Entertainment

'Clone Conspiracy' Reveals the Jackal's Shocking Identity

Marvel Comics

So far, the Spider-Man “Clone Conspiracy” mini-event has proven to be exactly that: an engrossing, far-reaching conspiracy story. However, the latest plot twist reveals that the entire clone conspiracy begins and ends with the Parker family.

Spoilers for Issue 3 follow.

When the event began, many assumed that the Clone Conspiracy was another one of Miles Warren’s attempt at making evil clones a “thing.” Unfortunately, it just never had the brand appeal to become a big cultural phenomenon, and Spider-Man would typically find a way to end Warren’s flights of clone fancy.

Not so much this time, as the new Jackal is keenly aware of modern marketing practices, advertising his “New U” cloning tech as a lifestyle brand, and instituting a strict no-kill policy to ensure the brand stability. It’s a much smarter move than anything the Jackal has done previously, which begs the question whether or not Miles Warren is even behind the new Clone Conspiracy.

Spoiler: He’s not.

Ben Reilly

Jim Cheung

As it turns out, the new and improved Jackal seems smarter and stronger in every way because instead of being a lame scientist, the Jackal was actually the first Peter Parker clone created by Miles Warren.

A one-time ally and friend of Parker’s, Reilly’s death helped confirm to Peter that he was destined to be Spider-Man. Now, seeing Reilly again along with the promise of bringing back Uncle Ben, the future of whether or not Peter joins up with Reilly seems a sure possibility, just as it was predicted by Kaine and Spider-Gwen.

With only two issues left of the Clone Conspiracy, Dan Slott’s twisty story is proving to be the best clone story Spider-Man has tackled so far. And Spider-Man has done a lot of clone stories.

Dead No More: Clone Conspiracy #3 is out now in comic book shops and digital retailers.

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