Scarlet Spider #17

Taking a page out of the Bleacher Report's book, the format of this review is going to consist of all the things I found Good, Great, and Awesome about the latest issue of Scarlet Spider. It'll be balanced, but I'll leave the nitpicking to the forums on this one.

The premise of this issue was simple enough to get the ball rolling, but don't think this is one of those that you can skip. It features great fights and the pace never slows. This is definitely one you should pick up, in digital & hard copy.

The Good

Kaine - Since day dot, Kaine has been obsessed with reminding everyone that he isn't Spider-Man, whilst still trying to honour Peter Parker. This has led to him being a somewhat conflicted character, but no one can accuse him of being indecisive. He's been consistently written as a certified badass and this issue is no different, with Kaine swinging into a swanky restaurant whilst cloaked, before impaling an assassin's hands to the dinner table. This is where the premise of the arc is set up and it sets the tone for things to come. Kaine owes a bunch of assassins a kill...No big deal. It's only Wolverine.

The Great

Aracely - We all know that there's more to Aracely than we've been exposed to thus far, but it's hard to forget that she's a young lady and her excitement about going to New York made me want to reach into the panels and give her a massive hug. Her costume and superhero name were adorable too (where did she even get the costume from?!) and everyone giving her a hard time about it got a few chuckles from me. I'm extremely curious as to what the deal with Aracely's powers actually is, although the most likely explanation is that she is indeed the host of Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec God of War.

Kaine vs X-Men - Remember what I said about him being a badass? Kaine stealths his way into the X-Mansion (with the help of Aracely of course) but is eventually discovered, leading to a battle with Beast and Iceman. And heck is it fun. Although there's some initial confusion with Beast stating that he smells and moves like Spider-Man, the gloves come off fairly quickly and the action picks up. Which leads to...

The Awesome

Kaine and Wolverine throw down and it's every bit as badass as you'd expect. Wolverine is Kaine's target and he puts up one heck of a fight, but it seems that in doing so he causes Kaine to temporarily tap into his 'Other' side. We know from Wolverine's fight with the Superior Spider-Man that any of the Spider-Men could take him in a fight. They're faster, stronger and their Spider Sense gives them the edge. What makes this awesome is the fact Kaine fails to factor in just how tough Wolvie actually is, expressing surprise at the fact the X-Man just keeps getting back up. I'm not going to tell you how this turns out. You'll have to read for yourself :)

The Aftermath

Needless to say, there's no doubt the Assassins Guild know Wolverine is essentially immortal. They've either sent Kaine to take him out expecting him to fail, or knowing full well it's an impossible task, they simply wanted him out of Texas. Kaine would know that Wolverine is near enough unkillable (so long as the dossier they gave him is correct), which probably explains why he so readily and without hesitation decided to break into a mansion full of mutants and try and kill their teacher.

Speculation aside, this was a thoroughly enjoyable entry in a series that has proven itself to be fun and accessible for anyone who's a fan of the Spider family. This is one of those issues you'd show a friend to convince them to start reading and is definitely one that shouldn't be missed.