What would Spider-Man be like if you were to fast forward thirty five years into his future? That’s the question Spider-Man: Reign attempts to answer. Spider-Man: Reign was written and illustrated by Kaare Andrews, and was a four issue limited series published by Marvel between December 2006 and March 2007. Whether it exists within the accepted Spider-Man continuity or not is probably open to debate, and even more so if you’ve kept up with the “Brand New Day” story line.

Reign begins in New York, which has all the hallmarks of being a police state. It’s people are subject to extreme governmental controls, and Spider-Man has not been seen or heard from for some time. “Super crime” no longer exists, and the city is policed by a group known as the Reign.

Peter Parker is now a frail looking lonely old bearded man. When we first meet him, he is getting fired from his job at a florist. Peter Parker is a broken man, the kind of guy to get depressed just looking at.
Meanwhile the city’s Mayor is preparing to launch his grand plan to protect New York from terrorist attacks. The WEBB will keep the bad people out, and the ‘good’ people in. There’s no way that plan could back fire is there?

When J. Jonah Jameson appears, encouraging Peter to take on the role of Spider-Man again in order to put a stop to the oppression faced by the people of New York, you just know that it’s all going to end in tears. The Mayor assembles a squad of former super villains to track down and remove the Spider-Man threat, while the people of New York see Spider-Man as a symbol of freedom. It’s all very stirring stuff. I can’t really say much more about the plot without giving away a few major ‘surprises’ so I’ll stop right about now.

Spider-Man: Reign is a decent story. It shares a lot in common with Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which is both good and bad. Good, because if you are going to borrow plot points from a story, you may as well borrow from one of the best. Bad, because if you can’t top the source material, you should probably look elsewhere.

What did I learn?

One disturbing revelation is that Mary-Jane has died of cancer, which was apparently the result of long term exposure to… wait for it… Peter’s “radioactive bodily fluids”… ewwww!!!

Overall, Spider-Man: Reign was an interesting read. It was much darker than any of the other Spider-Man stuff I’ve read, and definitely owes a lot to the Dark Knight Returns. The artwork wasn’t really my cup of tea, but I guess it was solid. The plot kept on moving, although anything longer than four issues would have been stretching the friendship a little. I’d recommend this for the Spider-Man completists. Casual fans should look elsewhere. I’ll give it 6 out of 10.