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Marvel’s Ben Reilly just made a triumphant return to the mantle of Spider-Man by embarrassing a Punisher villain who was believed to be dead.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for “Test-Drive” in Free Comic Book Day: Spider-Man/Venom, available now from Marvel.
Spider-Man’s long-running “Clone Saga” might not be the most fondly remembered period in the wall-crawler’s history, but it established Ben Reilly, Peter Parker’s clone, as the fan-favorite Scarlet Spider. In the story “Test Drive” from Free Comic Book Day: Spider-Man/Venom by Zeb Wells, Patrick Gleason, Alejandro Sanchez and VC’s Joe Caramagna, Ben has returned to the limelight just in time to show a recently resurrected Punisher villain what he’s capable of as he once again dons the webs of Marvel’s most iconic web-slinger.
For his first mission as the Beyond Corporation’s Spider-Man, Ben saves a room full of oil industry executives being held hostage by Carl Burbank, the villain Bushwacker. When Burbank first appeared in 1987’s Daredevil #249 (by Ann Nocenti and Rick Leonardi), he had only recently undergone cybernetic enhancement procedures that turned him into a living arsenal. Imbued with a plastic frame and limbs capable of transforming into a myriad of firearms, Bushwacker has long been one of the most lethal mercenaries in the Marvel Universe. While he has spent most of his career menacing the likes of Daredevil and the Punisher, Burbank’s latest run-in with the Hulk appeared to be fatal. After being contracted by the U.S. Hulk Operations to bring in the Jade Giant, Bushwacker was instead literally crushed by the Hulk. Somehow Bushwacker has now returned, although that won’t last long if Ben Reilly has anything to say about it.
As the villain boasts that survival may not be an option for his targets, the new Spider-Man leaps into the fray to protect Bushwacker’s would-be victims from harm. Even if Reilly isn’t bulletproof, his new suit is durable enough to handle everything that Burbank can throw his way. Closing the gap between them soon appears to be the only way for the mercenary to take down his superpowered foe, yet that proves to be the worst idea Bushwacker could have had.
As the mercenary moves closer in an attempt to finish his opponent, the new Spider-Man thrusts his arms down the barrels of Burbank’s organic firearms. This creates a devastating explosion when Bushwacker attempts to fire off another round, leaving the devastating and embarrassing result of the mercenary blowing off his own limbs.
This is an utterly embarrassing defeat for someone with such a long career as a mercenary. Bushwacker has overcome all manner of street-level heroes over the years, but even his worst losses have been more glorious than having his body ripped to shreds by his own firepower.
With the Beyond Corporation now sponsoring Ben Reilly, there’s a good chance that it could have hired him as a sort of test for the new Spider-Man after potentially reviving him with their technology. Regardless of who brought Bushwacker back, they’re about to have to put him back together yet again.
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