Warning: contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Reign 2 #1!Spider-Man may be a friendly neighborhood hero, but the franchise also has a lot of horror potential. Spider-Man's origin and powers are tied to one of the most common phobias in the world, with even his homemade webbing being surprisingly gross when compared to Human Torch's flames or Superman's heat vision. Now, Marvel's latest Spider-Man project is dialing his horror potential up to 11.

Readers are shown a terrifying variant of Spider-Man's "WEBB" in Spider-Man Reign2 by Kaare Andrews, Brian Reber and Joe Caramagna. In this story, the world has ended, all except for New York City. The world has collapsed into a supernatural void, and the only thing keeping this dark energy field from pouring into New York is the WEBB system - a giant force field that surrounds the city, controlled by the Kingpin.

While this barrier is up, no one can enter or leave the city, but it doesn't seem that there is anyone left alive outside who could enter. Peter's webbing has always been used to restrain people, but this WEBB is a far darker and more sinister variant, with rotting corpses piled up a mile high against it. Spider-Man uses his webbing to render villains harmless and temporarily trap criminals for the police to pick up, however in Kingpin's WEBB, every New Yorker becomes his prey, and they're the lucky ones.

Kingpin's WEBB System Keeps New York Safe But Trapped

The Spectacle of a Wall of Bodies Keeps New York Under Kingpin's Thumb

Spider-Man Reign takes place in a horrifying future where Peter has been broken as a hero, and this sequel begins with a prison break that sees him emerge into a world even worse off than the one he 'saved' in the original series. Kingpin has become a horrifying, monstrous being, controlling New York down to the smallest detail. The WEBB makes the last city on Earth Kingpin's playground, and yet even that can't last - Kingpin's new plan to upload human minds to a digital world means it's no longer in his interests to maintain the WEBB, and he warns New York that they need to submit to his new scheme, as soon he's going to drop the WEBB and allow the Void to pour in.

Kingpin's WEBB Makes Him More Dangerous Than Ever

Marvel Inverts the Symbolism of Spidey's Webbing as Kingpin Threatens New York

Spider-Man's webbing is used to protect others from the 'predators' he catches within it, but it also functions as a minimally violent way to defeat his enemies. Spider-Man vastly overpowers normal humans, so rather than beating them unconscious like Batman, he's found a way to leave them webbed up, helpless but safe. Kingpin's WEBB corrupts everything Spider-Man's webbing stands for, acting not as the negation of more serious violence but as the threat of it.

The WEBB is the darkest take yet on Spider-Man's webbing, challenging an aging Peter Parker to once again embody the hope and heroism that - in this world - he long ago left behind.

Spider-Man Reign 2 #1 is on sale now from Marvel Comics!