Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 2

Comic Info

Spectacular Spider-Man (1) #221

Reprints Amazing Spider-Man (1) #395-399, Spectacular Spider-Man (1) #218-221, Spider-Man (1) #54-56, Spider-Man Unlimited (1) #8, Web of Spider-Man (1) #120-122, and Spider-Man:  Funeral for an Octopus #1-3 (November 1994-May 1995).  Ben Reilly is establishing himself as the Scarlet Spider while Peter finds his life thrown into chaos by the possibility he could be a clone.  Peter quickly learns that the clone is the least of his problems when he finds himself poisoned and his only hope could be his mortal enemy Dr. Octopus…but there is someone worse than Octopus lurking in the wings.  Aunt May clings to life, and Mary Jane has a big surprise for Peter.  As the Jackal makes his play Ben and Peter learn that finding the truth could be harder than believed.

Written by Tom Brevoort, Tom DeFalco, J.M. DeMatteis, Todd DeZago, Mike Kanterovich, Terry Kavanagh, Tom Lyle, and Howard Mackie, Spider-Man:  The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 2 is a Marvel Comics superhero comic book collection.  Following Spider-Man:  The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 1, the series features art by Mark Bagley, Sal Buscema, Steven Butler, Phil Gosier, Stewart Johnson, Ron Lim, Tom Lyle, Mike Manley, and Tod Smith.  The issues in the collection were also included in the Spider-Man Clone Saga Omnibus—Volume 1.

The Clone Saga left a sour taste in the mouth of many readers in the 1990s as it was unveiled.  It was long, it was clunky, and it threatened to ruin decades of Spider-Man stories by retconning a storyline within the issues.  Now decades later, Spider-Man:  The Complete Clone Saga—Book 2 doesn’t feel as bad or dangerous as it did then…but it does suffer from 1990s art and writing.

Comics weren’t written the same in the 1990s as the Clone Saga came out.  The idea of collections and trade of every issue wasn’t an option and the writers didn’t treat series like that.  Here, you have a large swath of the Clone Saga, but there isn’t much flow.  You have a number of issues dealing with Peter’s poisoning, a few issues involving Mary Jane’s pregnancy announcement, the occasional dip-in on Aunt May in the hospital, and the Jackal’s incoherent rambling.  It is fun to read some of the issue to issue stuff, but as a whole the collection doesn’t read well.

Spider-Man Unlimited (1) #8

The biggest outcome from this volume (in addition to the pregnancy reveal) is the death of Doctor Octopus.  Octopus goes through valiant efforts to save Peter (he sees him as kind of a yin-yang thing) and this abruptly killed by the mysterious Kaine who snaps his neck.  This eventually leads to a new Doctor Octopus and a resurrection, but it was a significant death at the time.

The series art is all over the place.  Some of the art was good, but a lot of it feels under inked (something that goes the other direction in some comics).  When Image broke off from Marvel in the early 1990s, it feels like a lot of the edgier artists left with it, and Marvel was scrambling.  In many ways it feels like now Marvel won by having more consistent art through the period like in this collection, but it isn’t very distinctive and at this point things had kind of settled down.

Spider-Man:  The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 2 has the events of the Clone Saga motoring on, but fans of Spider-Man know that it isn’t anywhere near over with this volume.  In fact this is so early in the Clone Saga that it almost feels like this is filler.  While I believe that the whole Clone Saga was mapped out, this is probably the point where first reactions started to filter in…and Marvel had to be panicking.  Spider-Man:  The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 2 is followed by Spider-Man:  The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 3.

Related Links:

Spider-Man:  The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 4

Spider-Man:  The Complete Clone Saga Epic—Book 5