Scarlet Spider #1: I love so much about this issue. Beyond anything else, I found myself stunned by how ridiculously excited I was about it. I mean, we are talking about a legacy character from the "Clone Saga," the event that put me on the road to quitting comics. But, I found that I was putting off reading it, because I wanted to have time to read it slowly, not rush through panels or jot down notes, but to read it like I were a 14-year-old kid reading it. Maybe that impulse came from the fact that the last time I really read about Kaine I practically was a 14-year old kid. Like a lot of folks out there, I assume they also find themselves amazed that they're excited to read a series dedicated to Kaine. So, before we talk about the issue, let's talk about Kaine.
My Personal History with Kaine "Parker"
I hated the "Clone Saga." It was convoluted and long and terrible. By the end, I liked Ben, but Kaine was just all over the map for me. I remember him as connected to the whole Judas Traveller business, which to me was probably the most confusing and ridiculous aspect of the "Clone Saga." I think I actually used to skim pages dedicated to Scrier and Traveller, and, to this day, I have no idea what role they ultimately wound up playing (if any) in its conclusion. My memories about Kaine were equally hazy. In fact, when he re-appeared during the "Who Was Ben Reilly?" arc in "Amazing Spider-Man" #608-#610, I remember being surprised to learn he was the original clone of Peter Parker, something I had either clearly forgotten or maybe never known.
I mention "never known," because, in retrospect, I realize that I actually read little of the "Clone Saga." I have a link on the right to the "Life of Reilly" blog, a great piece of comic-book journalism that goes into the editorial process that resulted in the "Clone Saga," particularly why it became the mess it eventually became. (Seriously, even if you're not a Spider-Man fan, take the time to read through it. You won't be able to do so in one sitting, but you'll learn a lot about how "events" happen and how easy it is for editorial control to be lost in the face of marketing pressure.) In reading the blog, you realize that the "Clone Saga" was partially so confusing and frustrating because you had to collect all four Spider-Man series a month (and, occasionally, special, chromium-covered issues) just to get the full story. During the entire two-year long run of the "Clone Saga," almost every issue tied into another issue in another series.
However, as a teenager (I was 19 when it began and almost 21 when it ended), it wasn't like I could afford four Spider-Man titles a month; I only got "Amazing Spider-Man," which I had gotten since I was six years old. As such, I realize now that I was pretty much only getting 25 percent of the story at any given time. I didn't get "Spider-Man" #60, the issue that revealed Kaine to be a clone of Peter, during the "Trial of Peter Parker" storyline. (I also didn't get "Spectacular Spider-Man" #226, which revealed Peter to be the clone, not Ben.) It now makes sense to me why my recollection of the "Clone Saga," and Kaine in particular, is so hazy. I probably only read a quarter of the issues in which he appeared (possibly even less), and he wasn't in all that many of them to boot.
In the end, I remember the "Clone Saga" just sort of...ending. If pressed, I couldn't even tell you how it ended. It's not a trick of aging either; I could probably recite the plot of every "Age of Apocalypse" book, an event that appeared around the same time and actually served as inspiration for the "Clone Saga," according to the "Life of Reilly" blog. But, after more than two years of terrible plot devices intended as nothing more than ways to get me to buy more comics, it finally ended, and I just remember being relieved. (Not surprisingly, I stopped collected "Amazing Spider-Man" a few issues later, completely disgusted with the state of affairs.)
Fast forward a decade or so. I remember being concerned when Kaine suddenly appeared in "Who Was Ben Reilly?" I mean, the "Clone Saga?" Really? Why tread that ground? But, Guggenheim did a great job reintroducing him, helping to remind readers of his history. It was a bold decision on the part of the "Brand New Day" editors, part of their assertion that almost everything about Peter stayed the same after "One More Day," even the storylines they wished they could forget. Later, it was Kelly, in "Grim Hunt," who takes Guggenheim's ball and runs with it, rehabilitating Kaine through having him sacrifice himself for Peter. If I'm not mistaken, it's Kaine's first real heroic moment, and it sets up Slott's use of him in "Spider-Island." Slott would move Kaine more firmly into the heroic mode, but in a way that recalls his past actions: Kaine is the hero of the story, but only because he's willing to kill the Queen, something that Peter wasn't willing to do. By the time we end "Spider-Island," we've got a character with a new lease on life, but also one with a lot of serious baggage.
The New Kaine "Parker"
Before getting to the plot of the issue, I'd like to comment on the opening sequence. The entire creative team combines their talents marvelously to remind us that we have an event in our hands. It's not an event like the "Age of Apocalypse" or "Fear Itself" (God help us) were events. But, it's an event nonetheless, the attempt to turn the legacy of one of the most derided comic-book "events" of all time into something positive. Our attention is called to this fact thanks to the brilliant use of the opening credits in the style of a summer blockbuster, with each name appearing at the end of each panel, creating a sense of watching the first few moments before the conflicted new hero stands revealed. I don't know who thought of it, whether the artist or the letterer or the editors had the idea. But, it created exactly the mood they intended to create, building anticipation as we wait to see Kaine for the first time. Yost does his part to build the suspense in these first few pages. He uses a reserved inner voice for Kaine in his voice-over narration, the antithesis, really, of Peter's constantly vocal barrage, and it works to great effect, reminding us it ain't Peter we're going to see. Stegman likewise keeps us in the shadows, literally, a reflection of the Kaine we've always known. It's not until later in the book (as mentioned below) that Kaine begins to step from them.
Looking at the issue as a whole, I was impressed with Yost's portrayal of Kaine. He's not Peter Parker and he's not Ben Reilly. Yost manages not only to give Kaine a specific inner voice that makes you feel like you're in his head, but Yost also manages to give him a realistic inner monologue. Kaine is struggling with a fair number of new realities here. His powers have changed and he's not entirely sure how all they've changed yet. But, he also finds himself with heroic impulses that he's having problems handling. Peter healed Kaine's physical wounds in "Spider-Island," and Yost shows us that some of his mental wounds have also healed. Kaine sees the world differently now, but he still comes at problems with the experience of being, in his words, a "villain," an "assassin," a "failure," and a "dead man." It's a heavy burden (obviously). As Kaine himself essentially says, he can't just go saving people and think he's magically going to forget his past sins.
Yost not only does a great job narrating the conversations that Kaine has with himself on the subject, but giving us an object lesson, with Kaine saving the old woman crossing the street but possibly inadvertently killing the truck driver who almost hit her. It's a reminder that Kaine isn't coming to the hero business with the same experience as Peter has. In fact, he's not coming at it with even the same frame of reference of wanting to be a hero. Yost shows the extent to which Kaine feels that he's struggling with his heroic side and how these conflicting impulses mean that maybe he doesn't think through the consequences of his actions the way Peter would. He didn't think about the effect on the truck driver by saving the old lady, because, in the past, he wouldn't have cared. Yost really does a brilliant job not only telling us Kaine feels this way, but showing us how it affects him. He sets up years and years of struggle, clearly identifying the main theme of this new series in just the first issue.
Stegman is equally on the ball. He shows us very different Kaines, from the long-haired, bearded one lurking in the shadows to the buzzed-cut, shaven one swinging through the city. The first Kaine is the one we normally see. The second one has a moment of almost becoming someone else, the person he might want to be, but the incident with the accident leaves him shaken. We see yet another new Kaine in the bar at the end of this issue, a Kaine that blends traits of both Kaines we've already seen in this issue; he may look a little less indigent with his short hair and clean face, but he's been reminded of the fact that he's still a shadowy figure. It's this new Kaine that we're going to see for the next few years at least, and Stegman does an excellent job showing us an organic transition to him.
In the end, it feels odd reading a comic about a clone and not having it be about Ben Reilly. As I said above, I liked Ben Reilly. Even after all the terrible storylines and unbelievable plots, I liked him. But, at the end of the day (and it's one of the many reasons why the "Clone Saga" failed), Ben Reilly was Peter Parker. He had the same sense of responsibility, the same drive to help that Peter Parker had. It's why Peter Parker and Ben Reilly couldn't exist in the same space; at the end of the day, they're the same person. Kaine is not Peter Parker. He's his own man, with his own problems. It's why he's now, after so much time being a punchline, one of the most interesting new characters in comics. He has, as the cover of his first issue says, all of the power with none of the responsibility. Of course, that's not entirely true, as we see in this issue. The responsibility is there, somewhere, we think. We're just going to watch him find it. I really can't wait.
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