Ben Reilly: the Scarlet Spider #20 Spoilers/Review

[Pav]

It's that time again, friends! For a few minutes, we can forget about the dystopian nightmare in which we live and enjoy a new issue about our favorite scarlet spider-clone brothers!!!

My overall opinion? Another solid if unspectacular issue, highlighted (imo) by PAD's characterization and dialogue for every actor, especially his voice for Kaine.

1) We start with Ben and Slate, who isn't just a strongman: he hacks into some government website to help Ben find out where the doctor is who can help Abigail Mercury. Ben promises Slate that he can "be very sneaky." --I was thinking, oh! Kaine will help Ben; he's got the stealth suit; etc etc.

2) Nope! Kaine has his own sideplot: there's a remaining Mindless One roaming the streets of Las Vegas, so he leaves his supporting cast at the veteran's center to go be a hero! His reward is getting kicked in the privates by Billy, the random kid with whom the Mindless One has bonded! (The panel of art that showcase's Kaine in pain is priceless and the kind of classic PAD humor that makes his books so enjoyable.) --Also, I want to point out that we have a civilian calling Kaine "Spider-Man;" if you've read my posts before, you know that I'm a sucker for PAD continually reminding us that Kaine and Ben will always be compared to Peter, both in-world and from the readers, as well, (not to mention by themselves and each other).

3) Meanwhile, Ben is sneaking into a naval base to find Dr. Sheldon Sanders. He ties up some random footsoldier and steals his uniform (in a very "Ben" way). Ben's initially believes this outing is going to be a cakewalk but is proven wrong when he meets the doctor's assistant, Karl - aka Sauron! What?! --All I know is that an appearance of Sauron demands an appearance by Stegron as well. (I love me some Stegron!) --I would be remiss not to note that we get another character who believes a Scarlet Spider is actually Spider-Man: Sauron believes he's fighting Spidey because Ben is webbing him despite being in civilian clothing!

4) The cover for next issue has Ben in his Scarlet gear fighting a flying Sauron. Unlike many of the covers lately, one can presume that we may actually be getting a view of the contents of the next issue!

More thoughts:

I certainly love reading this series, but don't take that as being blind to its issues: the vanishing scars on Ben's face is certainly problematic considering how important they are to the heart of the story. At first I was thinking that Sliney was just drawing the scars differently - all over the face rather than located over one eye; but even still, there were panels when Ben's face seemed perfectly clear.

Also, I was thinking about how weird this book can be: like, for me, the best part of the book featured Kaine, and this hasn't been the first issue where he really stole the show. Yet, Kaine fighting the Mindless One seems like an after-thought: it's like PAD needed something for Kaine to do in this issue, instead of having had an idea beforehand about Kaine's involvement by this point in the series. I don't blame PAD for changing course based on reader preference in order to keep the book going - if that is actually the case; I could be wrong - but I do think it has contributed to the choppiness / weird pacing that has affected the book at times.

We have future solicits for at least four more issues, and it sounds like we'll be getting answers regarding the Diogenes Initiative soon. I'm curious which sublplots will end up tying back to them. We know they have some sort of power over life and death, control over demons - who knows what else?! Do they have something to do with Kaine's Mindless One? Sauron? What about when the Hippo was taking out football players? Will Mysteria show her face again in some new, demonic form?

I can't wait to find out, and I can't wait to hear what everyone thought about this issue!

-Pav, who wants his own Mindless One...

[Cyke]

Cycops!

You guyz, it's Cycops!

[Huntsman Spider]

Cycops!

You guyz, it's Cycops!

I'm glad some people in-universe still think Cyclops is a hero. He did deserve a lot better than he got at the end.

That being said, I generally agree with Pav's observations on this issue. Bit underwhelming, but I'm really hoping the fight with Sauron kicks things into a higher gear. Also, speaking of Sauron, I'm guessing he's still sore about his run-in with Spider-Man back in Spider-Man and the X-Men.

[Tien Long]

Great observations Pav! Yeah, in terms of continuity, I was a little confused with how there weren't any more scars on Ben's face.

As for the stories featured in the title themselves, I'm both interested yet at the same time underwhelmed. Regarding the former, I like how there are certain things that can be done to the characters in this title that can't be done with Spider-Man. Facing a Mindless One or Sauron, yeah Spider-Man could face them, but part me of has this tiny fear that either Kaine, Ben, or both could end up dead at the end of the issue (or at the very least beaten up severely). There's this atmosphere of being expendable in regards to the Scarlet Bros. and that's pretty cool.

At the same time though, fighting against a Mindless One or Sauron, it all seems a little random. And at times, that's the feeling I get with the title. Either the story is a little random or the dialogue is random. This awkwardness frustrates me at times with the title.

Still, I see a lot of potential with it. I like the core cast of characters, especially the heroes. Although Ben is ostensibly the star, having Kaine and the rest of the Slingers are great touches as well. At times, it feels like an homage to Spider-Man in the late 90s. I'm really hoping that's what PAD does with the title, have Ben and Kaine head up a new group of Slingers.

In any case, looking forward to next issue!

[HypnoHustler]

As I mentioned elsewhere, I’m really annoyed at the error in forgetting Ben’s scarred eye. I blame the editor more than the artist. The editor should look for these mistakes, and that’s an easy one to spot. Ben’s scarring based on moral lapses is an important ongoing subplot in the book. This is not a small and easily overlooked goof, like forgetting web lines on a costume or a thought bubble coming from the wrong person. This is a pretty bad one as far as mistakes go. Between this and the wrong artist being credited on the cover last month, the editor really needs to up his game. So that may have impacted my enjoyment a bit, as it took me out of the story. I kept backtracking through the last few issues to see if Death had fixed Ben’s eye, but nope.

As for the story itself, it was pretty forgettable fare. Mostly set-up. I didn’t care for Kaine’s pointless fight with a mindless one. Don’t really understand where PAD is going with that. Ben infiltrating the military base (despite the eye scarring goof) and the Sauron reveal was pretty cool. But overall this issue was pretty average, like a C grade.

I think this series started bad, as PAD was left with a mess from Slott’s Clone Conspiracy and didn’t really know what to do with Ben’s character. But then around issue 6 or 7 when Ben met Death it got good and found direction and purpose. That Slingers arc was awesome. But I feel that since the Damnation tie-in the series has lost steam again. It’s hard to care about what’s happening in the books right now. I feel like the Abigail subplot should’ve been wrapped up six months ago, and as much as I love Kaine I think including his own stories and fights in the book means Ben is spread too thin. So I’ll keep reading, but I think PAD needs to get his second wind with this book. Hopefully the tired Abigail plot is finally coming to an end.

[Huntsman Spider]

As I mentioned elsewhere, I’m really annoyed at the error in forgetting Ben’s scarred eye. I blame the editor more than the artist. The editor should look for these mistakes, and that’s an easy one to spot. Ben’s scarring based on moral lapses is an important ongoing subplot in the book. This is not a small and easily overlooked goof, like forgetting web lines on a costume or a thought bubble coming from the wrong person. This is a pretty bad one as far as mistakes go. Between this and the wrong artist being credited on the cover last month, the editor really needs to up his game. So that may have impacted my enjoyment a bit, as it took me out of the story. I kept backtracking through the last few issues to see if Death had fixed Ben’s eye, but nope.

As for the story itself, it was pretty forgettable fare. Mostly set-up. I didn’t care for Kaine’s pointless fight with a mindless one. Don’t really understand where PAD is going with that. Ben infiltrating the military base (despite the eye scarring goof) and the Sauron reveal was pretty cool. But overall this issue was pretty average, like a C grade.

I think this series started bad, as PAD was left with a mess from Slott’s Clone Conspiracy and didn’t really know what to do with Ben’s character. But then around issue 6 or 7 when Ben met Death it got good and found direction and purpose. That Slingers arc was awesome. But I feel that since the Damnation tie-in the series has lost steam again. It’s hard to care about what’s happening in the books right now. I feel like the Abigail subplot should’ve been wrapped up six months ago, and as much as I love Kaine I think including his own stories and fights in the book means Ben is spread too thin. So I’ll keep reading, but I think PAD needs to get his second wind with this book. Hopefully the tired Abigail plot is finally coming to an end.

You might be getting your wish on that last part in September, as those issues solicited are apparently supposed to wrap up the "find a cure for Abigail" subplot, though it may come at the cost of a proverbial (or literal) Faustian bargain with the Diogenes Initiative.

[Kurolegacy]

Worth noting, it seems that Ben’s made some great strides towards healing his soul the past couple arcs considering that the affliction around his eye is gone and he’s back to normal appearance again.

[HypnoHustler]

Worth noting, it seems that Ben’s made some great strides towards healing his soul the past couple arcs considering that the affliction around his eye is gone and he’s back to normal appearance again.

It’s also worth noting that was a goof, not an evolution of that subplot. At least that’s what I think since he was still wearing his glasses in the beginning of the issue and Ben has made no mention of his eye healing.