Great idea for a thread! I have given this quite a bit of thought and I would want to make an animated movie based on the
Spider-Man:The Lost Years story.
This is how I would do it:
Prologue
Peter Parker as Spider-Man is fighting Professor Miles Warren as the Jackal. Jackal manages to knock out Spider-Man. Jackal brings Spider-Man to his lab and sedates him. Then Jackal creates a clone of Peter Parker. But the clone doesn't turn out perfect. He has a mark across the face and his physique is bigger than the real Peter. He's Kaine. Jackal sees no use for an imperfect clone and decides to kill him. But the clone is stronger than anticipated and fights back. The clone escapes in horror over that his creator, his father, just tried to kill him. The Jackal creates a new clone, a perfect clone. The Jackal wants the real Peter Parker to believe that he's the clone, so he switches places with Peter and the clone, so Peter is waking up in the cloning chamber and the clone is waking up on the floor with a Spider-Man costume on and a needle to withdraw blood lying beside him, supposed to make the clone think that the Jackal used his blood/DNA to create a clone.
That's when Kaine reappears. He sees the second clone lying on the floor with a Spider-Man costume on, and believes him to be the real Peter Parker. Kaine sees his father caressing the "real" Peter out of tenderness, which infuriates Kaine. The real Peter gets tenderness and the clone gets punishment because he's not as perfect? Kaine attacks the Jackal and wants him to make the real Peter believe that he's the clone. The Jackal, who is amused by this turn of events, agrees and puts back the second clone into the cloning chamber, with Kaine thinking it's the real Peter. The Jackal asks why Kaine wants the real Peter to believe that he's a clone. Kaine answers that the real Peter already has had a real life. Now it's someone else's turn. Why shouldn't a clone deserve something real? Considering all of this happened because of the real Peter Parker, shouldn't he then be the one to deal with the consequences?
ACT I
The second clone leaves New York, determined to not stay in the shadow of the real Peter Parker. The clone just wants to escape from Peter Parker, Spider-Man, and all the memories he has of a life he never lived.
The clone takes a bus going nowhere, just wanting to escape. The passenger next to him is Janine, an insecure girl that hides her insecurities by talking about everything and nothing. Which gets on the clone's nerves, who just wants to be left alone. The night is a rainy one. The bus driver loses control over the bus and everybody on board panics. Everyone except the clone. He struggles with himself. One part of himself wants to use his powers and save everyone, and another part wants to bury that part knowing it's what Peter would do. The clone thinks that maybe it would actually be best if he died. No one would mourn him. Before he can make up his mind, the bus driver gains control of the bus and saves everyone.
The people on the bus have to stay at a motel for the night, it's not safe to continue driving through the storm. The clone is by the bar, drinking. Janine walks up to him and sits next to him, social once again. The clone is getting more and more frustrated over Janine's babbling. She says that she's sorry that she keeps bugging him and jokingly says that he probably wishes that the bus crashed and killed them all. Stone cold, the clone answers "No. Just you." That leaves Janine shocked and sad. The clone, filled with regret and anger that he's the clone of a person who feels regret when he's done something stupid, lashes out and throws a table to the floor. He then runs out to the rain and pukes up the beer. He condemns the fact that he's the clone of someone who doesn't drink.
The clone then finds Janine about to shoot her brains out. He throws himself at her and stops her. Confused, she asks why he stopped her. He was the one who wanted her to die. The clone says that he was wrong. They spend the whole night, just talking. Janine tells him that her father used to rape her and she can't leave it behind. She has left her home town, but now doesn't know what to do with her life. The clone says that makes two of them. They decide to go to the same town and try to figure out what's next for them. The clone decides to name himself Ben Reilly. Ben after his uncle, and Reilly after his aunt.
ACT II
Two years later.
Ben and Janine are both working in a diner. They know the customers there and they are liked. Ben and Janine are friends, not a couple. Kaine (who's suffering from painful attacks from time to time because of the imperfect cloning) has tracked down Ben and shows up at the diner. Ben has no idea who he is. Kaine reveals that he was the first clone. Kaine hates the fact that Ben managed to find happiness in friends and a new life when he himself can't do the same. Kaine's life is a life of almost constant pain. Kaine has decided to share his pain and simply kill Ben. He attacks Ben and the two men have a long, brutal fight.
Ben manages to hold his own in the beginning of the fight, but then Kaine gets the upper hand and starts beating the crap out of him. Due to being clever, Ben manages to escape. In this fight it's revealed to Janine and the customers that Ben has powers. Ben has on purpose tried to avoid using his powers, thinking those belong in Peter's life, not his.
Kaine goes to Ben's apartment to finish the job, but he's not there. But Louise, a cop, has tracked down Kaine and is going to arrest him for the fight in the diner. Two criminals have followed Louise and wants payback for a previous encounter, so they attack her. She manages to hold her own against both of them, which leaves Kaine impressed. But when one of the criminals is about to kill Louise, Kaine steps in and saves her life. He easily knocks out the criminals. Louise is impressed by Kaine, and is also thankful for him saving her life. They find an instant attraction, and end up spending the night together.
Ben's at Janine's place. She's taking care of his injuries. Ben explains what he is for her, worried that she will be repulsed that he's a clone of person with weird spider powers. But she takes it well. She has always felt like he was hiding something. She just wished that he would feel comfortable enough to tell her. She's happy that he finally did. Then she kisses him. He kisses her back.
The morning after. Louise wants to know everything about Kaine, but he's not in a sharing mood. When she presses, he lashes out and leaves. He manages to track down Ben at Janine's. There he finds Ben having a meaningful talk to Janine. They talk. They laugh. They kiss. Kaine listens with curiosity. He starts thinking. Ben found happiness with a woman. Maybe Kaine can do the same. He's never tried that. He leaves Ben alone and seeks up Louise. He apologizes. They make love. The morning after, Kaine opens up about what he is and why he's so full of hatred. To open up to someone is like catharsis for Kaine.
Ben and Janine goes to another town to start new again. Ben's secret powers are out in their old town, and they also want to get away from Kaine.
Kaine opens up more to Louise. Then he gets one of his attacks, this one more painful than ever. His degeneration has started. It changes his face and body, leaving ugly marks all over his body and face.
Louise is repulsed. Kaine seeks comfort in her, but she rejects him. He cannot understand why, he loves her. But for her, it wasn't ever love. It was just attraction, which now is gone. Once again rejected because the way he looks, just like his father did before, leaves Kaine enraged. He attacks Louise in a fit of rage and kills her. Afterward, he holds her lifeless body and cries of regret.
Kaine tracks down Ben and Janine. When Ben has left, Kaine attacks Janine. He's about to kill her, when Ben shows up and saves her. Ben attacks Kaine and asks him what the hell is wrong with him. Kaine grabs Ben and throws him through a window. Kaine sees how afraid Janine is and actually feels a little ashamed. Ben comes back through the window, ready to fight. But Kaine has left.
Ben decides that he has to stop Kaine once and for all. He's done running away, and he won't let Kaine hurt Janine. Even if it means that Ben has to kill him. Janine is against it, saying that Ben is not a killer. Ben argues that a version of him is a killer, another version is not, so who's to say what he is. Janine says he can't kill because it changes you. It changes everything. She reveals that she killed her father to stop him from raping her and anyone else. But she couldn't stop thinking about that she had actually killed a human being. A disgusting human being, but a human being nonetheless. Everything became too much for her and she decided to end her life. But Ben saved her, in every way.
Janine thinks they should run again, because Ben fighting Kaine is a no-win scenario. Either he becomes a killer or he is killed. But Ben won't spend a life running and always looking over his shoulder. He knows he can't beat Kaine as Ben Reilly. Or as Peter Parker. But maybe he can beat him as something else. He digs out his old web shooters, creates webbing and a special impact webbing, while Janine creates a costume. The Scarlet Spider costume.
ACT III
Ben, in costume, meets up with Kaine, who also wears a costume now. The classic Kaine costume. Kaine wears it to cover up his shameful marks all over his body. The two clones fight each other, both looking to finish this forever.
It's an even fight, where Ben makes good use of his webbing. But then Kaine's starting to get the upper hand. Kaine reveals why he hates Ben so much. He reveals that Ben is the original Peter Parker, and that Kaine's father rejected Kaine and tried to kill him because he wasn't a perfect copy of Peter. Ben, shocked and enraged that Kaine took his life from him and that all of his doubts, self-loathing and pain were for nothing, attacks Kaine with everything he has. Ben brutally beats down Kaine. He's about to deliver the final punch to kill Kaine, when a phrase suddenly shows up in Ben's head and leaves his mouth: "With great power comes great responsibility." A surprised Ben reflects and realizes what he's actually about to do. He puts down his fists, which leaves Kaine confused. Ben says that it's over. Kaine argues that he will hunt him down again. Ben tells him to go for it. He can take it. He has before and can do it a hundred times again. Ben wonders if Kaine can do the same. Ben leaves an uncertain Kaine to himself.
Ben arrives home to a waiting Janine. He collapses in her arms, and they hold each other. Janine asks him if he's alright. He says that he will be. They share a smile.