Kaine
Attributes
| Eyes: | Brown |
| Features: | Degeneration Scars |
| Hair: | Brown |
| Height: | 6' 4"' |
| Weight: | 250 lbs |
Powers
| Abilities: | Being mysterious. Able to burn similar degeneration marks into the skin of his victims (the "mark of Kaine"). His more powerful Spider-Sense allows him to see glimpses of the future |
| Limitations: | Wracked by angst |
| Powers: | Increased powers of Spider-Man |
| Strength Level: | Superhuman |
| Weapons: | "Sting of Kaine" claws similar to those of Wolverine (but significantly smaller) |
Summary
| Citizenship: | American |
| Created By: | |
| Current Occupation: | Unknown |
| Dual Identity: | Known by the Jackal, Spider-Man (Peter Parker) and Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) |
| Education: | College |
| Former Aliases: | Peter Parker |
| Former Occupation: | Assassin |
| Known Allies: | the Jackal, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) |
| Known Confidants: | Mary Jane Watson-Parker, the Jackal, Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) |
| Legal Status: | Wanted Criminal |
| Major Enemies: | Spider-Man (Ben Reilly), Jackal, Spidercide, Green Goblin (Norman), Doctor Octopus (Octavius), Grim Hunter, the Scriers. |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Place of Birth: | Jackal's secret lab |
| Real Name: | Kaine |
Background
"The Exile Returns"
Kaine first appeared at a mafia meeting, where goons were trying to convince him to take a job to kill a rival mobster. They knew that he was a specialist when it came to murder and the target was well protected. Kaine wasn't interested, and he spent the meeting reading the Daily Bugle story on Spider-Man and the Scarlet Spider, aka Ben Reilly. When the goons got angry at him for showing them such disrespect, they pulled their guns on him. He killed them nonchalantly, then left. (Web of Spider-Man #119)
He was soon observing a battle between the Scarlet Spider and Venom, not surprised that the spider was holding his own against the alien creature. "He always was the lucky one," he mused. "Even when he should have died, he found life. Now he has returned, taken on another costume, and now I've taken a costume as well." He left after Venom was beaten. (Spider-Man #53)
"Web of Life"
He waited outside of the Forest Hills hospital where May Parker lay in a coma, brooding over the visions he had been having. He knew that in the not distant future, Mary Jane would be murdered by an unknown assailant. This was unbearable to him, and he swore he would act to prevent it. (Web of Spider-Man #120)
Walking alone one night to be with his thoughts, Kaine was attacked by a group of thugs. He killed them quickly and continued his walk, brooding about the pain in his life. (Spider-Man #54)
He came across some punks harassing a homeless woman in a park and quickly killed them after they tried to steal a framed picture of the woman's daughter. She thanked him for helping her, and then he stepped on the glass picture, breaking it. He was soon watching the Scarlet Spider as he watched Peter Parker. Kaine confronted him, calling him "Reilly." The Scarlet Spider recognized the costumed man and immediately went into a defensive fight. Kaine soon had him unconscious, after knocking him on the head with a slab of concrete. He was soon on the rooftop of Peter's apartment, confronting the Grim Hunter. (Web of Spider-Man #121)
As the two fought, Kaine pondered if the Hunter was the one he was looking for. He was dangerous and wanted to kill Spider-Man, which was all the reason he needed to kill him. The Grim Hunter escaped to resume his hunt against Spider-Man and Kaine eventually followed him. He had been having visions of Mary Jane's death and he feared that the Hunter would be her killer. He followed the Hunter to Central Park and the fight briefly resumed, until it was interrupted by the Scarlet Spider. The Spider and Kaine fell through the ice covering a pond and the Scarlet Spider left, thinking Kaine had escaped. He only doubled back to resume hunting the Hunter. Soon the Grim Hunter was dead, his neck broken. (Spider-Man #55)
"Web of Death"
After Spider-Man was infected by a virus from the Vulture, he was stumbling around New York in a daze. Kaine kept an eye on him, but kept his distance. He observed as Spider-Man was examined and then left on a wet rooftop by Doctor Octopus. Ock and Stunner soon returned for Spider-Man and took the unconscious wall crawler to their lab. (Amazing Spider-Man #397)
Kaine observed Stunner and Ock in their lab as they studied the illness that was afflicting Spider-Man. He regretted that someone as attractive as Stunner would associate with Octavius, but he knew that suffering and death were inevitable in his plan. He was soon stalking Mary Jane, also admiring her beauty and regretting her associations. He was aware that she was pregnant, and hoped that she would survive the coming ordeal. (Spectacular Spider-Man #220)
As Stunner was out for a workout in Central Park, Kaine shouted a warning to her from the cover of darkness to stay away from Doctor Octopus. He had warned her. The choice was now hers. (Amazing Spider-Man #398)
As Doctor Octopus was taken away by the police, Stunner was waiting in the shadows to break him out of the police transport. She was surprised by a gas grenade, thrown by Kaine. He was impressed by her fight against the gas and glad that she was knocked out anyway. Actively harming her would have been a pity. He then attacked the transport to get to Octavius and in the following battle, Kaine snapped Doctor Octopus's neck. (Spectacular Spider-Man #221)
"Smoke and Mirrors"
Soon both Peter and the Scarlet Spider were having visions of the Jackal, Professor Miles Warren. They felt compelled to go to Upstate New York, and Kaine was waiting for them. Scarlet Spider found the metal door in the side of a mountain, and a Jackal-like creature (calling himself "Jack") taunted him about secrets being revealed behind the door. (Web of Spider-Man #122)
Scarlet Spider had been defeated by the door's guardian and left unconscious in the snow, where Kaine found him. A hooded figure named Scrier appeared suddenly, amused that Kaine was still following the Scarlet Spider after so many years. He disappeared just as suddenly, leaving Kaine spooked and fearing for his safety. Spider-Man soon arrived and Kaine disappeared into the shadows. Later, he was inside the Jackal's hidden laboratory in the mountain, listening from the shadows as the Jackal explained his whereabouts for the past five years. (Amazing Spider-Man #399)
Kaine watched as Jackal toyed with Scarlet's and Spidey's minds, switching his story about which one was a clone, or if both of them were clones. After the Spider-Men escaped the lab, Kaine watched them and was watched by Scrier. (Spider-Man #56)
"Players and Pawns"
Kaine was soon sorting through the wreckage of the destroyed lab, looking for any information that the Jackal left behind. After he downloaded the files from a computer that had been specially protected, a new glass casket rumbled to the surface from the floor. A door to the casket opened, and someone looking like Peter Parker emerged. As Kaine stood stunned, Professor Warren returned, surprised to see Kaine still alive. Kaine was certain that he had known of Peter and the Scarlet Spider, but the new person made him question his beliefs. He demanded to know which of them was the clone and proceeded to try and beat the truth out of the professor. They were interrupted by Scrier, who cryptically welcomed the Jackal back to the land of the living. Kaine didn't want to get between them and fled with the disk. Back in New York, Kaine had a sudden vision of Mary Jane, again murdered and in a pool of blood. He soon caught up to Peter, telling him that he was the true Peter Parker. He tossed Peter the disk, telling him he would fine it to be very enlightening. Peter wanted to know more about his mysterious informant and went after him as Spider-Man. (Spectacular Spider-Man #222)
Kaine tried to run, but Spidey demanded answers. Kaine regretted giving him the file, knowing that answers just lead to more questions. The fight was over quickly and Peter was surprised at how easily he had been beaten. Kaine escaped. (Web of Spider-Man #123)
"The Mark of Kaine"
Mary Jane's doctor had detected a slight abnormality in her pregnancy and she was reluctant to see a typical specialist, fearing that the abnormality was related to Peter's altered DNA, which could link him to Spider-Man. Reilly took her to a trusted friend of his, Dr. Seward Trainer. Kaine was present at the examination of the pregnancy, hiding in the shadows of the lab. He was saddened to hear that she was pregnant, as she died with child in his visions. She walked home alone, and was kidnapped by Kaine, who pulled her into the sewers. He started to warn her that she was in danger, but she flushed him out of the sewers by opening a water pipe. As she escaped, Mary Jane was confronted by the man from the Jackal's Upstate lab, claiming to be Peter. (Web of Spider-Man #124)
Kaine arrived, warning MJ that if there was a threat around, it was the man standing next to her. "Peter" begged MJ to trust him, and she said that if he were really Peter Parker, he would protect her. The man attacked Kaine, claiming that he had always and would always protect her. Kaine easily defeated him, but MJ had escaped in the meantime. Kaine caught up to her at May Parker's former home, and knocked out the "Peter" in a Spider-Man costume standing before her. MJ tired to shoot him but he snapped her wrist and she blacked out from the pain. He was about to kill the "Spider-Man" at his feet when he heard the skylight on the roof open upstairs. He took MJ to a cave, telling her that she would be there for a long time. (The Amazing Spider-Man #401)
In the cave, Kaine had another vision of MJ's death and knew that the time was close. His erratic behavior frightened her and she triggered the spider tracer in her necklace that Peter had given her in case of emergency. She soon tried to run, but was easily captured by Kaine, who yanked her hair. They were immediately confronted by Peter, Ben and the new person claiming to be Peter. Ben took on Kaine while Peter and the new person went after Mary Jane, who didn't trust any of them. Peter caught up to her and she recognized his demeanor. The new "Peter" went into a rage and threatened to kill them all. Peter and MJ tried to escape but their way out was blocked by Kaine and the defeated Scarlet Spider. (Spider-Man #58)
Kaine told them to run while they could. Ben surprised them all, revealing that he was awake and promised to protect them from both Kaine and the imposter. During the fight, Kaine slammed a huge slab of concrete onto the imposter, much to Ben's indignation. He needn't have worried, as "Freakface" showed himself to be tougher than they expected. They fled to the surface to gain more room to maneuver, and Freakface followed them. Kaine mocked Ben's plan to reason with him and instead clobbered him with a propane tank. Everyone survived, but Freakface seemed to have been killed. (Spectacular Spider-Man #224)
Soon, a new Sinister Seven had been formed to kill Kaine before he managed to kill Spider-Man's other enemies. The group was led by the Hobgoblin (Jason Macendale) and consisted of the Vulture, Shocker, Scorpia, Mysterio, the Beetle, and Electro. Hobgoblin's plan was to have each member scout separate areas of the city looking for Kaine and then radio back if he was found. Kaine found Hobgoblin first, and found the killer to be as strong as the Grim Hunter had been, but less focused. He was about to kill him when the rest of the Seven arrived, as they had heard Hobgoblin's gun go off. Kaine was washed away when Shocker blew up a water tower but he quickly returned. The rest attacked together and Vulture carried him off but Kaine forced him to drop him. He was briefly winded and surrounded by the criminals, but was saved by the Scarlet Spider (who was actually Peter in Ben's costume). Together they defeated the Sinister Seven. (Spider-Man Unlimited #9)
"The Trial of Peter Parker"
Peter had been arrested for the murder of Salt Lake City police officer Louise Kennedy after his finger prints had been found on her body. Ben traded places with him so he could be with Mary Jane and to find the real killer, whom Ben suspected to be Kaine. Peter went looking for him but was blindsided by the mercenary, who knew that they had traded places. They crashed into a children's dance studio and after Spidey evacuated the kids, he attempted to drag Kaine to the courthouse to confess to the murder. Kaine was stronger than Peter, however and was soon throwing him around the mirror covered dance room. During the fight, Kaine actually expressed respect for Peter, telling him that he admired his ability to drive himself to success. However, that wouldn't stop Kaine from breaking Peter to get to Reilly. The fight eventually spilled out onto the street, right into the hands of Stunner, who was looking for revenge for the murder of Otto Octavius. Her vengeance was denied when Kaine and Spider-Man were teleported away by Judas Traveller. (Web of Spider-Man #126)
Kaine, Spider-Man and Traveller soon arrived at Ravencroft Asylum. They were surprised to find themselves taking part in a trial, with Spider-Man as the defendant and Kaine as the defense attorney. Sitting at the defense table with Kaine were Ashley Kafka and John Jameson. The mass murderer called Carnage acted as the prosecutor while the jury consisted of inmates at Ravencroft, such as the Chameleon, Shriek, Malcolm McBride and Edward Whelan. After studying the inmates, Traveller had noticed that they all had an irrational hatred of Spider-Man. He put Spidey on trial to determine if his presence fueled their crimes and if executing him would return them to sanity.
In a fury, Kaine attacked Traveller, telling him that he had no right to judge Peter Parker. He attempted to mark Traveller with his signature "Mark of Kaine," but was stunned to see that it had no effect on the other man's face. Traveller seemed to grow to a huge size, until Kaine fit in his hand. Kaine agreed to defend Parker, even if it meant his life. That, Traveller told him, was why he was selected to act as the defense. Carnage called himself to the stand and testified that it was Spider-Man that brought the alien symbiote to earth that created him. Otherwise he would be a model member of society. Kaine began his cross examination by reminding Carnage that he had been a killer before he ever joined with the alien. Kasady denied the charge, and Kaine responded by trying his tear his face off. They fought briefly, until separated by Judas Traveller. The jury quickly found Parker to be guilty and rushed to personally carry out the sentence. Kaine stopped them, throwing himself to Spider-Man's defense. Traveller transported all of the inmates back to their cells, telling Peter that it spoke volumes about him that a person as corrupted as Kaine would willing sacrifice himself to protect him. They were soon sent back to the street that they had been taken from, only to be returned into the hands of Stunner. (Amazing Spider-Man #403)
Kaine and Spider-Man tried to fight off Stunner, but the enraged woman was out for blood, tossing construction machinery at them. The fight moved to a condemned building which collapsed after Stunner took out the support beam. As Spider-Man tried to save Stunner, Kaine pulled him out before the structure fell in on itself. Stunner was buried and Kaine tried to walk away. Spidey demanded that he go with him to testify at Peter Parker's murder trial, to clear Ben Reilly. Kaine promised to fight Peter with every ounce of his remaining strength, but he was knocked out by a sucker punch. Spidey webbed him up and took him to the courthouse where the trial was being held, but Kaine still refused to help Reilly. Kaine explained that while he was a murderer, everything he did had been for Peter's benefit. He unmasked, showing the scarred face of the first Peter clone.
The scars came from a degeneration disease that affected many of the failed clones, but Kaine had survived the illness. The disease had somehow twisted his cloned spider powers, so that he was stronger than both Peter and Ben. Kaine confessed to Peter that he had framed Ben for the murder of Louise Kennedy to ruin Ben's life and keep Peter safe. Spider-Man still refused to let Ben suffer for Kaine's crimes and threatened to unmask in court, despite the killer's pleas to reconsider. Peter began to unmask when Kaine stopped him. Before he confessed, Kaine grabbed the neck of the District Attorney and threatened to kill him if either Peter or Ben moved. He burned his palm print into the table next to the D.A.'s head, to prove that he could leave the mark that had been found on all of his victims. The police were about to take Kaine into custody, when he lunged at Ben. (Spider-Man #60)
Spider-Man jumped in to defend Ben and some assembled police also jumped Kaine, hoping to subdue him. He easily shook them off but was soon defending himself from Spider-Man. The fight was over when Detective Jacob Raven put his gun to Kaine's head and arrested him for the murder of his police partner, Louise Kennedy. Kaine confessed to the murder of Detective Kennedy at the police station but soon had another vision of Mary Jane's murder. (Spectacular Spider-Man #226)
"Maximum Clonage"
As Kaine was being transported by the police to another facility, he experienced another painful premonition. He broke out of the restraints and fled, escaping into the city. (Maximum Clonage Alpha)
Peter had learned that Ben Reilly was the real Peter Parker, while Peter had been the clone all along. In his unstable state of mind, Peter went to the Jackal for answers, something that Kaine could not allow. He had another vision of Mary Jane in danger, but he finally saw, to his disbelief, who the killer would be. (Web of Spider-Man #127)
Kaine tracked Spider-Man, the Scarlet Spider and the Jackal to his hideout. Finding the Jackal resting in a regeneration chamber, Kaine yanked him out and threatened to kill him. Jackal made him pause upon claiming that he could cure Kaine of his degeneration disease and then took him to his lab, where Peter, Ben and Spidercide were waiting. Peter, Kaine and Spidercide soon turned on Ben, telling him that he wasn't one of them. Spidercide offered to kill him, but Jackal said that if he wanted to kill someone, he should kill Kaine. Kaine was stunned by the sudden betrayal and he begged Jackal not to abandon him again. He soon left, realized that he had been fooled and promised to kill the Jackal at a later time. (Amazing Spider-Man #404)
Kaine soon showed up at Peter and Mary Jane's apartment, wondering why Peter would give up the life he had built to go join a madman. He told MJ about how he had been Jackal's first successful clone, until the signs of degeneration began to scar his face. Jackal tried to kill him, considering him a failed experiment but one of Kaine's precognitive flashes saved his life. Not knowing where else to go, he stayed hidden in Jackal's lab, keeping to the shadows. He watched as a new clone was born, one that didnt have the degeneration disease. He tried to hate the new clone but instead felt like a brother to him and made it his duty to look out for him.
He wanted Peter to be the successful clone and believed Ben to be the real Peter. Upon learning that Peter had joined the Jackal, Kaine feared that his mission in life had failed. He told MJ that she had been important to him because she was part of Peter's life, but now that he had thrown his life away, she no longer meant anything to him. She told him that if he really was Peter's clone, than he too was a good man. Peter and Ben had always done the right thing and she believed he would as well. He soon left and returned to the lab, were Ben was being assaulted by numerous Spider-Man clones. (Spider-Man #61)
The clones, however, were not ready for life and quickly degenerated. While Ben tried to spare them, Kaine had no issues with tearing them apart. They soon broke out of the containment cell and were pursuing the Jackal and Spidercide. Jackal had found out that Spidercide was sending information about Jackal's plans to Scrier. He tried to activate a biological "self destruct" in Spidercide's DNA...but found that Scrier had removed it. Spidercide was about to kill him when Kaine arrived and saved Jackal. He was interrupted during the fight by a sudden vision of Mary Jane's death and Spidercide took advantage of his distracted state by impaling him with lab equipment. The Scarlet Spider arrived to stop Spidercide, who fled. Kaine's last words were to the Jackal, telling him that he risked his life to save his because Jackal gave him life. Jackal called him pathetic and nothing more than a beaker of bad chemicals. (Spectacular Spider-Man #227)
"The Tomb of Kaine"
The Jackal and Spidercide were defeated and killed after trying to wipe out humanity with a virus and replacing them with genetically perfected clones. Sometime later, the Scarlet Spider was observing federal agents at a factory that was a front for one of the Jackal's labs. They claimed to be looking into a contamination of the site and weren't allowing anyone inside, not even Detective Jacob Raven. Detective Raven had been obsessed with finding Kaine after the killer had escaped police custody. He ignored the agents warning to stay away and managed to slip inside the factory. Scarlet Spider went in after him, hoping to keep him out of trouble. Raven managed to find a secret lab hidden in the factory and a containment pod that held the unconscious Kaine.
Scarlet Spider encountered half human/half animal creatures called "Animen" that were loyal to a being called the High Evolutionary and were destroying all evidence of what the Jackal had been doing. (Jackal had been an assistant to the High Evolutionary but had used the creature's research for his own insane agenda. The High Evolutionary considered him dangerous and wanted his research destroyed.) Scarlet Spider was accidentally transported back to the Animen's homeworld with them and when he returned, he found Kaine's pod was empty and a trail led out the door. (Scarlet Spider Unlimited #1)
"The Return of Kaine"
Kaine was soon awake, albeit groggy, tied to a chair surrounded by odd assailants. They attacked the moment he was awake and he fended them off instinctively. He was soon greeted by an Irish woman named Shannon Fitzpatrick, who greeted him back to life. She informed him that he had come to their attention after the Parker murder trial but he had vanished after that. They followed Jacob Raven, knowing he would lead them to Kaine. They found him in the regeneration tank, floating in a nutrient bath. They brought him back to health, for reasons she did not immediately disclose. Instead she introduced him to James Johnsmeyer, her employer.
Johnsmeyer explained that he was an extremely wealthy man, who was bored by his life. He amused himself with The Great Game, a sort of gladiatorial contest between he and other wealthy people. The rules were "one sponsor, one player." He hoped that Kaine would be his new player, after Shannon (aka "Muse") had been badly injured. Kaine refused to be anyone else's pawn and was unhappy to be alive again. He fled the mansion grounds but was stopped by Johnsmeyer's guards. He defeated them with Muse, who wanted him to take her with him. (Spectacular Spider-Man #231)
As they were trying to stay hidden in New York, they were ambushed by the Rhino, who was also a player in the Great Game. Kaine had no interest in fighting Rhino and tried to avoid the behemoth, but the Russian didn't take no for an answer. The commotion drew the attention of Spider-Man (now Ben Reilly) who managed to save Muse from being crushed by falling debris. He took the falling wall instead and Kaine and Muse escaped in the cloud of dust. (Sensational Spider-Man #2)
Kaine grew suspicious of Shannon and wanted to know why he should trust her. She could barely answer, telling him she had sealed her fate by running away with him, when they were interrupted by the Rhino. Kaine tried to escape but was attacked by other players, called Joystick and Polestar. Kaine eventually defeated the Rhino and escaped with Shannon, while Spider-Man dealt with Joystick and Polestar. Later, Muse called Johnsmeyer to update him on her and Kaine's location. (Amazing Spider-Man #409)
Spider-Man followed Kaine and Muse to an alleyway and they were quickly surrounded by the police. Spider-Man warned them that it was over and Kaine responded by pulling down a wall onto top of him, using the same adhesive power that Ben used to climb walls. They used the distraction to escape Spider-Man and tried to wade through the crowd of waiting cops. Kaine was shot in the ensuing fight, while protecting Muse. The wound hardly slowed him, as he again pulled a wall down onto the police in the street. Spider-Man used his webbing to create a net to catch the debris, allowing Kaine and Muse to escape again.
On a nearby rooftop, Muse fawned over Kaine telling him she hadn't had so much fun in months. She tended to his bullet wound and he silently admired her youth and beauty, and he momentarily let himself think of Louise Kennedy. He told Muse that she was the only person he trusted and would repay her kindness by bringing down the Great Game and it's sponsors. After he attacked the Johnscorp building, the home of Johnsmeyer's business, he rested and let Muse attend to his injuries. He didn't want her to see his disfigured face, but she didn't care about that. She kissed him, telling him he had a strong face. He had a sudden premonition of Muse's death, with the Mark of Kaine on her face. Spider-Man then arrived and the fight caused the roof of the building to collapse and the three fell into the building. They were greeted by screens of Johnsmeyer and other sponsors calling for a beginning on wagering.
Muse refused to take part in the Game any further, which angered Johnsmeyer. He scolded her on her betrayal, which infuriated Kaine. He had trusted her and had allowed her to get close to him. He was about to scar her face when he was stopped by Spider-Man, who told him if there was anything good in him, he would let Muse live. Kaine stopped, agreeing that he would never be controlled by anyone ever again, including his visions. Kaine did promise Johnsmeyer to hunt he and his associates down. Spider-Man tried to stop him, but he was blasted by Muse. She told Kaine that Johnsmeyer had wanted her to use that ability on him, but she had refused. She blasted a hole in the skyscraper wall and jumped out, forcing Spider-Man to save her. In the meantime, Kaine escaped. (Spider-Man #66)
"Redemption"
Elizabeth Tyne returned to Ben's life. She revealed that Kaine had blackmailed her into disappearing. Kaine chose the opportunity to strike, and after a relentless battle, he stood victorious over a beaten down Spider-Ben in a flaming diner. He said that neither of them deserved to live, and that the three of them were going to die in there. Ben begged him to save Elizabeth, who had nothing to do with it, and she begged him to save Ben. Finally putting his senseless hatred to rest, Kaine saved them both, and asked Ben to kill him. Ben refused, and told him he had to take responsibility for his actions. They fought while Ben tried to convince Kaine to turn himself in. Kaine then tried to kill himself by police fire, but Ben saved him in the nick of time. Enraged, Kaine asked why. No words were needed for him to understand. They looked each other in the eyes, and silently made peace with each other. Kaine was saved, by "[his] brother", and was ultimately convinced to turn himself over to the authorities. He was to be forever grateful for the help he was given to take the first step "toward redeeming [his] corrupted soul", and would never forget it. (Spider-Man: Redemption #1-4)
"Identity Crisis"
Kaine stayed away from New York for some time, presumably dealing with the sponsors of the Great Game. When he returned, it was after Ben Reilly had been murdered by Norman Osborn and Peter had resumed as Spider-Man. Mary Jane had given birth to their daughter, but the newborn had been kidnapped by Alison Mongrain and the Parkers had been told that she was stillborn. It had been revealed that Osborn had been the leader of the Scriers, had been manipulating the Jackal for his own means, and had been responsible for the Parker's child's death/disappearance.
A group of Scriers was meeting off the coast of Greece, discussing the fact that Mongrain was a loose end that needed to be tied up. A bomb would destroy the yacht she was staying on and would be called an accident. Kaine arrived and said that he too was a loose end was looking to end their master. (Amazing Spider-Man #435)
Kaine had giving himself up again, this time to The Vault in Colorado. He stayed in restraints and in solitary confinement. When he eventually got out, he started following a shady character named Damon Ryder (Raptor), who had a mad on for Ben Reilly. Ryder blamed Reilly for the death of his family and Kaine was happy to let the hate fueled scientist obsess over Ben. Years later, Ryder's obsession brought him to New York. Ryder began stalking Peter, mistaking him for Ben. Kaine betrayed Peter and helped Raptor take Peter's cousins and Harry Osborn captive at May Parker's home. Kaine watched as Spider-Man and Raptor fought, and thought back to years ago when he first met Damon. The police arrived and Raptor and Kaine escaped. Later, Raptor told Kaine that he had lied when he said that he could cure Kaine's degeneration and only wanted his assistance against "Ben." In return, Kaine broke Ryder's neck.
"Grim Hunt"
After Raptor was dead, Kaine was hunted by Kraven's kids, Alyosha Kravinoff and Ana Kravinoff. They knew from kidnapping the psychic, Madame Web, that Kaine was related to Spider-Man. He thus became a target of the hunters. He was badly beaten by them, and escaped to warn Peter that "they're hunting spiders." While Peter and Spider-Woman turned their attention to the Kravinoffs, Kaine had a vision of Peter's death. He later knocked Peter out, and took his place. Kaine was sacrificed by Sasha Kravinoff, in order to resurrect her dead husband, Kraven the Hunter. After Kaine was buried at the Parker family plot (I wonder how Peter was going to explain the new addition to Aunt May), Kaine rose from the dead. He had a new look, and called himself Tarantula. Apparently, the Spider-God from The Other (See: Ero) was still offering "come back to life" deals to dead Spider-Men. After he emerged, he had acquired the ability to create organic webbing from his wrists.
"Spider-Island"
Little did Kaine know, but Miles Warren was waiting for him as he crawled out of his grave. He took the weakened clone back to his lab underneath the former Shea Stadium and further engineered him into a spider/man hybrid. He became the Jackal's henchman and bodyguard, along with the similarly mutated Spider-King (Captain America.) After saving Warren from a defective Gwen Stacy clone, Jackal and Spider-King joined with Ana Soria, aka the Queen. Together, Warren and Soria mutated the people of Manhattan into human spiders, creating their very own Spider-Island. When Reed Richards found a cure for the mutation, with help from Anti-Venom, Soria sent Tarantula to destroy the antidote.
At Horizon Labs, Tarantula was about to contaminate the antidote when he was stopped by Spider-Man, who knocked him into a vat of the cure. After he emerged, Kaine was not only cured of the mutation but seemingly of the clone degeneration disease as well. (He also lost his spider sense.) He told Peter that he knew where to find the Jackal and the Queen. Peter kept his spare costumes at his office at Horizon Labs, and Kaine found the invisibility/sound negation suit that Peter invented to fight the Hobgoblin (Phil Urich). Kaine joined the Avengers in the battle against the Queen, now monstrously changed into an enormous spider. He impaled her through the skull, stunning the Queen long enough for Iron Man, Gravity, Firestar and Storm to fry her.
After the fight, Madame Web (Julia Carpenter) spoke to Kaine about his destiny. It prompted him to leave New York, where he ran into Peter at the airport as he said goodbye to Aunt May and JJJ Sr as they left for Boston. Kaine also took the invisibility suit with him.
"Scarlet Spider"
On his way to Mexico, Kaine robbed a group of criminals at the Houston port, not knowing that they were smuggling illegal immigrants. He found the container that the immigrants were being held in, and most of them had died of heat. A lone young woman survived and he took her to the hospital. Later, a fire throwing killer named the Salamander came to murder her. Kaine, still trying to leave for Mexico, saw the hospital on fire, cynically guessed what was happening and went to save the girl. He tackled the Salamander viciously, strangling and shooting at him with an officers gun. It was only after he nearly smothered the criminal with webbing that the fight ended. Wanting to kill him, Kaine only stopped upon hearing the cheering on the onlookers. (Scarlet Spider vol 2, #1)
Kaine stopped to check on the girl, Aracely, and her doctor (Dr. Meland) asked him to stay in Houston, as the city needed a superhero. Kaine left the hospital, deciding to stay to make up for the murders he committed in his past. While Kaine never called himself "the Scarlet Spider," the name was given to him by a TV reporter who called him the Amazing Scarlet Spider-Man. Aracely moved into his hotel room with him and Kaine was kept tabs on by Dr. Meland and his partner, officer Layton, and the hotel bartender, Annabelle Adams.
One of Kaine's challenges was against a returned Cletus Kasady, who had escaped from prison and killed people in Houston. Carnage escaped to another dimension with mysterious, tiny accomplices and a wounded and furious Scarlet Spider swore to kill him, just as Agent Venom (Flash Thompson) arrived to bring Kasady down. (Minimum Carnage Alpha) The symbiote went crazy in Kaine's presence and tried to kill him. After Flash calmed it down, Kaine warned him not to touch him again or he'd be dead. Scarlet Spider was more than happy to let Carnage stay in the microverse and be forgotten but he was persuaded to follow him by Agent Venom.
By luck, Kaine arrived in the Microverse near the supreme being of that dimension, The Redeemer. He quickly acted as Redeemer's bodyguard against a giant creature (which Kaine assumed was probably an amoeba) and defended the being against Carnage. (Kasady had been brought there by order of Marquis Radu, who wanted him to kill Redeemer so he could take his place.) Carnage was soon apprehended by Radu's forces and Kaine learned from Redeemer that if Radu succeeded and Redeemer died, the Microverse and Macroverse would fall apart. Scarlet Spider and Redeemer arrived just as the cloning of Venom and Carnage was completed. Carnage escaped back to earth (even the Redeemer wasn't sure how) and Redeemer sent them after him. Back in Houston, Agent Venom defeated Carnage but Kaine took him down, lobotomizing him with a spike. Agent Venom said that there had to have been a better way, which Kaine was doubtful of. (Minimum Carnage Omega)
After dealing with a group of Santa Clause themed thieves (Scarlet Spider #12), Kaine investigated the murder of a 14 year old girl that had been forced into human trafficking by the cult known as The Hand. Confronting The Hand's leader, Scarlet Spider witnessed a "hostile take over" by The Arranger, the representative of Wilson Fisk. Kaine told Arranger that he wasn't intimidated by the Kingpin and Arranger told him that it didn't matter. Also, Arranger told him that the Kingpin thanked Scarlet Spider for dealing with an old debt for him, which left Kaine confused. (Scarlet Spider #12.1) He began to understand when he and Aracely were attacked by Carlos and Esmeralda Lobo. The werewolves knew by scent that Kaine was "related" to Spider-Man, as the Lobo Brothers had fought the web head in their war against the Kingpin years prior. The Lobos were currently involved in human trafficking and were the ones that had brought Aracely to America. They overpowered Kaine and began to tear into him as he lost consciousness. (Scarlet Spider #13)
In the afterlife, Kaine met The Other, a mystical being that Peter Parker had rejected after being killed by Morlun. Peter was returned to life by The Great Weaver but rejected becoming a host for The Other. It was The Other that brought Kaine back to life after he was killed by the Kravens. Reluctantly, Kaine agreed to join with The Other. (Scarlet Spider #14) Kaine returned and saved Aracely but was changed into the form of a man spider. He defeated the wolves and changed back to human form, but knew that he was now a monster. (Scarlet Spider #15)
Kaine got into a relationship with Annabelle at a rodeo after stopping the Armadillo, who was drunkenly trying to get back together with his ex-girlfriend. (Scarlet Spider #16) Kaine was soon contacted by the Assassin's Guild, who returned to Houston to demand the favor that he owed them. In return for the Guild calling off their vendetta against him, Kaine would carry out one hit for them. The target was Wolverine and if he didn't complete the job, he and his friends would die. Kaine traveled to New York with Aracely and snuck into Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Beast saw through the Scarlet Spider's cloaking system and knew that he looked and smelled like Spider-Man but clearly wasn't. Kaine was subdued by Shadow Cat but was confronted by Wolverine. The battle between them was brutal but Kaine managed to spear Logan in the chest with a wrist spike, impaling his heart. (Scarlet Spider #17)
Logan's healing ability saved him but it took CPR from Beast to resuscitate him. Wolverine beat Kaine and later learned that he had been sent by the Assassins Guild. Kaine convinced him to go with him to New Orleans to take on the Guild. Logan agreed, but told him that if they ever met again, Kaine was dead. (Kaine's plan was to try and kill Wolverine and if that didn't work, to convince him to work together. Either way, he figured he could win.) They cut through a good number of assassins in New Orleans but were quickly overpowered by a woman named The Red Death. (Scarlet Spider #18) Logan and the X-Men had a history with The Red Death, a god-like being that gained power from death and was worshiped by the Assassins Guild. The Red Death turned on the Guild to gain power and quickly swatted away Wolverine and Scarlet Spider. The battle ended when Kaine managed to impale her in the head with a wrist spike. The Guild was ready to kill them for destroying their deity, when the Arranger arrived with assassins of his own. Wilson Fisk now owned the Assassins Guild, as per a deal he had made previously with Kaine. (Scarlet Spider #19)
Kaine traveled to New York afterward, and met "Peter" in his apartment. Little did Kaine know, but he was facing the Superior Spider-Man instead of Peter. "Peter" immediately threw Kaine out of his apartment window, upon realizing that he was facing the man that had killed him as Doctor Octopus. Kaine was clueless as to what had changed in "Peter" but their fight was soon interrupted by human-spider hybrids that had added powers from the X-Men. Jackal, Carrion and a clone of Miles Warren showed up shortly afterwards. The two Spiders were defeated by a new clone of Gwen Stacy, who was wielding a high tech gun. (Superior Spider-Man Team Up #2)
Kaine woke up in chains in a warehouse, Spider-Man chained at his side. The Jackal was explaining how he planned to use Spider-Man's DNA to make new human-spider hybrids. Wiping out humanity was still his goal, and replacing with with the hybrids. Kaine managed to break free of the chains and free Spider-Man with a optic blast from one of the hybrids. The Scarlet Spider managed to save the Gwen clone from an angry Spider-Man, who considered her a waste of genetic material. (Plus, she had tried to shoot him.) While Kaine battled the bad guys, Spider-Man blew up the DNA samples and escaped. Kaine barely managed to follow him out and laid him out when they met. Kaine left for Houston, telling Spider-Man to start acting like a hero. Back at the hotel, Kaine saw that his degeneration disease had returned. (Scarlet Spider #20)
An enraged Kaine threw a coach out of the hotel window and went for a rage fueled web swing. He was suddenly attacked attacked by someone who seemed to be the original Scarlet Spider, Ben Reilly. "Ben" chased Kaine across Houston, reminding him of how he tortured Ben for years before he died. Kaine got the upper hand and voices in his head began to tell him to kill Ben. Kaine realized he had been drugged and was merely hallucinating the voices. He then saw that it wasn't Ben Reilly attacking him, but Sergei Kravinoff. Meanwhile, Ana Kravinoff kidnapped several of Kaine's friends. (Scarlet Spider #21)
Kaine woke up at the Houston Zoo, buried in an empty grave. He soon found himself under attack from a leopard and a tiger. Defeating the cats, he soon faced Ana, who caught him in a net by using an injured guard as bait. He soon beat the girl into telling him where his friends were being held. He nearly killed her but decided that he chose not to be a killer any more. Ana told him where to find her father and she led him to where Sergei was holding Dr. Leland, officer Layton, Aracely and Annabelle. Kraven demanded that Scarlet Spider kill him or his friends would die in the most painful way he could think of. (Scarlet Spider #22) Kaine refused to kill Kraven and as they fought, Sergei ordered Ana to kill one of the hostages. She gutted Dr. Meland and then her father told her to kill them all. Kaine killed Kraven by hitting him in the chest and stopping his heart, then he went to attend to Meland. After binding the doctor's injuries, Kaine resuscitated Kraven, as punishment. Kraven and Ana escaped and Dr. Meland barely survived the attack. An enraged Layton did a search on Kaine and discovered his past as a mercenary. (Scarlet Spider #23)
Kaine continued to blame himself and after returning to the hotel, he found Annabelle waiting for him in the bedroom. Afterward, they were confronted by officer Layton, Aracely (who'd had a waking nightmare about Michtlan) Zoe (come for revenge for Scarlet Spider putting her father in a coma) and....Annabelle. The Anna that Kaine slept with revealed herself to be Shathra and she intended to take Kaine to her children. Zoe stopped all of it by firing a grenade launcher, blowing up the hotel room. (Scarlet Spider #24) The explosion blew everyone out of the building and Kaine caught them in a web. After changing to the Scarlet Spider, he tackled Shathra who quickly proved to be nearly invulnerable. Her wasp children began to devour him alive but he changed into "The Other" creature and tore Shathra apart. He left with Aracely for Mexico, never wanting to speak about Houston again. (Scarlet Spider #25)
"Spider-Verse"
Kaine and Aracely joined the New Warriors, but the team was short lived when it was destroyed by Daemos, an ancient being called an Inheritor. Daemos was a brother to Morlun, and the Inheritors were beginning the Great Hunt against all spider totems in all dimensions. Daemos was surprised to learn that he could be hurt by Kaine, as he and his kind were nearly invulnerable to anything that a Spider could throw at them. Daemos realized that Kaine was The Other, and would make a fantastic meal. Kaine was saved by Old Man Spider-Man, Spider-Man from Earth 70105, and Spider-Woman from Earth 65. They escaped through a portal to Earth 13, though Daemos killed 70105. (Amazing Spider-Man vol 3 #9)
On Earth 13, called the Safe Zone due to it being the home world of the Cosmic Spider-Man, Kaine joined with Peter, Spider-Girl, Spider-Woman (Drew), Spider-Man UK, a version of Ben Reilly, Anya Sofia Corazon, Spider-Ham, Silk and others. They found another group of Spider totems in the year 2099 and went to warn and recruit them against the Inheritors. They were surprised to find the group led by the Superior Spider-Man, who was also unhappy to see them. His device to block the pheromones of Spiders was overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of so many Spider totems. Kaine is particular was radiating a large amount of pheromones, a fact not unnoticed by Silk. (Silk had been previously deeply romantically and physically attracted to Peter, but found the same odd attraction to Kaine.)
The large number of Spiders drew the attention of Daemos, who arrived via a portal from his home dimension. Kaine was more than happy to fight him after he had killed the New Warriors and he succeeded, with help from Superior. However, the satisfaction didn't last long, as Daemos reappeared almost immediately with two other Inheritors, Brix and Bora. Kaine, the alternate Ben Reilly and Jessica Drew from Earth recognized that Daemos must be a clone and followed the worm hole back to Daemos's dimension to learn more. (Amazing Spider-Man vol 3 #10)
Quiz: Quick Quiz on Kaine.
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Appearances
Thanks To
The assistance of the Marvel Chronology Project is gratefully acknowledged.
Some of the above information is extracted from the various versions of the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe and the more recent Marvel Encyclopaedias.