Even if this is super 90's Bags.
There were at least a few instances of women with impossible proportions but overall not as bad as some.
May 18, 2016
Alcune storie contenute nel volume sono invecchiate malissimo, ma Amazing Spider-Man 400 resta tuttora la piú bella ( e triste) storia dell'Uomo Ragno mai realizzata (nonostante sia stata poi "rettificata" successivamente).
E come al solito scoppio a piangere come un bambino ogni volta che la rileggo... *SIGH*.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2011
Still reading the clone saga. This is where it starts to go wrong, to be honest. The story loses all momentum and people just start staring at each other and scratching their head. I feel a bit bad giving this book such a low rating, as it does feature "The Gift", probably the best single story in this entire five-volume set, but it really can't redeem the rest of the crap in these covers.
November 23, 2012
Despite the title, neither complete nor epic.
February 13, 2011
Continuing the clone saga. A good mix of story and fighting all kinds of Spider-Man villians.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews