Fans have picked the MCU’s next Spider-Man and it’s not Miles Morales

A Reddit thread speculating on new Spider-Man MCU characters has the infamous Spider-Man clone Ben Reilly coming out on top.

Fans are constantly speculating on the next stage of Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A lot of that speculation includes who the next character to make an appearance will be.

You can’t blame fans for wondering. Spider-Man’s presence in the MCU is turbulent; the character almost exited the MCU entirely in 2019 after Sony and Marvel could not come to an agreement. Meanwhile, tie-in Sony movies with little bearing on the MCU franchise trickle into theaters.

While plans for a Spider-Man 4 are still in the early stages of development, fans have already picked out who they want to be the next on-screen Spider-Man character – but it’s not who you expect.

Fans want to see Spider-Man’s clone Ben Reilly in the MCU

In a post shared to Reddit, Championshiphorro95 asked fans who they wanted to see as the next Spider-Man in the MCU. There are quite a few choices here, with a lot of people asking for characters like Silk, Jessica Drew, and even Ultimate Spider-Woman.

Surprisingly, though, most fans rallied around one controversial Spider-Man character: Ben Reilly.

If another Spider HAD to appear in the MCU, who would you prefer it be?
byu/ChampionshipHorror95 inSpiderman

“I’m a scarlett spider fan. He’d be sick” WilllingnessWide9016 explained.

“Ben. If you’re making me put another Spider in I’m going to choose the clone and do a clone story.” said ParagonEsquire.

“I have always loved Ben Reilly since the cartoons,” HowCanYouBanAJoke added. “his design with the blue hoody is just so simple yet so perfect.”

In the comics, Ben Reilly technically made his debut in 1975’s The Amazing Spider-Man #149 as a clone created by The Jackal. The clone would be defeated at the story’s end and believed dead.

A retcon years later established he had survived and retained all of Peter’s memories. Traumatized by the realization that he was a clone, he made a new identity using Ben Parker’s name and May Parker’s maiden name and left New York to find himself.

Ben Reilly’s return during the infamous Clone Saga was a riveting affair, proposing that he was the real Spider-Man all along and seeing him fight alongside Peter as the Scarlet Spider, then later replace Peter as Marvel’s de facto Spider-Man. Unfortunately, he became the butt of jokes for years, as the story went long past its expiration date.

As time passed, Ben became a beloved fan favorite who, yet again, briefly replaced Peter as Spider-Man during the Spider-Man Beyond era. These days, he’s the villainous Chasm after losing his memories and is expected to return in the lead-up to The Amazing Spider-Man #50.

Though there’s no indication that the MCU will adapt him or the Clone Saga, a version of Ben did appear in his Scarlet Spider identity in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Miles Morales isn’t as in demand as other Spider-Man characters

Perhaps somewhat surprising is the Spider-person who got the fewest flowers in the thread: Miles Morales.

While there are certainly a number of users calling for Miles to appear in the MCU (something first teased in Spider-Man: Homecoming), an equal number seem to feel it’s time for someone different to get the spotlight.

Most are just trying to get their favorite Spider-person to appear, like MercerNov, who said, “Miles is appearing in everything and I want to see Ben Reilly on the big screen.”

DrLeymen echoed a similar sentiment. “Anyone but Miles honestly. He is everywhere and I feel like it would be great if other characters got media attention too”

Some, like CreamFraiche23, just think another hero could benefit from the appearance, saying, “I’d prefer silk, she’s a cool character that I feel is underused and could use the same popularity boost Miles and Gwen got”

TheFeather1lessBiped feels it’s really more of a matter of narrative consistency, saying, “As a rule they should away from clones. Cindy is a messy retcon and Miles works best as an alternate universe character or with Peter being a good decade than him.”

Currently, Miles Morales only has plans for animated appearances with the Spider-Verse saga, though the next film remains undated.

Plans for a live-action Miles Morales film are reportedly in some stage of development, though Sony recently stated those plans would not be addressed until Beyond the Spider-verse and the MCU’s Spider-Man 4 were released.