Fans were understandably divided upon the news that Ben Reilly would be returning to the webs in the "Spider-Man Beyond" storyline from The Amazing Spider-Man, given the character's troublesome history as the hero-turned-villain-turned hero known as Scarlet Spider.
Reilly's return to the role of Spider-Man comes with a new costume influenced by his '90s redesign that seems to point towards a new heroic path for the character, but he has done a few terrible things over the years that might not quite balance out with all the times he has saved the day, which we'll take a closer look at today.
10 Saved The Day: Saved New York From A Nuclear Bomb During New Warriors' "Future Shock"
Ben Reilly's time as Spider-Man was short-lived, but he did make an impact in other heroes' lives during his stint that also saw him save the entire city of New York from a terrorist attack when he was able to defuse an explosive nuclear device during the "Future Shock" storyline from the first volume of New Warriors.
However, the New Warriors were instrumental in stopping an attacker from the future known as Advent who chose that moment to begin his takeover of the future by stopping Spider-Man. While he succeeded the first time, Timeslip's ability to move through time allowed the New Warriors to stop Advent and give Reilly enough time to defuse the bomb.
9 Did Terrible Things: Became The Jackal After He Was Driven Insane By Experimentation
Ben Reilly's villainous days began after his death during the Clone Saga (more on that soon) when he was cloned again by The Jackal using a new process that transferred the memories right up until the exact moment of death, which was tested on Reilly 27 times.
The frequent cycle of deaths and rebirths for experimentation caused Reilly to snap, and he escaped to take over Warren's experiment as a new version of The Jackal that completely abandoned his heroic beginnings and tainted the life memories of Peter Parker that drove them both to be a hero.
8 Saved The Day: Protected New York City From Onslaught's Army Of Sentinels
Onslaught was an evil psionic being created by the fusion of Professor Xavier and Magneto's dark psychic energies, resulting in a powerful villain that threatened the Marvel Universe and declared the island of Manhattan as the staging ground for his assault on humanity.
Ben Reilly was active as Spider-Man during this time, though he was dealing with self-doubt over his ability to do the role. Thankfully he was able to dig deep and find the strength to fight against Onslaught's army of Sentinels in a turning point for the character in his first return to the webs.
7 Did Terrible Things: Almost Unleashed A New Carrion Virus On The World During Dead No More
Reilly's time as The Jackal saw him use Warren's cloning technology to create a company called New U Technologies that replaced limbs, organs, and secretly brought back the deceased in new clone bodies, which included a number of characters from Spider-Man's past.
However, the cloning process carried a dangerous strain as the Carrion virus that ravaged other Earths in the multiverse which Reilly would have purposefully released upon the world if a cure hadn't been broadcast by Spider-Man and his allies.
6 Saved The Day: Sacrificed Himself To Save Peter Parker During A Battle With Norman Osborn
Peter Parker's return to the role of Spider-Man came with a deadly cost during the "Revelations" storyline when it was revealed that not only had Norman Osborn survived his apparent death and hid in secret for years, but he was also responsible for the entirety of the confusing Clone Saga.
Osborn attempted to impale Peter Parker with his glider much as he had been in their last fateful encounter, but a severely beaten Ben Reilly jumped in front and sacrificed himself for the original Spider-Man. The glider injury kickstarted his clone body's cellular degeneration and he died in Spider-Man's arms as a hero.
5 Did Terrible Things: Betrayed The Midnight Sons To Mephisto During His Takeover Of Las Vegas
After Reilly's short-lived time as The Jackal, he returned to his original Scarlet Spider identity and moved to Las Vegas to discover his new path. However, following Las Vegas' destruction in Secret Empire and rebirth thanks to Doctor Strange, Mephisto was able to take control of the city's souls during the Damnation storyline.
A new formation of Midnight Sons gathered to fight against Mephisto, though Scarlet Spider made a deal with the devil and gave up his allies. He eventually turned on Mephisto as well and joined again with the Midnight Sons, but it showed his true colors during this dark period of his life.
4 Saved The Day: An Alternate Version Sacrificed Himself To Stop The Inheritors In Spider-Verse
The Spider-Verse event featured the return of the powerful Morlun and his family of Inheritors, who fed on Spider-Totems from different realities and threatened to bring about the end of the Web of Life and Destiny that connected all Spider-People across the multiverse.
A version of Ben Reilly from Earth-94 that never died at the hands of Norman Osborn and remained as Spider-Man joined with other clones like Kaine Parker/Scarlet Spider and Ultimate Black Widow to strike an important blow against the Inheritors and their resurrection cloning facility, though it cost him his life in the process.
3 Did Terrible Things: Used A Young Girl With A Terminal Illness As A Bargaining Chip
Ben Reilly's time in Las Vegas showcased some of his worst moments as he was still dealing with the insanity brought on by the repeated deaths and rebirths as well as the guild of his actions as The Jackal that haunted him in other ways as well.
After Reilly found himself in trouble with her powerful casino-owning mother of a girl affected by his former company, he bargained with the young girls' life and promised to cure her. She eventually died, though he was able to bring her back thanks to a favor from Death which eventually resulted in the young girl's ascension into a powerful angelic form.
2 Saved The Day: Sacrificed Himself During Spider-Geddon To Stop The Inheritors Again
The mainstream reality's Ben Reilly found himself involved in the Spider-Geddon event that brought about the return of the Inheritors, thanks to the cloning technology used by New U Technologies during Reilly's time as The Jackal.
Reilly was still plagued with an evil side that threatened to consume him, but he still made plans with Otto Octavius/Superior Spider-Man to secretly sacrifice his life force to the Inheritor named Jennix. However, Reilly's fractured mind led to Jennix's own insanity and the fall of the cloning lab, but not before Reilly himself was recloned again with a purged heroic mindset.
1 Did Terrible Things: Stabbed And Left Kaine Parker For Dead In One Of His Last Evil Acts
Prior to Reilly's final cloning and purification of his evil self in Spider-Geddon, he was killed and brought back a final time by the angelic young girl which led to a sociopathic snap that threatened to forever turn him towards villainy.
He showcased this final dark turn by viciously stabbing Kaine Parker and leaving him to die, though he also gave him a warning to get out of Las Vegas if he survived. Kaine hasn't reappeared since but Reilly continues to seek redemption following his return to heroism after Spider-Geddon.
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