Scarlet Spiders #1
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Paco Diaz
Cover: David Nakayama
Spider-Verse is in full effect in this Scarlet Spiders tie-in! This series focuses on Kaine, Jessica Drew, and Ben Reilly, and what they all have in common besides their powers is that each is a clone of Peter Parker from their respective universes. So it’s a little on the nose when we find out they have traveled to a world filled with clones to stop one of the Inheritors and his cloning facility.
Mike Costa gives Scarlet Spiders a much lighter tone, which is a major shift from what we’ve seen in this event so far. This change is actually a bit refreshing, but in no way takes away from the urgency of the overall story. Costa makes sure to utilize the clones quite well while playing to their strengths. He also makes sure that any reader new to these characters can enjoy the story just as much as those well versed in Spider-Man history. This is done by him just giving you the minimum but important parts of their lives that you need to know for this particular story. The story itself has several twists, and as per most alternate universe tales, a skewed look at some familiar characters. I’m not yet sold on the villain, Jennix. Sure, the other Inheritors have been shown to be brutal killers and a force to be reckoned with. However, with Jennix it seems like everything in his world is more dangerous than he is. Though to be fair we have yet to see him in action, so things just might change in later issues.
Paco Diaz’s art does a fine job of capturing all of that arachnid action that makes a comic filled with Spider-Man clones worth reading. Though, at times, the elongated torsos of the characters can be distracting. It’s less noticeable during the action sequences, but does stand out more during the slower paced scenes. Aside from that small issue the artwork along with Israel Silva’s colors keeps the story fun and energetic. Plus, I’m sure all of the Ben Reilly fans were excited to see him and Kaine throwing down in classic Spidey fashion.
If you’re reading Spider-Verse this is a tie-in that you’ll want to take a look at, if only for the mere fact of reading something lighter. The story is pretty easy to get into, and at least has relevance to the main event taking place. Something that is hard to come by when speaking of tie-ins from one of the Big Two. You also get the benefit of a story with Spider-Clones that has nothing to do with that event from the 90s.
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