A staple of science fiction and super hero genres. The clone is an artificially produced genetic copy of an already existing creature. Many clones retain the original's characteristics and powers, but often result in warped and unstable characteristics.
Yes. Too many. I don't mind modified "clones" created from multiple genetic donors, like with Superboy or X-23, but an absolute clone? Especially one who has a miraculous memory dump directly from the original? Too much. Overused. As if it was easy to make a memory synched clone in the first place.
I am sick of clones, it is weak plot device in comics now. Ben, I guess is my fave clone? He is the scarlet spider and after he died... that is where my relationship with Spider-man hasn't been all that peachy-keen
The "clones" emerge as a result of want to create a new personality with similar powers to someone who everyone already enjoy. My favorite clone is Multiple Man dupes. They seem to be able to do almost everything.
Didn't the Scarlet Spider clone return recently and was evil this time? All the covers seemed to be of the Scarlet Spider beating up or capturing Spider-Man. Or were the covers misleading?
I think clones is a sort of fun comic book cliche, like returning from the dead, lab accidents resulting in powers, alternate realities, time travel, and stuff like that. Clones are fun, most of the time, having the hero meet a clone or his/her evil self. An alternate reality version of them, the Anti them. Its a fun concept, but can become annoying.
It can get confusing when the future gets involve. I thought Peter Parker in Spidergirl was clone due to his Dr. Strange haircut and her outfit. It’s difficult to keep up since it could be canon with it even thou it is alternate future it may be connected.
Clones go right next to robot double gangers and shape-shifters of character fake outs. It is best not to over-do it. If a saga made by big army it is best to do it carefully and be done for a good reason.
My two favorite clones have to be Scarlet Spider and Namorita. I think that if used well, clones can be valuable to a story, but unfortunately this doesn't happen as often as we would like.
@CRACKERMAN92: I totally forgot she was a clone as well! I don't really remember her as a clone, though, more her own person; that could be why I didn't associate her with a clone.
" Didn't the Scarlet Spider clone return recently and was evil this time? All the covers seemed to be of the Scarlet Spider beating up or capturing Spider-Man. Or were the covers misleading? I think clones is a sort of fun comic book cliche, like returning from the dead, lab accidents resulting in powers, alternate realities, time travel, and stuff like that. Clones are fun, most of the time, having the hero meet a clone or his/her evil self. An alternate reality version of them, the Anti them. Its a fun concept, but can become annoying. "
Honestly, while I didn't hate the original Clone Saga like a lot do (I just didn't care for the ending), I'm not sure why they re-told the story. It veered off completely from the original, including what happened to Norman Osborn. There's also the fact that Peter and MJ were married so this story didn't happen, or at least not in this way (MJ having a baby, etc).
@G-Man: So it was a retelling to show how the Clone Saga went down since Peter and MJ weren't married? So was Ben still good? Or was he bad this time around or something?
Don't forget that Darkseid attempted to clone Batman but it failed and he used one of the clones as the dead Batman body from Final Crisis and was then later reanimated by Dick and Batwoman in Blackest Knight.
i dont understand HTF! the clones can grow soo fast. i can see that they made a "growing process" so the clone can grow within a few days/weeks but how do they stop that? also shouldnt the clones be old? like if you take a cell from Cyclops (age 27) and grow it for 15 years(15 year old cyclops clone) really that clone is 42 years old, so wouldnt the clone have like arthritis and old people syntoms even tho it looks like a 15 year old boy? this is what gets me grinding my gears that they dont explain it! they just say oh yea i got a clone of Cyclops and Superman and thats that. damn it im gettin a headache!
I don't mind clones as long as they aren't used as just a convenient tool to create a villain or carbon copy of a hero. X-23, who is quite different than Logan, is by far my favorite clone.
My problem isn' with too many clones, it's with who they're callin clones. The def of clone is:
"a cell, cell product, or organism that is genetically identical to the unit or individual from which it was derived." So X-23, Superboy, etc., they're not technically clones. They're more actuaratly the children of said doners, yet they still call em clones. That irks me to no end.
@G-Man: Really G-man? You liked the Scarlet Spider? I hated that clone era of Spider-man! How Scarlet can he be with that bright blue t-shirt sleeveless cut off he liked to wear? He looked like Spider-man had decided to going to the gym wearing 80's workout clothes.
I like some clones, Scarlet Spider, Boba Fett (though we did not know Fett was a clone until about 22 years after he first appeared) and Madelyne Pryor were all good characters. Think it can sometimes be played out and take any meaning out of the impact of a major characters death though, then again in most cases these characters are brought back regardless of whether there is a clone skulking about or not. When clones are done right they can be good characters
I don't have a problem with clones in stories, as long as they're done right. I like the Superboy stuff, but hated the clone saga. I don't know much about X-23, but it sounds like most people like her.
As long as the story is entertaining, I'm all for it.
Personally, I think that they can be both a good and a bad thing. Scarlet Spider was fun, but creating multiple copies of the same "super-hero" can become a bit dull...
I guess if it's done right it's not a problem. But it was the clone thing that chased me away from the Spiderman comics and I haven't been back since so it's really a sore area for me. Still, I think that X-23 and Thor's clone Ragnarok show that it can be done in a good way.
Like G-Man, I guess clones can be used well or bad..it all depends on the story behind the need to introduce them, the story they appear in and the writing itself. X-23 is a fresh new take, sure. But Scarlet/Ben was also pretty good in my eyes. The whole Clone Saga event, no. But Scarlet was pretty original! And fun! And I guess it all comes down to this. Is it entrtaining? Not too much lost in its super complicated non-sense storyline to bring in something as scifi-ysh as clones.
" I guess if it's done right it's not a problem. But it was the clone thing that chased me away from the Spiderman comics and I haven't been back since so it's really a sore area for me. Still, I think that X-23 and Thor's clone Ragnarok show that it can be done in a good way. "
Wow, that's kind of what happens to me! The clone Spider-man was also the reason I left the Spider-man comics as well! it just seemed like a poor way to fix some difficult but not impossible plot turns!
Honestly, cloning always seemed like a really lazy way of creating a character with superpowers. I actually did like how it was being done with the Marauders, if only because it seemed like the only instance where cloning was being done right.
@They Killed Cap!: You and my daughter both. She tries sneaking in there sometimes to look at my stuff. Of course I've given her loads of my old stuff. Just not all at once. Don't want to spoil her.
Clones are a staple of comic writing. Sure it's cliched but it's how you tool the character and flesh out their personalities. X-23, Superboy, Ben Parker(Clone Saga?), Even uggh Stryfe, were clones of established characters. The difference is there their own person, just with the looks and somewhat similiar abilities of characters. Powers don't make a character, it's their story and action that makes them worthwhile or not.
Clones, I dont have a problem with; they have actually done a decent job (for the most part) in distinguishing notable clones from their template. LMD's on the other hand have gotten old really quickly. (When you have to create an "Agent Cheesecake"/"Agent Beefcake" you know that concept has jumped the shark)
I was just getting into comics back when the whole Spider-man clone saga was going down, I thought the whole idea of there being 2 Spider-mans was cool. What's better than 1 Spider-man? Obviously 2!
BTW, Laura has got to be like the greatest clone ever. Any clone who is arguably better than the original deserves its props.
P.S. I believe in animal rights and the real life concept of cloning, BAD. As for comics/mythology,...
HOW DARE you question the philosophy of the clones? first you say you LIKE Superboy on your review, (but he was featured, that order was like....i could totally agree with it, it's like you're EXACTLY one step ahead when i was guessing,) Also, when the quest all in the family came out i was thinking it would be cool to have one featuring evil counterparts (such as Ultraman and Zoom) and a set of clones (evil AND neutral, AND GOOD). Also about clones, Spiderboy of Amalgam, thought he was awesome, cos it's not JUST SB, or JUST ben reilly, but BOTH. i mean, IMPACT WEBBING! and TK! X-23 ...after Daken came in, i think she's less of a daughter. So when i was a kid and hadn't actually started on actual comics but followed the TV series phenomenon, NO TV series, (from the 90s/80s, featuring superheroes/sci-fi) was complete without a) cloning, b)mutation/bio engineering, which apparently, cloning is part of. This stuff blew MY MIND! a mirror match! a perfect nemesis! Not to mention creating life from...(yeah,...didn't know about sex but i knew about fetuses) So basically, it's an awesome phenomenon, (OF THE PAST, you could say) i WAS thinking back and laughing, clones came up on a forum chat, everyone was like, "yeah clones, don't we all have one?" it's used as a joke in comedies sometimes, people are so USED to the concept, even though it's not real. And then, when you start thinking about the ethics, and how they should survive or not,... the whole "6th day" concept,.....it's just awesome, i LOVE clones. i think fresh starters would like the concept, but yeah, does get overused. So i agree and agree with both should and shouldn't
Clones are a mixed bag at the end of the day. If it's done well, Connor Kent i.e., then you have the potential for a great character and a way to re-introduce new readers to a universe that the hero being cloned has long since moved out of. However, as Spider-man's infamous Clone Saga has taught us, it can also be done absolutely horrendously. There you had the potential for an interesting story arc that would shake up the foundations of the universe but it was ruined by being dragged out longer than the Namek saga on DBZ
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