Spider-Man 2099 (Vol. 3) #25 Review FINAL ISSUE

“Why should I be upset? This is only a major temporal paradox. What’s to be concerned about?”

Miguel and friends may have saved 2019, but can he go back to 2017 to save his love AND return to the correct 2099? Or is his fate already sealed? FINAL ISSUE!

WRITER: Peter David

ARTIST: Will Sliney

COLOR ARTIST: Rachelle Rosenberg

LETTERER: VC’s Cory Petit

COVER ARTIST: Francesco Mattina

EDITORS: Charles Beacham with Mark Basso

STORY: Opening at Alchemax’s Blackthorne Prison, Tyler Stone is overseeing Tempest undergoing the operation that will turn her into Bumblebee. The story then jumps to 2019 after the virus dispersal has been stopped, with Miguel being formerly introduced to his future son, Gabriel. Miguel then learns where Tempest was taken to back in 2017, but if he goes he will be traveling back to the day he dies. He makes the jump back in time, sends Captain America 2099 back to the corrected (we hope) 2099 and leaves Sonny as the new head of P.I. R&D. Spidey infiltrates Blackthorne Prison and runs across Man Mountain Marko. Instead of fighting, Miguel bribes Marko with $1.5 million. Marko accepts, but is quickly mind controlled into fighting Spidey, who has to bring him to the point of near drowning to defeat him. The S-Man finally locates Tempest, frees her, and pulls her into a passionate kiss. Suddenly, Tempest impales him and as Miguel lays there dying, she snaps back to her right mind, unaware of what she’s done.

Blackness.

Miguel wakes up in the Sanctum Sanctorum of Dr. Strange 2099 on December 31, 2099, right as the clock is about to strike midnight. They reveal how he’s alive and send him off to see his family, saving talk of The Defenders for later.

THOUGHTS: Cue the Boyz II Men, cuz we’ve reached the “End of The Road.” Gracing this issue’s final cover is the originally solicited art for #21. Of course I love it and it was worth the wait. If this is how the series is going out, we’re off to a good start with Mattina’s beautiful art.

David starts things off ominously enough, with a rainy night at an off-shore prison. Tyler is escorting Tempest to her fateful surgery, with the briefest of flashbacks to Tyler encountering a younger version of his father, Tiberius. Was that the moment when the timeline diverged, not the unleashing of the virus?

Quickly jumping to 2019, Sliney gives us a splash page of Gabri, the Spider-Man of 2116, standing heroically as he addresses his parents. The heroic pose quickly gives way to a mask that actually skitters away to reveal Gabri’s face. Gross. Nice use of onomatopoeia to sell it, though. It’s in this scene where Miguel begins to realize what his fate is. Sliney delivers his cinematic flair here as Miguel kisses Tempest goodbye, heroically dons his mask, and dives into the portal to meet his fate. It definitely feels epic with a sense of finality as Tempest quietly mourns her lover as he disappears, lost to her once again.

Back in the present day, Miguel sends Cap home. Spidey makes a point to mention that for them it’s New Year’s Eve, meaning 2099 is about to be no more, just like this title. Cap, to her credit, wants to stay by Miguel’s side till the battle is won, but he distracts her and pushes her back to the future. As Miguel starts his diversion, Sliney renders Cap’s eyes to illustrate her shock and to emphasize where she’s looking. It reminds me of some versions of Amazing Fantasy #15 that depict Peter’s horrified expression as he realizes he let Uncle Ben’s killer go once before by putting in pinpoint pupils. It looks a bit creepy and odd when you’re used to only seeing all white for eyes. There’s a resolute “thooom” as the door to the portal closes on the good Captain.

Miguel flies off to a prison of his own making, both literally and figuratively. As he scans the facility for trouble he thinks to himself, “Not exactly red alert.” Is former Star Trek scribe Peter David making a Trek reference? I do hope so. Whether it is or just common parlance, Spidey comes across two guards making small talk about a bullpen. Knowing David is a big baseball fan, too, I just assumed it was sports, but on my next read-through I thought of a different interpretation. What if the guards are Marvel Zombies, referring to the Bullpen getting it’s act together for the second half of summer? After all, Secret Empire is wrapping up as Marvel’s Legacy initiative is about to start. It would be pretty subversive of David to be making a subtle, veiled commentary about the current state of Marvel Comics in the final issue of a cancelled title of a character he created last century.

David and Sliney have given us a few good beatdowns between Spider-Man and Man Mountain Marko in this series and I appreciate them going a different route for the finale-bribery. It’s clever and I certainly see Miguel being cynical enough to try it out. What does he have to lose? I like that he’s trying to make amends for earlier when he lost his temper and brutalized Marko in #9. They further bond when Miguel remarks that it’s the least he can do, with Marko finishing “and I always do” with “the least I can do”, pointing out he makes that joke, too. Miguel lets Marko in a bit, pulling at his heartstrings talking about their kids. They really come to an understanding…until Tyler uses mind control to have Marko attack our futuristic web-slinger.

Now we’re in full on battle mode as Miguel has to muster all his abilities to overcome and win the fight. For the second time, he uses his brain to improvise and win. I miss feeling like Peter Parker is an intelligent character, but Peter David gives us a Miguel who is as smart as they come, whilst still giving him that edge and air of danger the 2099 version has had since his inception. He comes up just short of killing Marko again, but with the help of Lyla, he only renders Marko unconscious, leaving him free to finally, FINALLY rescue his lady love.

As Miguel gets to her side, Peter David delivers his trademark banter and Sliney gives us a splash page as they passionately kiss…followed by a second splash page where Tempest starkly impales him in the chest with her stinger. It’s perfectly, ahem, executed as the moment turns to Miguel’s shocked expression with Rosenberg soaking the once white panel with blood. Miguel instantly realizes that it was a post-hypnotic suggestion from his father, not letting on to Tempest that it was her fault, trying to spare her any guilt, knowing full well how much she misses him in the flash-forward to 2019. The art switches to Miguel’s POV as it gets blurry and the blackness closes in.

As Miguel comes to, Sliney slowly transitions back the perspective and reveals Miguel inside the Sanctum Sanctorum of Doctor Strange 2099. Thanks to the efforts of Cap, Miguel’s son, and Strange, Miguel is brought back to life and his correct 2099, with the small transition at the end to the year 2100. David officially closes the book on 2099, but leaves the door open for Miguel’s adventures to continue alongside The Defenders in the new year and leaving the reader to hope for a future series that may or may not come. The story ends with Spidey soaring amidst the future fireworks, knowing that in the world of comics, status quos last the drop of a hat. Miguel may finally be back home, but without the woman he loves…for now.

I appreciate closing out the series with the letters page being turned over to the creators to say their respective good-byes. Hats off to to them, especially Peter David and Will Sliney for delivering 25 issues since October of 2015. Do the math, they did that many issues in less than two years, a remarkable feat in today’s age for a singular team. They provided consistent entertainment, full of solid art, great drama, and the unique Spider-Man 2099 cynical wit.

While this issue did feel like an epic, final farewell, hitting the right beats, it also left several questions for me upon my next reading, leaving a host of questions that left me less and less fulfilled with how things concluded, despite the extra size of the issue. As great and impactful the art is, as clever the dialogue, there were several payoffs that I missed seeing. Even though we heard her quite a bit, I wish we could’ve “seen” Lyla more, especially once we got back to 2099. It was as much a homecoming for her as Miguel. One can hope that David will raise his pen again and take us to the Marvel world of 2100, but based on this series declining sales, I sadly don’t think we’ll ever see it come to fruition.

I’ve been reading about Spider-Man 2099 since his first preview appearance in the back of Amazing Spider-Man #365 and I’m glad Peter David got to return with him for not just two more volumes, but a Secret Wars mini as well. I’m happy we finally got to see a variation of the original costume again, even if Miguel wasn’t underneath it, and that his (and Peter’s) legacy lives on. At the end of the day (or series), this team delivered a consistent and solid Spidey book, one that I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to review.

MY GRADE: B-

JAVI’S HUH?: Why can Sonny stay and head part of Parker Industries? He doesn’t belong in that timeline and Miguel knows it gets destroyed. Why not send him back where he belongs instead of potentially unemployed? What kind of wreckage to the timeline will his knowledge and science acumen bring?

Why can’t Tempest learn after 2019 about Miguel’s true fate? Once he makes the jump back to 2017, it should be okay for Gabriel to tell her and take her to the future to reunite them.

Did the Sinister Six go back to 2099/2100?

Aisa lives to die another day? The Fist is still in operation? Aisa and Miguel not having one more confrontation was disappointing to me. He got pretty lucky last issue and with her escape provided by Vulture 2099, I thought we would see them team up to fight the S-Man one last time this issue, which would have been awesome to see Miguel fight one of his villains, instead of the one he “borrowed” from Peter.

Cap advises Miguel to go join his family. Who’s that? His brother Gabriel? Where did his son, the other Gabriel, go off to?

Is Father Jennifer alive? I was hoping to see her hale and hearty after her death at the hands of the Sinister Six, instead of just having to presume it was reversed when Miguel changed the future.