Scarlet Spider #22

With his friends held against their will by Kraven the Hunter, Kaine works his way through the traps the mad man has set for him including Kraven's bloodthirsty daughter Ana Kravinoff who seems obsessed, like her father, with forcing the Scarlet Spider's murderous nature back to the surface.

Although I was sad (but certainly not surprised) to find out our other Scarlet Spider wasn't Ben Reilly, the choice of Kraven makes quite a bit of sense and allows writer Christopher Yost to play on the leftover threads of Kaine's death and Kraven's resurrection that tie the two killers together.

With the comic coming to an end with issue #25, and Marvel showing no real interest in using Kaine elsewhere, Yost is presented with a unique opportunity to end the comic on his terms. For at least a single issue Kaine is able to fight off what Kraven and his daughter demand of him, but given next issue's one-on-one battle with Kraven to the death we'll soon see whether the Scarlet Spider truly is a hero or a killer. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $2.99]