Scarlet Spider Doesn't Get A Fair Shake In ATSV (But Part 3 Can Fix It)
Contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse."
So, has everyone seen "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" yet? Pretty decent, isn't it? The animated epic that Looper dubbed the best half-a-movie ever manages to do the unthinkable and surpasses the already sublime "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" in virtually every possible way, thanks to its gorgeous animation and excellent writing that manages to juggle what seems like half a billion different Spider-People effortlessly. And one of the film's greatest strengths is its ability to act as a love letter to every spider-themed hero it features, regardless of the size of their role in the narrative ... well, almost every spider-themed hero.
Ben Reilly, aka the Scarlet Spider (Andy Samberg), gets a lot more screen time than several other tertiary spider characters in "Across the Spider-Verse," but every single second of that time is spent looking ridiculous. Okay, not looking, per se – Ben's design and animation style are both extremely cool and very faithful to his 1990s heyday — but acting ridiculous, because his behavior is also directly from that era.
With a distinct grunge vibe and a tendency to over-narrate his actions, Scarlet Spider is the closest thing "Across the Spider-Verse" has to a full-on comic relief character, and he doesn't even get the kind of redeeming moment that similar characters in the first movie did, like Spider-Man Noir. Still, while it may seem that the movie does Scarlet Spider dirty, there's a good chance that "Beyond the Spider-Verse" has great things in store for the character. Here's why.
Sure, Scarlet Spider is funny as a 90s joke, but he deserves more
In all fairness, there's no way that a movie as devoted to different iterations of Spider-Man as "Across the Spider-Verse" wasn't going to include a nod to the character's 1990s era. Few characters can define this particular time in Spidey's history better than Spider-Man's clone, Ben Reilly.
A perennially tortured man who technically debuted in 1975 but rose to prominence with the 1990s' lengthy "Clone Saga" storyline, Ben was a divisive figure both behind the scenes and among the fandom, no matter how likable the comics tried to make him. He's spent much of his comic book existence as a cosmic ping pong ball — bouncing between heroism and villainy, different superhero identities, and even life and death. That last one is no exaggeration, either: In 2017's "Ben Reilly: the Scarlet Spider" comics, we find out that Ben is the current holder of the not-so-coveted "most deaths and resurrections in the Marvel comics universe" record, which is saying something in a world where the X-Men exist.
Scarlet Spider's central role in one of the 1990s' most ambitious and infamous Spider-Man story arcs makes him a natural choice for "Across the Spider-Verse's" go-to grungy antihero, and anyone who's familiar with the era's comic book writing will no doubt recognize his overly dramatic narration and backstory angst. There's no denying the fact that he's still an iconic character, though. This is the guy who invented impact webbing, for crying out loud. And as such, he could've done with a redeeming moment or two to balance out the silly stuff.
Scarlet Spider gets enough setup in ATSV that he seems destined for a bigger role in the next movie
Fortunately, the ending of "Across the Spider-Verse" does come with a silver lining for all Ben Reilly aficionados. In fact, there are plenty of signs that "Beyond the Spider-Verse" intends to present the character in a far more positive light.
The first indication that Scarlet Spider will return with a vengeance is simple: In the climax, we find out that he's one of Miguel O'Hara's (Oscar Isaac) most trusted men, to the point that Spider-Man 2099 handpicks him on the mission to stop Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) on Earth-1610. Given that the only other members of this crack team are Miguel himself and the extremely capable Jessica Drew (Issa Rae), Ben Reilly clearly has more up his sleeve than what we've seen so far, and he'll likely get a chance to show what he's got in the third "Spider-Verse" movie. Another sign pointing toward Scarlet Spider's increasing prominence is the return of the old "Into the Spider-Verse" Spider-Gang. With Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage), and Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) back in the mix, "Beyond the Spider-Verse" will have plenty of comic relief to choose from, which will free Mr. Reilly to hopefully have a moment or six of sheer awesomeness.
Of course, as Spider-Ham proves in his "Into the Spider-Verse" curb-stomp fight with Scorpion (Joaquín Cosio), comedy and coolness don't necessarily rule each other out, so there's no need to downgrade Scarlet Spider's super-edgy 1990s vibe to make him awesome. For instance, a face-off between Spider-Man Noir and Scarlet Spider would likely be both hilarious and amazing, given the characters' similarly dark, offbeat themes ... and, of course, Andy Samberg's "SNL" track record of impersonating Cage.