Continuing one of the side-plots spun out of the events of Amazing Spider-Man #10, Miguel O’Hara is back home in the year 2099, but not everyone is happy to see him. He and Six-Armed Spider-Man and Lady Spider from the steampunk Earth we saw in Spider-Verse #1 are trying to discover the nature of the Inheritors while being chased by Daemos through Nueva York. They’ve hidden what may be a cloned body of Daemos and plan to study it, once they get away from Daemos, that is.
Writer Peter David quickly gets the reader re-oriented with the basics of 2099 — Hey, there’s Tyler Stone! Look, it’s Gabe O’Hara! — and then hits the ground running. Daemos, who has recently been used as the main baddie most often compared to the other Inheritors, doesn’t waste any time finding and attacking Spider-Team Future. The script moves briskly along, with a good amount of action and some good character development of Lady Spider. On that point, though, David comes off a bit uneven with his handling of the character. I thought the “meet cute” with Gabe and May was funny, but the smooch seemed a bit juvenile. I would also think that a person from 1895, especially a scientifically accomplished person, would be a bit more in awe of their surroundings while swinging around 200 years in the future. But these are minor nitpicks.
As I surmised in my review of Spider-Verse #1, it is confirmed that Lady Spider May does not have actual spider powers, which actually works to her benefit in the battle with Daemos.
Artist Will Sliney’s work is pretty good in this issue, though there were a few panels with some anatomy that’s awkward even for a comic with three Spider-People in it. The color by Antonio Fabela really stand outs, though. The world of 2099 looks vibrant and future-y, and the day transitions from evening to night very subtly by way of a slowly changing the color of the sky background. Deft touches like that help push this comic above average visually.
Even though this story isn’t pushing the main Spider-Verse narrative forward, it is a good read. If you’ve been reading Spider-Man 2099, you’ll enjoy this comic. If you wanted more of Lady Spider, like I did, this comic is very good news for you. I’ll probably stick with this side story throughout the event. My theory is that Miguel is going to have some hard choices to make now that he’s back home.
CBH Score: 4 out of 5
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