Ben Reilly was originally nothing more than a tool to hurt Spider-Man, but this clone of Peter Parker became so much more. Given both Peter's powers and memories, Ben crawled out of Peter's shadow to create his own unique identity. Although it took some time, Ben became the Scarlet Spider, which began his complicated and often tragic legacy as a Spider-Man of his own.
Ben originally appeared in 1975's The Amazing Spider-Man #149 as a nameless clone of Peter Parker who had been created by his former teacher and enemy Miles Warren, aka The Jackal. Peter and his doppelganger fought, unaware of which one was the clone, and one of the Spider-Men seemingly died in an explosion along with the Jackal. Years later, it was discovered that both had actually survived. Having no desire to stay in New York, the clone created a new identity as Benjamin Reilly, an homage to his memories of Uncle Ben and Aunt May, and spent the next five years wandering throughout the country. Ben used his powers to help people while fighting the occasional villain like Kaine, a flawed Jackal clone of Peter Parker.
When Ben heard Aunt May had suffered a stroke, he returned to New York where he met an emotional and confused Peter, who struggled to understand these unusual circumstances. Although he promised to stay out of Peter's way, Ben couldn't resist donning a spare mask, gloves, and web-shooters when Peter was in trouble. When Peter's old enemy Venom returned, Ben created a new costume complete with a red bodysuit, blue hoodie and modified web-shooters and defeated the symbiote, earning the name "The Scarlet Spider." Ben and Peter would occasionally work together, combining Peter's years of experience with Ben's enthusiasm to take down some Spider-Man's most vicious foes. When their old enemy Miles Warren re-appeared, their combined efforts were able to stop him and his clone army, but at the price of learning that Peter was the clone and Ben was the original Peter Parker. Afterwards, with Ben joining the New Warriors and Peter almost killed in action, Peter decided to step down as Spider-Man in order to spend time with his family.
After the Scarlet Spider persona is destroyed by bad press and a shredded costume, Ben accepts the responsibilities of Spider-Man, albeit with a new outfit design. Ben juggled his responsibilities as Spider-Man with his new life and continued to strengthen his relationship with Peter, who referred to him as a brother and one of his extended family. Unfortunately, both of their lives would be ruined by the return of Norman Osborn, who was revealed to have masterminded years of events meant to torture and test Peter Parker. The Green Goblin's vicious fight with Peter and Ben ended tragically when Ben was impaled by Norman's goblin glider. With his last words asking for Peter to remember him, Ben's body crumbled into dust, proving him to be the clone after all.
Ben Reilly's time as Spider-Man is still controversial for fans - with the clone saga remembered as perhaps his most hated story - but as an edgier take on the wall-crawler, the Scarlet Spider is something of a fan favorite. Happily, Ben has returned since, first as a villain and then as an anti-hero vigilante based in Las Vegas - the focus of the successful Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider by Peter David and Mark Bagley. With new adventures tackling his own (often supernatural) enemies, Scarlet Spider has another chance to become the hero he was always meant to be.