Full disclosure, a lot of the behind the scenes information for this massive story arc comes from the excellent blog The Life of Reilly where Andrew Goletz and Glenn Greenberg both summarize the infamous storyline from the mid-90s and input their memories of the inner workings at the time. I highly recommend reading it, because there’s going to be a lot of cool takes and utterly bizarre side-notes that won’t be included here.

While I was working on this article, the original webpage went down. While it can still be found on the Wayback Machine, the link I have included is the backup.

It’s the end of 1996, and Spider-Man is going to die.

With all the behind-the-scenes drama and sales finally dropping to the point that Editorial wanted Peter restored as the one, true Spider-Man. While the comic itself was still chugging along that Ben was Spider-Man, magazines that covered comics at the time were telling a different story. Wizard Magazine had been remarkably frank about their thoughts on The Clone Saga and now bad they felt it was. So the moment hints began to come from interviews, they lunged for it.

However, an advertisement showing up in issue 55 of Wizard Magazine sealed the deal. Peter Parker was coming back, somehow.

This was slipped into an issue in early 1996, so the cat was literally out of the bag. Editor Ralph Macchio would refuse to comment on what was truly going to happen, so fans would have to wait. Hopefully, they would also read.

But before we go into that, there’s a fun diversion we have to take. You see, 1996 had one more incredible thing stuffed into it. For the first time in decades, Marvel and DC were going to cross over and share page space within the same comic.

And if you look carefully, you can see Ben hiding there on the right. The event was massively schlocky fun, and featured heroes getting ripped back and forth between universes before it was revealed that the two universes were in a death-match, and only the winning universe could survive. To make things even better, the fans could decide some of those fights with a vote!

We’ve covered this before, and some of the voting was truly bizarre at the time. Spider-Man vs Superboy was one of the items on the card, making Ben a heavy-hitter for a major event. However, Ben would get to work at the Daily Planet alongside Clark Kent and Lois Lane.

By issue three, the votes were all tabulated. The fight between Ben and Superboy was a simple one overall, with the two bonding between fisticuffs. Kind of.

However, the votes would swing heavily towards Spider-Man, clone or not. It wasn’t too many pages before Ben tricked Superboy into crashing into electrical equipment and frying himself into unconsciousness.

Before the two universes could be split forever, the two companies of Marvel and DC pulled a great and stupid stunt: blending heroes together into a line called Amalgam comics. Ben was explicitly used as half of the source for Spider-Boy.

With art by Mike Weringo and writing from Karl Kessel, the book was a fantastic look at a Spider-Boy who had the personality of Superboy, but the sense of responsibility of Ben. It’s a fun look into an alternate universe, so you should take a look if you find it in a back-issue bin.

Now, without further ado, Revelations.

Spectacular Spider-Man 240 opens up with Seward Trainer, still alive, and using a new machine to resurrect Gaunt from his desiccated form. At this time, he also gets a clear glimpse at the villain who’s been behind it all.

As Seward desperately attempts to reach Ben and Peter in a game of cat and mouse through New York City, Peter and Ben meet up at the new Parker Residence. Peter and MJ have chosen to live in Aunt May’s old house, and they’re planning to empty out the attic to clear room for baby May Parker. Ben remarks about how he’s lived light, thanks to the whole “thinking he was a clone” thing, but then comes across something that stops him.

It’s a great little moment that further draws Peter and Ben together as brothers. Meanwhile, Gaunt has a new body, and he’s pissed.

Just before Seward is able to reach the Daily Bugle building, he’s caught and killed by that same villain he was trying to warn everyone about. 

Sensational Spider-Man 11 has Ben and Peter agree to work together, both as Spider-Men. Peter’s powers are finally back for sure, and with the other heroes of the world somehow dead, New York needs all the heroes it can get. It’s a wonderful little scene of character, and one that really drives home how the two feel like brothers rather than anything else.

Unfortunately, Peter and Ben are ambushed by Gaunt and some horrible robot children! During the fight, Ben winds up knocking away Gaunt’s face mask, revealing…

MENDEL STROMM.

For those of you who just said “wait, who?” that’s ok. That was almost everyone. Stromm last showed up in the Stan Lee and Steve Ditko era of Amazing Spider-Man as The Robot Master. He was a flunky of Norman Osborn’s and allegedly died at the time, which made him a perfect character swerve. He was hardly anyone’s first choice for the identity of Gaunt, but as someone who had worked for Osborn, it fit. 

At the same time, MJ and Aunt Anna were at the Daily Grind, and MJ has gone into labor! However, something seems wrong, as this weird lady slipped something into MJ’s chicken gumbo.

Amazing Spider-Man 418 rolls into part 3 with Ben and Peter still trying to survive against Stromm and his evil robot horde. MJ’s pregnancy is going south, and Peter reluctantly leaves to be at his wife’s side. Luckily, it doesn’t take Ben long to rip Stromm to shreds, but then the mysterious boss who’s behind it all shows up, and takes Ben down hard.

Stromm is also allegedly killed, and the comic slam-cuts back to MJ as the baby is finally born. And there are no newborn baby cries. It hits MJ like a truck. The mystery gal Allison from The Daily Grind winds up taking some mystery package from the hospital, and is greeted by the mystery man as she leaves for Europe.

What.

What.

WHAT.

Yes, the final villain of it was Norman Osborn, and EiC Bob Harras was obsessed with the idea. One of Spider-Man’s best villains, coming back in top form for the first time since 1973. No one liked it, but everyone had to work with the whims of Marvel’s newest Editor in Chief. Glenn Greenberg would be the one to suggest that the scientific formula Norman had ingested to give him more strength and abilities would have granted a powerful healing factor, one that would give him the ability to heal from seemingly-mortal wounds. However, to prevent him from being overpowered like Wolverine or Deadpool, this would leave a massive scar along his chest.

Yes, that one. The idea is that Norman was so badly injured that he retreated to Europe to heal, and was only just now healed enough to take on Spider-Man. This would be modified so that Norman would stop upon seeing Harry Osborn take up the mantle of the Goblin once more, and resume his plans when Harry officially died in Spectacular Spider-Man 200. He would also take over the Scrier organization, using them and manipulating Judas Traveller into messing with Peter Parker. A book released at the same time The Osborn Journal would also establish that Norman was also behind the original clone incident, having manipulated the Jackal into further insanity. 

While fans were reeling from the reveal, Norman had also been summoning up everyone from Peter’s life, and locking them on the top floor of the Daily Bugle. His plan is to take everyone who’s ever mattered away from Peter in one fell stroke.

After kidnapping Peter from the hospital, Norman had Peter at the top floor of Ozcorp, which faces the Daily Bugle across the street. Norman exposits at Peter, explaining how he was behind everything. Norman is in top form here, thanks to a creative group effort to make the whole thing make sense and some great dialogue touches as well.

When Norman mentions Peter’s daughter, Peter surges to life. Norman is pleased, and says he wants their final battle to be a grand one. Flying off to the Daily Bugle, Norman cackles as Peter clings to consciousness.

Peter Parker Spider-Man 75 opens in a grand way, and is a fantastic issue, but it was felt something was missing from the overall story. For the trade paperback release, an additional 8 pages of content were added, flashing back to Ben taking on Norman. It takes place when Ben is under some heavy sedation, so the rough art makes perfect sense. Marvel saw fit to include those pages in the final volume of The Ben Reilly Epic, so you get the full story here as well.

A massive and epic battle explodes across this double-sized issue, with John Romita Jr doing his damnedest to make it look epic. He succeeds wonderfully.

Ben is able to get across the street in civilian clothes and breaks down the locked door keeping everyone trapped on the Daily Bugle’s top floor. However, Norman has thought ahead and has placed pumpkin bombs throughout the offices of the Bugle. Ben finds all of them, but a stray bomb goes off and Ben takes a hit keeping Flash Thompson alive. Meanwhile, Peter continues to thwart and ruin Norman’s plans.

Seriously, if you’ve not read this issue before, you need to now. It’s nothing short of some of the best Spider-Man comics to come out of the 1990s. The Goblin seems to finally be defeated, the two brothers are back side-by-side, but Norman isn’t truly done yet. He has one last plan.

Ben takes a goblin glider to the back, and falls off the roof of the Daily Bugle. Peter shoves the collected bombs into Norman’s face as the laughing madman tries to escape, and they erupt in explosions that seem to devour Osborn’s body. However, Norman taunts Peter that he will never truly go away.

Peter goes to Ben’s side atop a wrecked car in time to say goodbye. Ben passes, and we see his supporting cast witness it. As Ben fades, Peter realizes something shocking.

And that was that. While the three year long plan did not end with a swinging and single Peter Parker, the weird ride known as The Clone Saga finally was over. Peter and MJ would mourn the loss of their recently found brother, and the life of their daughter. However, a 6 month timeskip in the comics would basically jump everyone ahead so the writing team didn’t actually have to deal with a stillborn child. It was hinted that Allison had stolen little May, and would occasionally show up as a tease to the weirdly-planned Baby Quest concept. It would turn out that she did not have baby May, as she was stillborn.

Aunt May would also be resurrected in 1999 by having Osborn torment Peter still again. It turns out the Aunt May who died in 1994… was just an actress hired by Osborn. It subsequently makes the whole story in Amazing Spider-Man issue 400 make no sense. Writers would also try to kill off the marriage by literally killing Mary Jane off with a plane crash in early 2001, only to relent when comic fans threw a massive early internet riot.

Then, in 2009, Spider-Man’s marriage was finally undone in a massive deal with the literal devil in One More Day. Which I’m sure at least some of you know about.

And Norman Osborn?

He wasn’t dead at all.

As the years flowed on, Norman Osborn became something of a menace for the entire Marvel Universe. Starting with almost becoming Marvel’s version of Lex Luthor, he would meddle with Peter’s life on any level he could. As his power grew, Norman would even take over for the superhero team of reforming villains and anti-heroes called the Thunderbolts. After the Secret Invasion, where Norman was shockingly effective at killing aliens, he was made leader of SHIELD replacement organization HAMMER. However, no matter how powerful Osborn got, he would always find time to torment Peter just a little.

As for the clones, Marvel did their best to bury the whole Clone Saga for ages. Clones became a running joke, and guys like Kaine and Ben were forgotten about. Dan Slott would actually bring them both back in his 100+ issue run on Amazing Spider-Man through a pair of events. Spider-Island would bring Kaine back and remove the distortion done to his body. Now a normal-looking person, he would spin off into his own book in 2012 about being reluctantly dragged into being a hero in Houston, Texas.

With the creative team of Chris Yost and Ryan Stegman on the book, it was a nice dive into what makes Kaine so different from Peter, and a hilarious romp in how utterly stupid heroics could be. Top-notch stuff, and it deserves to be read. It was overshadowed at the time by Dan Slott’s own Superior Spider-Man that replaced Peter Parker’s mind with that of Otto Octavious, which is a thing that happened.

Meanwhile, the Jackal would return with more appropriate theming for a new story called The Clone Conspiracy. The Jackal was back, and his new plan was that he could bring back anyone from the moment of their death, memories intact… so long as they kept taking his special drug.

This also included Gwen Stacy and her dad. The Jackal was seductive with his plans, and for good reason. He knew Peter better than anyone. As for why, that’s a massive spoiler.

Ben Reilly would also come back to life during the event, as a guinea pig used by the Jackal to develop his new technique. The constant horrible deaths would scar his mind and soul, but he would be given a chance to redeem himself in Las Vegas. It was a thing, but he got back his old costume.

So now Ben, Peter, and Kaine are all alive. However, the Spider-books often do their best to just utterly ignore Ben and Kaine whenever they can. We do have one more Clone Saga to look at before we end this. Marvel would put out a mini-series that would stick with the original plan for the Clone Saga in 2010. The name?

...well, ok. Yeah. It’s no substitute for the original story line sadly, but it winds up telling a hyper-compressed version of what guys like Tom deFalco had wanted. The twist is a good one, and it’s worth hunting down, at least to see a world where both elder and little May lived, and where Ben went traveling.

Oh. And then there’s also Spider-Girl, the daughter of Spider-Man from a world where she lived and the world of Marvel was allowed to expand and grow.

I guess it’s safe to say that no one will ever truly forget the Clone Saga, no matter how much Marvel wants. In fact, Brian Michael Bendis would put his own spin on the Clone Saga in 2006 with Ultimate Spider-Man’s Clone Saga! Join us then!