Spider-Man’s Coolest Alt-Costume Was Literally Stolen from a Cosplayer
Marvel’s Friendly Neighborhood Superhero, Spider-Man, has an iconic and immediately recognizable costume design, with Spidey and his cloned self, Ben Reilly aka Scarlet Spider, consistently donning alternate looks that successfully put unique spins on a classic design. Yet when Ben Reilly tries to start over after a string of unfortunate events, he decides the best course of action is to quite literally steal his latest costume off of a poor cosplayer that never saw it coming!
An alt-costume belonging to a version of Spider-Man that fans have been divided on for some time now, Ben Reilly was once revealed as the “real” Spider-Man as opposed to the clone of the OG Web Head, Peter Parker, an odd development that was eventually reversed to great fan satisfaction. Settling into a groove as the Scarlet Spider, Ben developed a costume that had him clad in skin-tight red spandex and a blue, sleeveless hoodie, giving him a noticeably different — yet no less classic — look compared to Peter’s usual Spider-Man get-up.
Seen on the first page of the premiere issue of Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider, written by Peter David and illustrated by Ultimate Spider-Man alum Mark Bagley, this costume came about after Ben Reilly decides he needs a change of scenery, and relocates himself to Las Vegas, so he can carry on his superhero-ing duties in peace. Plagued by an imaginary version of himself wearing the aforementioned first Scarlet Spider costume, this new look for Ben immediately comes across as a fun design that works well for a man that wants to turn over a new leaf, despite him stealing his duds from a cosplayer that was only trying to express their love for their favorite superhero through cosmetic means.
Presenting Ben Reilly the Alt-Costume Thief!
Shown wearing a very Spider-Gwen-esque hood, a Miles Morales black and red color scheme, and a smooth, web-less spandex design that harkens back to Ben’s first Scarlet Spider suit, the costume admittedly looks great in a refreshingly unique kind of way, only raising eyebrows after Ben straight up admits he stole it from someone else and left them “naked in a restroom at the hotel.” Lamenting over the idea that everyone should get the chance to start over again, Ben comments on his “snappy” new costume and how “that cosplayer I took it off of” won’t miss it because in Ben’s mind, stealing it and then wearing it on patrol makes the cosplayer’s costume “official,” a reason that stretches Ben’s supposed heroic values super thin.
Ben Reilly probably shouldn’t have started his redemption arc by stealing his costume from an unsuspecting (and now apparently naked) cosplayer, but at least the suit’s original owner knew how to turn a Spider-Man look into something that works both on a cosplay and professional superhero level. There’s no doubt that this particular Scarlet Spider design is one of the coolest alt-costumes any version of Spider-Man has worn yet, but maybe ask the guy before taking his threads next time, Ben?
