Amazing Spider-Man #609
New York: Now
Spider-Man has followed his spider-tracer to Raptor’s hideout in an abandoned office building where he is ambushed by his insane clone, Kaine.[1] As they fight each other, Spider-Man reminds Kaine that he’s not his other clone, Ben Reilly, particularly since he’s still alive.[2] Driving Kaine out of the window, Spider-Man finds it interesting that Kaine has turned up after Damon Ryder came to New York looking for Ben Reilly.[3] Kaine explains that Ryder is the reason he has come to New York himself. When the wall-crawler asks Kaine what he wants with Damon, Kaine explains that he is the only one who can cure him of his degenerative disease.
Portland: Then[4]
Ben Reilly has just discovered that Damon Ryder has been using their research to find a link between humans and dinosaurs in order to experiment on himself. Ben demands to know why Ryder is injecting himself with dinosaur DNA. Damon explains that his experiments have increased his energy, heightened his senses, and enhanced his strength. Explaining that this be used in medical and military applications that could make him trillions of dollars.
Losing his temper, Ryder then tried to attack Reilly but was quickly overpowered and tied up by Ben who then leaves to find scientists who can reverse what Damon has done to himself. As Ben leaves the lab he is unaware that Kaine is watching him leave.
New York: Now
Regardless of Kaine’s reason for coming to New York, Spider-Man refuses to allow his deranged clone to go free and continues to fight. Kaine fights back, telling Spider-Man that he would do the same thing if their roles were reversed, reminding Peter that he is his clone and would know best.[5]
Eventually, Kaine manages to slip away by tossing an occupied taxi cab, forcing Spider-Man to catch it in order to save the driver and the passenger. As he sets the cab down, Screwball hacks through the taxi’s onboard computer to issue a challenge to the wall-crawler as he tussles with Spider-Man generate more hits on her website than anything else she does. Ignoring this challenge, Spider-Man decides to return home to his apartment since he has lost Raptor’s trail.
After changing back to his civilian guise, Peter Parker finds the Portland newspaper article in the living room that has a sketch of Ben Reilly and realizes that Damon Ryder has been into his home. Fearing for the safety of his roommate, Michele Gonzales, and when he rushes into her room he discovers that she is safe.[6] Although she is unhappy about the intrusion she assures Peter she is all right and says that Ryder left him something, digging out the small box that Damon left behind after his visit. Opening it up, both Michele and Peter are disturbed to see the box contains a charred teddy bear.
Portland: Then
Ben Reilly has gotten a paramedic and is taking him back to the lab where he left Damon tied up.[7] Unfortunately, when they arrive, they discover that Ryder has broken free and escaped.
New York: Now
Peter asks Michele where Damon went next and she tells him that he went to visit Peter’s cousins who are staying at Aunt May’s house. Before leaving, Peter gives Michele some money and tells her to get a hotel, warning her that Damon is dangerous. Rushing out of the apartment, Peter tries to call ahead but can’t get through. He changes back into Spider-Man and begins racing to Queens, hoping he is not too late.
Portland: Then
Ben rushes to the Ryder house where Damon’s wife Laura tells Reilly that he husband is home and in his study. Seeing that he is upset, Laura asks what’s wrong, but Ben assures her that nothing is amiss and goes to confront Damon.
New York: Now
Peter Parker arrives at the door of his Aunt May’s help. When Harry answers the door he tries to warn Peter to call the police but that’s when Raptor pulls him back and welcomes Peter. Behind the uzi toting villain are the Reilly’s who are all tied up in the living room.
Portland: Then
Ben Reilly enters Damon’s study where Ryder turns around and shows Ben that he has grown massive fangs, saying that something about his experiment has gone wrong. As Reilly is making this grim discovery he is unaware that Kaine has finally tracked him down and is preparing to attack.
New York: Now
Raptor tells Peter that since he is responsible for the Ryder family, he’s going to kill Peter’s family in return. When Harry refers to Peter by name, that also raises another concern, prompting Raptor to demand to know who Peter really is. With no other choice, decides the best way to explain things is to reveal he’s Spider-Man and begins to lift up his shirt to reveal the costume he is wearing underneath.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Raptor, Kaine, Michele Gonzales, Harry Osborn, Screwball, Alexa Reilly, Amanda Reilly, Amy Reilly, Ben Reilly (flashback)
Continuity Notes
Spider-Man’s inner monologue reminds readers that Kaine was the first attempt by Miles Warren to clone Peter Parker, and that experiment wasn’t perfect. Kaine suffers from a degenerative disease and is quite insane. The details of Kaine’s origin was detailed in Spider-Man #60.
Ben Reilly was killed by the Green Goblin in Spider-Man #75. However, he manages to cheat death as explained in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #22. He will resurface in Free Comic Book Day 2016: Captain America.
Ryder, aka the Raptor, blames Ben Reilly for the death of his family. He’s mistaken Peter Parker for Reilly since he encountered Parker in Boster in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #36.
The flashbacks in Amazing Spider-Man #608-610 take place prior to Spider-Man: The Lost Years #1. In that story, Ben Reilly had been on the road for three years following the events of Amazing Spider-Man #151. Per the sliding timescale of Earth-616, that would place these flashbacks as happening around seven years prior to this story.
Peter figures it’s obvious that Kaine — a clone of himself — would still remember that Spider-Man is Peter Parker even after he made everyone else forget his identity. Spider-Man made a deal with Mephisto to alter reality in order to save Aunt May’s life in Amazing Spider-Man #545. Part of this deal also included nobody remembering that Peter Parker was Spider-Man. In this altered reality, the erasure of Spider-Man’s identity was wiped thanks to a spell cast by Doctor Strange as we will see in Amazing Spider-Man #641.
A note in Michele’s room reminds her of Vin’s hearing. “Vin” is her brother, Vin Gonzales, who turned himself over to the authorities when he was exposed as a member of a group of NYPD officers who were framing Spider-Man for various murders in Amazing Spider-Man #584-588. Michele is Vin’s lawyer as we learned in Amazing Spider-Man Extra #3.
Ben Reilly makes mention of Stegron the Dinosaur Man, who also used dinosaur DNA to change himself in Marvel Team-Up #19. The reason why Reilly knows is that he has all of Peter Parker’s memories prior to Amazing Spider-Man #149.
