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| Scarlet Spider | |
| Full Name: | Kaine Parker |
| First Appearance: | Web of Spider-Man #119 (Dec, 1993) |
| Created by: | Terry Kavanagh, Steven Butler |
| Home Universe: | Earth-616 |
| Alignment: | Good |
| Status: | Alive |
| Place of Birth: | N/A |
| Citizenship: | American |
| Base: | Houston, Texas |
| Affiliations: | Spider-Man |
| Powers/Abilities: | Proportional strength, speed, agility, and reflexes of a spider |
| Height: | 6' 4" |
| Weight: | 250 lbs |
| Hair Color: | Brown |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Unique Features: | Tattoo on left arm |
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"The scars are gone. The degeneration is gone. But for the first time in my life... I'm not dying. For the first time in my life, I realize I don't have to be the man I see in the mirror. I may not be able to forget my past... But I can be someone better. For the first time in my life... I'm alive." |
Kaine Parker (of Earth-616) is the first of five clones created by Jackal in hope to create a perfect version of Peter Parker. He is currently the only surviving clone and has taken up the mantle of the Scarlet Spider.
History
Birth
Kaine's original costume
Kaine was created by Miles Warren in his first attempts to clone the hero Spider-Man. Though initially appearing to be a success, flaws in the cloning process led to him quickly becoming deformed and mentally unstable. Warren, hoping to glean more information from the failure, did not destroy him, wondering how long he would survive the degeneration process. Feeling rejected by Warren only seeing him as an object, Kaine left the mad professor, and soon discovered that his degeneration had gifted him with powers his genetic template lacked. His physical abilities had been boosted beyond Spider-Man's, and he had developed a limited precognitive ability (apparently stemming from his Spider-Sense). He also developed what came to be called the "Mark of Kaine", an acidic touch that burned a distinctive mark on his victims' faces.
Warren continued to create clones of Spider-Man, eventually creating one that would come to be known as Ben Reilly. Warren set Reilly against Spider-Man, and the battle ended with both Reilly and Warren assumed dead. In reality, Warren had created a clone of himself that had died in his stead while he remained in stasis in a cloning pod, whereas Reilly had fled New York after realizing he was a clone.
Kaine vs Ben Reilly
However, unbeknownst to anyone, Norman Osborn switched Warren's files around, making it appear that Peter Parker was the clone, and Ben Reilly was the original. When Kaine came across these files, he believed them, and began to stalk Ben. During this time, he became romantically involved with detective Louise Kennedy in Salt Lake City, though he killed her when he discovered that she was working for criminals. This event weakened his already tenuous grasp on his sanity, leading him to make it appear that Janine Godbe, a woman Ben was romantically involved with, had killed herself. Not content to leave it at that, he then framed Ben for various murders, as they had the same fingerprints. In his deranged state, he reasoned that doing this would allow the other "clone" (Peter) to have the life that he was robbed of.
Return to New York
When Ben eventually returned to New York, to visit the ill Aunt May, Kaine followed. Kaine had, by now, become a mob hitman, and was more than willing to use his lethal skills to keep Ben out of Peter's life. At this point, his precognitive Spider-Sense alerted him that Mary Jane's life was in danger. Kaine went on a killing spree, desperate to prevent this. He murdered any villain he deemed a potential threat, such as Doctor Octopus and Grim Hunter. Both would later learn to fear the mad clone, and took steps to prevent future encounters from ending as the last. Kaine's brutal attacks brought him to the attention of both Peter and Ben, who now used the superhero alias of Scarlet Spider. To further complicate matters, Kaine's killing spree was placed on police bulletin boards across the nation, and when the news reached Salt Lake City, Louise's former partner recognized Kaine's MO. They left for New York, eager to bring the killer to justice.
Trial of Peter Parker
Furious at Kaine's behavior, Peter demanded that he turn himself in. Kaine refused, and fought with Peter. Eventually, this led to a mock trial, with Peter on trial, Kaine as his defense attorney, Carnage as the prosecutor, Ravencroft Institute inmates as the jury, and Judas Traveller as the judge. Kaine tried to fight off everyone against Peter, and Judas returned them to their battle. Peter was imprisoned for the crimes Kaine committed, as he, Kaine, and Ben shared fingerprints. However, Ben took his place in jail.
Now free to clear his name, Peter confronted a weakened Kaine. Kaine had earlier fought off Stunner, a villainess attempting to avenge Kaine's murder of Doctor Octopus. Still refusing to confess, Peter knocked him unconscious, webbed him up, and dragged him to the courthouse. Before they could arrive, Kaine woke up, and fought with him again. During their struggle, Kaine revealed his origin as Peter's degenerated clone, and told Peter that he had done everything to protect him.
Peter then stated that if Kaine would not come clean, he would announce his identity, ending everything. Kaine begged Peter not to, and confessed to the murders at the courthouse, even leaving his "Mark of Kaine" on the judge's podium. Taking that as undeniable proof, Kaine was taken into custody.
Maximum Clonage
After the trial, Peter and Ben went to Seward Trainer, hoping to finally discern who was the original. Much to their shock, the results claimed that Ben was the original. It would later be discovered that Norman Osborn had influenced Trainer to tamper with the results. Furious with the revelation that his life was a lie, Peter went to the Jackal. After hearing this, Kaine confronted the Jackal, ready to finally end the life of his 'father'.
However, the Jackal tricked Kaine into believing he would cure him of his degeneration. After revealing this to be yet another lie, Kaine left, dejected. No longer certain about what to do, he went to Mary Jane. She taught him about Peter's code of responsibility, reinvigorating him. Kaine hurried to the Jackal's lab, arriving in time to help Ben battle numerous spider-clones. During the battle, Kaine saved the Jackal from Spidercide, and was impaled on a masonry spike. When the Jackal asked why, Kaine replied, "You gave me life." In repayment of this, he placed Kaine in a regeneration pod. When the pod was next seen, Kaine was not in it.
The Great Games
Kaine's pod was eventually discovered by James Johnsmeyer. Seeing an opportunity to make money, he decided to initiate Kaine in the Great Games, a tournament where heroes and villains are pitted against each other. As one of the main sponsors, Johnsmeyer pitted him against The Rhino. Kaine refused, and was able to escape with the help of Muse.
Johnsmeyer was persistent, however, and sent Rhino after him, alongside Polestar and Joystick. Ben Reilly, currently acting as Spider-Man, intervened, battling Joystick and Polestar while Kaine nearly killed Rhino. Ben was able to keep him from finishing the job, and Kaine fled with Muse. Unbeknownst to them, Ben had tagged Muse with a Spider-Tracer and pursued them after the police took the villains into custody. He was able to confront them before the police, but was forced to let them go after Kaine threatened to kill the arriving officers.
Wanting revenge, Kaine went after Johnsmeyer's headquarters. After destroying every bit of his security equipment, Kaine and Muse were yet again confronted by Spider-Man. When they got inside, Johnsmeyer revealed that Muse had been in his employ the entire time, manipulating Kaine. Furious at being toyed with again, Kaine attempted to kill her, only for Ben to convince him not to. Unable to get his vengeance, Kaine left, vowing to take down everyone involved in the Great Games.
Redemption
Kaine would encounter Ben once more, after Janine Godbe had returned. Although he nearly left Ben to die in a burning restaurant, he opted to save him in the end. Inspired by Ben's continued heroism, he acknowledges Ben as his brother and turns himself in for his crimes.
However, Kaine would eventually escape to hunt down Norman Osborn, having learned that Osborn was responsible for misleading Kaine into believing that Ben was his enemy.
Dark Reign
Kaine strangling Spider-Man
Eventually, Kaine would return to New York yet again, working alongside Raptor in the hopes of curing his cellular degeneration. This placed him in conflict with Spider-Man, who was hunting Raptor.
Kaine would appear again when Raptor attacked Harry Osborn and Peter's cousins at Aunt May's house. After battling Peter, Kaine snapped Raptor's neck, realizing that Raptor had lied when he promised to cure Kaine's degeneration. As Peter had escaped during the melee, Kaine left his progenitor's life once more.
Grim Hunt
Back from the dead
A short time later, Kaine finds himself hunted by Alyosha and Ana Kravinoff for being a Spider. Severely injured, Kaine hurried to Peter's apartment to warn him that "the spiders are being hunted". Peter tells him to hide in his bathroom, and leaves to face the Kravinoffs. While Peter is fighting them, Kaine is able to recover, and cuts his hair to resemble Peter. He joins Peter in the fight, only to bury Peter in an open grave when they begin to lose. Unwilling to let Peter die, he steals his costume and rejoins the fight as Spider-Man. He is unable to best them, however, and is killed by Sasha Kravinoff in order to resurrect Kraven.
Recognizing Kaine's sacrifice, Peter buries him as "Kaine Parker". Not long after Peter leaves, however, Kaine rises from the grave, sporting spider-like eyes in the center of his forehead.
Spider-Island
Kaine as Tarantula
Shortly after his resurrection, Kaine was abducted by The Jackal and further mutated into a humanoid spider dubbed "Tarantula". This weakened his mind, allowing the Spider Queen to control him. He served as the Jackal's bodyguard, allowing him to focus on their plan to destroy New York.
Kaine's appearance after he is cured.
When the Queen learns of a cure for their "Spider-Virus" being developed at Horizon Labs, she sends Kaine to destroy it. This results in Kaine once more battling with Peter. Peter gains the upper hand, and throws Kaine into a vat of concentrated cure. This has the effect of not only restoring his human form, but also fixing his cellular degeneration, removing his distinctive facial scars. The Queen's hold broken, Kaine informs Peter of who is responsible for the virus.
Kaine ready to deliver the finishing blow
Wanting to help, Kaine takes Peter's stealth suit and goes to Central Park to join the Avengers in a final assault on the Queen. With help from Ms. Marvel, Kaine is able to stab the queen in the throat, killing her.
In the aftermath, Kaine is able to evade the other heroes by using the stealth function of his suit. While trying to flee, however, he is caught by Madame Web, who tells him to find his own path. After this, Kaine goes to the airport, where Peter is seeing off Aunt May. Their animosity gone, they have a brief discussion before Kaine leaves New York.
Becoming the Scarlet Spider
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"My name is Kaine. All my life, I was dying. I did terrible things. But now... now I have a second chance. And I'm Not going to waste it. I'm not Spider-Man. I'm not a hero. But maybe I don't have to be a monster. Maybe I can make up for all the things that I've done. Maybe I can stop running and have a life for the first time. And if not, well... Mexico's right next door." |
The Second Master
Minimum Carnage
The Mark
The Other
Scarlet Spider Vs. Wolverine
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"Wolverine... I'm gonna have to kill you now. Nothing personal." |
Powers & Abilities
Powers
Current
Kaine possesses various superhuman attributes as a result of his unique physiology. As a clone of Spider-Man, Kaine began his life with powers identical to Spider-Man's though some of these powers were altered as a result of Kaine undergoing cellular degeneration, although once he was cured of his tarantula mutation and of his cellular degeneration, his powers have been reduced to around Peter Parker's strength.
- Superhuman Strength:
- Superhuman Speed: Kaine is capable of running and moving at speeds that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete.
- Superhuman Stamina:
- Superhuman Durability:
- Superhuman Agility: Kaine's agility, balance and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. In spite of his increased size and mass, Kaine is still just as agile as Spider-Man.
- Superhuman Reflexes: Kaine's reflexes are similarly enhanced and are more efficient than those of an ordinary human by a factor of fifteen.
- Wall-Crawling: Kaine is also able to stick to virtually any surface and crawl across it just as Spider-Man is capable of. His mental control over this ability has been increased to such a degree, he can rip a wall down just by tugging at it hard enough with his palms.
- Mark Of Kaine:
- Sting of Kaine:
- Nightvision: After Spider-Island Kaine acquired night vision.
- Biological/Organic Webbing Generation: Kaine has the ability to organically produce his own silk webbing from glands within his forearms, limited only by his body's health and nutrition.
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Former
- Spider-Sense:
Abilities
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Scarlet Spider Costume: A modified version of Spider-Man's Stealth Suit, which allows him to turn invisible and be invulnerable to sonic attacks.
Notes
- Though never explicitly stated within the story, in interviews afterwards the creators revealed that the Mark of Kaine was meant to be another analog of one of Spider-Man's powers, namely the ability to cling to walls.
- It is unclear as of yet, but it seems that after Kaine's encounter with Anti-Venom's "cure", Kaine's personality has changed to be more like Peter's. He shows this by his use of humor in response to Peter's, "Parker Brother's" comment and calling dibs on Peter's stealth suit (he didn't want to use the standard costume, due to him being killed last time he used it during the Grim Hunt story-line).
- He is shown to hate his superhero name (possibly due to it last being used by Ben Reilly, a fellow clone).
- It was revealed that Madame Web locked the stealth suit's look to red, preventing Kaine from changing it back to black (it was the reason why he was called the "Scarlet Spider"). Kaine was later able to figure out how to change it back to its usual color.