It’s been almost two decades since Kaare Andrews’ Spider-Man: Reign imagined an authoritarian future New York where an elderly Peter Parker put his mask back on to stand up to an evil mayor and his jackboot police force. Andrews and Marvel will return to that world this summer in Spider-Man: Reign 2.
“I never imagined that I would ever be creating a sequel to a comic series from so long ago, my first major work in comics,” Andrews said. “Nor did I anticipate that a four-issue miniseries would continue to vibrate in the public consciousness today. But without fail, Spider-Man: Reign is mentioned in articles, lists and social media posts.”
The four-issue miniseries had many controversial moments, causing fans to either love or hate it. In the series, Mary Jane had died from cancer after exposure to Peter Parker’s radioactive semen over the years. But it also gave the Hypno-Hustler a prominent role, so it wasn’t all bad.
“Many call it the most infamous Spider-Man story ever told. But for me, what’s kept it relevant is the love behind creating that book,” Andrews said. “This is the character I grew up with, the one that taught me how to be a man, how to live with failure and keep standing back up, the unrelenting force of trying to make things better.”
The new series will bring in another Spider-Man who didn’t exist when the original series was created:
The five-issue limited series will reveal more experiences this older, grizzled Peter Parker has had to endure from epic tragedies to inspiring triumphs. But hope always remains! In addition to the bleak, fans will meet an all-new Black Cat, and catch up with another Spidey—Peter isn’t the only one who aged… wait until you see what happened to Miles Morales!
“Reign was full of tragic and dark absurdity that only a young creator could come up with,” Andrews said. “A way to challenge the idea of personal power and responsibility. But as I’ve grown older, and after sitting with this story for so long, I started to ask myself this question, ‘What if there was a way to go back and change what happened? What if I could fix everything?'”
The first issue of five will arrive in stores July 3.