If you would have told me when we started Secret Identity in 2006 that I would be reading a Spider-Man 2099 series in 2014, I would have kissed you and called you crazy. And after the abomination that was the Timestorm 2099-2099 miniseries, I thought the closest thing I’d get to seeing Miguel O’Hara done properly was the "World Tour" arc of the Exiles from 2005.
But here we are, with Peter David writing the new adventures of Miguel, who not only has become a part of the 616 proper, but is part of perhaps the biggest Spidey-event ever.
Spider-Verse has been an absolute blast so far, and it’s seen Miguel make a return to his own time, along with Lady Spider, the spider totem of earth 803. Together they’ve managed to capture Daemos, one of the Inheritors using Alchemax tech and some reluctant assistance from Tyler Stone himself. This issue revolves around their efforts to unlock the secret of the Inheritors’ immortality before Deamos can escape.
But he does escape (so to speak). And when he does, that’s when things get really awesome. Because Miguel calls in a little help from my second-favorite character of the the 2099 universe--
Boom.
Not only does Peter David nail the tone of Gallows, but Will Sliney’s version of him is simply fantastic. I want that full page as a poster.
At this point, the book could get canceled tomorrow and I’d be thankful for what us 2099 fans have been given. But I hope it goes on for at least a little longer, because the more time David and company get to play with the 2099 characters, the more new readers will see how awesome they really are. And who knows what could happen then.
As far as this book, and the "Spider-Verse" event in general, you should be reading it. All of it. And if you can track down the old issues of Punisher 2099, you absolutely should, as he’s even more twisted than Frank Castle, and that book gets increasingly crazy as it goes on. Great stuff.