There's some big time Scarlet Spider action here as the clock is ticking and our reluctant hero is the city's only hope.
The Good
With each issue, Chris Yost makes it clear that this is not just another Spider-Man book. Kaine, as the Scarlet Spider, is as far from Spider-Man as you can get. In a story new readers can pretty easily jump into, Kaine has to get to the bottom of an organization's plans to set off a bomb in Houston.
This is the same guy that doesn't really see himself as a hero. Little by little, we can see the Peter Parker DNA making its way into convincing Kaine he needs to to the right thing when possible. He is giving the hero-thing a try but his tactics show that he still retains many of his old ways.
Another interesting aspect of the series is that Kaine is not working alone. This again sets him apart from Spider-Man. Kaine has revealed his identity to a few others and works with them when the necessary.
Yost adds in great little touches in Kaine's journey to be a new man. He has come to terms with where he's at in life but still has a hard time accepting his connection to Peter Parker, despite their recent team up. We also see, for the first time, Kaine's reaction and thoughts of going by the name, Scarlet Spider.
The Bad
Where is Ryan Stegman? We know Khoi Pham is set to take over with issue #7. That isn't meant to be a jab at Neil Edwards. The only problem I had with the art was when Kaine removed his mask. Other than that, I could easily get used to Edwards as the regular artist. It's just unfortunate that Yost and Stegman seemed to have such momentum on this title. It's understandable that his time was up and he's set to start on another series. Change is hard to get used to sometimes.
More to this issue, the story was an interesting one but felt like it toned down the problem Kaine had to deal with. Yes, the threat of the bomb was big but fighting a nameless and insignificant villain was a slight bummer. Also, how did he get his fancy suit repaired?
Of course there's going to be hard feelings over the forced insertion of Agent Coulson and Nick Fury Jr. Making the connection to the larger Marvel Universe is great but it just felt unnecessary and thrown in our face to make the Marvel Universe feel a little more like the Cinematic Universe.
The Verdict
Is Scarlet Spider going to stay in Houston? With a giant bomb about to go off, there might not be a Houston for him to stay in. Chris Yost continues to develop the character of Kaine in bringing him closer and closer to actually being an actual hero. The story doesn't quite have the same big superhero feel as past issues and there's also the fact that we know have to get used to the absence of Ryan Stegman. There's also a couple forced cameos that leave a bad taste in your mouth. The fact that we're seeing Kaine's character being built up is what makes this title so good. He hasn't fully embraced being a hero but whether he wants to be one or not, that's what's happening. This struggle in figuring out who he is while also accepting what he's done in the past is the appeal. He's a damaged character and he's doing his best to fix himself.