The new Scarlet Spider is the new Spider-Man

Writing about Darkhawk the other day, I discussed how it seemed like in the 90’s comic companies—Marvel in particular—were always looking for “the new Spider-Man.” What I didn’t talk about was how there actually was a new Spider-Man for a bit in Ben Reilly.

I’ve done a post about Ben Reilly before and mentioned that I felt he had a lot of untapped potential that writers like J.M. DeMatteis in particular seemed to get. I thought Ben’s greatest attribute was allowing creators to explore different paths and venues for Spider-Man right there in the Marvel Universe without having to mess with Peter Parker directly. In Ben Reilly you had the core of Peter Parker’s personality (say that five times fast) but also a tortured soul and free spirit that played better as a man questing for life rather than being anchored by a city or friends and family.

Ultimately I think the worst thing for Ben Reilly was for him to become Spider-Man. He may have had a different costume and blond hair, but it was about trying to jam him into Peter Parker’s place and tell Peter Parker stories (specifically unmarried Peter Parker stories) with a guy who could have been something different.

You know the end of the story: the fans didn’t buy Ben as Spider-Man, he got dispatched, and Peter Parker returned.

However, absence did make the heart grow fonder and folks came to regard Ben Reilly with a loving nostalgia, as evidenced by the many requests we (meaning Marvel) would get at conventions to bring him back. When we teased at San Diego that the Scarlet Spider might be returning folks got excited as this was Ben’s pre-Spider-Man identity. Things went another direction and the other clone of Peter Parker, one-time villain Kaine, ended up as the new Scarlet Spider who recently got his own series by Chris Yost and Ryan Stegman.

And to bring my little tangent full circle, I think a decade and a half after the search began and with a character born out of that very era, in the new Scarlet Spider, we’ve finally got a new Spider-Man.

The obvious response to that statement is “yeah, obviously we kind of have a new Spider-Man in that a clone of Spider-Man is wearing one of his old costumes and webslinging around—duh, Ben.” First, that’s rude; second, you’re better than that; lastly, there’s more to it.

Chris Yost’s premise for the new Scarlet Spider is not just exploring a Spider-Man with a different costume or haircut, it’s an ambitious exploration of nature vs. nurture with Peter Parker as the test case and the results being how Spidey would have turned out different under alternative circumstances. It’s also a great deal of fun and the art by Ryan Stegman is fantastic (I have to mention his name at least twice as he’s a great guy but also terribly vain and sensitive), but I’m really enjoying the meatier character study here.

In Kaine as Yost writes him (and as Dan Slott set him up, to give credit where credit is due), we have the beginning of Ben Reilly’s unrealized potential and then some. Ben had all of Peter’s memories—including most crucially being raised by Ben and May Parker—to a point and then there was a divergence; Kaine has the core essence of Peter, but his “childhood” was being abused and cast out by his “father,” the murderous Jackal. He has spent his life to this point with gross physical deformities and living under the shadow of a life-threatening disease. He has killed many people and burned through every relationship he’s ever had. Whereas Ben was a slightly darker hue of Peter, Kaine is pitch black—and now he’s searching for redemption.

The question at the heart of the series—or one at least—is how ingrained what makes Peter Parker a good person and a hero is and how much of that came about because he had the right upbringing. Kaine has the building blocks of Peter Parker, but he never had an uncle to explain to him about power and responsibility. Even the real Spider-Man had to grow into being a decent guy at a horrible cost and didn’t have the easiest life, but Kaine is that plus a million.

It’s compelling stuff, but two issues in it has also created a really entertaining and alluring character. Free of his disease and feeling like he has redeemed his misdeeds enough, Kaine just wants to retreat from the world, but there’s something deep down that’s pulling him toward a heroic path. At the same time, he’s got to fight the urge to deal out that killing blow to the bad guy and has no problem tossing civilians out of the way or even using a gun. He’s his own Greek chorus in a way slightly more serious than Deadpool.

I also love the way Yost dialogues Kaine. He’s got glimmers of those Spider-Man wisecracks but buried beneath about a dozen layers of cynicism and bitterness; it’s a unique voice. He’s not the standup comic; he’s the drunk heckling him from the back of the room. Also, when Kaine talks tough it doesn’t feel like a put-on, another difference between him and Spider-Man.

So ultimately it wasn’t about instilling a kid with a similar personality to Peter Parker with different costumes and powers. It wasn’t about creating a spider character with a dark twist like Venom (Eddie Brock and Flash Thompson are both great in their own right, but they are their own men). Finding the new Spider-Man and doing so in the most rewarding way was just a matter of playing “what if?” on a serious level with the heart of Peter Parker and what makes him who he is and then running with it.

I’m loving Scarlet Spider so far and reveling in the chance to experience a new kind of Spider-Man from the ground floor. I’m really excited for him to get established and start becoming part of the Marvel Universe to see how others react to him. It truly does feel like being on the ground floor of something special not unlike folks felt when Amazing Fantasy #15 first came out, and I do believe that was the goal.

Also, did I mention Stegman’s art is great?

Should Have Beens: Darkhawk

In the early 90’s the race was on in comics to find the “new Spider-Man.” The old Spider-Man had grown into an at-his-youngest 20-something married to a super model, so the void for relatable teenage was gaping. There was an influx of “legacy” characters at DC like Superboy, The Ray, Damage, the third Robin and so on, but they tapped more into the general idea that young people like reading about other young people. At Marvel, many new characters were created and existing characters tweaked to fill the spot of Peter Parker as the average kid who happened upon extraordinary powers and could be you.

I’ve heard at least Robert Kirkman describe Sleepwalker as “his Spider-Man,” I suppose because his alter ego Rick Sheridan was semi-directionless young guy most comic fans could theoretically see themselves in, but since the “hero” himself was a whole other personality, I’ve never really bought that. Nova got a big push to the forefront, but Rich Rider had been around long enough as an established character that his differences from Peter Parker pushed back and made him his own man. Same deal with Speedball, Night Thrasher, etc. The Phil Urich incarnation of The Green Goblin was interesting, but a bit too much of a concentrated inversion of Spidey to fill his shoes.

I think the closest we got to a Spider-Man to call our own in the 90’s was Darkhawk, and even if he wasn’t the new Peter Parker, he presented a cool enough concept I’m surprised he hasn’t had more staying power.

I wasn’t a regular Darkhawk reader when he had his ongoing series. I bought one issue because it was an Infinity Crusade tie-in and way later (like, recently) read his first few appearances when they were reprinted, but mostly my exposure to the character was via New Warriors and guest spots. When he resurfaced a few years back as part of Runaways then Loners and ultimately War of Kings, I gained more familiarity. The idea of Darkhawk seems like a hit for me, but maybe the execution wasn’t up to snuff; again though, I read those early issues and even through 20 years later eyes I found them pretty compelling.

Anyhow.

Chris Powell was the teenage son of a policeman from Queens, New York who witnessed his dad taking a bribe from a crime boss and stumbled on a weird amulet while trying to avoid being seen. Said amulet allowed Chris to transform into the armored warrior Darkhawk, whose abilities he used to combat organized crime and super villains alike.

I know the few times I checked in on Darkhawk as a kid, much was made of the fact that his dad had gone missing and that he was dating (or at least romantically involved with) the daughter of the crime lord from his first appearance. That actually held a lot of appeal for me, as Chris’ supporting cast was different from the normal set of classmates and would-be mentors you usually got with teen heroes, instead extending to his suddenly single mother, underworld figures whom he maybe could or couldn’t trust, and of course that crime lord’s daughter (no, I don’t remember her name, I read like three issues). The old Romeo & Juliet love story is fairly tried, but there’s a reason it’s also true (I think that’s how you use that expression).

In the War of Kings: Ascension mini (I’ll get there in a sec), I didn’t see Chris’ dad around anywhere when they showed his home life, but I don’t know if he was found, if he died, etc. Regardless, mystery was another thing that I thought would make Darkhawk stand out. The question of his dad’s whereabouts was one thing, the true origin and nature of exactly where the Darkhawk armor came from was another. I remember there was a Marvel trading card set around 1993 or 1994 where a sub series was “Greatest Mysteries” and one was “The Face of Darkhawk,” because I guess one time he took the helmet off and what he saw in the mirror was hideous.

Eventually a lot of the Darkhawk mythology got unraveled, in Ascension (told you) and War of Kings, with the explanation of a sort of corps of cosmic bad asses linked to the Shi’ar (hence the bird motif) who kept armored bodies in a wormhole and pulled them out when needed; the amulet Chris found belonged to one of these guys, who turned out to be villains. I remember when editor Bill Rosemann was breaking this concept (I may have even contributed an idea or two, which I’m sure Rosemann will deny) and it sounded cool as heck to me; still does. It straddles the line between cosmic and corruption on a scale I feel the original Darkhawk series wanted to reach but never quite got to; certainly there’s untapped potential here (hence the post).

Chris Powell himself was a bit of a blank slate generic teen at first, which may be a reason he never quite took off, as everything around him from his family to his girlfriend to his origin was more interesting than him. However, again, I think in recent years guys like C.B. Cebulski, Brian K. Vaughan and Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning have infused Chris with more personality, playing up the fact that he’s a kid who had to grow up fast once his dad left and matured fast in some ways but remains over his head in others. He’s definitely somebody I can relate to; whose boneheaded mistakes I roll my eyes at because I’ve made them and whose little victories I smile for.

Another thing Darkhawk had and has going for him is armor, which is intrinsically cool. Mike Manley did a cool initial design (I love his little bird claw) and more recent artists like Wellinton Alves and Brandon Peterson have brought it closer to its full potential.

One thing Darkhawk has against him is that his name is Darkhawk; there are few codenames that sound more dated and 90’s. It does have its charm though (and he is in fact a dark hawk…sort of).

Darkhawk could have a unique place in the Marvel Universe as a hero with roots set as far apart as outer space and the streets of New York. There are a lot of questions still to be answered for older readers and a lot of ground to mine to get new fans on board. If I were the sort to end posts on bad puns, I’d say I hope to see Darkhawk take flight again soon.

Crap.

17 and a half years ago...

I was going to try and write a real post tonight, but I've got a sinus infection and a new iPhone and the combination of the two is making it difficult to concentrate.

However, I also don't really want the poster for The Help to lead the site all week (no offense, ladies, great movie), so instead, let's fire up the way back machine and take a visual look at what comics 12-year-old Ben was picking up...

(Why 17 and a half years ago? Because I was only reading like three comics regularly 20 years ago, I wasn't reading any 15 years ago, and I wanted to stay in the 90's)

Americop, Azrael as Batman and Bart Sears on Silver Surfer covers--good times in 1994.

Books I know for sure I was collecting but for whatever reason skipped in June of that year (I looked it up): Avengers, Adventures of Superman and, of course, Nova. I have the issues before and after of each. Avengers was an anniversary issue (Proctor!) and probably cost more than usual, Adventures of Superman was in the middle of a crossover with the other Superman books which I didn't read...but Nova was tying into Time and Time Again in New Warriors, which I was totally reading, so, I have no idea.