Spider-Man 2099 (Vol. 3) #21 Review

“It’s wood, you idiot. Wood doesn’t conduct electricity.”

Electro 2099 has his sights on Iron Man 2099. With Captain America 2099 already taken out, can the S-Man swing in to save the day?

WRITER: Peter David

ARTIST: Will Sliney

COLOR ARTIST: Rachelle Rosenberg

LETTERER: VC’s Cory Petit

COVER ARTIST: Francesco Mattina

EDITOR: Charles Beacham

STORY: Miguel wakes up from his beating and heads to Parker Industries to try and track where Stone took Tempest. Meanwhile, Roberta transforms into Cap to ask some questions of Sonny, but gets interrupted when Electro arrives to abduct the Iron Man of the future. Electro knocks out Cap, but Sonny manages to flee outside. As Electro is about to apprehend him, like a streak of light, Spidey arrives just in time. Miguel then locks Electro up in his lab to interrogate him and fix 2099 once and for all!

THOUGHTS: No Spidey on the cover, but that’s not to say Mattina didn’t do his usual fine job. I’ve mentioned this before, but I love how this Electro’s energy bubbles out, giving the appearance of the face mask of the original. It’s definitely an eye catching image, but some characters seem to be missing. More on that later…

Peter David continues Miguel’s never-ending struggle with The Fist. We get a baby step closer this issue to seeing that final battle, but first we check in with Sonny. As if answering my question from the last review, Sonny really has been waiting for Miguel for over two hours! What’s interesting is just how much of a blank slate Sonny is. He has no clue to his origins, nor does he seem to be overly heroic in his various dashes away from Electro, not that I blame him for that. Despite his amnesiac brain washing, the Iron Man confidence momentarily shines through, along with the occasional slang from 2099. It seems to dissipate as quickly as it emerges, though. He definitely came off as more of a fighter back when he was in his armor and under The Fist’s thrall.

Electro succeeds in coming off as very menacing and as persistent as a Terminator or Jason Voorhees. The blue definitely works better for this version than the green and yellow of Max Dillon. I really liked hearing him call Miguel “S-Man”. It’s little touches like that which make this title feel linked to the previous volume, when Miguel actually was in 2099 and was called that all the time. 

The issue wound up feeling like a quick read, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t entertaining. David perfectly characterizes his creation, showing us not only Miguel’s intellect, but how he differs from his predecessor in the joke department. I enjoyed seeing a Spidey who uses his brain to solve problems quickly. We’ve seen his rage boil over recently and it was nice to see him switch back to thinking his way out of something.

Sliney continues to be a very dependable artist for this title. His storytelling is always cinematic, coming across as storyboards for a Marvel Studios movie that will never get made. He is great at sequential art and paces David’s scenes well.

Now that Electro is captured, hopefully Miguel is one step closer to getting back to the proper future. These last few issues have been more satisfying than the diversion of the Elektra story as we get nearer to the denouement. The team provides some character beats amidst the action and keeps the story moving and fun. Here’s hoping things really take off into high gear next time! 

MY GRADE: B+

JAVI’S HUH?:  Sooooooo…anybody remember the original solicited cover for #21? What happened to THAT story? I was really looking forward to reading it! Maybe it’ll get used for an issue down the road! It certainly makes it look like things are coming to a head involving The Fist and the correct 2099 timeline!