Reprints Amazing Spider-Man #139-150 (plus 3 pages of 151), Spectacular Spider-Man #25-31,149, 162-163 & Annual #8.
Written by Gerry Conway, Bill Mantlo, Archie Goodwin & Mark Gruenwald.
Penciled by Ross Andru, Gil Kane, Jim Mooney, Frank Miller, Sal Buscema, Mark Bagley & Ron Lim.
Inked by Frank Giacoia, Dave Hunt, John Romita Sr., Mike Esposito, Sal Buscema, Keith Williams and Tony De Zuniga.
Bronze Age storylines don't get much more Bronze Age-y than this one.
This collection was just published in July, so I figure it' s a good one to start with.
Summary:
(Since some of you may not have read this story, I'll be avoiding any spoilers.)
Gwen Stacy, the love of Peter Parker's life was murdered by the Green Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #121, buried in #123. But she shows up alive in Peter's apartment. He is shocked and angry, insisting she can't be still alive.
"Gwen" is actually a clone. She is part of a scheme concocted by the Jackal. Before the story ends, Spider-Man comes face to face with a clone of himself! How can he defeat a foe that knows him and has all the same powers?! And who, exactly, is the Jackal?
But that's not all! While trying to figure out the mystery behind Gwen's "resurrection", he must also combat villains like Scorpion, Mysterio, Lizard, Tarantula, plus new villains Cyclone and the Grizzly. Not to mention one of the few appearances of the Spider-Mobile and a guest appearance by the Man-Thing!
Gwen's clone also impacts Peter's life out of costume. Aunt May encounters the clone and the shock causes her to have a heart attack, putting her in the hospital. Peter had recently gotten over Gwen's death and his relationship with Mary Jane had gotten more serious. Gwen's return confuses Peter and MJ tells him he needs to figure out his feelings before they can have a future together.
Spider-Man eventually defeats the Jackal and the "Spider-Clone". Gwen realizes she's not the genuine article and leaves town to start a new life. Peter then begins to wonder if he is a clone or the real Spider-Man. After a battle with Spencer Smythe's Spider-Slayer, he knows that he is the one and only Spidey!
A few years later, a zombie-like villain calling himself Carrion shows up. He has the power to kill people by simply touching them. Carrion can also levitate and read minds. This combination of powers makes him a very dangerous foe. He has some connection to the clones of Spider-Man and Gwen, but we're not sure what that is. Carrion offers up his services to the Maggia (the Marvel Universe version of the Mafia), telling them that he will kill Spider-Man for them, he possesses information about Spider-Man that no one else has. He is rejected by the Maggia's leader, the Masked Marauder, because he is too dangerous.
The Marauder then takes center stage for a few issues, wreaking havoc around New York with his Tri-Man android. When Spider-Man attempts to stop them from robbing a bank, he is blinded by the Marauder's opti-blast. With the help of Daredevil, Spider-Man must learn to cope with blindness and stop Marauder and Tri-Man from blowing up Manhattan with a nuclear bomb!
At the same time, Carrion is creeping in the background of the story, looking for Peter Parker. He eventually finds Parker and attacks him in the ESU library. He knows that Spider-Man and Parker are one and the same, and has knowledge of the cloning that took place. Spider-Man doesn't understand how someone he's never met could know so much about him and want to kill him. What is Carrion's secret? In addition to Daredevil, this portion of the story also guest stars Hector Ayala, AKA the White Tiger!
(Since some of you may not have read this story, I'll be avoiding any spoilers.)
Gwen Stacy, the love of Peter Parker's life was murdered by the Green Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #121, buried in #123. But she shows up alive in Peter's apartment. He is shocked and angry, insisting she can't be still alive.
"Gwen" is actually a clone. She is part of a scheme concocted by the Jackal. Before the story ends, Spider-Man comes face to face with a clone of himself! How can he defeat a foe that knows him and has all the same powers?! And who, exactly, is the Jackal?
But that's not all! While trying to figure out the mystery behind Gwen's "resurrection", he must also combat villains like Scorpion, Mysterio, Lizard, Tarantula, plus new villains Cyclone and the Grizzly. Not to mention one of the few appearances of the Spider-Mobile and a guest appearance by the Man-Thing!
Gwen's clone also impacts Peter's life out of costume. Aunt May encounters the clone and the shock causes her to have a heart attack, putting her in the hospital. Peter had recently gotten over Gwen's death and his relationship with Mary Jane had gotten more serious. Gwen's return confuses Peter and MJ tells him he needs to figure out his feelings before they can have a future together.
Spider-Man eventually defeats the Jackal and the "Spider-Clone". Gwen realizes she's not the genuine article and leaves town to start a new life. Peter then begins to wonder if he is a clone or the real Spider-Man. After a battle with Spencer Smythe's Spider-Slayer, he knows that he is the one and only Spidey!
A few years later, a zombie-like villain calling himself Carrion shows up. He has the power to kill people by simply touching them. Carrion can also levitate and read minds. This combination of powers makes him a very dangerous foe. He has some connection to the clones of Spider-Man and Gwen, but we're not sure what that is. Carrion offers up his services to the Maggia (the Marvel Universe version of the Mafia), telling them that he will kill Spider-Man for them, he possesses information about Spider-Man that no one else has. He is rejected by the Maggia's leader, the Masked Marauder, because he is too dangerous.
The Marauder then takes center stage for a few issues, wreaking havoc around New York with his Tri-Man android. When Spider-Man attempts to stop them from robbing a bank, he is blinded by the Marauder's opti-blast. With the help of Daredevil, Spider-Man must learn to cope with blindness and stop Marauder and Tri-Man from blowing up Manhattan with a nuclear bomb!
At the same time, Carrion is creeping in the background of the story, looking for Peter Parker. He eventually finds Parker and attacks him in the ESU library. He knows that Spider-Man and Parker are one and the same, and has knowledge of the cloning that took place. Spider-Man doesn't understand how someone he's never met could know so much about him and want to kill him. What is Carrion's secret? In addition to Daredevil, this portion of the story also guest stars Hector Ayala, AKA the White Tiger!
Review:
I first read this story years ago in back issues of ASM and reprints in Marvel Tales. But the story has never looked better in any printing. If you're a fan of the Ross Andru era of ASM, you should pick up this book on that basis alone.
But that book only contained reprints of ASM 141-150 (plus the first three pages from 151) and Giant-Size Spider-Man #5. This new edition adds ASM 139-140 and the follow-up Carrion story from Spectacular Spider-Man #25-31. The Daredevil/Marauder portion of the SSM story has been reprinted before, but never in its entirety (reprints usually pick up with #26 or 27). So that's a nice "bonus", even if it doesn't directly relate to the "clone" business.
Story:
Gerry Conway writes a very good story here. The Jackal isn't the scariest villain in Spidey's Rogues Gallery, but he comes off as a very dangerous character here. Some of the sub-plots are just tangential to the clone business, but so what? It's all Bronze Age fun, with some of Spider-Man's greatest villains. Conway quit the title after issue #149, so Archie Goodwin ably filled in on #150 to wrap up the first part of the book.
Bill Mantlo wrote the SSM portion that introduces Carrion and it's just as good. Mantlo did some good work on Spectacular Spider-Man in the 70s and 80s that is often overlooked. Carrion is an extremely dangerous and disgusting antagonist who can kill people by simply touching them. And he knows Spider-Man's secret identity, which makes him even more dangerous. Mantlo also does a great job making the Masked Marauder a credible threat. The Marauder was usually a generic, B-grade villain, but here he blinds Spidey and comes close to destroying New York City!
If there are any flaws in Mantlo's script, it's Carrion's origin. We're never given a detailed explanation about how he got his powers, but that's a minor criticism, and fairly common in comic books.
If there are any flaws in Mantlo's script, it's Carrion's origin. We're never given a detailed explanation about how he got his powers, but that's a minor criticism, and fairly common in comic books.
Art:
I always liked Ross Andru's Spider-Man art, in ASM and Marvel Team-Up. Comic legend Gil Kane provides the art for the reprint of #150. In the SSM stories, we get pencils by Jim Mooney and Frank Miller, with inks by Frank Springer. These issues also mark the first time Miller drew Daredevil, but it's a far cry from his art on Daredevil's title. Miller's pencils are a bit overpowered by Springer's inks, so you don't see the "Miller Daredevil"(inked by Klaus Janson) that you might remember from the 80s, but it still looks good and there are a few panels that resemble Miller's classic work on DD.
I always liked Ross Andru's Spider-Man art, in ASM and Marvel Team-Up. Comic legend Gil Kane provides the art for the reprint of #150. In the SSM stories, we get pencils by Jim Mooney and Frank Miller, with inks by Frank Springer. These issues also mark the first time Miller drew Daredevil, but it's a far cry from his art on Daredevil's title. Miller's pencils are a bit overpowered by Springer's inks, so you don't see the "Miller Daredevil"(inked by Klaus Janson) that you might remember from the 80s, but it still looks good and there are a few panels that resemble Miller's classic work on DD.
How does it look?
It looks great. Here's a short video of what the book looks like inside:
Extras:
Four post-Bronze Age follow-ups from SSM and SSM Annual. These were published in 1988, '89 and 90, written by Conway with art from Sal Buscema and Mark Bagley. They're not bad, but they don't add anything to the earlier tales.
My rating:
4 Sals!
Strongly recommended. This is a classic story that any fan of Spider-Man and Bronze Age comics should own, pick up Spider-Man: The Original Clone Saga today if you haven't already!
Bonus!:
In ASM #153, Roger Slifer wrote a response to all the fan mail written in response to the Clone Saga, addressing some of the (alleged) flaws and discrepancies in the plot. It was not included in the tpb, but it's a nice supplement. If you haven't read the story, though, DO NOT click on the image below, as it contains SPOILERS.
That's all for now,
J.A.
