Last summer, Marvel teased a sequel to the Spider-Man: Reign, the infamous miniseries from writer/artist Kaare Andrews in the vein of The Dark Knight Returns. Among the notable controversies was the revelation that revelation that Peter’s wife, Mary-Jane Watson, was killed by cancer brought on by exposure to Peter’s radioactive semen. Much like DKR, Marvel couldn’t resist a followup. Today the publisher announced release details for Spider-Man: Reign II.
Official press release below:
In 2006, Kaare Andrews’ groundbreaking Spider-Man: Reign series introduced Marvel fans to a cold, harsh world where Peter Parker lost everything. This searing portrait of Marvel’s most iconic hero has lingered in reader’s hearts ever since, and now comes the highly-anticipated sequel! This July, Kaare Andrews returns to this landmark, genre-defying saga in SPIDER-MAN: REIGN II.
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!
“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 shared. “Nor did I anticipate that a four-issue mini-series would continue to vibrate in the public consciousness today. But without fail, Spider-Man: Reign is mentioned in articles, lists, and social media posts. 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. 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.
“Reign was full of tragic and dark absurdity that only a young creator could come up with. 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?
Look for Spider-Man: Reign II#1 to arrive in stores and digitally on Wednesday, July 3rd.
