Spider-Man 2099 #19 Review

Miguel O’Hara’s extended trip from 2099 to our era isn’t going so hot. His girlfriend is in the hospital, the organization that got him there has aligned with an evil goddess, and everyone’s turning into lizard monsters.

Oh yeah, and Elektra’s gotten involved, too.

Spider-Man 2099 (Marvel Comics)

Observations

• Poor Tempest ☹
• On the positive side of things, the 2099 versions of Cap and Spidey make a pretty great team.

• Never a good thing when your grandpa (who hasn’t fathered your father yet) turns into a lizard monster and attacks a corporate rival.
• Elektra’s an indisputable badass, but I think she may be a bit out of her league here.
• STOP MONOLOGUING!
• Okay, that was very well played.
• Uh oh…

Is It Good?

As usual, Peter David makes even the tensest situations into vehicles for some of the best dialogue in comics—and not just “fight describing” (one of my major pet peeves) or giant exposition dumps either. He actually writes the characters’ interactions in such a way that moves the narrative forward and is entertaining.

Unfortunately, much of the word space in this issue is taken up be a grandstanding deity who can barely hold her own against a well-trained ninja with melee weapons.

That being said, David does use her ostentatious behavior to set up a really great gag. I still say it resulted in too much issue-space being wasted, but I have to admit that it did make me laugh out loud. And as hard as the plot’s resolution was to believe, it does end up giving us a very cool moment.

I also love the way Miguel and Captain America work and interact together. In addition to Will Sliney’s consistently beautiful line work, David makes the pair a lot of fun to read.

The issue’s bookends provide some welcome bits of information about what’s going on with Tempest, although I wish the ending reveal didn’t feel so obvious. I think we’d all suspected that she would end up getting involved in something like this.

I trust David/Sliney to make it work, though. Even on an issue like this one—which isn’t quite up to par with the rest of the series— Spider-Man 2099 can always be counted on to be an excellent read.