Warning: contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #85!
After nearly half a year as Spider-Man, Marvel will finally spin off Peter Parker's very popular clone into his own unique identity. Ben Reilly, a fan-favorite character from Peter's distant past, now wears the Webslinger's moniker as he takes over from the original hero. But as of Amazing Spider-Man #85, Marvel appears to admit that Ben Reilly as Spider-Man has never worked out.
For months now, B-list Ben Reilly's been bought and bankrolled by the bureaucratic Beyond, the mysterious company that sees Spider-Man as a profitable business (and a testbed for new and innovative technology). As New York's new Spider-Man, Ben saves innocents and fights supervillains in New York while Peter Parker recuperates in the hospital from a devastating radiation-based attack. But Ben has reservations about Beyond's conduct, especially in the wake of an attack by the former Superior Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus.
Doctor Octopus, perhaps motivated after a mission to collect data on Peter's attackers along with his old flame Aunt May, tell Peter that Beyond didn't choose him as their test subject for any heroic reasons - he was chosen because of his ability to be easily manipulated. Octavius proves his assertions by giving Peter stolen data, including his psych evaluation; Ben was instructed to retrieve and return the data, but upon seeing it for himself, he destroys it. When confronting his superiors after the fight, Ben is told he was chosen as Spider-Man "...because of your determination and strong will."
Back in his apartment, Ben asks his girlfriend Janine to wash his mask - but only his mask. In times of great crises, Spider-Man frequently either rips off his mask or stares at it intently (the first instance occurred at the end of Amazing Fantasy #15, Spider-Man's first issue). Peter Parker once memorably ditched his Spider-Man identity - and it looks like Ben will be doing the same very shortly. But without the role of Spider-Man to define him, who will Ben Reilly truly become?
Ben Reilly is a well-rounded character, but that's because he's essentially Peter Parker with differed colored hair. Marvel has repeatedly attempted to give him his own personality and supporting characters, but the attempt in the 90s didn't stick (which famously led to Peter Parker returning to the role sooner than expected). Spider-Man editors constantly wrestle between maintaining the status quo of the superhero and allowing him to change; with the superior Ben Reilly, Marvel can finally have their Spider-Man-shaped cake and eat it too.