Scarlet Spider #12.1

Hey guys and gals, JT here with my fourth review of the week... I know right? Some kind of Christmas Miracle. Anyway, after the last awesome issue of Scarlet Spider, I couldn't skip reviewing this .1 issue, hell Kaine may be my favorite Spider character besides Pe...Ot..um... Amazi...Superi...the guy in New York!

Scarlet Spider #12.1

Summary: This issue centers on Kaine, now having found a nice life in Houston, dealing with his transition from a evil murderer to the Hero of Houston. He soon gets word that someone else has been using his old calling card, the Mark of Kaine, when he would basically grab their face and use his adhesive skin to rip the flesh off of their faces. What's worse is, he finds out via the body of a dead girl that's apparently a slave, as the slave trading is still very active in Houston. Kaine spends days looking for clues on who's behind the slave trade and finally comes across Mark Tomanaga a.k.a. The Mark, the man that killed the fourteen year old slave that Kaine found dead and marked. Kaine tells The Mark he's there to end his business, but The Mark says it's not just his business, and suddenly The Hand (?!) drop down and attack Scarlet Spider. Kaine has a bit of trouble, since unlike Peter, he has no Spider Sense, but manages to take down The Hand. The Mark uses this as his chance to attack, and surprisingly, he takes it to Kaine, but the fight is interrupted by a man in the suit and Bruiser, a giant Juggernaut like man wearing green. Scarlet Spider tries to take him on but only manages to hurt his hand. The man in the suit, known as the Arranger, says he's the Bruiser's handler as well as the Ruler of The Hand, which Kaine doesn't buy. He says he was sent by The Kingpin to deliver a message to The Mark, and The Bruiser swiftly snaps The Mark's neck. The Arranger says The Kingpin will be taking direct control of The Hand's businesses in Houston, and they tell Scarlet Spider to stay out of Kingpin's way, which obviously doesn't go over well with Kaine. The issue ends with Kaine deciding that with Great Power comes the ability to stop people like him, or how he used to be, and that's what he plans on doing,
 
Thoughts: This was a fun .1 issue. Suprisingly it wasn't just filler, i mean it was but it set up that Kingpin has business in Houston and he will be clashing with Kaine soon. Between him, the Kraven's, and that big galoot from the first issue that kidnapped Aracely way back then, Kaine is getting an interesting Rogue's gallery. I also liked how Kaine is still curious on how his friends will view him if they learn about his past, that will be an interesting road to go down if he ever tells them the kind of guy he used to be. All in all this was a nice .1 issue that had more character development and set up some stories, instead of just focusing on building for another series, like a few .1's have done in recent years.

Score: 8/10 

Scarlet Spider: With great power also comes the ability to rain down hell on those who prey on the weak, people who couldn't fight the monsters.