Welcome to the 14th part of CLONE MADNESS, where we take a look at an era of Spider-Man, that while infamous, contained some truly great stories that deserve to be remembered!
In my last CLONE SAGA review, I discussed the six-part story arc BLOOD BROTHERS, which laid credence to the idea that a mysterious mastermind has been manipulating all of the recent events in Peter and Ben Reilly’s lives from behind-the-scenes. While it was an entertaining and suspenseful story line that helped begin progressing the saga to its inevitable end, the downside was that due to the restructuring of Marvel’s creative staff, the ending of THE CLONE SAGA was delayed for another six-months. While this served to prolong the saga even further, the benefit to this was that the writers were finally freed from the hectic editorial constraints of constant weekly crossovers, and were free to tell their own stories for awhile. One of the books that emerged from this six month period was a 4-issue limited series called REDEMPTION, which serves as a sequel to the acclaimed LOST YEARS story arc.
As I’ve stated previously, THE LOST YEARS is quite easily my favorite story of the entire CLONE SAGA, as it delved deep into the backstories of the two Spider-Man clones, Ben Reilly and Kaine, and explored both of their attempts to regain their lost humanity, discovery of love, and the formation of their famous rivalry that continues to the present day. Naturally, when I heard that a sequel to THE LOST YEARS was produced, you better believe that I was extremely excited and looking forward to reading it! And I wasn’t the only one excited for this book either, as editor Glenn Greenberg explicitly stated in THE LIFE OF REILLY that he not only desperately pushed for the production of a LOST YEARS sequel, but also had dreams of there being a LOST YEARS franchise that would explore the various events that occurred during Ben Reilly’s five year journey across America. Unfortunately, because the ending of THE CLONE SAGA would be coming in six months, and Peter was slated to be permanently returning as the one and only Spider-Man, the hopes of producing a LOST YEARS franchise were quickly abandoned. Because of Greenberg’s enthusiasm though, he was able to have at least one sequel for THE LOST YEARS, which resulted in the creation of REDEMPTION. Greenberg was also able to get J.M. DeMatteis, who had written the original LOST YEARS, to come back and write this sequel despite having previously left THE CLONE SAGA during THE GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY arc due to exhaustion from the weekly crossovers and constant deployment of Ben’s debut as the new Spider-Man. While John Romita Jr. wasn’t brought on board to illustrate the book, the artwork for REDEMPTION was produced by Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod, both of whom had previously worked with DeMatteis on the famous KRAVEN’S LAST HUNT storyline. While I still hold THE LOST YEARS in higher regard, REDEMPTION was a truly satisfying and necessary sequel that further explores and provides resolution to the long-standing rivalry between Ben and Kaine!
(DISCLAIMER: Just like with my review of THE LOST YEARS, I should mention that there will be major spoilers throughout this review. If you are genuinely curious, I suggest that you go ahead and read both THE LOST YEARS and REDEMPTION! Trust me, you will not regret it!)
Unlike it’s predecessor, REDEMPTION takes place in the present day rather than during the five year period that Ben Reilly spent traveling across America when he believed that he was the clone. The story opens with a distraught Kaine looking over the body of a dead individual inside a funeral parlor. Having been recently been brought back from the dead in THE RETURN OF KAINE, Kaine looks at the corpse with envy. Suffering from clone degeneration, Kaine has lived in a constant state of pain and agony his whole life, and desires death to end his torment. After fleeing the parlor when he is attacked by security officers, Kaine knows that he is going to die soon, but before he does he is determined to take the man he hates most with him: Ben Reilly. Meanwhile, Ben is visiting the grave of Harry Osborn, and is distraught over the fact that he was not able to stand by the side of his former friend when he died. This, as well as his recent failures in BLOOD BROTHERS, sends Ben into depression, as he feels that he has failed in life as both Peter Parker, and as Ben Reilly. Everything changes for Ben however when Janine Godbe, Ben’s girlfriend from THE LOST YEARS and the first person who made him feel like an actual human being rather than a clone, suddenly reenters his life. While initially shocked, Ben quickly rekindles his relationship with her. As the two begin dating and spending time together again, Ben feels that despite his recent failures and betrayals, he finally has a clear shot at achieving happiness. However, both Ben and Janine’s happiness is interrupted by Kaine, who is revealed to have purposefully lured Janine to New York in order to torment Ben even more. As story progresses, Ben desperation to protect the one person who helped him rediscover his humanity grows, Kaine’s attempts to enact his final vengeance on Ben cause him to slowly realize how similar he and his “brother” are, and Janine must come to terms with the sins of her dark past. Will Ben, Kaine and Janine each find the redemption that they are seeking, or will each of them fall deeper into despair?
While I consider THE LOST YEARS to be the superior book, REDEMPTION was a highly compelling and worthwhile sequel that brings some much needed resolution and closure to the characters and the developments that they experienced in my all-time favorite CLONE SAGA story. Much like it’s predecessor, REDEMPTION is more character than plot-driven, as the plot itself is very basic, focusing solely on Kaine’s efforts to enact vengeance on Ben, while Ben attempts to prevent Kaine from interfering with Janine’s life again. Because the plot of the book is so simple, it allows the reader become more easily invested in the characters and dilemmas that they experience, which is quite easily the most important aspect of any story in my eyes. Ben, Kaine, and Janine were characters that I grew to love and wanted to see come out okay in THE LOST YEARS. Therefore as a sequel, the most important task of REDEMPTION was to make sure that I was not only emotionally invested in the characters that I had already grown to care about, but that their character arcs and development received a satisfactory resolution. J.M. DeMatteis excels in that regard, as he not only understands these characters on an almost intimate level, but he also creates dualistic character arcs for all three of them in a single story. Glenn Greenberg stated in THE LIFE OF REILLY that duality was a favorite subject of DeMatteis’, which is no where more apparent than in this stories, as he utilizes the similarities and differences of Ben, Kaine, and Janine to help convey deep psychologies of these characters as they each attempt to achieve some form of redemption.
The character that DeMatteis provides the most care and development for in this story is undoubtedly Kaine. As I’ve stated before in previous CLONE SAGA reviews, Kaine is quite easily one of my favorite characters to be conceived during the saga, and REDEMPTION is a prime example of why that is! The first aspect that immediately stood out to me about DeMatteis’ portrayal of Kaine in this story was the amount of emphasis on the pain Kaine suffers due to his clone degeneration. I’ve always felt that the clone degeneration provided a unique element of tragedy to Kaine’s character as it was not only slowly killing him, but also caused him to live in a constant state of pain. With his cells constantly on fire, muscles frequently suffering from painful spasms, and hideous scars covering his entire body, Kaine endures far greater pain than any person could imagine. While this aspect of Kaine’s character explored in THE LOST YEARS and other CLONE SAGA stories, DeMatteis takes it a step further in REDEMPTION. One of DeMatteis’ greatest strengths as a writer is his ability to dive deep into the emotions of the characters, allowing the reader understand exactly what they are feeling and how they respond to outside stimuli. Whenever DeMatteis narrates the story from Kaine’s perspective, he places great emphasis on the amount of pain Kaine feels from the character’s perspective. This allows the reader to easily feel sympathy for Kaine’s agony, which is made even easier due to Mike Zeck’s artwork, which portrays Kaine as less of a human being, and more like a dying husk of a man. One scene where this was particularly evident to me was where Kaine is standing naked in front of a mirror, as he is shown to be physically struggling while leaning against it, his skin looks as if it’s burned, and his facial expression convey a sense of despair and fatigue. That one image was enough to convey the amount of pain Kaine endures, and greatly contributes to both DeMatteis’ writing, and the reader’s investment in the character’s agony.
The emphasis Kaine’s agony also contributes to his attempts to enact vengeance on Ben, and in turn, his arc of redemption. Because of his pain, Kaine desperately wants to die, as he believes that death is the only redemption to his suffering. This leads him to continuously assault and torment Ben in this story, whom he considers to be the cause of his suffering. Believing that Ben is actually the real Peter Parker, Kaine hates Ben as not only was he created from Ben’s DNA, but also because he believes that Ben is a normal human and not a clone. Therefore in his eyes, Ben cannot possibly comprehend what he is experiencing, and is determined to prove to how similar the both he and Ben are before taking Ben with him to the afterlife. To do this, he lures Janine back into Ben’s life, as she was the greatest source of happiness in his life. Through tormenting Janine, Kaine believes that this will not only chip away at Ben’s happiness, but also cause Ben to slowly lose his humanity until he is reduced to Kaine’s status. At the same time however, DeMatteis also shows that Kaine is conflicted about his true feelings towards Ben. Not only does Kaine admire Ben’s nobility, but also because they share the same DNA, Kaine feels that they are brothers on some level, and that there is still a chance that they can put aside their differences and understand each other. These conflicted emotions are further boiled by the presence of Janine, who Kaine easily sympathizes with and relates to due to their similar pasts of being abused and discarded by their fathers. Seeing the similarities of their pasts, Kaine begins to feel guilty, as she has felt pain similar to his own. This allows for a gradual progression of Kaine’s arc of redemption, as he struggles between his desire for vengeance and inherent feelings for both Ben and Janine. This natural progression of guilt provides three dimensional depth to Kaine’s vendetta, as where he finally brings Ben down to his level, he feels no sense of satisfaction, as because he’s realized how similar Ben and he are, he regrets robbing Ben of his innocence, putting him into greater despair than he was previously in. I found this moment to be extremely compelling and unique as it not only conveyed the fact that revenge is never satisfying, but it also showed just how much complexity and depth there was to Kaine as a antagonist. Overall, DeMatteis’ handling of Kaine’s character in REDEMPTION is not only extremely fleshed-out, but also provides satisfactory development for the character that allows him to gradually achieve redemption as the story progresses.
Ben also goes through an interesting character arc in REDEMPTION. As I stated in my review of MEDIA BLIZZARD, one of my major issues with the “Ben Reilly Reboot” was it’s handling of Ben’s character. In my opinion, the most interesting aspects about Ben are that while he believes himself to be a clone, he still holds onto Peter Parker’s memories and experiencing, providing him a level of depth that makes him not only feel like an actual human being that is distinct from Peter, but has also made him into a stronger, and more optimistic and noble person as a result. When THE CLONE SAGA revealed that Ben was actually the original and not the clone, it felt as if the writers were trying to make Ben into a carbon copy of Peter trying to regain the life he had lost. I hated this new direction for Ben’s character as I felt that while he should still retain aspects resembling Peter, he should also be his own separate and individual person. This also contradicted previous character development for Ben, as he stated how he had come to accept that he was a clone, and even if he were given the opportunity to retake his former life, he was not sure if he could accept it. With REDEMPTION however, it’s almost as if J.M. DeMatteis also hated this new direction of Ben’s character as well, as he decides to take Ben back to his original roots that made me love him to begin with. This is conveyed in the story through Ben not only despairing over his recent failures and betrayals, but also through the scene where he is visiting Harry’s grave. The depression that Ben experiences at the beginning shows the reader that Ben feels that he has failed at trying to implement himself in Peter’s shoes (and in a meta-textual sense, has failed at trying to be a carbon-copy of him), and therefore, begins leaning towards his memories of the past that made him Ben Reilly and not Peter Parker. DeMatteis provides Ben the opportunity to regain his sense of individuality through the return of Janine, as she was not only the first woman Ben fell in love with, but was also the first person to give him a true purpose in life. Through conveying Ben’s attempts to reconnect with his past and individuality, this allows DeMatteis to further develop Ben’s arc of redemption by desperately struggling to hold onto his connection with Janine, while Kaine gradually uses her to chip away at Ben’s humanity. As the story progresses, Ben desperation to keep Janine in his life causes him to commit morally questionable decisions in order to protect her. This gradual chipping away of Ben’s humanity also provides further depth to his conflict with Kaine, as while his anger and contempt towards his “brother” increases with each attack on him and Janine, Ben simultaneously struggles to retain his nobility as just like with Kaine, he too can see the similarities between them, and does believe that there is hope for his failed clone. Overall, DeMatteis’ portrayal of Ben in REDEMPTION not only returns the character to the roots that made him an individual person, but also creates an engaging conflict by having the nobility and optimism that makes Ben such an endearing character put to the ultimate test.
The final character who received an intense amount of care and development in this story was Ben’s girlfriend Janine Godbe. While Ben and Kaine are my favorite characters to come out of the saga, Janine would have to be my third favorite CLONE SAGA character. Not only was she the most intriguing and fleshed out supporting character from THE LOST YEARS, but she was provided a layer of three-dimensional depth and complexity that took me by complete surprise. When Janine was first introduced in THE LOST YEARS, she appeared to be a mirror duplicate of Mary Jane physically due to being a redhead, but at the same time she also possessed a shy and insecure personality that reminded me of Peter Parker back when he was still in high school. While this initially helped serve as the foundation for a romance between her and Ben, DeMatteis ingeniously utilized these character traits to provide Janine a tragic backstory that made me almost literally drop the book out of my hands when I first read it. It was revealed that Janine was not only originally named Elizabeth Tyne, but that she was also fugitive wanted for murder. As a child, she was repeatedly sexually abused by her father until she was seventeen years old (though not explicitly stated whether or not the abuse was sexual, it's heavily implied). Although Janie was able to represse the memories of her father's abuse and build a life for herself, the pain of those memories eventually resurfaced and in a moment of desperation and rage, she shot and killed her father. Horrified what she had done, Janine began to loathe herself and spent the rest of her life fleeing across the country under different jobs and aliases until she met Ben in THE LOST YEARS. Ben not only understood what Janine was an "act of desperation by a broken soul," but he also felt a deep connection to her as he to felt like an outcast undeserving of life due to his status a clone. Therefore, the love he developed for her not only made him feel human for the first time in his life, but also provided him something to fight for and protect in life.
This plot point in THE LOST YEARS not only progressed Ben’s character development, but also fleshed out Janine into a tragic and human character in her own right. While Janine had supposedly been killed in between THE LOST YEARS and the present day CLONE SAGA, Greenberg really took a liking to her character, and had DeMatteis bring her back for REDEMPTION. This was a necessary move in my opinion as it allows DeMatteis to bring a sense of closure to the character development that Janine had previously received. Here it is revealed that Janine’s supposed “death” was actually a charade, as Kaine had previously blackmailed her into faking suicide by not only threatening Ben, but also through manipulating the dark memories of her own past. This revelation provides guilt for Janine in the present day, as while Ben was the first person to accept her, she agreed to Kaine’s plan, as she felt unworthy of him due to being a murderer. Torn between her love for Ben and the sins of her past, DeMatteis utilizes Janine’s inner guilt to provide her an arc of redemption as well, which is portrayed through her similarities with Kaine, as he was also an outcast and fugitive from the law that was abused and tormented by his creator the Jackal (who he considered to be a father-like figure). Through intelligent and well-planned writing, DeMatteis uses this dualistic nature between Kaine and Janine to progress both character’s struggle towards achieving redemption by having them accept responsibility for their past sins, and coming to terms with who they are. Overall, DeMatteis not only provides further depth to Janine’s tragic characterization and backstory, but also utilizes it to forge a path that allows both her, and Ben and Kaine to reach their desired goal of redeeming themselves.
If I had one major complaint with this comic, it would be that while all three characters’ arcs are handled with great care and expertise, there were moments where the transitions of their development felt a little rushed instead of moving at a natural pace. Aside from that, REDEMPTION is not only an outstanding sequel to my all-time favorite CLONE SAGA story, but provides some much needed closure and satisfying resolutions for the character arcs that J.M. DeMatteis originally developed for Ben, Kaine, and Janine. While I still hold the original LOST YEARS in higher regard, REDEMPTION is a great story in its own right while also accomplishing the task that any sequel should do by expanding upon what made the original so great to begin with. It’s stories like these that have made reading THE CLONE SAGA a worthwhile experience for me, as while SMOKE AND MIRRORS, THE TRIAL OF PETER PARKER, and MAXIMUM CLONAGE nearly brought ruin to Spider-Man’s mythos, stories like THE LOST YEARS and REDEMPTION serve as some of the best portrayals of the themes that make Spidey’s world so unique and endearing, while also doing so through characters who stand strong in their own right. It really saddens me that these two stories have been widely forgotten about by Spidey fans due to THE CLONE SAGA’s overall infamy, as they are both gems that deserved to be treasured and remembered. Glenn Greenberg himself also regretted this fact in THE LIFE OF REILLY, where he states "that its just such shame that REDEMPTION, which I consider to be an extremely entertaining and satisfying project, with a top-flight creative team, is lumped in with the most unpopular era in Spider-Man's history and will probably be forgotten-if it hasn't already been.” Fortunately for him though, I can safely guarantee that there is at least one person in this world who has not forgotten what a satisfying experience it was…
“Seeking to forget makes exile all the longer; the secret of redemption lies in remembrance.”
-Richard von Weizsaecker
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