Just seeing Kraven The Hunter dressed up like the original Scarlet Spider is enough to send bells a-ringing in the minds of fanboys of a particular age. As much flak as The Clone Saga gets, there were elements of it that endure, which is why today we’ve got a comic called Scarlet Spider, and why this current story arc is hearkening back to the era of the original bearer of that moniker – the long-dead Ben Reilly.
“Into The Grave” started last issue, with the degenerative scars that made Kaine a defective clone of Peter Parker – and thus drove him murderously mad with anger and envy of his successful clone brother Ben – returning to his face, bringing back all the memories of his darkest days, despite all his efforts to redeem himself as Houston’s hero. Once again believing he’s going to die at any moment, he flips out, then blacks out in mid-websling, concussing himself on the pavement, and then suddenly, Ben seemingly returned from the dead to kick his ass for being a bastard. Kaine can’t get his head around it, feels he’s hallucinating, but the punches are real enough. He manages to knock Ben down, and then voices in his head start urging him to kill – the Jackal, Superior Spider-Man, and even The Other – who is NOT a hallucination, but a monster that’s taken up residence in Kaine’s head. The revelation that these were all machinations from Kraven The Hunter changes the game.
In Scarlet Spider #22, we see that Kraven’s been studying Kaine from a far, learning everything there is to know about him – as he is wont to do with his prey. The scars were an illusion, a distraction while he and his daughter Ana went about abducting everyone Kaine cares about in Houston. While Kaine deals with freaky diversions like waking up in an open grave covered in animal blood, and Ana’s twisted games, Kraven explains to Kaine’s young telepathic and enigmatic friend Aracely that his family resurrected him with impure blood from Kaine, and thus he’s been cursed to an un-life where he cannot die, which frustrates him to no end, seeing as how he killed himself on his own terms. All of Kraven’s manipulations of Kaine are designed to bring out the killer in him, to make sure their final fight results in returning him to death. What that will mean for Kaine’s conscience is not a concern.
Writers Christopher Yost and Erik Burnham are mining the past for a compelling present. Kraven’s Last Hunt remains one of the most powerful stories in Spider-Man’s history, and while Ben Reilly angered a lot of people at the time, as a concept – a slightly darker brother for Peter Parker trying to find his own way in the world – was nonetheless compelling, and might have been more accepted had Marvel not tried to replace Peter with him. If they hadn’t, they could have had the best of both worlds – a single Spidey and a married Spidey. No Satan required. Alas, no. But now, we’ve got Kaine. Not close enough to Peter to be a brother – more like a messed up cousin – but certainly a darker one. Not quite as dark as what Peter’s become – namely, Dr. Octopus – but certainly a grimier sort of darkness. With Superior Spider-Man making a habit of killing criminals now, can Kaine actually become the Spider-Man who won’t kill?
This issue has three credited pencillers – Baldeon, Olliffe & Green. As you might imagine, that makes things a bit visually inconsistent. There are moments of impressive splashing, like the savage jungle cats attacking Kaine, but Ana Kraven looks like a cartoon witch. That said, the moment where she stares her own death in the eye is a strong one, her superior veneer shattered, and Sergei Kravinov almost always looks appropriately collected and in control – hell, almost regal, like a true king of the jungle.
Scarlet Spider doesn’t get a lot of attention – the current massive Otto Octavius stunt draws the focus, and it’s well-deserved – but it’s a cool little book, separate from everything else and making a go of doing its own thing, much like Flash Thompson was doing as Venom in Philadelphia. Sadly, it’s all coming to an end for Kaine with issue #25, canceled right alongside Venom. We’ll miss both of these books.
