Credits: Written by Howard Mackie, pencils by Tom Lyle, inks by Scott Hanna and Joe Rubenstein and edited by Danny Fingeroth.
Cast: Peter ‘Spider-Man’ Parker, Ben Reilly (posing as Peter Parker), Mary Jane Watson Parker, Kaine, Stunner, Judge Franklin, Blake Tower and Jacob Raven.
Plot: Spider-Man intends to take Kaine to the trial that Ben Reilly is taking his place in, but Stunner the girlfriend of the late Doctor Otto ‘Dr Octopus’ Octavius is looking for revenge on Kaine, his killer. A brutal fight ends when the three of them bring an abandoned building down on Stunner, who simply fades away, much to everyone’s surprise. Then Spider-Man states his intent to get Kaine to the courthouse and help prove Ben’s/his innocence. Problem is that whilst Kaine has no wish to do any harm to Peter, or Peter’s life, he will not help Ben Reilly at all in any way. Spider-Man seems to understand, then sucker-punches Kaine and carries him to the court. It devolves into a fight again as they get there and when in a separate room, Kaine unleashes the issue’s big twist.
He pulls of his mask and reveals to Peter that he is a clone of Peter, one of the failed attempts by Dr. Miles Warren. Kaine suffers with clone degeneration and is very slowly dying. The marks he leaves on his victims match one side of his face, which has fallen and is wasting away. He confirms that he is stronger than both Peter and Ben and all he wants is to ensure that there is no danger to Peter’s life. Peter decides that if Kaine won’t co-operate then the only way to prove Ben’s innocence is to unmask himself and prove he’s Spider-Man. Backed into a corner, Kaine storms back into the court where Ben is being tried and confesses to the serial murders and proves that his fingerprints have been altered to match Peter’s.
Just as it all seems to be wrapped up, Kaine lunges at Ben, eager to kill his most hated enemy.
Notes: Now we get to the revelation of Kaine’s identity. which if you think about it, shouldn’t have been too big a surprise. With that bombshell dropped, his disdain for Ben Reilly makes more sense, it’s not that he hates Peter, or being a clone of Peter, but Ben is healthy, passes for Peter and suffers no ill effects from being a clone, he is a mockery of the terrible existence that Kaine has. Kaine is the failure, whilst Ben is the favoured child and how could he not hate him.
Other than that we get more fight scenes with Stunner and more back and forth between Peter and Kaine. The pacing works really well, I didn’t realise how quickly until I was at then end and thought I’d missed pages. Everyone looks on model and this helps with Kaine’s reveal. It raises the stakes for the big finale of this trial story and whets your appetite for it.
Writing: 4 out of 5 – Whilst Mackie lacks other writer’s finesse, he gets the job done with a tight plot, dramatic script and individual moments that make it all work.
Art: 3 out of 5 – Tom Lyle’s art is as always worth the price of admission, but we also see one or two colouring mistakes and the colours are still a little too strong for the art to cope with.
Overall: 7 out of 10 – A solid part 3 that brings you to the final with more than a little anticipation, I can only hope that the 4 parter ends this well.
Next Time: Closing arguments.
My Marvel Life 