Yeah, to be honest, I've been wondering if Marvel would take this route eventually. Hell, Ben Reilly fans have been pointing out that his death (specifically the degeneration) wasn't really consistent with the Clone Saga canon for years.
And considering that Ben's original purpose was to "replace" the Peter Parker fans had gotten fed up with... well, I'd be shocked to see The House of Ideas stealing from the past again. (And once again failing it up, considering that what most fans liked about Ben was how he'd become his own man and NOT Peter-Lite due to his experiences.)