Spider-Man: The end!

Spider-Man: Reign is a trade paperback (and hardcover) of the mini-series of the same name put out by Marvel Comics under their Marvel Knights imprint, which tends to be written for more mature audiences. Spider-Man Reign follows in the footsteps of other Marvel titles, all which have been titled “The End”. Marvel put out a story some years ago about the End of the Marvel Universe – heroes die (en masse sometimes) and the one person who shouldn’t gains the power of God. At the end, it was revealed (kinda) that this was set outside the mainstream Marvel Universe. Marvel continued on with these types of stories with Wolverine: The End, The Hulk: The End, Punisher: The End, Fantastic Four: the End and even a 3 book cycle of the X-Men. The End books tell the stories of the final days of their respective characters, usually with a lot of death during the story (after all, they are suppose to be the final stories!) Spider-Man: Reign follows in those traditions, even with a different name.

As with the other The End books, Spider-Man: Reign takes us to a possible future. New York City has become a police state, heroes (and villains) have been outlawed and drive out of the town, and people are afraid to speak their minds. A very aged Peter Parker, grey and bearded, works for a florist and has lost his way. He is no longer Spider-Man, having hung up his webs long ago. But an old acquaintance from his past reminds him of his duties and that he has to stop New York City from being enclosed in an energy field, like a cage. Spider-Man once again takes to the streets to stop this, with help from some unexpected allies and facing off against some of his deadliest foes!

Spider-Man: Reign is a great read for any Spider-Man fan. The beginning really sets the stage of not only a city that has lost its way but also a man that has lost all hope and spirit he once had. Being under the Marvel Knights imprint, it does have slightly more adult content than the average comic. This comes across both in some of the violence but more in what happens in a few scenes and where they take place (it’s a cemetery). I was initially upset with how Peter Parker was first characterized but as I read on, it made more sense as things were explained and, of course, he was quickly back to his old web-slinging ways!

While not horrible, I feel that the artwork could have been better. Some of the panels feel that the art is rushed and lacks a lot of details that many other comics have. Many of the colors are rather bland but some of that is to make the color red stand out when it us used (like in Spider-Man’s red and blue costume).

Overall, Spider-Man: Reign is a good read and follows nicely in fitting in with the rest of The End series of books (which are all stand alone books). Good story-telling and interesting characterizations (especially with a few of the surprises with other characters we get). Spider-Man fans should pick this up.