Issues 97-105

The Clone Saga

Peter goes to the mall with MJ, finding himself unable to deny his feelings for her despite dating Kitty. They are attacked by a man in a Scorpion costume, who is revealed to have the same face as Peter. Taking him to the Baxter Building, the Fantastic 4 determine that Scorpion is a clone of Peter. Meanwhile, MJ is kidnapped by a scarred clone of Peter and taken to the Oscorp facility where he and Norman recieved their powers. The clone plans to inject MJ with the OZ formula in a delusional attempt to protect MJ. The scarred clone is attacked by a six-armed clone, but is able to defeat him and continue his plan. While searching for MJ, he finds another, female Spider-Clone, but she disappears before getting answers.

At the Parker's house, Gwen Stacy, previously killed by the Carnage creature, shows up alive much to May's shock. Peter reveals his identidy to May, resulting in her bottled rage breaking out and tells Peter to get out. Another seemingly dead relative, Richard Parker also shows up, adding to the confusion. Nick Fury arrives on the premisis with a group of Spider-Slayers, ordering them to surrender, which results in Gwen transforming into the very creature that killed her and attacks Fury. The stress causes May to have a heart attack, making Peter fly into a rage. The Fantastic 4 arrive and attempt to calm everyone down, taking both May and Richard to the hospital. Gwen is subdued and Peter agrees to surrender, but is saved by the female clone.

Spider-Woman reveals that she and the other clones are government experiments created by Ben Reilly and another scientist. Taking Peter to Oscorp, they find an OZ enhanced Mj, with Peter able to calm her down and revert to human form. The mastermind of the cloning project reveals himself as Dr. Otto Octavius, who took the project in exchange for his freedom. In exchange for surrendering to Fury, Peter and his clones are allowed 10 minutes to defeat Octavius. They succeed, but both the multi-arm and scarred clone die in the battle, with Spider-Woman escaping to start a new life. The Fantastic 4 once again save Peter from Fury and take him to the Baxter Building, with a now Oz-free MJ awaiting him. They both admit to loving each other and resume their relationship, with Kitty watching from a distance. Visiting May in the hospital, Peter learns that his "father" was an aged up clone of himself who had already passed away and Aunt May fully comes to terms with Peter as Spider-Man. Fury talks to Peter alone, telling him he expected Peter to snap due to his harsh life but admits he was wrong.

Did You Know?

• This arc is an homage the infamous Clone Saga storyline of the 90’s, with some characters representing key figures in that arc along with other Spider-Man characters. Ben Reilly, the co-creator of the clones is a scientist and unrelated to Peter, but in the main comics he is the only successful clone of Peter, becoming the Scarlet-Spider and taking the Spider-Man mantle for a time. The disfigured clone is meant to be Kaine, who becomes a rival to Ben and eventually taking his role as the Scarlet-Spider. The six-arm clone is reminiscent of minor super-villain Tarantula, and Spider-Woman, while taking the name and identity of the mainline counterpart, is a female clone of Peter. Aside from Gwen and Spider-Woman, the Scorpion clone is the only one who survives and is last seen captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. This Scorpion is never seen again; however, a different, unrelated Scorpion appears in the Miles Morales comics.
• Mary Jane’s OZ transformation is meant to be the Ultimate version of Demogoblin. In the original comics, Demogoblin was originally a demonically posessed Hobgoblin who would later become a separate entity.
• While the Earth 616 Dr. Octopus has a cybernetic link to his arms, Ultimate Octavius can control metal similar to the mutant villain Magneto due to the Oz drug.
• 5. This arc breaks the record for the longest running creative duo for a single comic series, with the previous record being held by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s original Fantastic 4 run in the 60's.