Scarlet Spider

Scarlet Spider #17

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Scarlet Spider #17Given a reprieve months ago by the Assassins Guild who agreed to leave Kaine alone in exchange for the former killer doing one job for them in the future, the new Scarlet Spider’s time runs out when he’s contacted with his target – Wolverine. Unwilling to let her friend march into the Jean Grey School School for Higher Learning alone, Aracely dons a her brand new super-hero costume and Kaine trades in a Spidey-stealth suit for his Scarlet Spider costume and heads straight into the lion’s den.

The story works well, as the Guild honestly doesn’t care who wins he fight between Kaine and Logan as long as one of them turns up dead. Aracely’s help gets Kaine through the students (by largely underestimating her own powers) for Kaine’s one-on-one brutal fight with the headmaster that leaves one of them dead on the floor.

Scarlet Spider #17 continues to make use of the fun relationship between Kaine and Aracely as well as the self-deprecating narration of our hero. This issue is full of action as “Red Ninja Spider-Man” takes on Beast, Ice Man, Kitty Pryde, before his fight with Logan. Best of the week.

[Marvel, $2.99]

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Scarlet Spider #16

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Scarlet Spider #16After the disappointing last couple of issues where the series seem to loose its sense of fun for a far darker turn things pick up when Kaine is dragged to the rodeo against his will by Aracely and his new friends and the new Scarlet Spider is forced into action against a giant drunken lovelorn hero who shows up win back his girlfriend. It’s every bit as awesome as it sounds.

Christopher Yost has terrific fun with Kaine’s narration here as his day gets more and more unbelievable. Hell, he’s even forced to ride a horse and try and lasso the out-of-control Armadillo, and he’s left speechless when the scene plays out far differently than he expected.

Aside from the ridiculously awesome circumstances, Scarlet Spider #16 continues laying groundwork for ongoing stories including Kaine finally giving into his feelings for Annabelle, and a dire warning to Kaine to leave Houston which the hero never receives. Hopefully the foreboding won’t infringe too much on the glorious insanity the comic delivers when it is at its best. Must-read.

[Marvel, $2.99]

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Scarlet Spider #15

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Scarlet Spider #15Thankfully the Kaine evil super-spider creature storyline comes to a quick end with Scarlet Spider #15. By the end of the comic things are pretty much back to normal with the former assassin restored to his human form and still unsure if his new role of hero truly suits him.

There’s plenty of action here, including the Kaine creature ripping off one of the arms of Carlos Lobo in order to save Aracely from the werewolves. It’s a little unclear whether Aracely somehow mystically causes him to revert back to normal or if her words cause Kaine to consciously return to form.

Other than adding new enemies for Scarlet Spider, this short arc merely restated the comic’s main theme (hero or killer) that’s so ingraned in the series it really didn’t need to be reintroduced so forcefully. I’m glad human Kaine is back, but far less sure of the Vertigo-esque path the comic appears to be going down (which, from comic’s last few pages, looks sure to continue in the coming months). Hit-and-Miss.

[Marvel, $2.99]

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Scarlet Spider #14

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Scarlet Spider #14The Scarlet Spider comic makes a couple of big changes with issue #14, changes I’m not on-board with and hope are temporary. The comic begins with the death of Kaine at the hands of Carlos and Esmeralda Lobo who continue to chase Aracely through Houston. The comic ends with Kaine’s rebirth as something… new.

As Aracely runs across the city and gets a local gang to take on the werewolf siblings on her behalf for encroaching on their turf, Kaine is stuck in limbo talking with Ero who agrees to bring Kaine back to life if he stops acting like a man and embraces his true nature. Willing to risk anything to save Aracely, Kaine agrees to the bargain only to come out of a cocoon looking far more monster than man. My reaction can best be summed up in a single panel.

I really hope Kaine’s transformation lasts only and issue or two as I’m far less interested in reading about a spider-monster assassin than Kaine’s attempt to redeem himself and do honor to the name of the Scarlet Spider. Even a short cameo by Ben Reilly can’t save this one. Pass.

[Marvel, $2.99]

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Scarlet Spider #13

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Scarlet Spider #13This is a comic about a deranged faulty clone of Peter Parker given a second chance as a hero in Houston by using the moniker of the man he spent the better part of his life hunting and torturing. But Scarlet Spider #13 is where things get a little weird.

The comic returns to the story of Aracely, the telepathic young woman Kaine saved at the beginning of the series. As Kaine systematically works through destroying the human trafficking ring that brought the young woman to Houston those in charge of the operation, Carlos and Esmeralda Lobo, show up to retrieve their property.

Between Kaine taking out the smuggling lowlifes and fighting off the werewolves who have come to collect Aracely (yeah, this one has werewolves) we get a bizarre dream sequences of the telepathic young woman full of Mayan imagery and predestination. But we’ll have to wait at least a month to figure out what it all means and just how a bloodied and beaten Scarlet Spider survives being eaten alive by werewolves. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $2.99]

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