Well, this could get interesting.
Prime Video is reportedly getting close to ordering a new Spider-Man-related series based on one of the most famous—and definitely one of the most controversial—stories in Spider-Man history: The Clone Saga.
More specifically, the series would focus on Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker, two characters who started out as clones of Peter Parker but eventually became major characters in their own right.
For those who didn’t spend the 1990s reading Spider-Man comics—and occasionally wondering what the hell Marvel was doing—here’s the quick version.
Ben Reilly is a clone of Peter Parker who actually believes for a while that he might be the real Peter Parker. His name comes from Uncle Ben’s first name and Aunt May’s maiden name, Reilly. Eventually, Ben stops trying to simply be Peter Parker and creates an identity of his own: The Scarlet Spider.
And personally, I’ve always loved the Scarlet Spider. The red bodysuit, blue sleeveless hoodie and those ridiculously ’90s ankle pouches somehow shouldn’t work…but they absolutely do.
Then there’s Kaine Parker.
Kaine was essentially the prototype—the first attempt at cloning Peter that didn’t exactly come out of the oven correctly. He suffered from cellular degeneration, was considerably more unstable than Ben, and became the darker, angrier version of the Spider-Man clone concept. Eventually, Kaine would also take up the Scarlet Spider identity.
If Amazon and Sony actually lean into that relationship, there is a lot of material here.
According to the report, one version of the proposed series would have Ben and Kaine discovering that they are clones and trying to figure out exactly who—or what—they are while encountering other clones along the way. Comic fans will immediately start wondering whether that means we could eventually see Spidercide, another clone who became a villain during the original storyline.
But here’s where things get a little murky.
There are apparently conflicting reports about just how closely the show will follow the comics. Ben and Kaine’s origins could be significantly changed, and it’s even possible that the series could give them entirely different identities.
And that could be because Sony’s Spider-Man television rights remain complicated.
We already saw some of that with Spider-Noir. In the comics, Spider-Man Noir is an alternate version of Peter Parker. The Prime Video series instead made Nicolas Cage’s character Ben Reilly, reportedly because of rights restrictions involving Peter Parker.
So don’t necessarily expect somebody to put on the Scarlet Spider hoodie and start swinging through New York exactly like the comics.
Still, if they’re going anywhere near the Clone Saga, there’s one giant radioactive spider sitting in the room.
Which Peter Parker is the real Peter Parker?
During the infamous 1990s storyline, Marvel revealed that Ben Reilly was actually the original Peter Parker—and that the Peter Parker readers had been following for years was the clone.
Yeah.
Fans took that well.
Marvel eventually reversed the whole thing, Peter was restored as the genuine article, and Ben once again became the clone. It’s one of those wonderfully insane pieces of comic-book history that could only have happened in the ’90s.
And now, nearly three decades later, somebody apparently wants to go back there.
I’m actually intrigued by this one. The Clone Saga was messy, overly complicated and went on far longer than it probably should have—but Ben Reilly and Kaine were never the problem. Both characters survived that storyline because there was something genuinely interesting about them.
They’re essentially two men carrying around Peter Parker’s memories, emotions and sense of responsibility while trying to figure out whether any of those things actually make them Peter Parker.
That’s a pretty damn good premise for a television series.
Just give me the Scarlet Spider hoodie.
And yes, keep the ankle pouches.
