Issue(s): Spider-Man #52
Cover Date: Nov 94
Title: "Deadline"
Credits:
Howard Mackie - Writer
Tom Lyle - Penciler
Scott Hanna - Inker
Danny Fingeroth - Editor

Review/plot:
Ben Reilly goes to reporter Ken Ellis for info on Venom and learns that Venom has been spotted near the Roosevelt Island Tram Terminal. Reilly heads there and attacks Venom.

Reilly learns that Spider-Man and Venom have an "agreement".

Venom defeats Reilly and is about to kill him when another symbiote, Scream, suddenly arrives. She wants to warn Venom about something, but Venom just wants to kill all of his "spawn".

Wounded and badly losing blood, Reilly decides to flee the scene. But first he stops to help innocent bystanders, and eventually he's drawn back into the fight.

Note that Scream came to Venom asking for help controlling her "other".

Venom and Scream get knocked into the water, and Reilly heads home. Ken Ellis decides to dub Reilly the Scarlet Spider.

Seeing Reilly react to Spider-Man's old foes is the whole idea behind the return of the clone, and there's a good nugget at the core of this crossover, which is that Reilly can't believe that Peter Parker would make a deal with Venom. But that isn't really explored yet. The fight itself is fun, thanks to Tom Lyle and Scott Hanna's art (and some good coloring), but the promise of Reilly giving us a fresh perspective is mostly squandered. That's in part due to the fact that Howard Mackie is as much interested in setting up the next Venom miniseries as anything else, but it's mostly because everything about the Clone Saga was squandered.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: The is part two of The Exile Returns. Part three is in Web of Spider-Man #119.

References:

• Spider-Man and Venom made their deal in Amazing Spider-Man #375.
  
• Venom thought Scream was dead after Venom: Lethal Protector.

Crossover: The Exile Returns

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Wasn't the whole point of the "agreement" to protect Peter's family?
Since Ben has no ties to anyone currently, it's obvious why he wouldn't condone this. If Peter had told him that Venom knew his secret identity, he might understand it better.