| Kaine Parker Scarlet Spider | |
|---|---|
 Cover toScarlet Spider vol. 2 #24 (Nov. 2013). Art byRyan Stegman. Colors by Marte Gracia Pazuzu. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | As Kaine: Web of Spider-Man #119 (December 1994) As Tarantula: The Amazing Spider-Man #637 (September 2010) As Scarlet Spider: Scarlet Spider #2 (April 2012) |
| Created by | Terry Kavanagh (writer) Steven Butler (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Kaine Parker |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Team affiliations | New Warriors[1] |
| Notable aliases | Peter Parker Spider-Man Tarantula Scarlet Spider The Other |
| Abilities | As Kaine:
As Tarantula:
|
Kaine Parker is a character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The character has been depicted as asuperhero and formersupervillain who serves as an ally, an enemy, andfoil toPeter Parker/Spider-Man andBen Reilly. Created by Terry Kavanagh and Steven Butler, the character first appeared inWeb of Spider-Man #119 (December 1994) as theJackal's first failed attempt of a clone of Spider-Man.[2] He later appeared as the newScarlet Spider in theMarvel Point Oneone-shot in November 2011 before starring in his own series.
Kaine Parker/Scarlet Spider made his cinematic debut in the 2023 feature filmSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.[3]
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Kaine is the Jackal's first temporary success to clonePeter Parker but the flawed cloning process left him deformed and mentally unstable. The Jackal discards Kaine due to him showing early signs of degeneration, which will eventually kill him. Kaine experiences a strong feeling of rejection similar to that between a father and son. Kaine's degeneration gives him an enhanced version of Peter's powers, including a "precognitive sense" that shows him flashes of the future (an amplified version of Peter's spider-sense). He also possesses a "Mark of Kaine", a burning touch that he uses to leave eaten away hand prints on his victims' faces. Though never explicitly stated within the story, in a later interview former Spider-Man editor/writerGlenn Greenberg 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.[4]
The Jackal goes on to create a new, better clone which would be known asBen Reilly. When the Jackal uses Reilly against Peter, the ensuing battle leaves Reilly and the Jackal for dead. They both manage to survive; the Jackal places himself into suspended animation in a cloning pod to awaken later; and Reilly leaves New York.[5]
Due toNorman Osborn manipulating them, Ben and Kaine each believe themselves to be the original and Peter Parker to be the clone. Kaine frames Ben for a number of murders he commits since they have identical fingerprints, and Peter Parker is convicted for Kaine's crimes.[6] The two are placed in amock trial where Peter is on trial, Kaine is his attorney,Carnage is the prosecutor, severalRavencroft inmates are the jury, andJudas Traveller is the judge.[7] However, Kaine refuses to confess to his crimes, so Peter considers revealing his secret identity to the courtroom. Kaine convinces Peter not to do this and eventually reveals the truth about the murders.[8]
After Peter Parker gives in to the news of being a clone and Ben Reilly is the true individual, he allies himself with the Jackal. Kaine refuses to let him throw his life away. He confronts the Jackal with the intent of destroying him, but the Jackal manipulates Kaine into believing he will be cured of the degeneration process. Once Jackal reveals he has lied again, Kaine leaves feeling dejected. He goes back toMary Jane Watson for answers, and after a conversation of power and responsibility, Kaine returns to the Jackal's lab in time to assist Ben in a battle against numerous Spider-clones. In the ensuing battle,Spidercide fatally injures Kaine, but the Jackal places him in a pod to heal him.[9]
Kaine is freed from his pod by James Johnsmeyer, a sponsor of the Great Game tournament.[10] During a later encounter with Ben Reilly, Kaine gives up his hatred of Ben and acknowledges him as his brother. At that point, it is revealed that Kaine's degeneration is killing him, and he allows himself to be incarcerated in theVault to atone for his previous crimes.[11] However, he escapes along with many other criminals in the pages ofThunderbolts.[12]
In the "Grim Hunt" storyline, Kaine is hunted byAna Kravinoff andAlyosha Kravinoff.[13] The two maul Kaine and sacrifice him to resurrectKraven the Hunter. However, the resurrection is flawed due to Kaine not truly being Spider-Man and brings back Kraven in an undead state.[14] In the epilogue of "Grim Hunt", Kaine climbs out of his grave with mutated features, including extra eyes in a spider-like pattern on his forehead.[15]
During theSpider Island storyline, the Jackal further mutates Kaine intoTarantula, a spider-like creature resemblingMan-Spider.[16] As Tarantula, he is put underAdriana Soria's control, acting as a henchman to the Jackal. During a battle with Spider-Man, Kaine is submerged in a pool of highly concentrated cure for the Spider-Virus, breaking his mental link with Soria and curing his degeneration.[17]
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Having been cured of his mutation, but not his spider-powers, Kaine assumes the Scarlet Spider mantle and moves toHouston. Although planning to simply pass through the city and move on to Mexico, he is distracted when he discovered ahuman trafficking ring. Kaine savesAracely Penalba, a girl who was smuggled into America, and decides to protect her.[18][19]
Shortly after, Aracely has prophetic dreams concerning theSixth Creation,Aztlán, her missing parents, gods, a talkingcoyote, and the rise ofMictlān. She and Kaine are attacked by theLobo Brothers, the criminals behind her abduction, who intend to kill her to begin the Sixth Creation. During the fight, Aracely escapes, but Kaine is beaten and eventually killed. His spirit encountersthe Other, embraces her power, and is reborn as a monstrous spider creature. Aracely restores Kaine to his human form and proclaims him as her "champion", though he retains his connection to the Other.[20] The two later join theNew Warriors.[21]
During theSpider-Verse storyline, Kaine is with the New Warriors when they are attacked by Daemos of theInheritors. As Daemos realizes that Kaine is the current receptacle of the Other and plans to absorb his essence, he is confronted by several alternate universe versions of Spider-Man, including Old Man Spider-Man,Spider-Man of Earth-70105, andSpider-Woman of Earth-65. Kaine escapes into a portal to Earth-13, also known as the Safe Zone.[22]
While battling the Inheritors, Kaine kills Solus, the group's patriarch. In retaliation,Morlun kills Kaine in his monstrous spider form by ripping off one of his arms and impaling him in the skull.[23] AfterKarn becomes theMaster Weaver and returns all the spiders to their home universes, a human hand bursts out of Kaine's husk, revealing that he is still alive.[24]
Kaine returns in theDead No More: The Clone Conspiracy storyline, where he and Spider-Gwen attempt to help Peter escape New U Technologies. It is revealed that Kaine's human body emerged from the corpse of his spider form and was greeted by Karn, who realized that he is no longer connected to the Other and is dying from theCarrion virus.[25] Peter Parker uses the Webware Emergency System to cure the Carrion virus, which heals Kaine and reduces his facial scars.[26]
During the "Spider-Geddon" storyline,Superior Octopus becomes Superior Spider-Man again and recruits Kaine to help fight the return of the Inheritors.[27] Kaine volunteers for a suicide mission to Earth-3145, where the Inheritors were trapped after the events ofSpider-Verse. Kaine recruitsAshley Barton fromEarth-807128 and "Charlie", the Peter Parker of Earth-218, to battle Verna of the Inheritors.[28] Kaine sacrifices himself to Verna's hounds so that Ashley and Charlie can escape Earth-3145.[29] However, he is resurrected byJulia Carpenter using a talisman given to her by the spider goddess Neith.[30]
As an imperfectclone of Spider-Man, Kaine has superhuman strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and equilibrium all at higher levels than Spider-Man due to his continued mutation.[31]
Kaine's spider-sense is even stronger than Spider-Man's Spider-Sense. Kaine Parker can sense danger, see short glimpses of the future, and can sense Venom unlike Spider-Man. Kaine also does not set off Parker or Reilly's spider-senses, but they do not set off his either.
Like Spider-Man his clinging ability is because of theVan der Waals force, but also left a distinctive scarring into surfaces (and people), which he calls the "Mark of Kaine". Additionally, Kaine possesses a retractable bone spike on the underside of each forearm.[volume & issue needed]
Being a clone of Spider-Man, Kaine is immune to the worldwide mind purging of Spider-Man's identity and retains this knowledge.[32] However, Kaine was never implanted with Peter's memories and thus lacks his scientific knowledge.[33]
The extent of Kaine's powers in his Tarantula state are not fully known. Tarantula has four large spider legs that protrude from his back much like Spider-Man'sIron Spider costume. He retained all of the abilities he had as Kaine, with the addition of organic web shooters.
As Scarlet Spider, Kaine generate organic webbing from his wrists, similar to Spider-Man's web-shooters, and possesses an accelerated healing factor.[34] He also possesses enhanced vision, which grants him the ability to see in the dark, and a psychic connection with spiders and other arachnids.[35]
After the events of Spider Island, Kaine retained the stealth suit, which Peter Parker created atHorizon Labs and used against the Spider-Queen. This gives Kaine invisibility to both visual and audio means, along with immunity to sonic-based attacks.[34]
An alternate universe variant of Kaine Parker from Earth-982 appears in theMC2 imprint. This version is a former ally of the Kingpin who attempted to kill him after being betrayed. However, he is defeated bySpider-Girl and imprisoned.[37][38] There, he is recruited by special agent Arthur Whedon to lead a group of redeemed supervillains consisting ofBig Man, Quickwire,Raptor andNormie Osborn.[volume & issue needed]
An alternate universe variant of Kaine Parker from Earth-91101 appears inSpider-Man: The Clone Saga. This version works for the Jackal andHarry Osborn before defying the two after kidnapping May Parker, the infant daughter of Peter Parker andMary Jane Watson.[39]
An alternate universe variant of Kaine Parker from Earth-1610 appears inUltimate Spider-Man. This version was created byDoctor Octopus and sports a version of Ben Reilly's Spider-Man costume. Kaine kidnaps Mary Jane Watson and attempts to give her superpowers, causing her to transform into ared goblin-like creature despite theTarantula's efforts. While trying to prevent Mary Jane from being taken, Kaine is killed byNick Fury'sSpider Slayers.[40]
| Title | Material Collected | ISBN | Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Spider Vol. 1:Life After Death | Scarlet Spider Vol. 2 #1–6, material fromMarvel Point One | 978-0785163107 | February 2013 |
| Scarlet Spider Vol. 2:Lone Star | Scarlet Spider Vol. 2 #7–9, 12.1, 13–15 | 978-0785163114 | April 2013 |
| Carnage: Minimum Carnage | Scarlet Spider Vol. 2 #10–12 | 978-0785167266 | January 2013 |
| Scarlet Spider Vol. 3:The Big Leagues | Scarlet Spider Vol. 2 #16–20,Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #2 | 978-0785166498 | November 2013 |
| Scarlet Spider Vol. 4:Into the Grave | Scarlet Spider Vol. 2 #21–25 | 978-0785166504 | February 2014 |
| Chasm: Curse of Kaine | Chasm: Curse of Kaine #1–4,Web of Spider-Man (2024) #1 | 978-1302959289 | June 2025 |
Several variations of Kaine Parker appear inUltimate Spider-Man:
Kaine Parker as the Scarlet Spider makes a non-speaking appearance inSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as a member ofMiguel O'Hara's Spider-Society.[3]
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