Marvel has announced that the two Scarlet Spiders of the Marvel Universe will collide in this summer’s Chasm: Curse of Kaine. The issue takes place right after the events of 2022’s Dark Web. It stars Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker and will spin directly out of March’s giant-sized one-shot Web of Spider-Man #1. This one-shot features stories from Zeb Wells, Greg Weisman, Steve Foxe, and Alex Segura. It also features art from Ed McGuinness, John Romita Jr., Greg Land, and Salvador Larroca. This upcoming comic will usher in a new era of Spider-Man storytelling, including Chasm: Curse of Kaine.
Two Scarlet Spiders
Chasm: Curse of Kaine focuses on the two characters who donned the Scarlet Spider suit: Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker. The two Spider-Clones have taken different paths throughout their Marvel journeys. The once-villainous Kaine Parker has taken a more heroic turn in recent years. They began an arc of redemption as the Scarlet Spider of Houston in Scarlet Spiders, The Clone Conspiracy, and Spider-Geddon. Meanwhile, Kaine’s clone brother, Ben, is following a darker path. After dying in 1996’s Spider-Man #75, the character returned as the evil Jackal. He then went on to be the Scarlet Spider of Las Vegas.
Both Scarlet Spiders did clash before in Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider #5. Now, after a recent second death and resurrection in Spider-Geddon, Ben has encountered psycho-reactive goo. This has turned him into the rather villainous Chasm. As Chasm, he joined forces with the Goblin Queen and aided her in the Dark Web event. It ended with his imprisonment in Limbo.
Chasm: Curse of Kaine
Now, these two clones are about to meet once again in Chasm: Curse of Kaine. However, whether their journeys in their time apart have changed them has yet to be seen. This means that when the two do collide, it is hard to tell if they will be friend or foe. Plus, Marvel promises that someone else is lurking in the shadows as the two Scarlet Spiders meet, and you will never guess who it could possibly be.
Web of Spider-Man #1 is one sale 3/27 followed by Chasm: Curse of Kaine in summer 2024.
