The Amazing Spider-Man #149
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAmazing Spider-Man #149 is the foundational issue of what would become one of Spider-Man's most debated and far-reaching narrative concepts: the idea that Peter Parker's very identity could be duplicated and called into question. It delivers the first appearance of Peter Parker's Spider-Man clone — the character later named Ben Reilly — and provides the complete origin of the Jackal (Miles Warren), tying his obsession with the late Gwen Stacy directly into the Bronze Age's aftermath of her death in #121. The issue also serves as the capstone of Gerry Conway's celebrated three-year run on the title, a tenure that had already produced landmark moments including Gwen Stacy's death and the debut of the Punisher. Though the clone was seemingly killed and forgotten here, the seed Conway planted grew into the sprawling 1990s Clone Saga, making this issue the narrative ground zero for a concept that reshaped Spider-Man's publishing history for nearly a decade.
In "Even If I Live, I Die!", Spider-Man faces his most personal nightmare yet when the Jackal captures Ned and unveils a twisted experiment born of grief—cloning Gwen Stacy to resurrect her. Written by Gerry Conway and illustrated by Ross Andru with inks by Mike Esposito, this landmark issue sees Spider-Man battling a clone of himself while racing against time to save Ned from a deadly bomb. The cover, by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia, captures the tension of a moment that will echo through the Spider-Verse.
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Issue #149 was written by Gerry Conway — then wrapping up his roughly three-year tenure as the primary Amazing Spider-Man scripter — and penciled by Ross Andru, with inks by Mike Esposito; the cover was drawn by Gil Kane and inked by Frank Giacoia. Marv Wolfman served as editor. The story concluded a multi-part arc (labeled retrospectively as parts of a 'Clone Saga I' story arc spanning nine issues) that Conway had been building since the introduction of the Gwen Stacy clone in issue #144. The issue marked Conway's final chapter on the title, capping a run that is widely regarded as one of the most consequential in the series' Bronze Age history; the clone and the Jackal were both designed to feel definitively resolved, with both apparently dying in the Shea Stadium explosion — a resolution that would be retroactively undone by later writers beginning in the early 1990s.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of the Spider-Man clone, the character retroactively identified as Ben Reilly, who later became the Scarlet Spider in the 1990s Clone Saga.
- Written by Gerry Conway (his final issue on the title); penciled by Ross Andru; inked by Mike Esposito; cover art by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia; edited by Marv Wolfman.
- Delivers the complete origin of the Jackal, revealing him to be Professor Miles Warren, Peter Parker's biology professor, whose obsession with Gwen Stacy drove him to clone both her and Peter.
- Both the Jackal and the Spider-Clone appear to die in a bomb explosion at Shea Stadium — though later continuity (Amazing Spider-Man #399 and Osborn Journals #1) retroactively established that the Jackal who perished was himself a clone of Warren.
- The Spider-Clone resurfaces decades later in Web of Spider-Man #114, forming the backbone of the 1990s Clone Saga crossover event.
- The issue has been reprinted multiple times, including in Marvel Tales #126, the Marvel Milestone Edition (November 1994), Spider-Man: Clone Genesis (1995), Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 15 (2013), and the Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Vol. 5 (2021).
- This issue closes out Conway's approximately three-year run on Amazing Spider-Man, a tenure that also produced the death of Gwen Stacy (#121–122) and the first appearance of the Punisher (#129).
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Reprints
Reprinted in L'étonnant Spider-Man #51 (1975), L'étonnant Spider-Man #57 (1976), L'Uomo Ragno [Collana Super-Eroi] #190 (1977), Edderkoppen #6/1978 (1978), Spindelmannen #6/1978 (1978), Strange #117 (1979), Marvel Tales #126 (1981), Eks almanah #323 (1982), El Hombre Araña / El Asombroso Hombre Araña #145 (1983), Marvel Milestone Edition: The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (149) (1994), Spider-Man: Clone Genesis #[nn] (1995), Spider-Man - Clone genesis #[nn] (1996), Spiderman de John Romita #60 (2003), The Essential Spider-Man #7 (2005), Spider-Man : l'intégrale #1975 (2007), Spider-Man: The Original Clone Saga #[nn] (2011), Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (2013), Astonishing Spider-Man #22 (2017), The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus #5 (2021), Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection #9 (2023), A Teia do Aranha #31, Die Spinne - Das fehlende Jahr #150, El Sorprendente Hombre Araña #91, Labah-Labah #4 + 3 more
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