re-establishing Parker as the true Spider-Man without it seeming like a cop-out was daunting enough that Budiansky invited the whole of Marvel's staff to offer ideas. Greenberg recalled "I think even the janitor and the mail room guys weighed in at one point. It got a little out of hand, to put it mildly... the memos really started coming in at this point, fast and furious... and I've still got every single one of them, in one big, thick, hernia-inducing file." To provoke new interest from the readers, the storyline "Return of Kaine" introduced a skeleton that was discovered in the original clone saga lab wearing a Spider-Man suit; however, none of the writers or editorial staff had a theory of what the skeleton's significance was. At this time, Greenberg recalled, the plan for the Clone Saga was: "A mysterious figure was intended to be the sole mastermind behind the entire Clone Saga, a powerful and influential figure who was controlling Seward Trainer and manipulating the lives of Peter Parker and Ben Reilly from the shadows. Forced to wear an environmental suit to maintain his life functions, he would eventually be restored to health by Seward, and at that point, we would reveal his identity." However, in July 1995 Tom Brevoort proposed a story in which Ben Reilly is sent five years back in time (to the end of the original Clone Saga) by the Scrier, as part of a contest between himself and Judas Traveller. The Scrier would be revealed as Mephisto, who would appear at the end of the "time loop" to give Ben the option of saving Peter's life in place of his own. This would eliminate the idea that either Ben or Peter was a clone, instead asserting that Ben was Peter from five years in the future, sent back by Mephisto to co-exist with the current Peter. The Jackal would be responsible for convincing Peter that was sent back in time that he was a clone, thus taking on the ID of Ben. The major selling point to this plan was that it would restore the memories of Ben (who was really Peter all along) and thus hopefully satisfy long-time readers. Budiansky and Greenberg fleshed out the storyline with plans for publication in April 1996. Creative stalemate While the "Time Loop" idea had won the approval of the editorial staff, the writers unanimously refused to