Due to his many resurrections in different clone bodies, the 2017–2018 comic series Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider states he has died and returned more than anyone else in the Marvel Universe, leading to him becoming favored by Lady Death.

Asked why he created the character, writer Gerry Conway explained: One of the things I was trying to do at that time was take ideas to their logical, yet absurd conclusion, reductio ad absurdum.

Written by Christos Gage, the series explores episodes in the histories of both the X-Men and Spider-Man, sticking thoroughly to the source material of the time frames that the stories take place in.

Professor Miles Warren, unhealthily obsessed with his late student Gwen Stacy who died at the Green Goblin's hands, attempts various experiments, learning Peter Parker was Spider-Man.

[8] During his travels, Ben Reilly befriends geneticist Seward Trainer, becoming the man's lab assistant and honing his scientific prowess to university graduate level under his mentorship.

[10] At one point, Reilly finds love with college student Janine Godbe who then reveals her true identity is Elizabeth Tyne, a fugitive who killed her father after enduring incestuous rape.

He returns to New York City, leading to a confrontation with the original Peter Parker who at this time is bitter, angry, and prone to violent rages following recent traumatic events.

[15] Armed with improved web-shooters he developed, he defeats Venom and is dubbed the "Scarlet Spider" by Daily Bugle reporter Ken Ellis (a name Ben dislikes at first).

[18] This leads into Maximum Clonage where the Jackal hopes to eliminate the human race with a new version of the Carrion virus and replace people with genetically improved clones.

During gang warfare between the second Doctor Octopus and Alistair Smythe, a holographic duplicate of the Scarlet Spider ruins Reilly's costumed reputation with a vicious rampage.

[33] Reilly's former lover Janine Godbe is revealed to be alive, forced to fake her death years ago by Kaine as a means of hurting Ben.

[39] After having both Ben and Peter captured, Osborn reveals himself to be the architect behind Parker's last few years of trauma, all part of a plan to drive the hero insane, including having Trainer create false lab results so he would mistakenly believe he was the clone and Reilly the original.

[45][46] Ben Reilly appears as part of the 2015 All-New, All-Different Marvel branding, in the form of the mysterious man in a brilliant red suit with a mask of Anubis, the jackal-headed Egyptian god of death.

It is eventually revealed that Miles Warren survived Maximum Clonage and collected Ben's remains after the hero died at the hands of Norman Osborn.

Abigail ascended to an angelic level of existence and decides to resurrect Ben since Mephisto overstepped his bounds by arranging the man to die earlier than he should.

[56] During Spider-Geddon, Otto Octavius recruits Kaine to help fight the Inheritors, vampiric beings who feed on the life force of animal totems, particularly Spider heroes across reality.

[59] Returning to Las Vegas, Ben Reilly continues to operate as the Scarlet Spider and tries to restore his tarnished reputation by capturing thieves in the city of sin.

[60] Ben Reilly returned to New York City and started working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where he was first inspired to create the Scarlet Spider identity.

He was recruited by Tony Stark/Iron Man alongside a quickly assembled team of heroes that included Misty Knight, Gargoyle, Frog-Man, Halcyon, and Hellcat.

They were brought on board to help Iron Man save a captured James Rhodes from the reborn android from the future known as Korvac as he attempted to attain cosmic godhood once again by stealing power from Galactus' worldship.

Ben is horrified and calls in the Beyond corporation, who assure him they will take care of the clean up operation, providing counselling for the hostages as well as a contractor to repair the building.

Maxine Danger is at first hesitant to give Ben any anti-toxins in the event he develops a mutation from the bite that could enhance his powers, which would benefit Beyond greatly, but eventually is convinced to approve treatment.

In the ensuing conflict, Ben is swept up under strange chemicals called "quantum-shifting polymers in a psycho-reactive medium" which are unleashed to rewrite and remake the actual physical matter of their headquarters to hide the evidence of their misdeeds.

Donning a twisted green and purple version of his Spider-Man suit, Ben declares his old self "dead," implying that the memories and larger personality that once resided in his physical form have been erased, which seems to be confirmed by his inability to even perceive his own face, along with his previously established amnesia.

[84] Ben possesses Peter Parker's genius-level scientific intellect with particular talents towards applied science, chemistry, biology, engineering, physics, mathematics, and mechanics.

Like Peter Parker, Ben is armed with wrist-worn web-shooters that each holds several cartridges of "web-fluid", a chemical mixture that solidifies on exposure to air.

It is a condensed version of the Clone Saga without the plot points involving Traveler, Scrier, and covers several months of a fictional time period.

[volume & issue needed] Reilly and Parker later work with Kaine to reach the lair of the shadowy figure responsible for infecting Mary Jane and Aunt May with a deadly genetic virus.

[volume & issue needed] When Reilly goes searching for the baby, he is attacked by the Green Goblin, who is revealed to be Harry Osborn and working with Kaine.

Afterwards, Kaine returns baby May to Parker and Mary Jane, Aunt May survives and wants to help raise the child, and Ben Reilly leaves once again to travel the world and find a life for himself.