Remember Patrick? You know, the clone of Michael Van Patrick, aka MVP? Yeah. A lot of people don’t. Patrick was a part of a trio of genetic clones from MVP and were laced with traces of Peter Parker‘s DNA and donned a redesigned Iron Spider costume. They were Michael, Van, and Patrick, aka the Scarlet Spiders, aka the Shadow Initiative, aka Red Team(s) One, Two, and Three. Clones Michael and Van perished during different battles respectively during a few of Marvel’s Civil War tie-in story lines, and left Patrick as the lone clone standing. He eventually teamed up with the New Warriors on several missions, but eventually got put into Marvel’s version of character purgatory, or their (as I like to call it) “Negative Zone”.

There’s been a lot of new story lines featuring characters that are Spider-Man-like with Flash Thompson as Venom, Kaine, clone of Peter Parker as Scarlet Spider, a rumor that Peter Parker clone Ben Reilly is coming back, also a Scarlet Spider, the ever present Spider-Man of the future Miguel O’Hara, and recently Otto Octavious, the former Doctor Octopus, deciding to take Peter Parker’s life altogether and inserting himself in Parker’s brain and placing Peter in his dying body, and now making a name for himself as a more “Superior” Spider-Man. With all these story lines featuring spider-powered heroes, what happened to Patrick? Who knows if Marvel will decide to use him for another future story line? Patrick has appeared in a few stories since his inception, as recent as the Fear Itself story line, working as an operative of Captain America.

I’ll be honest…..I didn’t even know about MVP, the clones, or any of that storyline until a few months ago when I was looking into creating my own new version of the Young Avengers and was looking for possible team ups for my lead character, Patriot. Running across the New Warriors characters changed my perspective on everything I was working on. Finding out about MVP and what The Initiative did with him really opened my eyes. Great storyline.

How I Think Marvel Should Bring Patrick Back

A short time after he heals from his battle with Crossbones, Patrick finds a letter and two brief cases left for him by Baron von Blitzschlag. In the letter, Baron tells Patrick that he always thought him as being the strongest clone and the one most likely to success Spider-Man should anything happen to him. He tells Patrick that he should go out into the world and find his own way and learn to be his own man, whether it was being a hero or just living among average citizens, just live productively and always look to the greater good. In the first brief case is an unspecified amount money. In the second brief case is an alternate version of the Iron Spider costume with some color and schematic changes varying from the original. Patrick seems to have given up being a super hero, but decides to take it with him.

Several months have gone by and now going by the name Patrick Michaels, Patrick has established a pretty decent life for himself. He has built a reputation for himself as an online entrepreneur, lives in an upscale loft near Downtown New York, and seems to have found his niche in life. Patrick also sees the events that have taken place over the past few years and feels he could be doing more. He decides to don his new costume and make his place within the super hero community. He immediately feels the augmentation of the suit and appears to be faster, more agile, and stronger.

During a patrol of the city, a young man goes after an elderly woman’s purse (cliche’, I know). He apprehends the thief, but the thief refers to him as “another Spider-Man”. Patrick tells the thief that he in fact is not Spider-Man and he can call him Iron Spider. As he leaves the scene, he was witnessed by a familiar onlooker, Mary Jane Watson. She pulls out her cell phone and appears to want to call Peter Parker, but declines to do so. Leaving an indication that the two could end up forming a relationship in upcoming issues.

I believe a six part mini-series to get him acclimated back into the flow of the Marvel Universe would be a great start for him. With everything going on with the Spider-guys, now would be the perfect time to bring him in, instead of having to rehash a lot of older, and dead characters when there’s one alive and well with a suit that may be more superior than the new Spider-Man’s.