Old Man Peter Parker is back to getting into trouble in a new look at Spider-Man: Reign II. After much demand from the public, Marvel is returning to the fan-favorite timeline from writer/artist Kaare Andrews that found Spider-Man as a retired hero 30 years in the future. Of course, you can't put a good web-slinger down, and Spider-Man puts the suit back on again to continue fighting injustices. The only thing we know about Spider-Man: Reign II is that it will introduce familiar characters like Black Cat and Miles Morales, but now we have new pages from the first issue to obsess over.
ComicBook has the first look at Kaare Andrews' Spider-Man: Reign II #1, which shows off our elderly Spider-Man and the mysterious feline character first shown on the cover of Spider-Man: Reign II #2. The first page follows a black spider as it falls during a New York City rain shower. A figure can be seen watching the spider fall from a building window. Next, some thugs are chasing an almost naked Peter Parker, who is being dragged by the new feline character. One panel even shows the bad guys shooting rockets at our heroes.
The third page shows Spider-Man falling from the sky, similar to the black spider from earlier. Purple laser lights crisscross throughout the sky, and Peter winds up breaking his fall in a clothes-hanging line. Finally, after hitting the ground, Spider-Man looks up to see the same purple lights zooming across the city streets. A rather large fellow is also shown eating food with a fork that looks tiny in his massive hands. Could this be the future Kingpin?
What is Spider-Man: Reign II #1 about?
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 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."
"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," he continued. "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?'" he added.
The exclusive first look at Spider-Man: Reign II #1 is below. The issue goes on sale July 3rd.
