Review: Spider-Man 2099 #2

“What the shock just happened here?”

‘Women & Secrets’

WRITER Peter David
ART Will Sliney
COLOR Antonio Fabela
LETTERER VC’s Joe Caramagna
EDITOR Ellie Pyle
SENIOR EDITOR Nick Lowe

Spidey 2099 stops a bank robbery while Liz follows breadcrumbs to find out who Spider-Man 2099 really is. Also, Miguel gets disturbing news about the superintendent in his building…

SUMMARY: Miguel laments his trip to the bank being interrupted by bank robbers and makes short work of them before evading the police. Later, he tries to say “Thanks!” to his building superintendent (Tempest) by bringing her flowers. Unfortunately, his observational skills sabotage his overtures as he questions her about the medical bills she’s left laying out on the table. Immediately afterward, he is confronted by his boss (Alchemax CEO Liz Allan) who accuses him of being Spider-Man 2099.

Well – she accuses him of being a ‘Spider-Man,’ really. No one actually calls him Spider-Man 2099 in the story. Heh.

As Liz details the clues that have lead her to deduce that Miguel is Spider-Man (well, one of them anyway) she is suddenly distracted when Miggy has Lyla change his clothes into a futuristic costume. He explains that he’s from 2099 and that he’s currently trapped in her timeline – and that he must save his horrible grandfather, Tiberius Stone. One liplock and an awkward exit later, Tempest enters his apartment to explain that she has a rare form of leukemia.

ANALYSIS: Two issues into the new adventures of Miguel O’Hara and Peter David is already giving us some really nice developments along with twists, turns and “WTF?!” moments.

Stopping bank robbers is pretty bread and butter Spider-Hero stuff. Indeed, such scenes are necessary from time to time to showcase a main character’s capabilities and powers so that any readers who are new to story can get a quick rundown without too much rambling dialogue. Fortunately, when it’s Peter David writing the story he finds a way to make it funny. I love Miguel’s inner monologue. I’ve mentioned before, in the last review as well as in our podcasts, that the difference between Miguel and Peter is like night and day. Peter Parker second guesses himself, suffers from toxic levels of guilt and is nice to a fault. Miguel O’Hara, on the other hand, is confident, direct and matter of fact. He’s not arrogant so much as “to the point.” I’ve always enjoyed the difference.

In this second issue David sets up two potential romantic subplots for Miguel. Here he builds upon the foundation with Tempest, the purple-haired building superintendent, that was laid down last issue. But out of left field comes the potential of Miguel starting something with his boss, Liz Allan. Or really it’s more correct to say Liz may start it with him. Why is Liz suddenly kissing Miguel seconds after he’s revealed he’s a refugee from the future? Even Miguel questions how fast she accepts his explanation when she responds by asking how he changed clothes so quickly. So why was Liz not shocked?

Because Liz has seen some things in her lifetime. Her brother’s an on-again/off-again villain called the Molten Man. On top of that her former father-in-law, Norman Osborn, is one of the biggest criminals in Spider-Man’s history. Her ex-husband also shared his father’s madness at one point. Now she’s raising a son all on her own in a world cluttered with heroes and villains. So it wasn’t a shock to me when Liz didn’t miss a beat. But why then was she suddenly drawn to Miguel? What was the attraction? I’m guessing it had something to do with Liz feeling alone against the world. She’s caught between a rock and a hard place, and could still be Norman Osborn’s willing or unwilling pawn, so suddenly meeting someone who is alone like her could have triggered something in Liz. She may look at Miguel as sort of a kindred spirit now. At least outside of the office. Back at Alchemax she will probably act completely differently.

As for Tempest, something tells me she’d be alright if she could find and befriend a geneticist from the future. Oh wait – one just moved into her building.

REVIEW: A

No big super villain fireworks here, just top notch storytelling from Peter David and artist Will Sliney. ‘Big Bads’ take a backseat this month to romantic subplots while new questions arise just as others get answered. Spider-Man 2099 and Superior Foes of Spider-Man continue to be the best Spider-titles out there right now!

Also, a funny tidbit here. When Liz quizzes Miguel about who he is, pointing out that ‘Michael O’Mara’ is also the name of a bookseller in the United Kingdom as well as an indie music artist… I actually stopped and did a quick Google search for the name. Sure enough, that’s just what I found. Heh.

–George Berryman!