I was perhaps a bit harsh on The Other last issue. I never read the original storyline, so I suppose I have no room to judge. And it helps when this follow-up issue uses The Other to turn Kaine into an ass-kicking, man-spider-fueled warrior of doom! He pushes his powers to the max in this issue as Kaine takes on the Wolves, and it’s a pretty great fight. Those Wolves have been cruisin’ for a bruisin’ for several issues now, and Kaine delivers.

Scarlet Spider #15

Otherwise, this is a pretty standard issue of Scarlet Spider. Kaine defeats the bad guys, we get a few answers about Aracely and there’s a series of epilogues pointing towards the next few stories. Solid, entertaining issue all around.

Comic Rating: 4/5: Good.

Even the art is better, I think. I haven’t been happy with Khoi Pham’s pencils since he took over, and I still don’t like them, but he does a pretty nice job with this issue. The fight scenes are good, though not as good as the former artist Ryan Stegman. That guy knew how to draw action scenes. Another artist shows up to help out with some of the epilogues, and I like his work a lot too. So the art is just as solid as the story.

I’m not sure how much this issue moves Scarlet Spider forward as both a character and a series. The Other might be here to stay…or it might be over with already. We won’t know until the series continues, the ending could go either way. I think I’d be cool if Kaine had the ability to randomly turn into a man-spider monster when the situation called for it. Definitely a power that Spider-Man doesn’t have.

Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!

Aracely is hiding in a dumpster in Houston’s Third Ward, hoping that the smell of garbage will mask her scent from the Wolves. Aracely recalls her backstory as she waits, including being taken by the mysterious Mr. Moctezuma, a dapper older gentleman with a pet wolf. His goons load Aracely into the back of a transport truck with a bunch of other immigrants, and one of the goons mentions that the truck is bound for Roxxon. Mr. Moctezuma wants them to bake in the sun for a day and doesn’t care that Roxxon wants living subjects, he wants Aracely to die. In fact, Aracely remembers dying and remembers calling out to her mother. She also remembers a dark voice speaking to her and telling her that she will survive the truck, and then she’ll make the world bleed!

The wolves find Aracely soon after.

She probably still smells like garbage

They’re angry and ready to beat her. Esmerelda tells her brother to kill Aracely. She’s too much trouble. But he knocked over the dumpster when he was throwing Aracely around. And there are a lot of spiders crawling out of that dumpster…Too many spiders…

Why does he still have a logo on his back?

Spider-Monster Kaine attacks! The alley is filled with webs and spiders, and the Wolves can’t focus in on his scent. He’s like some kind of vicious ninja, cutting and striking from the shadows like a man possessed. And according to Aracely, he may as well be. All she can feel from him is prey.

The fight is a pretty vicious one. Kaine even takes out Carlos’ eye. Esmerelda promises Kaine that he’s not the worst thing they’ve ever seen, but he doesn’t listen. He probably can’t listen. He’s all animal fury and violent instinct. The battle rages as Aracely watches. Over time, Kaine starts to speak, barely. He seems to know that the Wolves killed him, and he wants revenge. He stabs Carlos with one of his spidery legs, then rips off his arm! Poor Carlos. The female intervenes, grabs Carlos and makes a break for it; leaving Aracely alone with Kaine.

Aracely tries to get through to her friend, but at first, Kaine is just as wild and vicious towards her. He throws her into his web, ready to pounce, but somehow Aracely is able to get through to him. She convinces Kaine to reject the power, and he literally rips the man-spider off of himself.

Why didn’t the man-spider version of himself have such a gnarly beard?

Somehow being the Other caused his hair and beard to grow to insane lengths. What’s up with that? Kaine tells Aracely that the monster she saw is the real him, and that he doesn’t know what he is. Aracely tells him that she knows, that she’s always known.

The epilogues begin, and first we see Kaine getting his hair cut back to normal, and getting that tattoo again on his arm. He has dinner with his friends, acting like everything is normal. I’m slightly bothered by the fact that this group of people has so strongly surrounded Kaine. I know they’re his supporting cast, but it’s like they didn’t have lives or friends of their own until Kaine showed up. Aracely doesn’t tell anybody what happened. But Kaine knows. He looks at himself in the mirror and says he finally has the answer to the question that was bugging him. Was he man or monster? Kaine knows that he is a monster.

Then epilogues come fast. In New York City, Julia Carpenter remains in a hospital bed, but she awakens and whispers Kaine’s name. Between Worlds, some evil force is aware of the spider now. And at the End of All Things, some mysterious, seated figure notes that the Other has risen, and the culling will soon begin.

At the Four Seasons Hotel, Aracely has some bad dreams about Mictlan and the Sixth Creation. She wakes up with glowing red eyes and starts floating around the room, promising to make the world bleed.

In Mexico, Mr. Moctezuma finds the Wolves recovering from their wounds. He kills Carlos and is about to kill Esmerelda, but just throws her across the room instead. He needs the hummingbird to die in order for the Sixth Creation to begin. I think Aracely is the hummingbird. Mr. Moctezuma then reveals he has a whole team of super-villains to take on Aracely and Scarlet Spider now.

They all look very pretty

Like I said, it’s a solid issue. The fight scene is cool, and Kaine is pretty awesome as the man-spider-monster. Though personally, I’m not interested in Kaine insisting he’s some kind of monster. I want him to embrace his heroism. It’s a minor gripe, though. I’m sure Yost is going to give us some great stories going forward. He definitely has a lot in mind, and I like his exploration of Mexican mythology…at least I think that’s what he’s doing. He could just be making up Mexican-sounding names for all I know. At the very least, he’s creating some Mexican-themed super-villains, and that’s a win in my book. They don’t necessarily have anything to do with Kaine, but he’s going to fight them nonetheless. I’m looking forward to it.