Spider-Man Reign has become kind of an easy target amongst comic readers these days. And some of that is deserved. There are some really, painfully dumb moments in the story. Especially the Spider-jizz. That moment really does deserve the criticism it gets. The rest I think is actually worth a read.
We're given our basic Dark Knight Returns formula. Not exactly original, but not inherently harmful. Peter Parker is an old man who lost the will to fight and live with the death of Mary Jane for the stupid reasons mentioned above, New York is a distopia and Older Man J. Jonah Jameson (who has no real right to be here at his age) tries to boost Peter's spirit to bring down a villainous conspiracy involving a corrupt mayor, his aide and the newly reformed Sinister Six.
The thing that keeps the story fresh for me is the way Peter is portrayed as totally broken. Batman was usually a cynic and Returns just highlighted that. But a darker, more destroyed Spider-Man is different. Not only do we want to see him win, we want to see him reclaim the life he has lost.
Although the Sinister (or rather "Sinner" for some reason) Six isn't terribly great on their own, one member just wins the team for me: Kraven II. The Second Kraven is a complete badass outta hell. Kraven is a ton of fun to watch and makes up for the blandness of his comrades... Though Sandman, who has an arc apart from the group, has his shining moment too, even one that's a little heartbreaking.
We eventually get the grand reveal of main villain Venom, who really nails it as a nightmarish abomination about to reap hell upon New York. He really works as the final boss thanks to his accusations that Spider-Man destroyed his life and never took responsibility for it, and with the character's "death" he is ready to claim New York for his own. There are some enjoyable, high stakes in their final showdown, and it feels like a fitting conclusion to the story.
I'm not saying this comic deserves any awards or anything, but as a non-canon, darker and edgier kind of story, I do think it's a fun read. I hope at least a few people aren't put off too bad by the constant bombardment of mocking this story gets, because it can be a really good time.
Comicbook Terrible Reputation Preceeds Decent Story (Spoilers)
Spider-Man Reign has become kind of an easy target amongst comic readers these days. And some of that is deserved. There are some really, painfully dumb moments in the story. Especially the Spider-jizz. That moment really does deserve the criticism it gets. The rest I think is actually worth a read. We're given our basic Dark Knight Returns formula. Not exactly original, but not inherently harmful. Peter Parker is an old man who lost the will to fight and live with the death of Mary Jane for the stupid reasons mentioned above, New York is a distopia and Older Man J. Jonah Jameson (who has no real right to be here at his age) tries to boost Peter's spirit to bring down a villainous conspiracy involving a corrupt mayor, his aide and the newly reformed Sinister Six. The thing that keeps the story fresh for me is the way Peter is portrayed as totally broken. Batman was usually a cynic and Returns just highlighted that. But a darker, more destroyed Spider-Man is different. Not only do we want to see him win, we want to see him reclaim the life he has lost.
Although the Sinister (or rather "Sinner" for some reason) Six isn't terribly great on their own, one member just wins the team for me: Kraven II. The Second Kraven is a complete badass outta hell. Kraven is a ton of fun to watch and makes up for the blandness of his comrades... Though Sandman, who has an arc apart from the group, has his shining moment too, even one that's a little heartbreaking.
We eventually get the grand reveal of main villain Venom, who really nails it as a nightmarish abomination about to reap hell upon New York. He really works as the final boss thanks to his accusations that Spider-Man destroyed his life and never took responsibility for it, and with the character's "death" he is ready to claim New York for his own. There are some enjoyable, high stakes in their final showdown, and it feels like a fitting conclusion to the story.
I'm not saying this comic deserves any awards or anything, but as a non-canon, darker and edgier kind of story, I do think it's a fun read. I hope at least a few people aren't put off too bad by the constant bombardment of mocking this story gets, because it can be a really good time.