Spider-Man 2099 #1 Review: Out Of Time But Not Out Of Touch

Sometimes comic book writers just shouldn’t go back to characters on which they’ve already left their mark. There comes a point when even gifted creators have said all they can.

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That isn’t the case for Peter David returning to a hero he helped create in the new Spider-Man 2099 #1. Maybe it’s because Miguel O’Hara isn’t in the year the title suggests, but in the distant past from his perspective or the present from our own.

It’s a setup that would feel even fresher if so many other current Marvel titles weren’t dealing with time-altering events, but this one is at least more personal as Miguel works from within Alchemax to prevent his own grandfather from going bad. Needless to say, the future doesn’t just let him waltz around doing it without consequences, and it appears the book’s supporting cast will have familiar faces from both eras making this Spidey’s life interesting.

I wasn’t familiar with the work of artist Will Sliney before reading this issue, but he’s a good fit. Miguel should move differently than Peter Parker, and Sliney gives him his own look in both the fight scenes and more calm moments. To coin a phrase, he looks even more spidery than the original Spider-Man, and he should considering his powers are a result of an arachnid overwrite of his DNA.

Perhaps the best part is that you don’t need to have read the 1990s series or be up on any of O’Hara’s recent appearances to follow along. Everything you need to know is either in the credits page info dump or within the story itself. Yes, a time travel plot could easily come off the tracks at any time, but this one chugs out of the station nicely.

SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT!

The big threat in this issue is an agent of TOTEM (that stands for Temporal Oversight Team Eliminating Mistakes, because why not?) who comes to the past to eliminate O’Hara before he mucks up history. Um, compared to what has been happening in Uncanny Avengers or Avengers, what Miguel is doing seems like a minor bump in the road.

Never mind that, as the TOTEM guy (thought he was a robot at first until he starts showing more personality) isn’t above killing people who have already made their contributions to the future as he seeks Miguel. He’s even able to recognize him out of costume, and with his grandfather hiding in a safe room, the obligatory fight is on.

It ends when the combatants crash into the office of a character longtime Spider-fans will recognize, Liz Allan. Using her as bait, Miguel is able to turn the tables and get the bad guy to defeat himself. Some reviewers think future Spidey killed the guy, but I’d like to think that Miguel wouldn’t be quite so cold-blooded and the dude just zapped himself back to the future. Sorry, couldn’t help that.

My personal hope is that David is able to weave in the mission Miguel is on with interesting foes and situations that have nothing to do with it, like an anime series that has standalone episodes mixed in with ones that drive the larger mythology. That’s asking a lot, but an old pro like David should be able to pull it off.

Favorite moment: When Liz calls Miguel out for not being the “real” Spider-Man because he sounds older and isn’t as funny, he responds by telling a joke. It’s not a good one.

Final thought: I wish someone would show up and let me know if I’m going to make any valuable contributions to society down the road, but I’d like to not be killed if the answer is no.