#{first copy; kaine parker}

[museincarnate]

‘  was  that  an  accident?  ’ //Tater to Kaine

"Which part? The car accident two blocks away, you bumping into me, or my fucking coffee spilling all over the sidewalk?" Shrunken, irate and impatient pupils snapped to the Little Rabbit woman that spoke to him, as a finger and thumb pinched at his own shirt; threatening to pull it off for... Some reason. Oddly enough, the car accident was in the direction he was walking, and his gaze kept darting between her and the scene. His tone certainly wasn't hostile, but impatience seemed to have Kaine in a stranglehold.

[kj-rookiebelt]

Regina Rosso was an orphan on the streets of san Francisco. She went from home to home, and when she was sleeping in the subway, she was bitten by a sun spider tarantula. The bite jump started the x gene in her. She finds herself shooting sticky silk from her fingertips and manipulate it like medusa from the inhumans and hard quills from her arms and her hair is really sensitive to the changing air pressure( like inosuke in demon slayer). she also find her self becoming faster and stronger in warmer weather when she traveled to las angeles. at the age of 10, she was taken in by a mma coach who found her sleeping behind his gym. he gave her a place to sleep and food to eat. eventually, at the age of 12 he taught her how to fight. Boxing, wrestling, bjj, karate and even pressure points. 4 years later, an anti mutant group called the true-men was harassing his gym and torch it to the ground and killed her father in the blazed. She founded the body scarred and scorched. She swore to get revenge. She follow the True-men to their hotel room and smashed through the door. She quickly shoot silk at the balcony window and at the exit to stop their escape. She beaten them to a bloody pulp but she can’t killed them. moments later, she was found by logan and the x force (deadpool, psylock, arch angel, and domino). she was taken in and healed with the x men. At first, she went by sun strider when she was with the x men. when she was 18 and joined the west coast advengers, she taken the monicker of tarantula, but some corporate jerks tried to sue them for copying spider man so return to sun strider. at the year 2045, when she’s 22 and decided to work solo in new york. she become friends with the parker-jane family. She was given the blessing to use the spider mantle and becoming The mutant spider girl. She trained under kaine parker. She even found love in the frog themed pun spewing amputee french inventing thief “the croaker” or also known as Amélie Giroux. But she is also have enemies such as the multi personality gangster who collectively called them selves badger. The personalities are mr maple (mob boss), mr honey (the deranged hit man), mr weasel (information broker), and mr shell (the psychopath).

[scarletspider2the2ndpower]

Variant Cover for Scarlet Spider (Vol. 2/2012), #1 by Mark Bagley.

[traincat]

Disregard my last ask because the latest issue raised a troubling question that I, as a black man, feel the need to clarify with you, a woman. That whole whole Ned Leeds/Betty Brant business is sexual assault via deception right? Like you know more about Clones and Spider-Man 616 than I but I feel like that’s besides the point because it happened to Betty. She is carrying the child of whom she thought was her dead ex-husband. And Ned clone has to know he is a clone. He has to know. Unlike Ben and Kaine, he has the awareness and information of the Jackal and the awareness of his progenitor’s death.

Or am I reaching too far and reading too far into things?

I'm glad you came back and asked this specific question because it's definitely something I have a lot of thoughts on, and I’m glad you asked my thoughts on it as a woman because I think this is one of those comic book storylines that’s hard for me to divorce that fact from -- the fact that I’m a woman definitely plays into how I view this storyline specifically and how it effects me, in ways I don’t think were necessarily intended by some of the writers involved in its ongoing arc who were not looking at things from the same perspective I’m coming at them from. I definitely don't think you're reaching or reading too far into things -- I think that is what's being presented on the page, albeit likely without authorial intent. Just as like a general disclaimer, I'm not closely following Spencer's run for the sheer reason that I'm not enjoying it very much, although I'm aware of the general directions it's taking through friends and social media. But I actually think this Betty/Ned issue goes back pretty far.

First things first, I think Clone Conspiracy really wreaked havoc on how Spider-Man as a series has always handled clones. Pre-Clone Conspiracy, there was a very clear clone narrative going on: clones are their own person, they are not direct copies or replacements of the original. You see this with Ben Reilly and you see it with the Gwen Stacy clones. Clones are treated as their own individuals, even if they have to struggle to get to that point -- there's even an issue of Spider-Man Unlimited where Ben and Betty go on a date. Betty doesn't know that Ben is Peter's clone -- he's introduced as his cousin -- and they both reflect on how you can't go back to the way things were. So even though Ben has all of Peter's memories regarding his initial romance with Betty, the narrative makes it clear that Ben and Betty cannot recapture that connection or that exact relationship.

Here's where Clone Conspiracy changed everything, in my opinion for the worse: Clone Conspiracy's clone narrative is that these clones are, essentially, the original person. I believe the Marvel wiki still actually lists the end of Clone Conspiracy as 616 Gwen Stacy's issue of death instead of Amazing Spider-Man #121, because Clone Conspiracy treated that Gwen not simply as a clone with all of the same memories, but as essentially Gwen resurrected through a cloning process. The Billy Connors who was cloned is treated as the same Billy Connors who was killed by his father in Shed (Amazing Spider-Man #630-633). And the clone Ned is treated as the same as 616 Ned. This is a mess, to put it simply, because it goes against all the previous Spider-Man cloning narratives and, honestly, most popular sci-fi clone narratives, and it's seriously undermining decades of good Spider-Man storytelling in ways that Slott didn't address and that Spencer seems unwilling to. It probably wouldn't have been a very big deal -- a frustrating one, but not a big one -- if all of the clones had perished at the end of Clone Conspiracy, but they didn't. Billy Connors escaped, and it's immensely frustrating to me to see Peter treating the Connors family reunion as something he can tolerate when Curt Connors ate his kid, and the Ned clone slithered away in the gutters to, I assume, spite me personally.

Which brings us to the current Betty Brant storyline in Amazing Spider-Man, where Betty has showed up heavily pregnant and informed Peter that the child is Ned's.

Yeah, I would say this is in fact the worst possible part. (ASM (2018) #67) Just speaking for myself, I'm generally not anti-pregnancy or baby storylines in comics, but this one is making me very uncomfortable for reasons beside Spencer being apparently unable to find any way to fit Betty into his stories without her showing pregnant.

So I'm actually going to take this back way, way to when Betty and Ned first got married, with some explanation of who Ned Leeds is for the uninformed, because, especially with the MCU's Ned Leeds in the mix, he's not exactly the world's most well known Spider-Man character. (I’m sure @ubernegro, who is much more well read on Miles Morales’ canon than I am, has thoughts on how the MCU’s Ned borrowed heavily off the character of Ganke Lee with a 616 Peter Parker character’s name pasted over him.) Ned was initially introduced as Peter's competition for Betty's affections -- Ned was older than both Peter and Betty, a working reporter, and presented as the more "stable" option compared to Peter, who of course Betty vastly preferred before circumstances tore them apart. Ned and Betty married in Amazing Spider-Man #156 and jetsetted off to Europe for Ned's job. This is where the cracks in the marriage began. Betty later reveals that she felt abandoned by Ned in Europe, to the point where she was able to come back to New York without his immediate notice -- as a woman, it's very easy to read their relationship at this point as being one filled with, if not abuse, then emotional neglect. Betty and Peter have a quick extramarital affair at this point -- Peter has just broken up with Mary Jane and Betty claims she and Ned are separating -- that persists until Ned returns and punches Peter over it.

(ASM #193)

(ASM #229) Betty and Ned reconcile off panel shortly thereafter, but that's pretty far from the end of the story. It's implied that the problems Betty and Ned previously had start to develop again, namely that Betty feels abandoned by Ned, that he is inattentive and, again, as a woman, it's hard not to read it as emotional neglect, if not abuse -- yet. Betty does start another affair at this point, this time with Flash Thompson, and Ned starts acting strangely. It would later be retconned that he was suffering the effects of hypnotism by the Hobgoblin, but like I said, that's a retcon, and what was happening at the time was that Ned was acting erratically in part because he was the villainous Hobgoblin. Ned becomes controlling, threatening, and verbally and physically abusive towards Betty.

(ASM #284)

(ASM #283) "I suppose you think it's all right for a wife to cheat on her husband!" "No -- but I won't let you hurt her, either." Leaving aside that Peter also had an affair with Betty, something he's conveniently forgetting in the above panels, I've always really liked this exchange, because the narrative makes it clear through Peter's response to Ned that, whatever the audience may think of Betty for cheating on Ned, it is reprehensible for Ned to publicly humiliate her and/or physically abuse her as a response.

Then Ned Leeds dies in Spider-Man vs Wolverine and he's revealed as the Hobgoblin posthumously shortly thereafter and that remains canon for years and years until it's later retconned out, as comics are wont to do. But that's not really that important for this conversation -- my point being, at one point in Spider-Man canon, it's made fairly clear to the reader that Ned is an abusive husband. He emotionally neglected and abused Betty several times over and physically hurt her at least once on panel, with the clear intent that the reader should realize that he is physically hurting her. So for me as a reader and as a woman, this has always been a really uncomfortable relationship. I have a problem with later Spider-Man comics claiming that it's "not Ned's fault" that he abused Betty because of the retcon that he was hypnotized, and I have a problem with the MCU making Betty and Ned into a cute summer fling in Spider-Man: Far From Home, because I feel like Ned's clear abuse of Betty either gets excused or entirely glossed over. And I don’t think the initial abuse storyline is bad -- I think there’s some amount of value in portraying Betty as a woman who marries too young, who experiences a terrible marriage, and who then spends years recovering from that marriage, which was the case up until they retconned Ned’s abuse of her as a side effect of him being controlled by the real Hobgoblin. What I’m specifically uncomfortable with is the post-retcon attitude that since Ned didn’t really mean to abuse Betty, it’s perfectly fine to portray the relationship in a positive light when even before Ned’s abuse became physical that wasn’t the case. I think that’s ultimately really irresponsible storytelling.  As a reader, I’m not against soap opera style storylines -- someone getting impregnated by a cone of their ex-husband seems pretty par for the course. But there’s so much additional context here that I still haven’t entirely processed how I feel about this Betty storyline, except that what I feel isn’t positive.

So yes, I would agree with you when I say I think there’s quite a lot of deception involved in Betty’s pregnancy storyline -- the Ned clone didn’t tell her he was a clone, even though he had full knowledge of that fact, just as he had full knowledge of how badly the original Ned treated Betty over the course of their relationship -- that renders their sexual encounter and Betty’s pregnancy uncomfortable for me as a reader, to put it mildly. I don’t think it’s out of character for the Ned clone, given that he acts much like the original Ned: he’s selfish and controlling, withholding information from Betty to suit his own needs. The tragedy of Ned and Betty isn’t that Ned died, as more recent Spider-Man stories like to portray it -- including this one, where Betty doesn’t have the knowledge that a) the Ned she reunited with was a clone and not the original and b) that that clone later died. (ASM #816.) The tragedy is that writers continue to force Betty Brant into Ned Leeds storylines instead of letting her as a character grow past him, and that the only way Spencer thought to include her, one of the longest running Spider-Man characters, back in the story was to have her appear starry-eyed over carrying the child of (the clone of) her abusive ex-husband, and the tragedy is that nobody writing more recent Betty and Ned interactions seems to realize that Ned was a villain not because he was briefly the Hobgoblin but because of how he treated Betty. 

[multiverseforger]

Kaine is the Jackal's first temporary success to clone Peter Parker but the flawed cloning process is left deformed and mentally unstable. Kaine is later identified by the Jackal as "Parker 3.0";[4] the implications of this are unknown. The Jackal discards Kaine because the clone starts showing early signs of the degeneration process, and Kaine experiences a strong feeling of rejection similar to that between a father and son. Kaine realizes the partial degeneration also caused a slight amplification of the powers he "inherited" from Peter. Not only has his strength, speed, and agility been copied from the original Peter's, but he gains a "precognitive sense" that shows him flashes of the future (an amplified version of Peter's spider-sense). He also possesses a "Mark of Kaine", a burning touch that he uses to leave eaten away hand prints on his victims' faces. Though never explicitly stated within the story, in a later interview former Spider-Man editor/writer Glenn Greenberg revealed that the Mark of Kaine was meant to be another analog of one of Spider-Man's powers, namely the ability to cling to walls.[5]

The Jackal goes on to create a new, better clone which would be known as Ben Reilly. When the Jackal uses Reilly against Peter, the ensuing battle leaves Reilly and the Jackal for dead. They both manage to survive; the Jackal places himself into suspended animation in a cloning pod to awaken later; and Reilly leaves New York.[volume & issue needed]

Behind the scenes, Norman Osborn manages to have the files on Ben and Peter switched, so the Jackal would think Peter is the clone and Ben is the real deal. Consulting the Jackal's files, Kaine also believes the same, so he follows Ben through his "exile". For a time, he finds love in the arms of police detective Louise Kennedy of Salt Lake City, until he discovers she is working for the criminals. This revelation, coupled with Kaine's increased cellular degeneration, pushes Kaine even further towards insanity and he kills Louise. Kaine continues to stalk Ben, making it appear as though Janine Godbe, Ben's new love, has committed suicide. Kaine, hoping to give the man who he thinks is the clone (Peter) the life he could never have, frames Ben for a number of murders he commits since both men have the same fingerprints.[volume & issue needed]

Later flashback scenes reveal that Kaine worked as a bounty hunter for a time, being briefly dispatched to eliminate Kraven the Hunter. Kaine also experienced a 'vision' via his enhanced spider-sense that Kraven would kill him in the future. Despite the two engaging in a brutal confrontation — Kraven even briefly mistook Kaine for Spider-Man due to a vague recognition of Spider-Man's template in Kaine — both survive despite Kaine burying Kraven alive. Kraven dug himself out after three days, but his friend and manservant was killed by Kaine during the fight.[6][7][8][9]

Trial of Peter ParkerEdit

Peter Parker is eventually tried and convicted for Kaine's crimes because they have the same fingerprints. Although Peter goes to prison for some time, Ben Reilly arranges to take his place in prison.[10]

Kaine wanders New York, defeating and executing scores of Spider-Man's enemies, including the Grim Hunter and Doctor Octopus(although both would later be resurrected). They grow fearful of him and form coalitions to protect themselves proactively—including the short-lived 'Sinister Seven'—but meet with little success.[11]

Peter wants Kaine to stand for what he has done, but Kaine initially refuses. The two fight and end up getting dragged into a mock-trial where Spider-Man is on trial, Kaine is his defense attorney, Carnage is the prosecutor, several Ravencroft inmates are the jury, and a powerful being known as Judas Traveller is the judge. During the one-sided trial, Kaine tries to physically fight off all those who are against Spider-Man before Traveller returns them to their previous place of battle, declaring the proof of a lost soul such as Kaine willing to defend Spider-Man is proof of his innocence.[12]

After an incident involving a superpowered villainess named Stunner, a weakened Kaine still refuses to confess to his crimes. Spider-Man responds by knocking Kaine out and webbing him up before heading to the courthouse. Kaine reawakens before they arrive and struggles again with Spider-Man in refusing to confess. At this point, Kaine admits that he's done everything to protect Peter's life and reveals that he is the first clone of Peter, now partially degenerated. Spider-Man decides that if Kaine will not reveal the truth, then he will reveal his true identity to the entire courtroom and end everything. Kaine pleads for Peter not to do this and eventually gives into revealing the real truth about the murders and the "Mark of Kaine".[13]

Maximum ClonageEdit

After Peter Parker gives in to the news of being a clone and Ben Reilly is the true individual, he allies himself with the Jackal. Kaine refuses to let him throw his life away. He confronts the Jackal with the full intent of destroying him, when the Jackal manipulates his mind once more by leading Kaine to believe he will be cured of the degeneration process. Once Jackal reveals he has lied again, Kaine leaves feeling dejected. He goes back to Mary Jane Watson for answers, and after a conversation of power and responsibility, Kaine returns to the Jackal's lab in time to assist Ben in a battle against numerous Spider-clones. In the ensuing battle, Spidercide impales him with a spike taken from nearby machinery, seriously injuring and possibly killing him. The Jackal showed a moment of fatherly concern for Kaine, asking why after everything, Kaine would save him. Kaine dies telling Jackal 'You gave me life' and Jackal lets go of him indifferently, calling him "pathetic" and a waste of bad chemicals for saving his life over such a simple reason, but then eyes a regeneration pod, and remarks "but even bad chemicals can be put to good use".[volume & issue needed]

RedemptionEdit

During Ben Reilly's time as Spider-Man, some of the world's strongest fighters are pitted against one another in a fighting competition called the Great Game, a fighting tournament in which wealthy people wager on the fighters for their amusement.[volume & issue needed]

One of the Game's main sponsors, James Johnsmeyer, finds the pod containing the revived Kaine, and decides 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 attempts to involve Kaine by allowing other Game competitors to attack him (Joystick and Polestar). Spider-Man interferes in the skirmish and gets sidetracked by Joystick and Polestar while Kaine puts a near-fatal beating on Rhino and escapes with Shannon. Before they are able to get away, Spider-Man manages to tag Shannon with a tracer and he pursues them once Polestar and Rhino are taken into custody.[14]

He finds them moments before the police, but after an incident that threatened to kill the officers, Kaine and Shannon escape again. This time, Kaine's destination is Johnsmeyer's headquarters. Spider-Man finds them once again after Kaine manages to single-handedly destroy all of Johnsmeyer's rooftop security defenses, but once inside, Johnsmeyer reveals that Shannon — who was still working for Johnsmeyer during the entire ordeal — has been manipulating and deceiving Kaine. Kaine, not wanting to become a puppet of anyone ever again, tries to kill Shannon but was persuaded by Spider-Man not to do so. Kaine leaves and vows to take down every sponsor of the Great Game.[15]

During a later encounter with Reilly, in which Janine Godbe returns to the man she loved, Kaine finally brings 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 hands himself over to the law, as Janine (who was wanted for the murder of her abusive father) does the same, both accepting that they have to face their pasts to find any peace with themselves.[16]

At that point, it is revealed that his degeneration is killing him, and Kaine is incarcerated in some type of hospital-prison with other killers. Initially lamenting his situation and accepting his imminent death, Kaine resolves to fight after seeing hallucinations of Ben, the Jackal, Louise, himself, and Peter Parker.[17]

Several months later, he is shown escaping from jail alongside many other superpowered criminals in an issue of Thunderbolts.[18] Kaine breaks out to try to stop Norman Osborn after finding out that he is still alive, has masterminded the Clone Saga, and killed his brother Ben. Kaine is seen tracking down and attacking Osborn's agents in southern Europe, leaving behind his signature "Mark".[19] The incident is mentioned by one of Osborn's men, saying that there had been "difficulties with the one called Kaine, but we were able to persevere".[20]

ReturnEdit

Kaine later appears in New York City, attacking Spider-Man as he tried to track down Raptor.[21] He reveals that he has sought Raptor out, hoping that he could cure his cellular degeneration, and attacks Spider-Man to keep him from the villain. He also seems to hold some enmity towards Peter, perhaps after finding out he is the actual original Spider-Man.[22] He also is one of the few people to have remembered Peter's secret identity after the worldwide mindwipe of this knowledge by Mephisto (Peter noting that he should have expected his clone to remember his true identity if anyone would).[6]

When Raptor attacks Harry Osborn and Peter's cousins at Aunt May's house, Kaine appears, having been working with Raptor the whole time. He exposes Peter's identity as Spider-Man and states that Peter is a clone of Reilly and should be killed since he's the closest thing to Ben. Peter beats Raptor unconscious and escapes. It is later shown that Raptor lied to Kaine about being able to cure his degeneration to gain an ally in his quest for revenge. Furious, Kaine started to choke Raptor, seemingly killing him.[23]

Grim HuntEdit

Kaine is next seen being hunted by Ana Kravinoff and Alyosha Kravinoff.[24] Their next attempt to hunt Kaine succeeds in brutally beating him; he barely escapes with his life, the Kravinoffs mocking that he will be "The only spider left. Even if you are an ugly one". Kaine manages to get to Peter's apartment to warn Peter that they, the "spiders", are being hunted before he falls unconscious. Later that night, after shaving his beard and cutting his hair, Kaine aids Spider-Man, Arachne, and Anya Corazon against the Kraven clan.[6] After the Kravens abduct Araña and Arachne, Kaine tells Peter to 'run. Run and screw the rest'. Disgusted at Kaine's selfishness even when the two of them share DNA and memory, Spider-Man bluntly informs Kaine that the difference between them is the fact that he doesn't use his life's misery as an excuse to give up the good fight.[7] After Spider-Man is lying, defeated, in an open grave with the Kravens advancing, Kaine knocks him unconscious, puts on his costume, and fights the Kravens in his place. He is mauled, stabbed, and ultimately sacrificed to bring Kraven the Hunter back from the dead, thus achieving redemption with his last acts to save his 'brother'. The Kravens do not realize they have killed the wrong 'spider' until later that night when Kraven recognizes the scent of Kaine, and they unmask the dead Spider-Man. As a result of this, Kraven is now undead and can only be killed by the original Spider-Man.[8]

After the battle with the Kravinoffs, Kaine is buried under the "Kaine Parker" name. His body does not decompose to ash or goo, as the case with the Jackal’s other cloning efforts.

However, in the epilogue of Grim Hunt Kaine is shown climbing out of his own grave with mutated features, including extra eyes in a spider-like pattern on his forehead, with the narrative box saying 'Rise, cursed one. Rise... Tarantula'.[9] This is later shown to have been spoken by The Jackal, who was present at Kaine's resurrection.[volume & issue needed]

Spider-IslandEdit

During the Spider Island storyline, Kaine is further mutated by the Jackal into "Tarantula", a hulking Man-Spider creature: a man's body, with a spider head, covered head to toe in spider hair, with 4 spider legs projecting from his back.[25][4]

As Tarantula, he is put under Adriana Soria's control, acting as a personal bodyguard and henchman to the Jackal. Knowing about the genetic relationship between Kaine and Peter, Soria sends Kaine to Horizon Labs, to tamper with a cure being developed there for the "Spider-Virus". This culminates in a battle with Peter (made aware of the recent access to a private fingerprint locked lab), after which he's forcefully submerged in the pool of highly concentrated cure. Kaine re-emerges, his mind-link with Soria broken, and a fully healed clone. Despite the serum somehow curing him of every trace of his former degeneration, including his heavily scarred skin, Kaine claims to have retained his powers and abilities.[26] In the final chapter, Kaine, now fully cured and seemingly a perfect clone in every way Ben Reilly was, helps take down the Spider Queen. Kaine and Peter grab costumes from Peter's lab, Kaine opting for the sonic-shield "Big Time" outfit as the two head off. While Peter goes to the Empire State Building with Mary Jane to cure New York, Kaine stays behind with the Avengers to fight the Spider Queen. As Peter weakens the Spider Queen, Kaine and Ms. Marvel attempt a move that Ms. Marvel had originally perfected with Spider-Man, swinging Kaine by a web and launches him at the Spider Queen. Kaine turns on his sonic-shield to protect himself from the Spider Queen's sonic scream as stingers (like Peter's from The Other arc) erupt from his arms and he goes through Spider Queen's throat, delivering the killing blow.[27] The Other powers were confirmed in a conversation between Peter and Kaine, which Kaine said that "he died and came back with all these new powers" that Peter confirmed he had been there and done that.[27] After the battle, Kaine evades the other heroes during the aftermath of the battle using the suit, but Madame Web is able to 'see' him regardless, and talks to him about his future. Kaine meets up with Peter at the airport where he is seeing off Aunt May, unmasked and free of his former degeneration only looking slightly more disheveled and taller, much like Ben Reilly was in the Lost Years arc. Kaine informs Peter he is leaving New York, and that he is keeping the stealth suit due to Madame Web's advice.[28]

Scarlet SpiderEdit



Kaine Parker as Scarlet Spider.

Scarlet Spider vol. 2 #1 variant cover. Art by Mark Bagley.

Further information: Scarlet Spider (comic book) § Volume 2

It was revealed in the Marvel Point One one shot that Kaine is the new Scarlet Spider in his own ongoing series. This was confirmed by editor Stephen Wacker in the "Letters to the Editor" page of The Amazing Spider-Man #673.

Having been cured of his mutation, but not his spider-powers, he takes up the Scarlet Spider mantle, and moves to Houston, Texas.[29]Although planning to simply pass through the city and move on to Mexico, he was distracted when he discovered a human trafficking ring while attempting to steal money from criminals. Kaine managed to save the only girlstill alive in a shipping container that had been used to smuggle her group into America.[30]Kaine subsequently abandoned his plans to leave the city when the hospital where he left the victim was attacked by a fire-manipulating assassin who intended to kill the girl: Aracely. The policeman and the doctor who attended her case inspired Kaine to remain in Houston to help them face the city problems as its only superhero and to take Aracely with him, reasoning that if she were to stay under their case, she would be eventually deported and then be easy prey for whoever send the super-powered assassin after her, but as vigilante, Kaine was not honor-bound to follow the law in that regard.[31] However, after he is attacked by the Assassin's Guild—following a past incident where he killed on their territory without permission—Kaine is forced to make a deal with Bella Donna, where he agrees to perform one assassination for her in the future in return for her leaving him and his new friends alone.[32]

Without his Scarlet Spider outfit, Kaine finds himself face-to-face with Ana Kravinoff, who tries to kill Kaine before informing him that her father Kraven the Hunter is coming for him and there is nothing he can do. Madame Web's vision at the end of the issue confirms that dark times are coming for Kaine as the Kravens plan their next move.[33] Later, he gets involved with Roxxon Energy Corporation after the daughter of the CEO blows up the top floor of Roxxon's office building with a missile.[34] In his investigation of the events, he storms the CEO's offices and ends up fighting the hero team Rangers. He later allies with them when they discover that Roxxon had accidentally released an energy being from the ground in one of their oil platforms; to contain it, the company had acquired the services of human smugglers (the Lobo Cartel) to feed the beast with human sacrifices.[35]

To both avenge a Japanese girl who was murdered by her captors and the criminals behind the treatment of Aracely, Kaine investigates and attempts his best to stop human smuggling operations running through Houston.[36] Shortly after, Aracely starts to manifest weird dreams concerning the Sixth Creation, Aztlan, her missing parents, gods, a talking coyote and the Rise of Mictlan. Taking a stroll through the park to discuss this strange change, she and Kaine are attacked by the Lobo - drug crime leaders, the human smugglers behind Aracely's abduction and werewolves sent with the intent of killing her by the mysterious Mr. Moctezuma so "the Sixth Creation could begin". During the fight Aracely escapes but Kaine is beaten and eventually killed.[37] However, in death he encounters Ero, from "The Other" story arc, who states she can return him to life only if he embraces the other. Kaine at first rejects Ero but realizes that Aracely still needs his help, so he agrees. In the real world, Kaine bursts out of a web cocoon, reborn not as before, but as a monstrous spider-creature.[38] The spider-creature Kaine maims one of the two werewolves, forcing them to flee. He then attacks Aracely until she is able to use her mental powers to bring him back. Kaine breaks out of the husk of the spider-creature completely healed of all scars but still carrying the Other inside him. It is then that Aracely proclaims him as her "champion", a title that is not merely affective but also has a deeper meaning as hinted by her father's words and the strange portents with cryptic Aztec mythic symbolism in her dreams.[39]

When Kaine is forced to see a rodeo by Aracely, Wally, and Donald he fights a drunken Armadillo who is trying to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend. When Kaine sees Armadillo's ex-girlfriend accept him back despite being a monster he realizes he can have somebody in his life and he later kisses Annabelle. Unknown to Kaine, Sergei Kravinoff and Ana Kravinoff watched him fight Armadillo and Annabelle had destroyed a letter from Julia Carpenter warning him to leave Houston.[40]

After settling debts with the Assassins Guild and encountering the Superior Spider-Man, Kaine's scars returned.[41][42] This was however a trick by Kraven the Hunter who had drugged Kaine so he had hallucinate the scars' return as well as for a brief time seeing Kraven as Ben Reilly. After Kaine worked out he was being played he fought the hallucination, eventually seeing Kraven's face in a replica of Ben Reilly's costume. Kaine prepared to fight again unaware that Kraven and his daughter Ana had kidnapped Aracely, Annabelle and all his friends.[43] As his fight with Kravinoffs went on, it turned out Kraven wanted to settle the score with Kaine because Kaine's blood was used to resurrect Kraven and by using his blood Kraven was cursed into un-life and wanted to fight Kaine to the death, using his friends as a leverage should he refuse: Kaine's friend Donald is disemboweled when this happens.[44] Kaine kills then revives Kraven as a punishment, and then Kraven escapes with his daughter. Donald is then placed in intensive care, but the guilt threatens to overcome Kaine.[45]

After saving his friends once more when his hotel room is destroyed by the daughter of Roxxon's CEO with a rocket-propelled grenade while they were in the middle of an attack by the mystic entity Shathra and an arrest attempt by Wally (who is angry at him for Donald's condition), Kaine is forced to use the form of the Other once more in front of them, scaring away Annabelle. Overwhelmed by all these events occurring at the same time and his guilt, Kaine stops trying to be a hero in Houston and decides to go to Mexico with Aracely to help her find if her parents are alive and the truth of every mystery regarding her they have come across.[46]

New WarriorsEdit

Further information: New Warriors § New Warriors (vol. 5)

Kaine along with Hummingbird joins the New Warriors.[47]

Spider-VerseEdit

During the Spider-Verse storyline, Kaine was with the New Warriors in Eastern Europe when they were attacked by Daemos of the Inheritors. A family of Spider-Totem hunters, the Inheritors were tightening their noose on the spiders across the multi-verse, including Kaine, despite him being a clone of Peter Parker and the receptacle of "the Other". After Daemos defeated the New Warriors, Kaine attempted to impale him through the chest with spikes coming from his arm, as "the Other" Spider-monster within was inclined to takeover. Daemos realized that, unlike other spiders, Kaine's arsenal makes him feel pain. As Daemos realizes that Kaine is the current receptacle of the Other, believing he could savour the spider-essence within Kaine for days, he is suddenly by the group of other Spiders including Old Man Spider-Man, Spider-Man of Earth-70105, and Spider-Woman of Earth-65. Kaine is skeptical at first, believing these are clones (Parkers and Stacys) sent by his father, the Jackal. Suddenly, this version of Ben Reilly (the original Scarlet Spider) informs Kaine that they are other versions from across the multi-verse, which surprised Kaine, as his brother Ben Reilly of the 616 Universe was murdered by Green Goblin. Daemos then breaks Spider-Man of Earth-70105's spine and Kaine escapes with the into a portal to Earth-13, which was the Safe Zone.[48]

At the Safe Zone, the pheromones of Kaine's Spider-Essence (from the Other) are recognized by Silk. After collaborating with the other spiders, it becomes clear that the Inheritors have mastered cloning technology, as they regenerate with the same memories into new cloned bodies (explaining Morlun twice returning after turning to dust, as most clones do). As Black Widow of Earth 1610(Ultimate Peter Parker's female clone), Ben Reilly, and Kaine are all clones, they head the mission to Jennix's realm to infiltrate his cloning facility in the Baxter Building. After disabling that reality's Johnny Storm and Tony Stark, the clones then attempt to take on Jennix in the cloning facility. After Kaine killed Jennix with spikes coming from within, Jennix regenerated in the cloning caskets. After realizing that the top of the Baxter Building was the receiver that transferred the consciousness of deceased Inheritors into newly cloned bodies, Ben Reilly sacrificed himself to remove the Inheritors' safety net. After losing Ben Reilly a second time, Kaine began to feel the Other emerging and took off to Loomworld to face the Inheritors alone.[49]While coming face-to-face with the Inheritors, Kaine had spikes emerge from his body and he killed Solus, the Patriarch of the Inheritors. In retaliation, Morlun killed Kaine in his "Other form" by ripping off one of his spider arms and impaling him in the skull. As the Inheritors require the Bride (Silk), the Scion (Benjy Parker from MC2/Earth 982) and the Other, which was Kaine, for the ceremony, Kaine's body was required for his blood to be used in the coming ritual.[50]

After the other spiders defeat the Inheritors and imprison them in the bunker within Earth-3145, Karn was revealed to be a future Master Weaver. After past Karn takes his place as the Master Weaver and sends all the spiders to their home realities except for Spider-UK and Spider-Girl (who become the Warriors of the Great Web), a human hand bursts out of the Other's deceased husk, revealing that Kaine is still alive.[51]

Dead No More: The Clone ConspiracyEdit

Kaine returns in the Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy storyline, where he and Spider-Gwen attempt to help Peter escape New U Technologies. Prior to that, it was revealed that Kaine's human body emerged from the Other's corpse similar to Peter's in the "Changes" storyline and is greeted by the Master Weaver, who soon realizes that Kaine no longer has the powers of the Other and is now dying from the carrion virus that's a side-effect of Warren's cloning process, and is not allowed to go back to his Earth to avoid anyone catching it. Karn shows Kaine a number of realities with zombie apocalypses caused by this disease, and Kaine decides to visit these realities to find a possible way to stop it as he would be immune to the attacks. He tries to keep himself hidden from Karn's Web Warriors while researching it, but is caught by Spider-Gwen assisting him in going to other worlds and trying to find research to stop the virus. Kaine discovers that all the downfalls of these realities was caused by Parker Industries teaming up with the New U to spread Warren's technology which made the diseases widespread. In one of the realities, they manage to steal research from Peter and Warren before battling that reality's Kaine that dies from the disease during their fight. They take the alternate Kaine's corpse to the Great Web to study it, learning that Kaine himself is not contagious. Karn reveals that the events Kaine encountered in the other realities is starting to happen in Kaine's own reality. Since it is in the early process and Peter has not formed a full partnership with Warren yet, they still have a chance to stop it from happening. Their plan is to infiltrate the New U and have Spider-Gwen replace the 616 Gwen Stacy to find out more about the area. While Spider-Gwen changes her looks, Kaine reveals to Karn that his research on his deceased counterpart led him to discover when he is going to die, and he has very limited time. He kept it a secret from Spider-Gwen to make sure saving the 616 reality is their top priority.[52]

After kidnapping the 616 Gwen, Kaine informs Anna Maria Marconi that if they do not stop The Jackal and Miles Warren, "Peter Parker is the man who destroys the world". Unfortunately, he ends up being captured by The Jackal to be experimented on by him. However, due to Doctor Octopus' conflict with the Jackal for infecting Anna Maria with cloning cells and unintentionally activating kill switch that will kill all resurrected people and the clones' cloned body including Kaine and The Jackal, and the living human who has a clone cell like Maria without realizing it, Kaine is rescued by Spider-Woman of Earth-65. During the clone riots while combating The Jackal and most of Spider-Man's rogues in New U headquarters, Kaine soon realized that Ben Reilly is alive and he is now the Jackal before being throw by Ben off the building but was rescued again by Earth-65's Spider-Woman. As Spider-Man manage to deactivate and destroy the kill switch with help of his remaining allies, Kaine, along with most of the formerly deceased people and the clones manage to survive from the cloning degeneration. He reported to Peter that Prowler and DeWolfe had been trying their best to stop the riot before the virus dissolved and killed them once more. However, the New U's employer Dr. Clarkston reveals to Kaine and his allies that the recently-thought dead templates, the true Prowler/Hobie Brown and Jerry Salteres, were only comatose, being kept under the sub-basement and having their respective diseases cured as well. It is revealed thanks to the Webware's reversed signal, Kaine has been cured as well, leaving him with only mild facial scars. In the aftermath, detailed in Clone Conspiracy: Omega, Kaine bids farewell to Spider-Gwen, vowing to find Reilly and have him answer for his crimes. [53]

[museincarnate]

Lovely... Hearing her think so positively of such an idea, even if he thought it was almost corny or ridiculous... It honestly made that smile of his all the more sincere; her company having been wonderful and sweet from the moment they met. Even when he was initially blunt with the Rabbit, she didn't reciprocate his agitation, and was even nice enough to apologize and not hold his faults against him.

When she ordered her own beverage, though, Kaine would look to her as if she was speaking an entirely foreign language; amusement and slight, albeit comical confusion making itself known in his expression. It was becoming increasingly obvious that Kaine was a man of simple taste, and didn't quite know too much about slightly classier things, even if they were just different beverages, in this case. He'd softly shake his head and chuckle, before the employee rang up their total; groaning softly when he reached into his pocket, only to remember that he didn't bring his wallet with him, or have much on him to pay for their beverages. Even if Tater was being generous, and given their initial encounter and Tater spilling his coffee... It was in his nature to be chivalrous.

"Are you really sure you don't mind paying, Tater?"

“That would be lovely.” With how things were going between them now, there seemed to be quite the potential to become rather close. She was glad that her initial impression of him being impatient and blunt was just circumstance of the situation. He was pleasant company when in a better mood.

She gave a soft hum as she memorized his order for future reference, then smiling again and pointing at her choice of beverage. “I’ll take the Java chip frappe with boba. Not something I usually get but I figured I may as well since I haven’t had it in a while.” Her little tail wiggled in contentment with her decision as the employee put in the order and rang up the total.

[museincarnate]

Sol's Marvel Muses!!!

// While I mostly write DB OCs, I've fallen in love with Spider-Man all over again, thanks to someone very close to me, and I'm here to announce that I'll be adding these five, that's right, FIVE Spider-Muses to my muse list!!!:

Ben Reilly Kaine Parker Miles Morales (Insomniac) Peter Parker (Insomniac) Peter Parker (Spider's Shadow)

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO @dragvnsovl FOR THE WONDERFUL EDIT!!! I hope I can portray all of them well, and that everyone enjoys writing with them!!!

BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE!!!

Introducing:

Bruce Banner / The Hulk Eddie Brock / Venom The Hunter (Main Protagonist of Marvel's Midnight Suns) Magik Logan / Wolverine!!!

These characters will all be added to my muse list, for anyone interested in interacting with them!

[museincarnate]

Permanent Starter Call For Kaine Parker

[scarletspider2the2ndpower]

New Warriors (Vol. 5/2014), #9.

Writer: Christopher Yost; Penciler and Inker: Tana Ford; Colorist: Ruth Redmond; Letterer: Joe Caramagna

[traincat]

who are kaine and ben? i saw ben get referenced in a post about ripeter from spider verse and i know they're clones?? but idk anything about them.

Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker are both clones of Peter Parker. It’s a very long story, but to cut to the heart of it: when Peter and Gwen were in college, they had a professor named Miles Warren, also known as the Jackal. Warren became obsessed with Gwen, and after her death also discovered Spider-Man was Peter Parker. Using samples collected in their science class, he cloned multiple copies of both Gwen and Peter – two of those clones being Kaine and Ben. (Later it’s revealed Norman Osborn was directly involved in Warren’s cloning of Peter, but originally the story is presented as Warren cloning Peter as revenge for his part in Gwen’s death.) They’re the big two clones you need to know about when tackling Spider-Man comics: the perfect clone and the original clone.

(Web of Spider-Man #118)

Ben Reilly (who uses a combination of Uncle Ben’s first name and Aunt May’s maiden name) is a “perfect” copy of Peter Parker, possessing all of Peter’s powers and memories up until his cloning (the college years) both. Realizing he was the clone, Ben left New York and for five years lived a nomadic life. Spider-Man: The Lost Years is a miniseries that covers this and I highly recommend it.

Ben returns to New York when May falls ill and apparently dies (it’s a long story but considering this was the 90s and May is currently alive in Spider-Man, you can guess that she did not in fact actually die). At first operating as the Scarlet Spider, Ben later took up the Spider-Man mantle when test results were faked so it appeared that he was, in fact, the original Peter Parker and Peter the clone. Peter and Mary Jane, who was at the time pregnant, moved to Portland and Ben bleached his hair blond and began working as a barista at a local coffee shop while operating as Spider-Man. 

Ben later died in front of Peter, murdered by Norman Osborn the same night Norman had Mary Jane poisoned to kill her unborn baby. Upon his death, it was revealed that Ben had been the clone all along. He later returned as the new Jackal during the recent Clone Conspiracy storyline, and had a recent comics run in Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider. 

Personality-wise, before his return as the Jackal/his most recent run, Ben is a lot like Peter. Despite a rocky start, Peter and Ben got along really well and referred to each other as brothers. Before Ben’s death they were discussing the possibility of them both acting as Spider-Man in conjunction.

(Spectacular Spider-Man #240)

When it comes to Ben, there are two costumes you should know: the Scarlet Spider costume and Ben’s variation of the Spider-Man costume. The Scarlet Spider costume is a red bodysuit with a blue sleeveless hoodie featuring the spider symbol layered over it:

(ASM #400)

Ben’s Spider-Man costume is very similar to Peter’s, but the spider is larger, extending across his chest and over his shoulders, and his gloves and boots are a different design:

(Spectacular Spider-Man #234) Ben very notably wears his webshooters on the outside of his costume in both his Scarlet Spider and Spider-Man identities, which is an easy way to quickly identify whether you’re looking at Peter Parker or Ben Reilly if you’re unsure.

RIPeter’s blond hair in Into the Spider-Verse was most likely a reference to Ben Reilly – it’s a pretty funny meta joke to introduce a Spider-Man whose big line is “there’s only one Spider-Man” when he’s visually based on Peter’s clone.

(Spider-Man Redemption #4)

Kaine Parker – known at first simply as “Kaine” – is the first living clone of Peter Parker Miles Warren created. Seemingly a success at first, Kaine suffered from clone degeneration, a condition that scarred him physically and mentally. When Warren became aware of this, he attempted to kill Kaine, causing Kaine to flee and hide.

(Peter Parker #61)

Kaine became obsessed with Peter, thinking that he was the successful clone when in reality that was Ben Reilly. Attempting to protect the life Kaine felt Peter as the clone should have, he hounded Ben Reilly relentlessly, attempting to keep him from New York and away from Peter and trying to destroy Ben’s own happiness. It gets kind of homoerotic, I’m not gonna lie.

(Peter Parker #61)

(Spider-Man Redemption #1 – highly recommended Kaine reading.)

“Our minds and hearts couldn’t help but vibrate around each other: I’d breathe in, he’d exhale. I’d grow feverish… he’d burn.” This is a lot even before Ben’s love interest, Janine, uses the exact same phrasing to describe her own relationship with Ben. (Based on the heavy parallels between Janine, who killed her father after years of sexual abuse, and Kaine, as well as Kaine’s later focus on and empathy toward young victims of sex trafficking and the Jackal’s own treatment of Kaine, I think there’s a very strong implication in the text that the Jackal sexually abused at least Kaine, if not both Kaine and Ben, but that’s a different post.)

During Ben’s five year exile, Kaine killed a woman named Louise Kennedy, who had briefly been his lover, in a complicated series of events spiraling out from his finding out she was a corrupt cop. Because the clones have the same fingerprints as Peter and because Peter had previously been arrested and fingerprinted, Peter was later arrested for the murder, though he was later exonerated. Kaine also killed Doctor Octopus, although Otto, of course, got better. 

Fast forward to more modern comics. Kaine sacrificed himself in Peter’s stead during the Grim Hunt storyline, when Kraven the Hunter’s family attempted to use Spider-Man to resurrect Kraven. Kaine later emerged from the grave further mutated, sporting multiple eyes and more spider-like features. The Jackal abducted him and further mutated him into a giant monster called Tarantula. During the Spider-Island event, he was knocked into a vat of spider-cure created by Anti-Venom and reemerged cured of both Tarantula and the clone degeneration.

(ASM #671)

Headlining in his own solo title, Scarlet Spider v2, Kaine took off with Peter’s stealth suit and, while he planned to cross the border into Mexico, ended up waylaid in Houston when he discovered a mysterious young girl named Aracely who had been left to die. Recognizing himself in her, Kaine and Aracely ended up staying in Houston, where Kaine operated as the Scarlet Spider, focusing his efforts when left to his own devices largely on human trafficking.

(Scarlet Spider v2 #12)

Kaine and Aracely later appeared as members of the new New Warriors team, before he died during the Spider-Verse event. He also got better. 

Before being cured of the clone degeneration, Kaine sported very long curly hair and was marked by the scars of his clone degeneration. He’s also taller than either Peter or Ben, likely due to mistakes in the cloning process. He possesses a power called “the mark of Kaine” which leaves burning hand prints on his victims. Before he was cured, he suffered from precognition in the form of violent flashes of the future, but after being cured, unlike either Peter or Ben, Kaine lacks a spider-sense:

(Scarlet Spider v2 #1)

However, unlike either Peter or Ben, he can talk to and control spiders:

(New Warriors (2014) #3)

Kaine is short-tempered and foul-mouthed, but despite his every intention otherwise, like Peter, he is ultimately beholden to his responsibilities. Because of his past, he’s extremely self-loathing, and often measures himself up against both Peter and Ben in terms of what a hero is supposed to be like. However, he’s deeply loyal to his found family, particularly Aracely, who shares something of a psychic bond with him.

(Scarlet Spider v2 #21) Kaine is also possessed by an otherworldly spider entity known as the Other, which can manifest as a gigantic human spider. 

And that’s what you need to know about the two main 616 Peter Parker clones!

[museincarnate]

That cheeky smile of Tater's, coupled with the comment that caused it, would make Kaine's cheeks gain a dusting of visible pink; a soft chortle of amusement and, perhaps, quiet gratitude escaping the bulky Wall-Crawler. "We can save it for another time, then. I'd say I'm a lucky man for that, though." Offering a cheeky smile in return, as if he was flirting with her intentionally that time, Kaine seemed to find comfort in her interest in him, rather than asking him to talk about the others like himself.

"Anything that catches my attention?" The cloned Webhead would take notice of how she observed him; mimicking it out of comfort, so that he wasn't so stoic or static in his seated position. Anything else, to him... Seemed as though he was too nervous to move freely. He'd offer a quick thanks, himself, as he gave everything some thought. "I think cooking would be a start. Even the original wasn't too good at it, and buying pizza or the same old stuff gets a bit... Bland." Settling on that idea, as a first, Kaine felt as though this relationship, whether platonic or something more, someday, would be wonderful for the both of them; not minding the fact that he wound up there, since he and Tater had begun acting friendly with one another.

Hearing Tater's hum of interest, even if it was rather soft, one of Kaine's eyebrows would shoot up; a sort inquiry being made thereafter, since it helped him feel less dull, to her. "I can... Tell you about the others, if you'd really like to know more. It'd take longer than sharing our coffee, though." A soft chuckle would escape the bulky Webhead, as he seemed to truly be relaxing around the Rabbit.

Tater's visible awe would illicit another chuckle from Kaine Parker; the Wall-Crawler keeping his eyes red for as long as she was mesmerized by him. When she snapped out of it, though, he would allow his oculars to return to their light hazel hues; the Rabbit's smile being reciprocated, before her words made Kaine's cheeks warm again. "Thing is... I'm not sure what I want to learn, or who from. I hardly have the time for it, and yet I want to be something more than... A clone of someone else, or a guy who can change his eye color and shoot webs..."

[museincarnate]

Hearing Tater's hum of interest, even if it was rather soft, one of Kaine's eyebrows would shoot up; a sort inquiry being made thereafter, since it helped him feel less dull, to her. "I can... Tell you about the others, if you'd really like to know more. It'd take longer than sharing our coffee, though." A soft chuckle would escape the bulky Webhead, as he seemed to truly be relaxing around the Rabbit.

Tater's visible awe would illicit another chuckle from Kaine Parker; the Wall-Crawler keeping his eyes red for as long as she was mesmerized by him. When she snapped out of it, though, he would allow his oculars to return to their light hazel hues; the Rabbit's smile being reciprocated, before her words made Kaine's cheeks warm again. "Thing is... I'm not sure what I want to learn, or who from. I hardly have the time for it, and yet I want to be something more than... A clone of someone else, or a guy who can change his eye color and shoot webs..."

Kaine would be quietly thankful for the Rabbit's innocent smile, that allowed him to realize that she hadn't noticed the heat in his cheeks; sparing him from any embarrassment, as well as any awkwardness that could've come from it. Having never really been the center of attention, though, her undivided focus on him was a bit new for the clone to deal with; a bead of sweat nearly rolling down his face.

Tater's amazement, while not entirely surprising, still managed to make Kaine laugh a bit nervously; traits of the original person he was made from slightly bleeding through to his own personality. "I'm honestly just one of many. The relationships between all of us are... Complicated, to say the least." If he had coffee to sip, to save himself from talking more, he'd of gladly taken the aforementioned sip. When asked for a demonstration, though, a sort of smirk would flash onto the clone's visage, before he leaned his face closer to Tater's own.

Light hazel eyes would stare into her own before, without blinking, Kaine Parker's oculars would take on a powerful reddish hue; a rather striking gaze then looking right into the Rabbit's own eyes. "I guess that's really all that's interesting about me. I feel a bit dull, now that I think about it."

[museincarnate]

Kaine would be quietly thankful for the Rabbit's innocent smile, that allowed him to realize that she hadn't noticed the heat in his cheeks; sparing him from any embarrassment, as well as any awkwardness that could've come from it. Having never really been the center of attention, though, her undivided focus on him was a bit new for the clone to deal with; a bead of sweat nearly rolling down his face.

Tater's amazement, while not entirely surprising, still managed to make Kaine laugh a bit nervously; traits of the original person he was made from slightly bleeding through to his own personality. "I'm honestly just one of many. The relationships between all of us are... Complicated, to say the least." If he had coffee to sip, to save himself from talking more, he'd of gladly taken the aforementioned sip. When asked for a demonstration, though, a sort of smirk would flash onto the clone's visage, before he leaned his face closer to Tater's own.

Light hazel eyes would stare into her own before, without blinking, Kaine Parker's oculars would take on a powerful reddish hue; a rather striking gaze then looking right into the Rabbit's own eyes. "I guess that's really all that's interesting about me. I feel a bit dull, now that I think about it."

The way they were talking to each other, to Kaine... It felt as though they'd already made their minds up on being around each other on a consistent enough basis; talks of paying for things together, every know and then, almost seeming like they planned on keeping each other company, like they hadn't just met the very same day. With that in mind, Kaine felt his cheeks getting a bit warmer; trying to hide it by turning his head slightly, while still keeping his eyes on her. "Y-Yeah... I don't see a problem with that."

While it wasn't intentional, Kaine wound up mimicking Tater's folded hands; relaxing himself and not thinking too much about how he carried himself or what he did, if it didn't quite matter in the long run. It was either that, or meticulously deciding how he'd sit, speak, express himself, and probably make himself look foolish. Still, he'd nod along and genuinely smile at everything Tater told him about herself; eyes widening when it was his turn. "U-Uh... I guess you already know I'm a superhero, so that doesn't count. I guess the only interesting things about me that aren't obvious are that... I'm a clone of someone else, and I can turn my eyes red on command."

[museincarnate]

The way they were talking to each other, to Kaine... It felt as though they'd already made their minds up on being around each other on a consistent enough basis; talks of paying for things together, every know and then, almost seeming like they planned on keeping each other company, like they hadn't just met the very same day. With that in mind, Kaine felt his cheeks getting a bit warmer; trying to hide it by turning his head slightly, while still keeping his eyes on her. "Y-Yeah... I don't see a problem with that."

While it wasn't intentional, Kaine wound up mimicking Tater's folded hands; relaxing himself and not thinking too much about how he carried himself or what he did, if it didn't quite matter in the long run. It was either that, or meticulously deciding how he'd sit, speak, express himself, and probably make himself look foolish. Still, he'd nod along and genuinely smile at everything Tater told him about herself; eyes widening when it was his turn. "U-Uh... I guess you already know I'm a superhero, so that doesn't count. I guess the only interesting things about me that aren't obvious are that... I'm a clone of someone else, and I can turn my eyes red on command."

Getting the Little Rabbit to laugh, even if he was genuinely confused, managed to make Kaine chuckle a bit, himself; his cheeks turning pink, as he was beginning to realize just how much better the two were getting along. When she reached for her own wallet, though, part of him still felt a bit bad for not being able to pay for the both of them.

"If we really do this more often, or become close friends or anything more than that, I hope you know I don't plan on making you pay for me very often. It's not how I am." Blunt in his honesty, he'd let out an almost timid 'thank you', before being gestured to join her. When he did, though, he seemed to struggle to find something to say, to pass the time; choosing the first thing, however, that came to mind. "So... Tell me about yourself. I can start, if you're really interested. It's fine if you're not..."

[museincarnate]

Getting the Little Rabbit to laugh, even if he was genuinely confused, managed to make Kaine chuckle a bit, himself; his cheeks turning pink, as he was beginning to realize just how much better the two were getting along. When she reached for her own wallet, though, part of him still felt a bit bad for not being able to pay for the both of them.

"If we really do this more often, or become close friends or anything more than that, I hope you know I don't plan on making you pay for me very often. It's not how I am." Blunt in his honesty, he'd let out an almost timid 'thank you', before being gestured to join her. When he did, though, he seemed to struggle to find something to say, to pass the time; choosing the first thing, however, that came to mind. "So... Tell me about yourself. I can start, if you're really interested. It's fine if you're not..."

Lovely... Hearing her think so positively of such an idea, even if he thought it was almost corny or ridiculous... It honestly made that smile of his all the more sincere; her company having been wonderful and sweet from the moment they met. Even when he was initially blunt with the Rabbit, she didn't reciprocate his agitation, and was even nice enough to apologize and not hold his faults against him.

When she ordered her own beverage, though, Kaine would look to her as if she was speaking an entirely foreign language; amusement and slight, albeit comical confusion making itself known in his expression. It was becoming increasingly obvious that Kaine was a man of simple taste, and didn't quite know too much about slightly classier things, even if they were just different beverages, in this case. He'd softly shake his head and chuckle, before the employee rang up their total; groaning softly when he reached into his pocket, only to remember that he didn't bring his wallet with him, or have much on him to pay for their beverages. Even if Tater was being generous, and given their initial encounter and Tater spilling his coffee... It was in his nature to be chivalrous.

"Are you really sure you don't mind paying, Tater?"

[museincarnate]

"That... Sounds really nice. Maybe I could give you a nice view on some of your favorite spots, and you could help me get a lay of the land?" When he put it that way, Kaine felt as though the two would have a mutually beneficial friendship, if nothing else; an equally bright smile, a rare occurrence, plastering itself on his visage.

Kaine would peruse the menu while Tater was doing the same, if only to look as though he wasn't a man of habit in all facets of his existence. Unfortunately, however, he was almost always set on the kind of coffee he had, since it ironically matched his personality, according to those who knew him. The cloned Webhead would meet Tater's gaze for a moment, before nodding. "I think I'll go with my usual this time. Maybe you can convince me to try something new some other time. I'll take black coffee, with a little bit of sugar. Nothing too fancy. What about you?"

Kaine had learned that life was unpredictable in all of its facets; leaving him open to mostly anything that came his way. He hadn't been focusing on the idea of the two being more than friends, but found himself welcoming of the idea, if it ever crossed his mind for even a second.

That little tilt of Tater's head, while she listened to him ask that question, had him worried that he said something wrong; his nonchalant personality when he was comfortable, at times, leaving him to say things that could be misconstrued. "It doesn't have to be anytime soon, since we're still getting familiar with each other." Kaine was in no hurry to push Tater into anything; simply finding her forgiving nature rather relieving. He'd sigh softly, with an equally reassuring smile on his face; waiting for Tater to head to the counter, so he could follow close behind.