Ben Reilly Spider-Man Series Teases a Follow-Up to Kraven’s Last Hunt

Marvel’s Spider-Man flashback miniseries starring Peter Parker’s twin, Ben Reilly, may have concluded, but the publisher still has plenty of plans for the hero. Marvel teased the next installment in Ben’s story with a final-page insert in the finale of Ben Reilly: Spider-Man #5 by writer J.M. DeMatteis, artist David Baldeón, colorist Israel Silva, and letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna. The teaser features the wording, “Coming Soon: Spider-Man: The Lost Hunt,” which will more than likely be a continuation of Ben Reilly’s adventures as the web-slinger that takes place during the time period when he replaced Peter as New York’s premier Spider-Man.

J.M. DeMatteis is known for his seminal work on “Kraven’s Last Hunt” with Mike Zeck, which saw Kraven hunting Spider-Man. After shooting and believing he killed Spider-Man, Kraven buried him and began patrolling New York City in Spidey’s black costume. Peter eventually dug his way out of his grave and defeated Kraven, leading the villain to commit suicide after thinking he had nothing left to prove. It would seem the addition of Spider-Man: The Lost Hunt fits in perfectly with the writer’s catalog. Ben Reilly: Spider-Man saw the return of another clone, Spidercide, as he terrorized Ben, the inmates, and the staff of the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane.

“What I’ve always found fascinating about Ben Reilly is that he’s Peter Parker—and yet he’s not,” DeMatteis said when Ben Reilly: Spider-Man was announced last year. “Life has taken Ben on a strange, twisted path and altered him, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse; but, like Peter, he’s a man who’s constantly striving to do the right thing, even if he doesn’t always succeed. Ben is wonderfully, painfully human, immensely relatable—and our new Ben Reilly: Spider-Man series allows me to dive even deeper into Ben’s psyche, to explore him in new and, I hope, interesting ways.

“Having David Baldeon bringing this story to visual life has been the icing on the cake.  David’s work is incredibly dynamic.  Fluid and powerful.  He nails the big moments—we’ve got some major antagonists going up against Ben—but he always holds tight to the characters’ humanity, so that even the smallest, quietest moments shine and have resonance. It’s been a true joy returning the Spiderverse and reuniting with my old friend, Ben.”

Ben Reilly recently took over for Peter Parker in Amazing Spider-Man’s Beyond era, though its conclusion turned Ben into a new villain named Chasm. Free Comic Book Day 2022: Spider-Man/Venom #1 continued Chasm’s story by teaming him up with the X-Men villain Madeline Pryor, the Goblin Queen, who also happens to be a clone.

Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for more information on Spider-Man: The Lost Hunt.