Clone Saga

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Lore & Background

The original Clone Saga began with the clone of Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man #142 (March 1975) and the Peter clone in The Amazing Spider-Man #149 (October 1975), when writer Gerry Conway introduced a new villain called the Jackal and let Gwen Stacy seemingly return from the dead. The Jackal was the villain identity of Gwen and Peter's biology professor Miles Warren, who could not cope with the death of Gwen, with whom he had a secret infatuation. As an expert on cloning, he creates clones of both Gwen and Peter, discovering Peter is Spider-Man as a result. The Jackal kidnaps Spider-Man and forces him to fight his clone. The two Spider-Men soon decide to work together, but one is seemingly killed by the same bomb that kills the Jackal. The surviving Spider-Man determines he is the original because he is in love with Mary Jane Watson, which did not happen until after Warren created the clone. Spider-Man drops the body of the clone into an incinerator. The Amazing Spider-Man #149 leaves it ambiguous whether it is the original Spider-Man or his clone who perishes in the bomb explosion. Conway said this ambiguity was unintentional, as at the time he took it as a given that Marvel would never replace the star of The Amazing Spider-Man with a clone. In the second Clone Saga, Spider-Man's clone reappeared, having survived the battle and for five years lived an existence under the name Ben Reilly (a combination of Peter's Uncle Ben's first name and Aunt May's maiden name), and develops a superhero identity of his own as the Scarlet Spider after returning to New York City. A series of chaotic events followed, in which Peter and Ben were plagued by both a resurrected Jackal and by Kaine, who was an unsuccessful first clone of Spider-Man. In the process, another clone of Spider-Man became the villain Spidercide. Medical tests indicated Peter was actually the clone and Ben the original. Peter temporarily retired as Spider-Man, leaving the mantle to Ben while he prepared for his new role as a father after the discovery that Mary Jane was pregnant. The climax revealed that Peter, Ben, the Jackal, Judas Traveller and many others had all been manipulated for years by Norman Osborn, who had returned from the dead. Osborn said Peter was the original—having faked the evidence that revealed Peter's status as the clone as part of a plan to break Peter's spirit—a claim

In Their Own Story

The second Clone Saga sprang from Marvel Comics's determination to produce a strong Spider-Man 'event' story that would rival DC Comics' 'The Death of Superman' and 'Batman: Knightfall,' both of which sold extremely well. Spider-Man editor Mark Bernardo said 'Marching orders we were given by upper management to come up with something similar in scope to DC's "Death of Superman" storyline, which at the time was breaking sales records left and right. Thus, no outrageous idea was out of bounds. Terry Kavanagh was cajoled into blurting out his clone id.' Although many people were involved in its creation, the Clone Saga is most closely associated with Terry Kavanagh, who proposed the idea; Howard Mackie, who worked on the majority of the smaller crossovers involved in the overall story arc; and Gerry Conway, who devised the original story. Executive editors on the storyline included Tom DeFalco, Bob Budiansky, and Bob Harras. The Clone Saga ran through all four monthly Spider-Man titles from October 1994 to December 1996, in addition to a multitude of spin-offs, one-shots, and ancillary issues. A third Clone Saga was published in mid-2021, starring Miles Morales instead of Peter Parker, running from Miles Morales: Spider-Man issue #25 to #28, after being previously foreshadowed in issue #24, where Miles was kidnapped by a mysterious villain known as Assessor to be used as a test subject for his cloning experiments.

Reader's Guide

The plot centers on the return of Ben Reilly, a clone created by the Jackal who believes he is the original Peter Parker. As more clones appear and Gwen Stacy's fate is revisited, Spider-Man must navigate a conspiracy that threatens to erase his existence entirely. The stakes were existential: if Peter could not prove he was the real one, he might be forced into retirement or death while a clone took his place. The resolution involved Kaine's redemption and Ben Reilly stepping up to take the mantle temporarily, allowing Peter to recover from physical trauma. The lasting consequences include the introduction of Kaine as a major anti-hero and the permanent establishment that cloning technology is a dangerous force in Spider-Man's world.

Did You Know?

• The second Clone Saga ran from October 1994 to December 1996, and although intended to wrap up in less than a year, the comics sold very well and the writers were encouraged to prolong it as long as possible.
• The original Clone Saga in 1973 left it ambiguous whether the surviving Spider-Man was the original or the clone, but writer Gerry Conway said this ambiguity was unintentional.
• The clone Ben Reilly's name is a combination of Peter's Uncle Ben's first name and Aunt May's maiden name.
• The climax of the second Clone Saga revealed that Norman Osborn had manipulated everyone, faking evidence that Peter was the clone as part of a plan to break Peter's spirit.
• A third Clone Saga starring Miles Morales was published in mid-2021, running from Miles Morales: Spider-Man #25 to #28.