Miguel really can’t catch a break.
Creative Staff:
Story: Peter David
Art: Will Sliney
What They Say:
Miguel O’Hara returns to the year 2099 to discover that his future is now… imperfect!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
In the time since I read the previous issue, I managed to go back to the Superior Spider-Man books where the character was reintroduced and that got me pretty jazzed for more adventures with one of my favorite incarnations of Spider-Man. That was then dashed a bit with news that the book is ending and will be replaced with Secret Wars 2099. Having spent most of this series dealing with fallout and issues related to the Spider-Verse arc, it really feels like Miguel never got a chance to strut his own stuff. And that’s almost doubled down on a bit when you get down to it with this issue as he finally returns to his home timeline and time period after all the Spider-Verse events.
Only to find that the world has largely ended due to some kind of nuclear incident. His return to Nueva York has presented him with a place in ruins, which on top of all that he’s just experience, is a pretty soul crushing moment. After seeing so many allies and friends die at the hands of the Inheritors, figuring out how to get his life back on track in 2099 felt like it would be a welcome problem. But to return to everything in ruins with no signs of life and the potential as one of those last survivors kind of gigs? That’s just disheartening. Luckily for Miguel though, there are a couple of hunters known as Scanners that come across him as they’re looking for anything salvageable to take back to their camp, which is made up of about fifty or so other survivors. They don’t come across as particularly smart and their fate here is one that just makes you cringe overall since they’re mostly just trying to eke out an existence.
What makes matters worse is that as time goes on, Miguel discovers what’s really going on here. While there is a kind of expected blame Alchemax for everything deal, we also learn that what’s going on in the now is that the Maestro is the one in control of this particular patch of dirt. He’s got his crew and uses them to his advantage, but this future incarnation of the Hulk is one displeased and overpowered badass that sees Miguel as the Spider-Man of old and a chance to go back in time. The reasons for a lot of what’s going on are still a bit muddy overall, and why we’re getting this particular story considering all the other events that could have been chosen, but I do like a few things. Mostly I like seeing Maestro again as that’s an old problem that Miguel faced before, which he talks about, but we also get another old 2099 character resurfacing again with Strange. She had very limited appearances before, but with her here and the potential for for the Secret Wars 2099 series, bringing her back into focus is definitely welcome.
In Summary:
At this stage of the Spider-Man 2099 game, I’m not sure what to make of things. Knowing the end is coming and that Secret Wars is going to allow them to rebuild things in whatever way they want is pretty exciting because the whole 2099 universe needs to be properly laid out and configured. At the same time, knowing that we’ve only got a bit more left and that we’re going down this path has me with mixed feelings. I do like that we’re getting an end of the world aspect, but we’ve had it before in some of the older one-shots and events in the 2099 timeline. But I don’t like that we’re just beating down hard on Miguel after he spent so much of his book dealing with everyone else’s storylines and not his own, only to finally sort of get one and it’s all about the end. I’m definitely in for the ride, but I’m feeling wary again.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: February 25th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
