Spider-Man 2099 #1

Since September is Hispanic Heritage Month, I thought a good way to cap the month off would be to review a comic starring a Hispanic/Latino superhero. And one of my favorite characters in that group is one Miguel O'Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099.

Mr. O'Hara has graced the...well, pages of this blog before. All the way back in 2014, I wrote down my thoughts on the first issue of his 2014 series. The format was a bit different than what I do today, but I'm still proud of it. I should talk a little bit about 2099 before we begin here. Back in 1992, Marvel Comics had started a new imprint based on the idea of what the Marvel Universe would be like in the future. It had originally been a single series called The Marvel World of Tomorrow that was being developed by Stan Lee and John Byrne. Eventually, the one series became a whole line. 

Spider-Man 2099 was one of four titles that debuted at the line's formal launch in 1994, the others being Doom 2099, Punisher 2099, and Ravage 2099 (the only one of these four series that was about an original character, not a futuristic take on a pre-existing Marvel character). The line would be a success, and the 2099 universe would expand further, leading to more series that focus on futuristic versions of other characters, like Hulk, the X-Men, and Ghost Rider.

The line would start to flounder with changes in the industry, as well as Marvel firing Joey Cavalieri (who was the editor of the line) as a cost-cutting measure. Cavalieri was apparently quite popular with the creative teams of the books, and many of them quit in protest. Despite the line's death, the world of 2099 remained a beloved part of the Marvel Multiverse (Marvel's been back-and-forth on whether 2099 is the actual future. It was, but then it was designated Earth-928). In fact, to celebrate the line's 25th anniversary in 2019, Marvel released a series of one-shots that told stories about the 2099 heroes, including a Conan the Barbarian 2099 (Marvel had gotten back the comic rights to Conan at the time). 

Much like Peter Parker can be considered Marvel's mascot, it can be argued that Miguel O'Hara is this for 2099. He is definitely the most famous of the 2099 heroes. He's appeared in cartoons, video games, crossed over with Earth-616 the most (His 2014 series actually explored his life during a time he was trapped there), and he has appeared in the Spider-Verse movies, voiced by Oscar Isaac. 

But all heroes have a start, so how did Miguel get his? Was it a high point in web-slinging, or did he get a faceful of wall? Let's find out in Spider-Man 2099 #1!  

The story begins high in the skies of Nueva York. Times may change, but some things never do. Mainly teenagers getting into trouble. A group of them are in a flying car, not a care in the world. They're not worried about any authorities. After all, at this height, there are a lot of crosswinds blowing, and the cops hate flying at this altitude because of them. Huh. Says a lot about the cops' flying cars.

However, these kids would witness a sight: Our man Miguel, swinging like Peter Parker and Miles Morales before him. And being chased by the police, who in this time have become known as the Public Eye.

"I'm webslinging in the proper lane, for Pete's sake!" 

These company-owned eyeballs threaten to use lethal force on the futuristic webslinger, but he's easily able to evade them. And their threat is all talk. The megacorp known as Alchemax preferably would like to have our man alive. Despite their best efforts, Miguel is able to evade the Public Eye, and give it a nice bruising by causing one of their flyers to crash in front of a crowd. Two members of the Eye pursue him on foot, but Miguel is able to escape in a mall.

Page 9, Panel 6

"Blast it! We don't know his favorite shops!"

The scene then shifts to Babylon Towers, a high-rise building. A man walks into an apartment, where he takes a rest. His resident AI, Lyla, informs him of the day's conditions. Weather and the like, and thankfully, she doesn't put out any soulless "drawings".

Lyla tells him there are some messages for him. One from a man named Tyler Stone.

Page 11, Panels 2-3

As shown in the panels, Miguel would rather put his head in a food processor than deal with Stone. infinitely less painful. Next is his brother Gabriel. Gabriel is Miguel's brother, and the two have been at odds thanks to Miguel's corporate raider. Gabirel thinks it's a very nasty job, and considering the cyberpunk dystopia that is Marvel 2099, he's...not wrong.

Finally, there are messages from his fiancee Dana. She's been trying to call him, as he seems to have vanished.

Page 12, Panels 2-3

Yeah, that black eye she clearly has can lead to some...dark implications about her relationship with Miguel. 

Anyway, Miguel orders all the messages to be dumped. Lyla points out that he hasn't been acting like his old self for the past few days. He hasn't even made any entries in his personal journal. This seems to get Miguel's interest, so he tells Lyla to take his story down. 

Miguel O'Hara was once a regular man, but a brilliant one. He also had a bit of a rebellious and arrogant streak. He is shown arguing with a man named Aaron, who tries to pull rank on Miguel. After all, Miguel may be the head of this genetics project that Alchemax is working on, but Aaron is the one who answers to Stone, therefore Miguel also has to answer to Aaron. But Miguel isn't worried. The project has been very successful so far, in the test animals indicate anything. The project's goal is to create corporate spies with the abilities of various animals. And Miguel has found some inspiration in one of the heroes of the past: Spider-Man.

Page 14, Panel 2

It makes a bit of sense. When he was bitten by that radioactive spider as a teenager, Peter Parker became stronger. Faster. More agile. His spider-sense allowed him to detect danger around him. Not to mention his ability to cling to surfaces. A power-set like his would make a spy very formidable. And not just in combat. Miguel teases Aaron, acting like the man is too stupid to understand simple concepts. It's here that Tyler Stone himself makes an appearance. 

Stone wants to get some human test subjects in on the program. However, Miguel is reluctant. Just because the genetic enhancement process is working on the test animals does not mean that it will work well on humans. Caution needs to be taken here. However, Stone is too adventurous to consider it. Alchemax wants results, and their patience is limited. They bring in their first human test subject, a prisoner named Sims. Sims volunteered because he doesn't want to grow old in jail.

Page 14, Panel 7

Sims is placed in the genetic alteration chamber that Miguel admits was inspired in design by an old movie. And it becomes very appropriate once the test is done.

Page 16, Panel 2

After that disaster, Miguel tends his resignation. Stone seems strangely okay with this, considering the resources Alchemax used to train Miguel and his father before him. Stone convinced Miguel to have a toast to Miguel's future. But there's a twist. Stone poisoned the wine.

He tricked Miguel into taking an extremely addictive drug called Rapture. Rapture is a legal hallucinogenic drug that has been used by Alchemax employees. The drug is so addictive that without regular doses, a user could die. I imagine he's referring to the withdrawal symptoms. Rapture's are probably so extreme that a user's body can't handle them. And since Alchemax is the only legal distributor of the drug...yeah. Miguel is stuck with the company. 

The sickened Miguel heads back to his home, where Dana is working out, with the help of Lyla. He's still under the effects of Rapture, and it's making him see monsters everywhere.

She tries to help him, but in his haze, he ends up accidentally elbowing her in the eye. This was why she was shown in the holocall with the black eye earlier. This helps shock Miguel back into reality. Dana has some friends who can get Rapture on the black market so he can still quit Alchemax, but Miguel doesn't want to be an addict. So, he has a plan of his own.

That night, he sneaks into Alchemax. One of the things that makes Rapture so addicting is that it bonds to the user's DNA, making it literally a part of them. Miguel's solution is to use his genetic imprinter to put his pre-Rapture DNA back into place (He had been using his own DNA as working material in the past). As he works on this, someone comes along to sabotage the experiment. 

Page 22, Panels 1-2

Aaron Delgato is sick and tired of Miguel's insults, and sabotages the experiment, hoping it will kill him. It doesn't end up working out...as Miguel lives...but he now has spider DNA incorporated into his own. Aaron tries to pretend that he's busted Miguel for wrecking equipment, but his horrified to see what he unintentionally turned the scientist into. 

I enjoyed this comic. I do admit, it's primarily setting up things, but that's perfectly fine for a premiere issue. We do get a great look at the character of Miguel O'Hara in this story. The man has a bit of arrogance, but he does have scruples. And like Peter Parker before him, he has a bit of a smart mouth, which in my opinion, is practically a requirement for a Spider-Man.