Best new comics week of February 21: Ultimate Spider-Man #2, Spawn #350, & more

❘ Published: 2024-02-19T17:09:53

Ultimate Spider-Man, Nightwing, and Spawn key art.

Marvel Comics | DC Comics | Image Comics

It’s the beginning of the end for Nightwing’s creative team and the culmination of three decades of Spawn stories in the best new comics releasing February 21.

February was off to a slow start for comics, but it’s promising to end with a bang. The penultimate week of the month promises big changes for some of the biggest books.

The creative team of Nightwing is preparing to wrap up their current run while the long-running Spawn reaches a major milestone. All this in the shadow of the next massive Ultimate Spider-Man reveals.

The various publishers are no doubt in the process of lining up books for their major summer events, with DC revealing theirs on Free Comic Book Day and Marvel preparing for Blood Hunt and Fall of X’s finale. As they continue to line up the pieces, be sure to prepare yourself for more big comic book moments in the weeks to come.

Best new comics week of February 21, 2024

These are the best new comics releasing the week of February 21, 2024. DC Comics title will hit shelves on Tuesday, February 20, while other publishers such as Marvel, Image, and IDW will release books on Wednesday, February 21.

You can find your local comic shop at Comic Shop Locator or purchase digital copies via the digital storefronts linked below.

Ultimate Spider-Man #2

If you feel like it’s been a million years since the first issue of Ultimate Spider-Man, you’re not alone. The last issue was one of Marvel’s biggest surprises, with a radical new origin and more than a few characters showing up in unusual places.

It feels like we’ve learned a lot of the book’s surprises in the weeks since, too. The identity of the new Green Goblin, Spidey’s first encounter with a classic villain, and more have all been revealed in early preview pages. Which just begs the question: what the hell surprises does this book have that it hasn’t revealed?

THE MOST SURPRISING SPIDER-MAN STORY OF THE 21ST CENTURY CONTINUES! Spider-Man faces his first super villain! J. Jonah Jameson’s quest to uncover who is really pulling the strings of this new Ultimate Universe leads to a shocking revelation! And New York City welcomes its newest hero… the Green Goblin!

By Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto, Matt Wilson, & Cory Petit

Buy Ultimate Spider-Man #2 on Comixology

Nightwing #111

The biggest comic news out of last week was the announcement that Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo would be leaving Nightwing with #119, marking the end of one of the character’s most successful runs.

The stage for that finale is being set now, as something is desperately wrong with Nightwing. We saw the beginning of that in the previous arc when he seemed to be gripped with fear. Nightwing was our pick for the best comic book of 2023 for good reason, and the finale promises to be one hell of an event.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH NIGHTWING?! Something’s very wrong with Nightwing and it’s starting to catch up to him. Can the world’s greatest detective help him figure out what’s going on before it’s too late? Plus: The Plague has left 14th Century Europe in chaos, as a young man known only as the Son of Gray hunts the man who killed his father. A story of revenge, told in two parts.

By Tom Taylor, Sami Basri, Vicente Cifuentes, Adriano Lucas, & Wes Abbott

Buy Nightwing #111 on Comixology

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #24

Return to Kingdom Come has been a hell of a surprise in a book that has been consistently surprising. It’s not often that the iconic Mark Waid & Alex Ross event is referenced these days, but World’s Finest has truly been a love letter to one of the biggest comic book stories ever told.

This arc is wrapping up with the arrival of Darkseid and the looming threat of the Anti-Life Equation, as many great Batman and Superman stories do. However, this one is in a unique position thanks to where it’s placed in Kingdom Come’s timeline. Will the original’s story be radically retconned, or is Kingdom Come’s fate inevitable?

“RETURN TO KINGDOM COME” BY MARK WAID AND DAN MORA CONCLUDES! With no way back to their own Earth, will Superman and Batman have to witness the tragic events that led to cataclysm—or are they fated to take the place of their doppelgangers?

By Mark Waid, Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain, & Steve Wands

Buy Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #24 on Comixology

Spawn #350

It’s hard to believe Spawn’s a 30+ year franchise, but here we are. What was once the bastion of independent, edgy comics is now as much the establishment as the big two it once was seen as the antithesis of.

Unlike its big two counterparts, though, Spawn is promising big changes, and it starts with #350. The promise of a hell ruled over by Spawn has been looming for years. Now fans will finally get to see if the book is going to make good or put someone shocking in charge.

SPAWN #350, a story 32 years in the making, is being offered for sale. This industry mainstay title that has constantly outsold some of the biggest names in the comic book industry will reveal to readers who will finally sit on the vacant “Throne Of Hell.” Will it be Spawn? An enemy? Or someone else hiding in the shadows? And more importantly…are any of them worthy enough to claim the power of the throne? This anniversary issue will give answers to ALL those long-gestating questions, and the aftermath of which will continue into the four current titles (SPAWN, GUNSLINGER SPAWN, SCORCHED, and KING SPAWN).

By Todd McFarlane, Rory McConville, Brett Booth, & Carlo Barberi

Get Spawn #350 on Comixology

Cobra Commander #2

Cobra Commander might wind up being the biggest surprise to come out of the new Energon Universe initiative. The first issue presents a radically different take on the classic character, tying in elements of old GI Joe with new twists and a more unpredictable characterization.

Issue 2 is putting that character to the test if the solicit is any indication, with the Commander finding himself at odds with the mercenary organization Dreadnok. They’re usually tied to Cobra in some fashion, but will the Commander be able to win them over in this new continuity too?

After last issue’s shocking reveals, Cobra Commander searches for a power greater than any the Earth has ever seen. But when this mission brings him face-to-face with a fan-favorite G.I. Joe faction-will they be friend, foe, or something else entirely?

By Joshua Williamson, Andrea Milana, & Annalisa Leoni

Buy Cobra Commander #2 on Comixology

X-Force #49

How do you fix the problem of modern Beast? The character is a fan-favorite and a consistent presence, but the last decade has been super unkind, as he turns into a darker and darker reflection of who he once was.

The solution, for now, seems to be to revive a Beast clone with a scan of his memories from the ‘60s. It sounds convoluted, but it means the return of classic Beast, and a reunion with his bff Wonder Man, so fans are sure to be all in on this. At the very least, the lighter tone should provide a nice respite from the grim and gory Sabretooth War.

WONDER MAN AND BEAST – THE DYNAMIC DUO RETURNS! In a simpler time, the bounding BEAST partnered up with Avenger WONDER MAN! But after Beast’s fall from grace, is there any chance these two can see eye to eye? In a last desperate attempt to take down Beast, witness the return of…Beast?! TARGET: BEAST part 2!

By Benjamin Percy, Robert Gill, guru-eFX, & VC’s Joe Caramagna

Buy X-Force #49 on Comixology