One of the most controversial characters in comics has returned - and the controversy has only BEGUN! In the aftermath of THE CLONE CONSPIRACY, Ben has a new take on life...and he's not the same Scarlet Spider he was before. Come witness what will be the most talked about comic of the year!
Rated T+
A strong first issue as far as catapulting us into a new place with a Spider-Man like character who is very different from the norm. Read Full Review
All I can say is as a fan of the character and one of the few who actually liked Clone Saga I'm looking forward to where this goes in the future. This is a great start for what could potentially be one of my favorite Marvel titles going forward. Read Full Review
Ben Reilly:Scarlet Spider was my surprise title of the week as I really appreciated thejourney Peter David has begun going in a very non-traditional direction notnormally seen in mainstream super hero comic books. Mark Bagley on art duties doesn't hurt mattereither making this title an easy recommendation especially for long time BenReilly fan boys. Read Full Review
Ben Reilly returns to being the Scarlet Spider in a fun opening issue that will delight fans of 90s Spider-Man comics. Read Full Review
This is a solid book overall. It continues Marvel's current trend of 90s nostalgia, but with the benefit of having genuine legends like Peter David and Mark Bagley behind it. I give this issue 3.5 out of 5 stars. It's a good start to the series. Read Full Review
The art is sufficient for what this issue needs to be, though I didn't really see anything that really grabbed my attention personally. However, that differs from reader to reader. Peter David is a strong writer and I think he will keep it up for this series. I like the Scarlet Spider if not for his wits, then for the awesome suit. Read Full Review
Mark Bagley has had a storied career, but in recent years his work has been slipping. I’m happy to say he’s back on point with this issue. Nothing seems to be rushed and everything pops. There is an essential flow to a Spider-Man action scene and Mark hasn’t forgotten it. Scenes flow well together and there is an organic feel to the book that is hard to describe. There’s no stiffness or trying to find the voice of the story. This feels like just another chapter in an ongoing saga. My only gripe is the costume. Ditch the hood or keep it down and we’re good. At the end of the day, if it has to happen, I’m glad the return of Ben Reilly is in the capable hands of Peter David and Mark Bagley. They are weaving an interesting story and I hope they get to tell all of it. Read Full Review
The first issue is decent with a vibe in some ways back to the 90s when this character was swinging around. I'm not completely sold on this series but intrigued enough to see where it all goes from here. Read Full Review
I can appreciate that Peter David is trying to make Ben different from Peter, but after this first issue I'm not sure this is a character I want to read more about. Here, he's able to focus on just a few characters so his art looks great. As a side note, Ben now has a severely disfigured face, which makes me think of Deadpool even more. I'm willing to give David and Bagley a chance here since I enjoy most of their work, but based solely on this 1st issue, I'm not that confident this series will stay on my pull list. Read Full Review
Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider #1 is a fairly enjoyable debut. Peter David's sense of humor shines through, as always, and it's always great seeing Mark Bagley playing in this corner of the Marvel U. That said, this issue does little to establish Ben as a sympathetic or even understandable protagonist. The character's new mean streak is both a blessing and a curse as this series tries to establish itself. Read Full Review
A fairly by-the-numbers story from the extended Spidey universe. One for true fans of Ben Reilly only, really. Read Full Review
Scarlet Spider is a book that, like its protagonist, is trying to find itself. The veteran team of Peter David and Mark Bagley lend a classic 90s feel to a character that, at this point, doesn't much resemble his classic 90s self. Read Full Review
Even for a fan of the original Scarlet Spider, this comic is a hard sell. Reilly is even more unlikable than Kaine when he first decided to try his hand at being a hero. The comic also lacks the humor of that version of the Scarlet Spider. Kaine does appear here, searching for his missing clone brother, and we can expect a confrontation between the two before too long (and hopefully a costume upgrade). For fans. Read Full Review
Unfortunately, there isnt anything about Ben Reilly Scarlet Spider that helps make it stand out on its own as being a truly must-read comic. Its flawed and doesnt really have anything particularly new to add to the story. Ben Reilly is rather unlikable and to make matters worse, the ending feels rushed and imbalanced – not feeling particularly natural at all. The book could have been paced a lot better, and as a result, its kind of a letdown. It still remains a decent read and theres potential for the book to get better, but for now, despite the veteran creative team attached, it doesnt do anything to establish itself amongst the other, superior Marvel titles out there. Read Full Review
Ben Reilly's newest solo series is one of the weakest Marvel debuts I've read in recent memory. Reilly's characterization is unflattering while being both generic and boring. Read Full Review
It does help to have Mark Bagley on art duties to give a sense of familiarity to this new world Reilly finds himself in, and his work on the new costume design is stellar. The art can't overcome the sense of deja vu throughout. More fleshing out is needed to keep this take fresh, as the book feels like a promising concept without a plan. Hopefully, fans will get to see a plan take shape in future issues. Read Full Review
Peter David is a veteran comics writer with a long and storied past, but whether it was a lack of inspiration or a difficult post-event launchpad to work from, this debut issue doesn't do his prodigious talent justice. Mark Bagley's artwork remains solid as ever, but this Spider-tie-in is squashed flat by questionable designs and even more questionable storytelling choices. Read Full Review
Nostalgia never dies. Ben Reilly is much different from the Ben Reilly that sacrificed himself to save Peter all those years ago and now he's picking up the pieces of his life (and mind) and trying to be good again. Whereas once he rode into New York City with an evil failed clone named Kaine on his heels, he now has the Scarlet Spider that has assisted with saving multiple worlds and had at one point been one of America's largest cities (Houston, TX) lone costume protector hunting him.
The current Ben Reilly reads more like a Deadpool book than a Spider book but that makes sense based on the revelations of what Ben had been through the past several years. Multiple personalities personified as past versions of himself don't so much ha more
it was fun. Although he kinda seems a lot like Deadpool right now with the sass, loose morals, and scarred face though. Let's see what they do with him. The split personalities is interesting.
Meet Ben Reilly, pants-on-head-crazy survivor of the Clone Conspiracy debacle, currently psycho-ing it up in Vegas with an over-righteous Kaine on his tail. I am putting a *lot* of faith in Peter David when I say this comic shows promise. He invests so much skill in stressing Reilly's anti-heroic qualities here that it's tempting to write him off as irredeemable. (He also sabotages his own attempts at humor by undercutting them with Reilly's psychological damage.) Some very rushed art from Mark Bagley and questionable design choices on the new Scarlet Spider costume also contribute to the hesitant "where are we going" feel that makes this a hard comic to like.
The art fits the character perfectly. I found the first pages of Ben Reilly talking to himself quite annoying, and I grew to hate every moment that Reilly "talked" to the Jackyl and the Scarlet Spider.
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