Marvel’s Ultimate Clone Saga Was Even Crazier Than The Original

While Spider-Man‘s Clone Saga is one of the most infamous stories in comic book history – the Ultimate Comics version was even crazier. The Clone Saga is often seen as one of the worst periods of Spider-Man history, with writers launching into an epic story that rewrote Spider-Man lore – and struggling to find an exit strategy from the convoluted arc. The story reintroduced Peter Parker’s clone Ben Reilly, revealed he was actually the real deal, and then retconned that idea when it failed to land. There were bold twists, including Aunt May’s death and Mary Jane’s pregnancy, and then desperate attempts to reverse these for fear of making lasting change to the franchise. It wasn’t even clear who the main villain really was, with the Jackal playing a prominent role and then a resurrected Green Goblin added into the mix as the real master planner. It was messy.

In 2000, Marvel launched the Ultimate line – books that relaunched classic heroes in a modern world. These comics riffed on the original stories, updating them for modern audiences – and taking risks the main comics would not. Marvel’s mainline had become known for the “Illusion of Change,” the idea that any changes made to heroes should avoid having any real lasting impact and should be careful not to damage a character’s core concept, but the Ultimate line ignored this; sometimes this meant the stories were bold and confident, at other times it meant they weren’t thought through. Inevitably, the Ultimate Universe eventually got its own Clone Saga.

Running through Ultimate Spider-Man #97-105, the Ultimate Clone Saga was even stranger. The original story had featured warped clones of Spider-Man with crazy powers – think Spidercide, who could control his molecular structure – but the Ultimate version had even more surprising clones. It apparently brought back Peter Parker’s father Richard, only to reveal he was a clone whose aging had been accelerated and who’d been programmed to believe he was Peter’s dad. And then there was the Ultimate version of Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman, a clone with no Y chromosome. Dialogue indicated she was functionally trans because she was “born” with Peter’s memories, only to realize she wasn’t actually a boy at all. Unfortunately, the idea only remained subtext.

Some of the twists were especially surreal, with one Peter Parker clone conducting genetic experiments on Mary Jane Watson in an attempt to ensure she’d never be vulnerable again; he turned her into what was clearly supposed to be the Ultimate version of Carnage. The story was packed with guest stars, with Spider-Man understandably going to the Fantastic Four for help, and soon Nick Fury and SHIELD had waded in as well. Rather than help, Fury initially tried to arrest Spider-Man because his clones were out of control, an arc that didn’t quite make sense but led to conflict between SHIELD and the FBI.

This conflict came about because, unlike the original Clone Saga, the Ultimate version was nothing to do with Miles Warren and Green Goblin. Instead, the real villain was Doctor Octopus, who had been sprung out of jail to run these cloning experiments by the FBI; they resented Nick Fury’s Ultimates, and hoped clones of Spider-Man could create their own superhero team. It all ended in a brawl between the various Spider-Man clones and Doctor Octopus. Although Doctor Octopus had been separated from his tentacles, the madman revealed he’d only been able to control these because of his true powers – the ability to manipulate metals, transforming Doctor Octopus into a sort of second-tier Magneto in terms of powers. The Ultimate Clone Saga really was even crazier than the original Spider-Man story on which it was based – even if it thankfully didn’t last as long.

About The Author

Thomas Bacon
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Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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