8 Comic Book Characters Who Should Have Stayed Dead
4. Ben Reilly
Some will say that nothing good came from the Clone Saga, Marvel's failed attempt to shake up the Spider-Man continuity in the mid-'90s. For the most part, these people are correct; however, the problem's didn't lie in the individual story elements but their confusing and repetitious use.
Ben Reilly was one such idea; Spider-Man's clone who would become a brother of sorts to Peter Parker, dubbing himself the Scarlett Spider. There was even a brief period where he became Spider-Man.
In an attempt to bring the meandering mess that was the Clone Saga to an end, writers resurrected Norman Osborn, revealing him to be the architect behind the whole thing. Reilly would sacrifice himself to save Peter, Mary Jane, their unborn child, and most of New York.
During his polarizing tenure on The Amazing Spider-Man, Dan Slott would resurrect Reilly and reveal him as the mastermind behind the Clone Conspiracy. Once Slott finished that story arc, Reilly was in limbo; his noble sacrifice forgotten so he could be a bit-part player in various "line-wide" Spider-Man crossovers and star in a couple of failed spin-off titles.