Although Spider-Noir may have lasted onlya single season, Prime Video isn't leaving the Spider-Verse behind. News broke last week that the streamer is developing a new Spider-Man series from Kelvin Yu (American Born Chinese), as part of a deal between Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Television to develop series based on Marvel Comics characters. The Spider-Men at the center of this new series are raising eyebrows, as a report from Deadline revealed that the series draws on the infamous Clone Saga storyline in the Spider-Man comics, focusing on Peter Parker's clones, Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker.

Anyone who's brushed up on their Spider-Man history knows why the Clone Saga is a sore point for Spidey fans. Years ago, the web-slinger faced a clone of himself, created by the villainous Jackal. The clone later took the name "Ben Reilly" and re-entered Peter's life, just as medical tests revealed that Peter was apparently the clone and Ben the original. Matters were further complicated by the presence of Kaine, who blamed Ben for his tortured existence and sought to ruin Ben's life in revenge. Eventually, the entire Clone Saga was revealed to be the result of Norman Osborn's machinations, but the story's length took its toll on fans and creators alike. Prime Video has a chance to change that.

Prime Video Can Do A More Streamlined Version of Spider-Man's Clone Saga

Ben Reilly's Scarlet Spider in Marvel Comics
Ben Reilly's Scarlet Spider in Marvel Comics
Image via Marvel Comics

It's safe to say the Clone Saga spiraled far out of control, as what was meant to be a simple story ended up lasting two years. In the process, that story grew immensely convoluted for the people making it and those reading it. Former Spider-Man editor Mark Bernado highlighted just how bad things got during an oral history of the Clone Saga:

"The whole arc was supposed to end in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #400, and leave "Ben Reilly" as the one and only "original Peter Parker" and forge a new beginning. Ironically, the whole storyline, which was supposed to simplify Spider-Man's mythos and ultimately bring him "back to basics, ended up complicating everything beyond what anyone imagined!"

Prime Video can avoid these pitfalls by focusing on the dynamic between Ben and Kaine, particularly how they go from bitter foes to grappling with their own identity issues. Deadline's report hints that the series could potentially feature the duo coming to terms with the fact that they're clones, while also facing off against other Spider-themed clones. That would be a great way to keep the Clone Saga simple; it gives them a shared foe in the form of the Jackal and lets the series explore how life is different for both of them. While Ben managed to form a life for himself, Kaine dealt with physical and psychological scars that took him years to recover from. This kind of character work could follow in Spider-Noir's footsteps and explore stories you couldn't tell with Peter Parker.

Collider · Quiz
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which MCU Character Is Your Best Friend? Steve Rogers · Tony Stark · Peter Parker · Shuri
Pick where you meet, what they text you at two in the morning, what they hand you on your birthday and what the two of you keep arguing about. Four very different people are waiting on the other side: the one who never leaves, the one who is exhausting and worth it, the one who replies in four seconds flat, and the one who will roast you and then fix your life.
🛡️Steve Rogers(Captain America)
🛠️Tony Stark(Iron Man)
🕸️Peter Parker(Spider-Man)
🐆Shuri(Black Panther)
QUESTION 1 / 8THE MEETING
01
Where do the two of you meet? Nobody in this universe makes a friend somewhere normal.
QUESTION 2 / 8THE 2AM TEXT
02
Your phone lights up at two in the morning. What does it say? You find out what kind of friend somebody is by what they send at that hour.
QUESTION 3 / 8THE GIFT
03
It is your birthday. What do they hand you? The present is never really about the present.
QUESTION 4 / 8THE SATURDAY
04
What does a good Saturday with them actually look like? Superheroes have days off, and this is how they spend them.
QUESTION 5 / 8THE BAD DAY
05
You have your worst day in years. What do they do about it? This is the part of a friendship nobody puts in the trailer.
QUESTION 6 / 8THE ARGUMENT
06
Every real friendship has one fight it keeps having. What is yours? The thing you argue about is usually the thing you like most about them.
QUESTION 7 / 8THE FIELD
07
The alarm goes off and you are both in the field. What is your job? You get one role on the team, and it says a lot about who you want next to you.
QUESTION 8 / 8THE LONG HAUL
08
Ten years on, what do you want this friendship to be? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides who picks up the phone.
The Line Is Ringing Your Best Friend Is…

Four people, four completely different ideas of what it means to have somebody in your corner. Here is who picked up, what they would ask of you, and what you would get back.

Captain America · Marvel Studios · Since 2011
Steve Rogers

You want the friend who does not leave. Steve is the one who turns up at the door without being asked, who remembers what you said you were worried about, and who has never once made you audition for his attention.

  • His entire character is built on a single sentence, which is that he will not abandon somebody just because it has become expensive to keep them.
  • He is far funnier than people give him credit for, and the joke is almost always at his own expense rather than yours.
  • The friendship comes with a cost, since being close to Steve means being dragged into fights that were never yours and being glad about it later.
  • You would get a friend who tells you the hard thing to your face and then defends you to everybody else in the room.
Iron Man · Marvel Studios · Since 2008
Tony Stark

You want the friend who is genuinely exhausting and completely worth it. Tony will forget your birthday, then build you something at four in the morning that you did not know you needed, and hand it over as though it were nothing.

  • He is bad at saying the warm thing out loud, so he says it in hardware instead, which is why everybody around him ends up with upgraded everything.
  • Being his friend means putting up with the disappearing, the deflecting and the jokes that arrive about ninety seconds too early.
  • What you get in return is somebody who will spend an unreasonable amount of money and effort on a problem the moment it becomes yours.
  • He is the loudest person in the room and the one most likely to be quietly panicking about all of you.
Spider-Man · Marvel Studios · Since 2016
Peter Parker

You want the friend who replies in four seconds and apologises for it. Peter is earnest in a way that is almost unfashionable, and he will take on far more than he can carry rather than admit that he is struggling.

  • He is the only one on this list who needs looking after as much as he looks after you, and that balance is exactly what makes it a real friendship.
  • Nobody in the MCU is better at the small stuff, from remembering the thing you were nervous about to showing up with food you did not ask for.
  • Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrived in July 2026 and put him back where he works best, which is broke, local and carrying the weight on his own.
  • You would get a friend who is sincerely, embarrassingly happy for you when something goes right, with no edge to it at all.
Black Panther · Marvel Studios · Since 2018
Shuri

You want the friend who insults your shoes, fixes your phone and then quietly rearranges your entire life for the better. Shuri does not do soft reassurance, and that is the reason you would believe her when she says you are fine.

  • She is the smartest person in almost any room she walks into and treats that as a reason to tease you rather than a reason to lecture you.
  • The teasing is the affection. When Shuri stops making fun of you, something has gone seriously wrong and you should probably ask her about it.
  • Her story is the one on this list that goes somewhere genuinely dark, which is what turned her from a scene stealer into the emotional centre of the films.
  • You would get a friend who never pities you, never softens the truth, and never once lets you take yourself too seriously.

Prime Video's Clone Saga Series Could Finally Bring a Fan-Favorite Spider-Man to Life

Prime Video adapting the Clone Saga storyline isn't just a chance to tell the definitive take on a controversial Spider-Man storyline. It's also a chance to finally give a fan-favorite Spider-Man the spotlight. Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker both took up the mantle of Scarlet Spider and led their own comic book series. Prime Video should definitely look to those comics for inspiration, especially with the success of Lanterns. Since that series thrived on the idea of Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) taking different approaches to the Green Lantern mantle, it wouldn't be surprising if Prime Video took a similar approach and had Ben and Kaine either share the mantle of Scarlet Spider or one of them ending up as the sole Scarlet Spider.

The Clone Saga might not be the storyline Spider-Man fans wanted or expected to see on television, but it's a chance for Prime Video to keep delivering unique Spider-Man stories. Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker definitely deserve a story that's worthy of their fan-favorite status.

spider-noir-posterr.jpg

Spider-Noir
TV-MA
Action
Superhero
Release Date
2026 - 2026-00-00
Network
MGM+
Showrunner
Oren Uziel, Steve Lightfoot
Directors
Harry Bradbeer
Franchise(s)
Spider-Man

Cast

See All

Creator(s)
Oren Uziel