10 Dystopian Futures Of Comic Book Superheroes

10. Spider-Man: Reign

Poor puny Peter Parker always had the worst luck, so it stands to reason that he'd be saddled with the worst of the dystopian futures too. Spider-Man: Reign is Marvel's attempt at aping the success of The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen, to more controversial effect.

Like most good superheroes, ageing out of the uniform isn't enough to keep our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man down, and he quits retirement to battle 'The Reign' - the hyper-militarised police force, under the watchful eye of the city's corrupt Mayor.

Naturally, the return of Spidey brings with it the resurgence of several old foes - most notably Venom, The Sinister Six and, uhm... the sentient tentacles of a dead Doctor Octopus.

While Spidey saves the day once again, Reign hits peak misery in its revelation that Mary Jane was ultimately killed by Peter's radioactive spider-sperm. Wisely, they left that part out of the iconic theme song.