Scarlet Spider

• Title: Scarlet Spider #5
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Christopher Yost
• Artist: Neil Edwards

Now that Kaine‘s battles with the Assassin’s Guild are over (at least until they ask him to make good on his promise to assassinate someone on their behalf) the Scarlet Spider can relax. Except he can’t because a small group of terrorists have chosen Houston to detonate a nuclear device.

With time running out Wally Layton asks for the Scarlet Spider’s help (a name Kaine is less than thrilled that people have begun using for him) in finding the bomb. However, the police officer is a little unprepared for how brutal Houston’s new super-hero gets while pumping suspects for information.

With Kaine and Lawton the comic has a fun odd-couple buddy-cop movie feel which when mixed with the countdown and suspense of the story turns out to be a hell of a lot of fun. We do get cameoes from Iron Man, Maria Hill, and (for some unknown reason) Ultimate Universe Nick Fury, but none of them interact with our hero or make it to Houston in time. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $2.99]

• Title: Scarlet Spider #4
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Christopher Yost
• Artist: Ryan Stegman

Kaine‘s past finally catches up with him as the Assassin’s Guild send several of their most skilled killers to Houston to kill the new Scarlet Spider over an old grudge. Kaine, however, has other plans.

The latest issues is high on action, but the B-story of Doctor Medlund confronting the man who put a hit on him for the death of his wife and baby girl keeps killing the momentum of the main storyline.

Kaine’s unorthodox solution to stopping the assassins by offering to perform one murder for them in the future, at their convenience, certainly isn’t something Peter Parker would do but it reminds us, despite his new career as a super-hero, how Kaine troubleshoots and deals with problems.

We also get yet another person (Annabelle) learning the Scarlet Spider’s secret identity (geez, this guy keeps secrets worse than movie Batman) as well as getting our first glimpse at Aracely‘s hidden talents. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $2.99]

• Title: Scarlet Spider #2
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Christopher Yost
• Artist: Ryan Stegman

Despite his plans to take the money and run Kaine finds himself in Houston protecting a young woman, the lone surviving victim of a human trafficking ring the new Scarlet Spider uncovered last issue.

The Scarlet Spider finds himself fighting a fire-controlling assassin intent on killling the girl and anyone else in his way. Despite all his denials Kaine proves to be a hero, not a killer, by saving the woman and deciding to stay in Houston (at least for the time being).

Although we get more narration into Kaine’s past we sadly don’t get another flashback of the original Scarlet Spider this time around. However, the two issues do a pretty good job reintroducing and establishing Kaine as a new hero in the Marvel Universe. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $2.99]

• Title: The Scarlet Spider #1
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Christopher Yost
• Artist: Ryan Stegman

I’m a fan of the Scarlet Spider. For those of you who don’t know who that is, the Scarlet Spider was the alter-ego assumed by Peter Parker‘s clone when he was reintroduced to comics in the 1990’s.

The Clone Saga has earned the animostity of several Spidey fans (some of it well-deserved), but despite many problematic elements (including its purpose to replace Peter with his clone as Spider-Man and its awful ending where the character literally disovled into dust for Marvel Comics to sweep under the rug) I’ll look back on it fondly for introducing the character of the Scarlet Spider.

When I heard a new Scarlet Spider comic was in the works I was excited but confused. After all the character was long dead. Learning the new series would center around the character of Kaine (another clone reintroduced in the Clone Saga), a character I have no real fondness for, I was a little less sure of what to expect.

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