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Scarlet Spider II
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Scarlet Spider II

Kaine Parker

Prime Marvel Universe

Scarlet Spider II's History

Birth

The clone that would come to be known as Kaine was the Jackal's first attempt at cloning Peter Parker. Initially thought to be a success Kaine eventually became deformed due to a flaw in the cloning process. As he continued to degenerate he was left further deformed and mentally unstable.

The Jackal allowed Kaine to live as a test subject and to see how long the clone would survive (far exceeding his expectations). Kaine experienced a strong feeling of rejection similar to that between a father and son. Kaine left Professor Warren and realized the partial degeneration also caused a slight amplification of the powers he genetically "inherited" from Peter. His strength, speed, and agility were comparable to the original Peter's, but he also gained precognitive powers (a so-called "precognitive sense") as well, which shows him flashes of the future. (This new ability has been assumed to be an amplified version of Peter's spider-sense). He also possessed a "Mark of Kaine," a corrosive touch that he used to leave eaten away hand prints on his victims' faces.

The Jackal went on to create another clone; the man who would become Ben Reilly. When the Jackal used Reilly against Peter, the ensuing battle left Reilly and the Jackal (really a clone of Warren) for dead. They both managed to survive; the Jackal placed himself into suspended animation in a cloning pod to awaken later; and Reilly left New York upon realizing that he was the clone.

Behind the scenes, Norman Osborn managed to have the files on Ben and Peter switched, so that the Jackal would think Peter was the clone and Ben was the real deal. Consulting the Jackal's files, Kaine also believed the same, so he followed Ben Reilly throughout his "exile". For a time, he found love in the arms of police detective Louise Kennedy of Salt Lake City, but when he discovered she was working for the criminals, coupled with Kaine's increased cellular degeneration, pushed him even further towards insanity. After killing Louise (Although a part of him still loved her), Kaine continued to stalk Ben, making it appear as though Janine Godbe, the woman Ben had come to love, had committed suicide and then framed Ben for various murders he committed (Kaine and Ben had the same fingerprints). He hoped in doing this that he could give who he thought was the clone (Peter) the life he could never have.

Return to New York

When Ben returned to New York to visit a sick Aunt May (since revealed to be a genetically altered actress) Kaine followed. By this time Kaine had become a feared and respected mob hit-man. When he discovered that Ben was in the city he hounded him to try and prevent Ben from involving himself in Peter's life. It was at this time that his enhanced spider-sense warned him that someone would kill Mary Jane and because of this Kaine went on a killing spree--killing anyone who seemed a potential threat. Among those he killed were villains Doctor Octopus, and the Grim Hunter. This (of course) attracted the attention of Spider-man and the Scarlet Spider. The wave of killings was put up on police bulletin boards nationwide and Kaine's distinctive M.O. was recognized in Salt Lake City there Louise Kennedy's ex-partner immediately left for New York to bring the killer to justice.

Trial of Peter Parker

Peter wanted Kaine to stand trial for what he had done, but Kaine initially refused. The two fought and ended up getting dragged into a mock-trial where Spider-Man was on trial, Kaine was his defense attorney, Carnage was the prosecutor, several Ravencroft Institute inmates were the jury, and a powerful being known as Judas Traveller was the judge. During the one-sided trial, Kaine tried to physically fight off all those who were against Spider-Man before Traveller returned them to their previous place of battle. Peter was eventually imprisoned for Kaine's crimes (as all three individuals had the same fingerprints), but after a period of time Ben took his place in prison.

After an incident involving a super-powered villainess named Stunner, a weakened Kaine still refused to confess to his crimes. Spider-Man responded by knocking Kaine out and webbing him up before heading to the courthouse. Kaine reawakened before they arrived and struggled again with Spider-Man refusing to confess. At this point, Kaine admitted that he had done everything to protect Peter's life and revealed that he was the first clone of Peter, now partially degenerated. Spider-Man decided that if Kaine would not reveal the truth, then he would reveal his true identity to the entire courtroom and end everything. Kaine pleaded for Peter not to do this and before Peter could reveal the truth Kaine confessed to the murders and left the "Mark of Kaine" on the Judge's podium. Kaine was then taken into custody.

Maximum Clonage

After the trial Peter and Ben decided once and for all to determine who the real Peter Parker is. They used Seward Trainers lab to do the test, and found that Ben was the original and Peter the clone (secretly Seward was under the influence of Osborn and altered the results), this pushed Peter over the edge and he, in a fit of rage, struck Mary Jane when she tried to stop him from killing Ben. Ashamed of what he done Peter fled the lab.

After Peter gave in to the news that he was the clone and Ben the true Peter Parker, he allied himself with the Jackal. But Kaine refused to let him throw his life away. He confronted the Jackal with the full intent of destroying him, when the Jackal manipulated his mind once more and led Kaine to believe he could be cured of the flaw triggering the degeneration process. Once the Jackal revealed that he had lied again, Kaine left feeling dejected. He went back to Mary Jane for answers, and after a conversation about power and responsibility, Kaine returned to the Jackal's lab in time to assist Ben in a battle against numerous Spider-clones. In the ensuing battle Kaine saved the Jackal from Spidercide but was then impaled on a masonry spike. When he asked why Kaine simply replied, "You gave me life." The Jackal, curiously, then placed Kaine in a regeneration pod. When the pod was next seen, it was empty.

The Return of Kaine

During Reilly's time as Spider-Man, some of the world's strongest fighters were pitted against one another in a fighting competition called the Great Game, a fighting tournament in which wealthy people wagered on the fighters for their amusement.

One of the Game's main sponsors, James Johnsmeyer, found the pod containing the revived Kaine, and decided to initiate him into the competition, sending the Rhino to fight him. After Kaine's refusal and escape, thanks to temporary partner Shannon, Johnsmeyer still attempted to involve Kaine by allowing other Game competitors to attack him (Joystick and Polestar). Spider-Man interfered in the skirmish and got sidetracked by Joystick and Polestar while Kaine gave a near-fatal beating to the Rhino and escaped with Shannon. Before they were able to get away, Spider-Man had managed to tag Shannon with a tracer and he pursued them once Polestar and Rhino were taken into custody. He found them moments before the police, but after an incident that threatened to kill the officers, Kaine and Shannon escaped again.

This time, Kaine's destination was Johnsmeyer's headquarters. Spider-Man found them once again after Kaine managed to single-handedly destroy all of Johnsmeyer's rooftop security defenses, but once inside, Johnsmeyer revealed that Shannon--who was still working for Johnsmeyer during the entire ordeal--had been manipulating and deceiving Kaine. Kaine, not wanting to become a puppet of anyone ever again, tried to kill Shannon but was persuaded by Spider-Man not to do so. Kaine left, vowing to take down every sponsor of the Great Game.

Kaine's Redemption

During a later encounter with Ben Reilly, in which Janine Godbe returned to the man she loved, Kaine finally brought himself to let go of his hatred for his brother, even saving Ben's life after nearly leaving him to die in a burning diner. Encouraged by his brother's example (as well as finally acknowledging Ben as his brother rather than his foe), Kaine handed himself over to the law, as Janine (who was wanted for the murder of her abusive father) did the same.

Several months later, however, he escaped from jail alongside other super-powered criminals. Kaine broke out to try and stop Norman Osborn after finding out that Harry Osborn was still alive and had masterminded the Clone Saga, and briefly worked against Osborn's agents in southern Europe.

Dark Reign

Kaine later returned to New York City, attacking Spider-Man as he tried to track down Raptor. He revealed that he has sought Raptor out, hoping that he could cure his cellular degeneration, and attacked Spider-Man to keep him from the villain.

When Raptor attacked Harry Osborn and Peter's cousins at Aunt May's house, Kaine appeared, having been working with Raptor the whole time. He exposed Peter's identity as Spider-Man and stated that Peter was a clone of Reilly and should be killed since he was the closest thing to Ben. Peter beat Raptor unconscious and escaped. Raptor had lied to Kaine about being able to cure his degeneration to gain an ally in his quest for revenge. Furious, Kaine breaks his neck, seemingly killing him.

Grim Hunt

Kaine is attacked by Alyosha and Ana Kravinoff for being associated with spiders. However, seeing as he wasn't a true spider, they decided to punish him by keeping him alive. Nevertheless, they wounded Kaine severely enough that he flees to Peter Parker's apartment seeking help. Peter hides him in the bathroom, then leaves to attempt to stop the Kravinoffs. When we next see Kaine, he has shaved and cut his hair, and now looks like Peter (albeit with a badly scarred face). When Spider-Man is "killed" resurrecting Kraven, it was discovered that it was actually Kaine under disguised, and he had given his life to save Peter.

At the end of the Grim Hunt, Kaine is buried as a Parker but is later seen rising from the dead, with mutated features, including extra eyes in a spider-like pattern on his forehead, with the Jackal saying 'Rise, cursed one. Rise... Tarantula'. Kaine is then further changed by the Jackal into a tarantula-like creature, with 4 spider legs growing from his back and a spider's face.

Spider-Island

The Jackal makes him the first of his army of individuals to use during the Spider-Island event. Kaine however follows the Jackal merely because he is under his control. In his final confrontation with the original, Spider-Man throws him into a tank filled with "the cure", a concentration of Anti-Venom's symbiote to help cure the people of Spider-Island. The cure does more than turn Kaine from a monster, it also stabilizes Kaine's DNA and makes him a perfect clone of Peter Parker; similar to Ben Reilly. Kaine then helps with the retaliation against the Spider Queen, Adriana Soria, in Central Park and does what the original Peter Parker cannot do to anyone; he kills the Queen.

Becoming the Scarlet Spider

Earning money from stopping robbers, and robbing, Kaine started a trip around the USA to enter Mexico. During his stay in Houston, Texas, he saved a young girl from human traffickers and left her in a hospital. A super-powered villain interrupted there to search for her, Aracely, and Kaine had the feeling that he had to save her, instead of leaving Houston. In a scarlet suit similar to Spider-Man's, Kaine faced the Salamander and managed to defeat him, being named by him as "Ara�a Escarlata" (Scarlet Spider in spanish). When the people at the scene cheered him, and told them they hadn't heroes and needed one and feeling responsible for Aracely, Kaine stayed in Houston as Scarlet Spider, their hero.

After saving the life of the Doctor Meland from an assassin hired by Terrance Mitchell, who blamed the doctor for the death of his daughter after an accident, Kaine was targeted by the Assassins Guild.