After the bombastic and bloody debut of Carnage 2099 in last week’s Spider-Man 2099: Dark Genesis #1 from Spider-Man 2099: Exodus mastermind Steve Orlando, the series’ sophomore issue continues the violent and vibrant dive into a futuristic “Maximum Carnage 2099.” Spider-Man 2099: Dark Genesis #2 sees Miguel O’Hara accidentally collecting a team of superheroes, with Orlando successfully introducing Blade 2099 into his dark future, while also pulling deep cut villains from 2099’s past series, like Halloween Jack and Flipside. Justin Mason’s art continues to bring the perfect level of brutality and emotion for the intense series, while Jordan Boyd’s gorgeous coloring adds layers of complexity and depth to the bleak future of Marvel 2099.
SPOILERS AHEAD for Spider-Man 2099: Dark Genesis #2!
Spider-Man 2099: Dark Genesis #2 is all about building both Spider-Man 2099’s heroic team, as well as the villainous group aligning themselves behind Carnage, hoping to sow chaos and destruction in an attempt to take advantage of Miguel O’Hara’s destruction of the Black Card caste system in Spider-Man 2099: Exodus. Specifically, Spider-Man 2099: Dark Genesis #2 not only brings back Spider-Man 2099: Exodus‘ Moon Knight 2099 and Ghost Rider 2099, but also introduces the zombified Wesley Nakao, Blade 2099, and brings back Alea Bell, Venom 2099, to work alongside Miguel O’Hara and the New Avengers alien Spider-Woman, Sivern.
On the villain’s side, the Alchemax employee Cecilsson revealed himself to be Jordan Boone, an Alchemax employee introduced in 1993’s Spider-Man 2099 #11 who, through the Aesir experiment, gained the shapeshifting powers of Loki, acting as Loki 2099 for many years before transforming into the devilish Halloween Jack. Plus, Halloween Jack has access to other Alchemax proprietary technology, including the upgraded version of the Flipside android, a Spider-Man/Venom fusion android who debuted in 1995’s Spider-Man 2099 #29.
Perhaps the coolest part of Spider-Man 2099: Dark Genesis #2 is the introduction of Wesley Nakao, a brilliant merger of Blade lore old and new, whose name is clearly an homage to the iconic 1998 Blade film starring Wesley Snipes. While Blade 2099’s backstory is not shown in Dark Genesis #2, it is revealed that instead of being a heroic vampire, he is a heroic zombie, forced to 3D print human flesh to keep himself alive and in power. However, a Handbook variant cover by Justin Mason reveals that Wesley is the son of the original Blade, Eric Brooks, who raised him. Wesley’s introduction in Dark Genesis #2 is an incredible addition to Spider-Man 2099’s cast of complex heroes, and his origins and history deserve even more attention in coming issues.
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Spider-Man 2099’s team of Ghost Rider, Moon Knight, Blade, Venom, and Spider-Woman is a truly iconic group of new and old heroes, tasked with going up against Carnage 2099, Halloween Jack, and Flipside. Thankfully, Orlando’s strong writing and experience with the world of 2099 continues to ground the wild and futuristic plot in the political class commentary started in the Exodus series, focused on the pains of a lower class community abused for years by the elite, and their continued manipulation by the likes of Halloween Jack and Carnage.
Also, the decision to make the main narrator of Dark Genesis #2 Sivern, Spider-Woman 2099, was a great choice by Orlando, providing a third party view on O’Hara’s accidental gathering of a heroic team, while adding more complexity – and a potential flirtation with Blade 2099 – to the fascinating alien Spider-character introduced in Exodus.
Justin Mason continues to show off his pitch-perfect artistic style in Dark Genesis #2, introducing the terrifying Halloween Jack, while making Venom 2099 feel fresh even without an overly redesigned costume. Mason’s Carnage 2099 continues to push “Maximum Carnage” to its limits, with the juxtaposition between Carnage’s tough-as-nails body horns and symbiote-goo body giving the monstrous child of Knull the perfect upgrade.
Marvel Comics
Plus, Mason’s use of shadow is truly superb in this issue, casting much of the action and tragedy in a perfect balance between light and dark, giving Nueva York the iconic future-noir vibe it is known for. Jordan Boyd’s stunning coloring adds to the perfect use of shadow and light, with his vibrant and fiery coloring of Ghost Rider 2099 and ghoulish visage of Halloween Jack particular highlights of Dark Genesis #2.
As Miguel O’Hara plans his next battle against Carnage 2099 for the soul of Nueva York, the addition of heroes like Venom 2099 and Blade 2099 and villains like Halloween Jack and Flipside perfectly round out this ensemble cast series, deepening and honoring the already impressive lore of Marvel 2099. Besides the unsurprisingly solid writing from Orlando, and gorgeous art by Mason and Boyd, the highlight of Spider-Man 2099: Dark Genesis #2 is the introduction of Blade 2099, Zombie Hunter, who would be the perfect star of a Blade 2099 one-shot comic in the near future.
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