WEB OF SCARLET SPIDER #4 - February 1996

Nightmare in Scarlet

Credits: Evan Skolnick (writer), Paris Karounos (penciler), Randy Emberlin (inker), Steve Dutro (letterer), Tom Smith & Malibu (colorists)

The Plot: Spider-Man joins the New Warriors to rescue the hostages captured by the evil Scarlet Spider. After falling off of a building, Scarlet Spider shocks everyone by stumbling back to life and continuing the fight. An injured Stephanie Briggs confronts Scarlet Spider and convinces him to face his pain and revert back to Joe Wade. He complies, and is taken away by the FBI.

The Subplots: Firestar is suspicious that she knows this Spider-Man’s “true” identity. When he accidentally calls her by her first name, her suspicions are confirmed.

*See _________ For Details: The evil Scarlet Spider took a group of citizens hostage in New Warriors#67.

Production Note: The indicia is still one month behind the cover date.

Review: And finally, Web of Scarlet Spider, the series no one really wanted to publish, is gone. The previous issue had some entertainment value due to Skolnick’s dark sense of humor, plus it’s interesting just to see how he deals with the illogical existence of these comics in the first place. This issue isn’t as funny, the art is still ugly, and the story cops out with a predictable “friend talks villain out of madness” ending. Apparently, another motivation for doing this story was to besmirch the Scarlet Spider’s reputation and essentially force him back into the Spider-Man role, but that idea hasn’t been expressed in any of the chapters I’ve read.

Given the vocal backlash to the clone storyline, it’s amazing that Marvel considered the “Scarlet Spider” such a valuable name that it couldn’t just die when Ben “reclaimed” the title of Spider-Man. If it was a brand name they really liked, you would think Marvel would’ve been more protective of the material it appeared in. Reading the Life of Reilly, it’s amazing to see the various hoops Marvel went through to get Ben into the Spider-Man role, even though it seems like everyone knew all along that Peter (and MJ) shouldn’t be written out of the books. Marvel’s solution was to make Ben the “real” Spider-Man, have Peter “retire” with MJ in a series of mini-series, and try to carve out a new supporting cast for Ben in New York. This was destined for failure. Not that anyone asked, but tomorrow I’ll present my solution to the Peter/Ben conundrum…

WEB OF SCARLET SPIDER #1 - November 1995

Virtual Mortality Part One - There’s a New Spider in Town

Credits: Tom DeFalco (plot), Todd Dezago (script), Paris Karounos (penciler), Randy Emberlin (inker), Steve Dutro (letterer), Kevin Tinsley (colorist)

The Plot: Scarlet Spider stops a helicopter from hijacking a van, unaware that the van is carrying stolen computer components and the helicopter is piloted by Dr. Octopus’ henchmen. Later, her men try to steal the components again from the police, and this time manage to escape Scarlet Spider. Crimelord Tso is dismayed to learn of his competitor’s tenacity.

The Subplots: Ben Reilly searches for a job, eventually finding work at a restaurant named Noir. The manager, Joey, later gets into a car with Tso.

Web of Continuity: Doctor Octopus has been “killed” by Kaine at this point, as a part of the rather lazy attempt to build the character up at the expense of established villains. He’s been replaced by the female Doctor Octopus, who we later learn is Seward Trainer’s daughter.

*See _________ For Details: This story is continued in Amazing Scarlet Spider #1.

Production Note: All of the Spider-titles have been renumbered and renamed after Scarlet Spider for the next two months (Marvel’s marketing department loved the X-titles' similar stunt during “Age of Apocalypse”). Unlike the rest of the titles, Web of Scarlet Spider lasts four issues instead of two for some vaguely defined marketing reasons.

Review: Web of Scarlet Spider #1 kicks off the Scarlet Spider stunt, setting up a timeless storyline that centers on the horrors of virtual reality. In this issue, we learn that Dr. Octopus and a gangster are competing for a stash of computer chips, and poor Scarlet Spider has been caught in the middle of their feud. This somehow leads to Ben doubting himself and declaring himself a failure when compared to Peter. Later, we’re supposed to feel even sorrier for Ben as he’s unable to find a job. These are obviously attempts to evoke the “classic” feel of Spider-Man as the insecure, hard-luck hero with real problems, and while these scenes are the best moments of the issue, they still feel tired and predictable.

Ben’s having these problems because they’re the ones Marvel thinks he’s supposed to be having, not because there’s a great concept behind them, which makes the delivery feel tedious. The action that lands Ben his job, helping a waitress pick up a tray of food before it hits the ground, is a tired cliché that goes back to the Flash’s origin story. (A virtually identical scene appears in the first Spider-Man movie, although I doubt anyone involved read this specific comic.) When we aren’t getting the recycled secret identity scenes, the audience is forced to endure repetitive fight scenes that are horribly rendered by Paris Karounos. Not only are the characters repulsive, but the action is often hard to follow, making me wonder just how bad “cartoony” work had to be in the ‘90s before an editor would turn it down.

I’m not sure if even the most ardent clone saga fans will defend the renamed Scarlet Spider books. These are conspicuously bad filler comics rushed out in order to fulfill a marketing directive…we really didn’t need Life of Reilly to confirm this. They’re ugly, pointless, and boring. And somehow I’m stuck reviewing four of them.