Can Scarlet Spider and the Rangers take down a beast made of pure self-sustaining energy?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Marvel:

THE SECOND MASTER” PART THREE OF THREE

• What has Roxxon’s greed brought down upon Houston? Mammon has been unleashed, and Scarlet Spider and the Rangers have no hope of stopping it.

• Scarlet Spider’s biggest story yet comes to its deadly conclusion!

• PLUS: A door has been opened at NASA’s Houston facility… and Scarlet Spider’s life will never be the same.

It’s a tale of corporate corruption wrapped up in the skin of a superhero story, while maintaining what can only be described as an almost whimsical nature.  And yes if you caught that, at this point Kaine Parker has successfully evolved into a hero despite his own reservations.  Especially considering that he’s now participating in a long held costume-clad tradition: the team-up.

Chris Yost does a rather nice job going through the paces of the story.  His character work on Kaine carries the tale to a satisfying close as each action and movement builds toward the next arc.  My only gripe with the story is that Zoe Walsh randomly changes her world views by the end of this script and I honestly don’t understand why.  I have every faith however that whenever the writer brings the character back into the cycle it’ll feel a bit more coherent with a second look.

Khoi Pham does a solid job with the art, his work on the title has yeilded some solid panels that fir the narrative just fine.  I’ll be honest, there were some growing pains with his style (for me at least) but he’s proven to me that he can handle this book.  The minimalist attention to detail with sturdy stiff lines yields an ultimately engaging visual look that just appeals to the eyes.

Scarlet Spider #9 is a spectacular finish to another solid story arc.  The creative team knocks it out of the park with solid art and a good script.  Recommended.

4/5