In the comic book industry, the idiom, “everything old is new again,” is a common saying, and such is true as next month, The Clone Saga will be returning to Marvel’s Spider-verse. However, this time Spider-Man Miles Morales is the one who will be dealing with a doppelganger, not Peter Parker.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #19, the foundation for the upcoming event was laid when Miles found himself fighting with a doppelganger dressed in a spider costume like his own, being attacked and captured by The Assessor. In an interview with IGN, series writer Saladin Ahmed discuss how the storyline gets going in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #25, and how from the beginning, the series has been building to this new Clone Saga.
Aside from reassuring readers that his new Clone Saga isn’t an attempt to simply cash-in on the notoriety of the original crossover, and how he hopes to ignore the debate that the original surrounding the original Clone Saga, simply telling a new story and raising the stakes for Miles, saying:
“That sort of stuff sabotages you from the beginning if you let it. My job here is just to tell the best crazy high-octane story possible, focusing on Miles and what makes this HIS Clone Saga. I try not to get distracted by hype, positive or negative!”
It is no mistake that Miles’ current situation is similar to what Peter experienced early on in his career. From the beginning, Miles has been motivated by his mother Rio’s tragic death, in the same way Uncle Ben’s death haunts Peter. If that wasn’t enough, recently, Miles made a deal with Mephisto over in Champions, causing many to draw parallels to 2007’s infamous One More Day storyline. Ahmed confirmed this his version of the Clone Saga is another example of that trend, even though how it plays out and affects others around Miles will be different.
“Part of the magic of telling Marvel stories is not just the sense that these characters occupy the same universe, but they exist across generations. Putting a newer superstar character through some of the same paces a superhero legend went through gives us all sorts of insight into what makes Miles *Miles* as well as what makes him Spider-Man,” Ahmed told IGN.
Ahmed also teased he didn’t want to reveal much about the nature or origins of the three Miles clones before the story officially begins. Readers will also have to wait to see if the mysterious figure known as The Assessor is the true architect of the new Clone Saga or maybe Jackal, responsible for Peter’s clones, is involved. Not wanting to divulge any more details, Ahmed confirmed the storyline is built directly on seeds that were planted in early chapters of the series.
Check out the trailer Marvel has released to promo the arc:
MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #25 (FEB210580)
Written by SALADIN AHMED
Art by CARMEN CARNERO
Cover by TAURIN CLARKE
Ahmed also praised artist Carmen Carnero, saying,
“Carmen is just DESTROYING on this arc! Her designs are absolutely perfect, and her art throughout is walking the line of powerful emotion and bonkers superhero stuff impeccably. Couldn’t have asked for a better artist for this story.”
It is time to send in the clones when the new Clone Saga kicks off in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #25 in stores and digital platforms April 28, 2021.