Tom Holland is eager for his version of Peter Parker to tackle the Clone Saga, one of the most controversial storylines in the character's history. As the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming approaches, heralded by positive early reactions and the expectation of a healthy box office, talk has naturally turned to what the future may hold for Holland's version of the web slinger.
Spider-Man has one of the most enviable rogues' gallery in all of comics, with Homecoming utilizing Vulture (played by a menacing Michael Keaton), a fan-favorite villain who somehow never appeared in any of the previous Spidey films. It was recently learned the Tom Hardy-starring won't take place in the MCU, so Spider-Man's relationship with that villain figures to be minimal, if it exists at all.
In an interview with Cinema Blend, however, Holland is surprisingly enthusiastic about the idea of bringing over more Spider-Men, by adapting the polarizing Clone Saga:
"It would be so cool...I could play seven characters. That means seven checks! And I like the idea of having characters in front of Spider-Man who have the same powers as him...It would make sense, because cloning is more or less coming true. It would make sense to talk about that. Like a villain who would say, 'This kid has super powers, I want twenty like him who fight for me. I'll take one of his hairs and try to clone him.' And obviously, it would go wrong!"
Holland is obviously being a little tongue in cheek here, but what he's suggesting is a fairly interesting science fiction idea, even if it has little in common with the comics he's ostensibly referencing.
The Clone Saga's origins can be found in a classic, fairly uncontroversial Spider-Man story published in 1974, which saw the villain the Jackal (who may have been hinted at in the MCU) clone Spider-Man. The clone would heroically sacrifice himself at the end of that story -- or so it seemed. In the mid-90s Marvel brought that clone back to life as Ben Reilly (named after Uncle Ben and Aunt May's maiden name), who would take on the identity of the Scarlet Spider. This was the catalyst for a sprawling, years-long saga that at one point suggested Ben Reilly was the real Peter Parker and the version readers had been following for over 20 years was the clone. It was a confusing storyline that epitomized a lot of the things that were going wrong with superhero comics in the mid-90s.
Holland might be right that there's an interesting cinematic angle to explore with a Spider-Man clone, but Marvel should tread lightly around the idea, lest they invoke one of the more embarrassing chapters in the character's storied history.
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Source: Cinema Blend