I came across the original Scarlet Spider completely by accident. As many of you Unspokenites already know, I’m a Marvel symbiote nut! And the grandaddy of the symbiote family is of course Venom. This means that every time Venom appears in or just walks by (Hell, every time he passes gas!) in a 90’s comic book, chances are I have the issue. That’s why I originally picked up “Web of Spider-Man” #118. The cover boasted a Venom appearance within. But as I first read my copy, I became more and more enthralled by the new character appearing inside those pages. That’s the beginning of my love for the Scarlet Spider character. Like I said, completely by accident.

Ben Reilly was a man torn between responsibility and a desperate desire to escape. You see, Ben wasn’t technically a man at all. No. He was a clone. He was created by a madman, known as the Jackal, to be a perfect duplicate of Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man! It had taken him quite some time come to terms with that fact. Now the question was what to do next? First, he had to get out of New York City. This was Peter’s home after all and Ben needed to let him live his life without complicating his already-complicated existence. So, first a stop at the Museum of Natural History to clear his head. Ben found himself drawn to the spider exhibit. (No surprise there. Maybe he was looking for a date amongst the creepy crawlies? What? A man can’t have a specific taste?) The museum security walked over moments later and warned Ben that the museum would soon be closing. Nodding, the clone lowered the rim of his cap to somewhat hide his features and headed towards the exit.

But before he left, he spied something in a storefront window that seemed to call to him. It was a blue hooded sweatshirt that had a large, black spider printed on the chest. As he stared at it, he was suddenly interrupted by shouting nearby. Looking, he spied a frantic man pointing a gun into the face of a terrified clerk at the food court as another man played the part of lookout! Instinctively, Ben Reilly began to move towards the danger! But he halted as the police entered the shop and handled the threat with ease! (Weird! Cops actually did something productive in a comic book! Have we entered Bizarro World here, Unspokenites? No! Cuz thats a DC Comics thing, stupid-heads!) This scene got Ben to thinking. What if the police hadn’t been able to handle this situation? Could he have just stood idly by? Uncle Ben’s words came back to him as he once again stared up at the sweatshirt, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Elsewhere in the city, Venom swung high above the streets, deep in thought. They hated this city. It reminded Eddie Brock and his alien “other” of past mistakes and of personal pain. But they had discovered that Carnage had recently caused some problems at the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane and Venom decided that that was enough. They had to end the threat of their psychotic offspring once and for all! (Ugh! I hope Carnage isn’t in this story! I mean, don’t get me wrong. He’s an awesome villain. He’s just so overdone. Sorry. The nerd inside of me just felt extra catty…..meow.) Now, they searched for something to take their frustrations out on. A high-speed chase on the city streets below was just the thing they needed. Venom dropped straight onto the vehicle’s hood with a tremendous crash and punched through the glass! They turned the car’s steering wheel forcefully to send the car off of a bridge! Police arrived and fired at the symbiotic vigilante! They ignored the bullets that hit them as the symbiote simply spat the shells out! They then swung away.

Meanwhile, Ben decided that before he left the city behind for good, he had to check on Peter’s Aunt May in the hospital. His memories of her had been implanted, but he still felt as if he had to see the kind, old woman at least one more time. He clung outside of her room’s window and peered inside. He looked in lovingly and with great sadness until another visitor spied his shadow. He used his spider agility to make himself scarce quickly. (Remember when Doctor Octopus acted like he wanted to date Aunt May or something? Ugh! She looks like a living mummy! Barf! I couldn’t even fake that to get back at my worst enemy. Well…..maybe if she died her hair…..perhaps some makeup…..) Next on Ben’s trip through Peter’s memory lane was the abandoned warehouse that Spider-Man had caught his uncle’s killer so long ago. Ben relived the scene in his false memories as he continued to think about his future.

Venom was reminiscing themselves at this very moment. The symbiotic duo had swung to a church familiar to both of them. It was within that Eddie Brock had decided to take his life but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the rejected symbiote! They bonded that very day. They were reborn as Venom! Brock called the symbiote to once again cover his face as they shot a webline up into the rafters. Venom then left the church the way they had entered. Ben was now standing at the Brooklyn Bridge. It was here that Spider-Man had met his biggest failure and lost the love of his life. This was where the Green Goblin had thrown poor Gwen Stacy to her death. Ben Reilly wept. He knew these were not his actual memories, but they hurt just the same. (Anyone else sick of the characters having these meaningful flashbacks? Ugh! Feelings and stuff. Total wussies.) That’s when he noticed a woman walking along the bridge! She appeared as if she were about to jump!

Ben lept into action, firing a webline from his webshooters and swung towards the female just as she went over the edge! He caught her in the nick of time! In all of the excitement, the woman had passed out. But she lived. Ben swung through the city, holding her limp form close to him. He entered a nearby hospital, with his ball cap and sunglasses fit in place, carrying the woman in his arms. He quickly explained the situation to the doctor and nurses, but fled the scene before he could even be thanked. (That’s the sign of a true hero, folks. Me? I’d want some cash. What? I’m broke and thar be comics out thar ta read! Yarr!) Ben stood atop a rooftop and happened to hear a passing car radio. Venom had been spotted in the vicinity! That was it. He knew what to do.

(My apologies for becoming a pirate for some unknown reason in the last paragraph. ) He made a quick trip to the museum’s gift shop before returning to his apartment. He pulled a red, skintight costume from a drawer and pulled it over his muscled frame. Next, he tore the arms from the sweatshirt he’d just purchased and pulled that over the costume. He checked his webshooters for fluid and then lept from his window, swinging through the city in search of Venom and his own destiny!

To be continued…..