WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Miles Morales: Spider-Man #24 by Saladin Ahmed, Carmen Carnero, David Curiel & VC’s Cory Petit, on sale now.
In a lot of ways, Miles Morales has followed in Peter Parker’s footsteps. As Spider-Men, both heroes have experienced similar problems in both their personal and heroic lives. Miles is about to experience his version of one of Peter’s most infamous storylines: the Clone Saga.
This Clone Saga has been building for quite some time now. In Miles Morales: Spider-Man #8, by Saladin Ahmed and Javier Garron, Miles was kidnapped by the mysterious Assessor. The villain took Miles’ DNA to produce a clone, which attacked him in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #17, by Saladin Ahmed and Carmen Carnero.
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This turned out to be one of several clones, which the Assessor had created alongside Ultimatum. To top things off, Ultimatum was revealed to be the Miles Morales of Earth-616, putting the web-slinger at odds with yet another dark version of himself.
These plotlines are all building towards the upcoming “CThe lone Saga,” which pays homage to Peter Parker’s experiences with clones. Peter’s first clone was featured in Amazing Spider-Man #149, by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru. This Spider-Man clone seemingly died, until returning in Spectacular Spider-Man #216, by Tom DeFalco, Todd DeZago and Sal Buscema.
For a time, the clone made his own identity as Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider. Over time, it became less clear as to which Spider-Man was the original. It was later revealed that Ben was the original Peter Parker, and Peter was actually the clone. This move was quite controversial, as fans were angry that the Spider-Man they’d followed since the mid-1970s was not the genuine article.
Still, Ben replaced Peter as Spider-Man, while Peter tried to raise a family with Mary Jane. In Spider-Man #75, by Howard Mackie and John Romita Jr., Norman Osborn, the original Green Goblin, returned as well in yet another controversial move. Norman revealed that he had manipulated Peter and Ben into thinking that Peter was the clone when Ben had actually been the clone all along.
After having been convinced that Ben was the original Spider-Man, fans were frustrated by being told Peter was the original again. Overall, the “Clone Saga” went down in infamy as one of the worst Spider-Man stories ever. The “Clone Saga” lasted for two years, spread out over four ongoing titles, as well as a plethora of one-shots and mini-series that accompanied the event. More importantly, the “Clone Saga” was too convoluted for readers, who became exhausted with an overly-complicated overarching narrative.
Going forward, it’s fairly unclear just what is going to happen in Miles’ version of the “Clone Saga.” From the ending of Miles Morales: Spider-Man #24, it looks as if another Miles clone is out there kidnapping scientists. It’s hard to tell whether this is just one clone, or if there are several.
Since the original “Clone Saga” was filled with Peter Parker duplicates like Ben Reilly, Kaine and Spidercide, it’s possible that there will be a good number of clones for Miles. Additionally, previous issues of Miles Morales: Spider-Man have shown many of Miles’ duplicates. It also looks as if doubt may be cast as to who the real Miles Morales is, just like in Peter’s “Clone Saga.”
The Miles who was rescued from the Assessor’s lab may not be the same one who was kidnapped in the first place. Readers have been invested in Miles since his return from the Assessor’s lab, so it would be all the more shocking to learn the Miles featured in the comics has been a clone. It’s likely that the new “Clone Saga” will cast doubt on Miles’ true identity, at the very least.
Of course, it doesn’t seem like this new “Clone Saga” will be as drawn out as the one from the ’90s. For one thing, Miles is featured in one ongoing title, rather than Peter, whose “Clone Saga” spread across multiple series. With a more streamlined narrative, this event probably won’t be as overly-complicated as its predecessor. The new “Clone Saga” has been building for some time, so it will probably be an impactful chapter in Miles’ life. Even so, it doesn’t seem as likely that this new “Clone Saga” will last as long as the old one.
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