Ben Reilly has just confirmed that he simply can’t let go of his grudge against Peter Parker.

“Same Spider-Channel” by writer Zeb Wells and artist Patrick Gleason finds Spider-Man in the middle of an explosive battle against the villainous Bushwacker, only for the fight to end with a single well-placed strike courtesy of Ben Reilly, aka Chasm. Rather than coming to fight Peter for himself, however, Ben only wants to talk, and as he does, it becomes clear that he is finally ready to let go of his deeply-rooted hatred for Peter as a person. Or rather, it seems that way to Peter, whereas readers are lucky enough to learn that Ben was only ever lying about how he really feels.

• Written by ZEB WELLS and JOE KELLY
• Art by JOHN ROMITA JR., ED McGUINNESS, TODD NAUCK, PAOLO RIVERA, PATRICK GLEASON, and MARK BUCKINGHAM
• Inks by SCOTT HANNA and MARK FARMER
• Colors by MARCIO MENYZ, RACHELLE ROSENBERG, and EDGAR DELGADO
• Letters by VC’s JOE CARAMAGNA
• Main cover art by JOHN ROMITA JR., SCOTT HANNA & MARCIO MENYZ
• Variant covers by ADAM HUGHES, STEPHEN PLATT & DAVE McCAIG, ALESSANDRO CAPPUCCIO & MATTIA IACONO, and PATRICK GLEASON & MARCIO MENYZ

Ben Reilly, best known as the Scarlet Spider, first appeared all the way back in 1975’s Amazing Spider-Man #49 by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru. Originally, Ben was an unnamed Spider-Clone created by the malevolent Miles Warren, aka the Jackal, who just so happened to heroically sacrifice himself after a daring encounter with the real Spider-Man. At the time, it seemed as if the Spider-Clone had simply perished, and things largely stayed that way for nearly two decades after the character’s first appearance.

Eventually, Ben returned to make a name for himself as more than just a shadow of Peter Parker. Haunted by memories of a life he never lived, Ben struggled to come to terms with his identity for years, and as such has struck out under a variety of mantles. Though he is best known by many as the Scarlet Spider, Ben has also taken up the mantle of Spider-Man on more than one occasion. Most recently, Ben operated as the corporate-sponsored Spider-Man of the Beyond Corporation, which ended in utter tragedy after months of being secretly experimented on by his malicious benefactors.

After being further stripped of his memories and personality by Beyond Corporation, Ben became convinced that Peter Parker was the sole reason for all of his woes. As such, he set out on a mission to steal away from Peter what he believed had been taken from him, leading to a devastating confrontation between the two Spider-Men. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Ben ended up taking a deep dive into a sea of psychoactive sludge which both supercharged his powers and wreaked further havoc on his mental and emotional states, giving rise to the villainous Chasm in the process.

Amazing Spider-Man #60 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics

Spider-Man

Since his first appearance in 1962, Spider-Man has almost always been Marvel Comics’ most popular character. Known for his sense of humor and bad luck as well as his selflessness and super-strength, Spider-Man has helmed countless titles over the years, Spider-Man’s most prominent comics include The Amazing Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man, and Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man.

Peter Parker was the original Spider-Man but the Spider-Verse has become an important part of the character’s lore in recent years. Multiversal and future Spider-Men include Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Miguel O’Hara and Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham. This provided the premise for the popular Spider-Verse film trilogy, which makes Miles its primary hero.

Spider-Man is also the basis of several live-action film franchises and numerous animated television series. He is one of the most recognizable characters in the world. While he’s changed a lot over the decades, Steve Ditko and Stan Lee gave the world an unforgettable hero when they created Spider-Man.