Scarlet Spider (vol. 2) #21
Into the Grave Part One
After his facial scars seemingly returned, Kaine now thinks his new life is over and has begun trashing his hotel room. The front desk is getting complaints from other tenants, prompting Courtney Johnson to say that the noise is from the storm raging outside. Overhearing these complaints is Annabelle Adams who asks what’s wrong and is told that the noise is coming from the presidential suit.
Upstairs, Aracely is trying to clam Kaine down but he is tells her to keep back. When she attempts to use her powers to calm him down, the image of the Other appears in her mind frightening her.
Kaine decides he needs to get away and tosses the couch out the window so he can web-sling out of there. Out in the storm, Kaine loses his grip on his web-line and falls to the ground. When a passerby asks if he is okay, they refer to him as “Mr. Super Hero” angering Kaine. She shouts that he is not a hero and kicks a parked car. That’s when someone else agrees with that statement before punching Kaine in the face. Looking to see who it is, Kaine is shocked to see what appears to be Ben Reilly, wearing his original Scarlet Spider costume.[1]
While at the Park Plaza Hospital, Donald Meland has just got out of surgery and is told that he got a call from Aracely who sounded afraid of something on the phone. Donald rushes to his office to call her but as soon as he picks up the phone, the lights go out and the phone is dead. At first, Donald thinks this is just the storm until he sees a flash of lightning reflect off the blade of a knife held by someone lurking in the darkness.
Back at the tense confrontation between the two Scarlet Spiders, the man who appears to be Ben Reilly has a bone to pick with Kaine for taking his name.[2] Confused by this attack, Kaine decides to flee so he can get his head together.
As Kaine is fleeing this scene, Annabelle Adams gets a phone call at her apartment from Aracely. Telling the girl to keep calm, Annabelle walks into her bathroom and starts to scream as soon as the door closes.
By this time, Kaine has taken refuge on a nearby rooftop to try and clear his head. That’s when the other Scarlet Spider launches another ambush attack. This attacker accuses Kaine of ruining his life.[3] After a flurry of attacks, Kaine pulls of his mask and admits that he did a lot of bad things and that he is a monster, but insists that he is trying to make up for it. He thinks that the real Ben Reilly would be able to recognize that and asks who this person is. That’s when the other Scarlet Spider removes his mask and reveals that he apparently is the real Ben Reilly. He then tells Kaine that he can never be forgiven.
At that same moment, Wally Layton returns to the home he shares with his husband, Donald Meland. There he is horrified to discover that someone has killed their dog. As he vows to get whoever is responsible, someone with a knife sneaks up behind him.
Back at the scene of the battle, Kaine begins to fight back, refusing to allow himself to be beaten by Ben Reilly. He knocks Ben aside when the Other begins speaking in his head, calling to him to treat his attacker like prey. Suddenly, Spider-Man appears and tells Kaine to kill Reilly, saying that he will try to take over Kaine’s life just like he tried to take over his. He is joined by the Jackal who also urges Kaine to kill the Scarlet Spider.
At the hotel, Aracely is able to see all of this through her mental link with Kaine. She knows this is all a deception and tells him to fight it. That’s when she is attacked by Ana Kravinoff, who quickly knocks the girl out, sying that things have just begun.
Meanwhile, Kaine attacks the Scarlet Spider anew, but when he has him at his mercy decides to toss him aside and walk away. Suddenly, he starts feeling sick and realizes that he has been drugged. When he touches his face he realizes the scars on his face are suddenly gone. “Ben Reilly” admits that he is surprised it took him this long to realize what was happening, explaining that he had shot Kaine with a drugged dart as he returned home from the airport. That’s when the impostor decides that the time for playing games is over and removes his mask, revealing that “Ben Reilly” was actually Kraven the Hunter. He says that there is unfinished business between them and that by the end of the night one of them will be dead.[4] Kaine can’t agree more.
Recurring Characters
Scarlet Spider, Kraven the Hunter, Hummingbird, Ana Kravinoff, Courtney Johnson, Anabelle Adams, Donald Meland, Wally Layton
Continuity Notes
As we’ll see later on in this issue, this is not the real Ben Reilly. At the time of this story, Ben had been dead for years after getting impaled on a goblin glider in Spider-Man #75.
“Ben” states that “Peter got his life back”, this is a reference to the very confusing plot contrivances of the Clone Saga. In Web of Spider-Man #125, Peter Parker and Ben Reilly were tricked into thinking that Ben was the real Peter Parker, and the other was a clone. This was later revealed to be a hoax in Spider-Man #75. It’s a very long a complicated story but if you want an explanation all in one place I recommend reading Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1.
Early on in his life, Kaine made it his goal to torment and hound Ben Reilly, dating back to his early days on the road. See Spider-Man: The Lost Years #1-3.
Kaine and Kraven have had a bit of a history together. First meeting each other years ago when Kaine was hired to eliminate him. Years later, the Kravinoff family used Kaine in a sacrifice to bring Kraven back from the dead, mistaking him for the real Spider-Man. See Amazing Spider-Man #634-637 for both of these stories.
Topical References
The hotel Kaine is staying at is identified as the Four Seasons Hotel in Houston, Texas. This should be considered a topical reference because the Four Seasons is a real world business.
Other real-world references: Six Flags Over Texas
