Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider #23 Review

Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider #23

Writer: Peter David

Artist: Will Sliney

Color Artist: Rachelle Rosenberg

Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Khary Randolph & Emilio Lopez

Assistant Editors: Lauren Amaro

Editor: Devin Lewis

Executive Editor: Nick Lowe

Editor in Chief: C. B. Cebulski

Chief Creative Officer: Joe Quesada

President: Dan Buckley

Executive Producer: Alan Fine

“Senior moment. Brain fart. Whatever, don’t worry about it.” — Ben Reilly

The Story: Okay, guys, after last issue, things dramatically improved. With that being said, Ben and Kaine make their way back to the casino, cure in hand. They get out of the mad cabbie’s car (they did magically appear in his cab, causing him to hit a lamppost, after all) and inside the hotel, they run into Aunt June. She tries to warn them about… something. But apparently, she can’t remember what it was. Ben and an invisible Kaine (remember that cool little feature his costume has?) make their way to Abigail’s room and prepare to administer to her the cure. And just in time, too, since she has only hours at best left to live.

However, a time platform opens, (yes, the Dr. Doom kind) and out comes Abigail. She explains to them that the blood made her unable to die or even age. She begs them not to let her have the cure. They reluctantly respect her wishes, allowing her present self to die.

Turns out that Gabriel was trying to warn Ben through June that future Abigail was really Mephisto! Still mad at Ben for having broken his deal to him in the “Midnight Sons” crossover, Mephisto has come to get revenge on the Peter Parker clone. Mephisto has mentally convinced Stone and Cassandra Mercury that Ben refused to give Abigail the cure in order to sell it for a profit. Being the kind soul he is, Mephisto promises to restore their memories if Ben can survive for one hour. Things look grim as Cassandra stabs Ben in the chest, leaving us with one helluva cliffhanger!

The Good: David and Sliney really kicked things into high gear this issue, and everything is back on track, so it’ll be a shame to see the book ending. The pacing was much better this issue, and there everything was crystal clear from Sliney’s artwork. It was pretty cool to see a Maestro Hulk cameo too, even if it was part of a lie Mephisto was spinning.

The Bad: I guess it’s too late in the game to hope for a new cover artist? I’m not sure if this belongs here or not, but if invisible Kaine is supposed to be in the room with Ben, why did he let Cassandra stab him? Is he being mentally manipulated, too? He’s kind of just forgotten about towards the end of the issue. Other than that minor quibble, I can’t think of anything else.

I’m giving this issue 8/10 Time Platforms. This was a really enjoyable read and I can’t wait to see what happens with our favorite clones next!