About Heroes

“The Clone Saga”
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Mark Bagley and John Dell
Covers: Bagley and Richard Isanove

Chris says, "A fitting timing with the podcast just going up, here is Spider-Ben's review of the book that he was reading in the car that freaked him out so much his dad thought he was having a heart attack."
Greeting Spider-Fans! Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Ben here, kicking off a review of the current ultimate Spidey story, the Clone Saga. You heard me right amigos, the ultimate clone saga is here! For those of you in the dark, the clone saga is one of the darkest and most frowned upon spider arcs of all time. In fact, in the very back of my closet I have a long box marked “The Clone Saga. Proceed with Caution!” I kid you not, even this arc made me very pissed and sad.

But enough about that dark time in Spidey history, let’s get to the fun. Bendis is never one to shy away from a challenge. So when he was dared to try and ultimize the clone saga, he accepted. Boy, am I glad he did! In just three issues Bendis and Bagley have taken a terrible story and created ultimate comic goodness! Our story starts off with Peter and MJ starting to hang and become friends again. This really steams of Kitty Pryde, Spidey’s new lady. Peter and MJ go to the mall to talk and chill, when the Ultimate Scorpion arrives trashing the place. Peter goes off into battle and MJ seeks safety. Peter is shocked to discover that the Scorpion’s true identity is none
other than Peter Parker!

Having a serious panic attack, Spidey takes the Scorpion to the Fantastic Four. The FF agree to help him but are confused about why Peter Parker as Scorpion is freaking Spidey out. Spidey decides to unmask and tell his friends that he is the true Peter Parker! The FF realize this is a big deal, but Peter begs them not to call Nick Fury. The FF agree and Peter departs, trying to calm down and figure things out.

Meanwhile, MJ comes home and goes to her room. She is abducted by an unseen figure. The figure takes her to
an abandoned Oscorp factory and places her in a glass prison. MJ is panicking, but the figure tells her that he is going to make sure she is always safe and never in danger. MJ doesn’t understand and the figure tells her they are made for one another. The figure then states that she is always in danger because of him, but he can engineer a way to make sure she is never in danger and be his perfect and compatible mate. The figure walks out into the light and we see Peter Parker. Only this Peter has one fugly face! Half his face is scarred and torn. Perhaps this is Ultimate Kaine?

Peter races home freaking out. Aunt May tells him MJ has been kidnapped. Peter goes crazy and races out the
door looking for her. He goes to their old meeting place in a hidden warehouse. There, Peter comes face to face with some Spider-Woman. The Spider-Woman tells him that they are victims and things shouldn’t have been like this. Peter freaks and fights her, wanting to know what’s going on and where MJ is. Spider-Woman defeats Peter without really hurting him, but Peter is more confused than ever. He then races to his old house, and to his horror he finds Gwen Stacy alive andwell.

Peter thinks he has lost his marbles and tells Gwen she died by the hands of Carnage. After touching her (No, I’m not being dirty. He just feels her face to make sure she isn’t some hallucination) he realizes this is Gwen. The two talk and try to figure things out when Aunt May comes in. She sees Gwen and freaks out. Gwen and Peter follow her to their new home, and Peter decides to come clean. He tells Aunt May he is Spider-Man. He explains how a monster called Carnage came looking for him and killed Gwen. Aunt May goes into super bitch mode and asks him to prove it. Peter clings to the wall in a scene much like the end page of Ultimate Spider-Man #1 and the middle bedroom scene from Ultimate Spidey #13. (I know, I’m so geeky I remember these scenes and what issues they appeared in!) Aunt May grows quiet and tells him to get out. She goes super bitchy and tells Peter she isn’t her son and he needs to take this thing (pointing to Gwen) and get out of her home! Suddenly, a figure walks in telling May to calm down. Richard Parker, Peter’s dad, is alive and well.

Meanwhile, the FF talk to Scorpion Peter. Let’s call him SP. SP tells them he wants to know about the zoo. The FF are clueless and they mention Spider-Man brought him in. SP goes nuts and Reed realizes SP’s tail is an illegal biograft. Reed and Sue realize this is bigger than they expected and call Nick Fury. Fury comes by and Reed explains what SP has told them. Fury grows quiet and realizes it’s time to deploy the Spider-Slayers!

Thoughts/Comments:
WOW! Holy freaking moley! These three issues have had me jumping up and down! I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve
yelled at my comic books! Heck, I almost punched Ultimate Aunt May in part three for being such a bitch, but I didn’t want to hurt my issue! (I know, I’m so geeky!) But Bendis has taken a terrible story arc from the main 616 Marvel Universe and crafted a masterpiece. I never expected to see Gwen come back. I never saw the revelation to Aunt May coming, and I sure as hell didn’t expect to see Richard Parker. Plus, Bagley is the man! His art is so stunning and perfect I’m in awe with each and every panel. This man is the “ultimate” spider artist (bad pun, but I had to say it!) and he will be sorely be missed after issue #110. All in all, these three issues get a solid A+ I
can’t wait to see what happens next!