A jam-packed and exciting first issue means Steve Orlando and Ibraim Roberson have our attention with The End 2099. Now, the moment of truth: can they sustain our attention with an all-out Battleworld-style fight comic? It’s the 2099 characters versus everybody else in one of the craziest multiverse miniseries yet.
The End 2099 #2 opens in the middle of an all-out war, with Mephisto’s chosen army of 2099 characters fighting Abyssus’ chosen heroes and villains from a variety of realities. The battle is for every soul, or at least the rest of them, with Mephisto fighting to prevent Abyssus from eating them up before they can enter his realm in Hell. The stakes are high, and Abyssus is a formidable foe that even makes Galactus seem tame.
As fight comics go, this issue has plenty of characters fighting you never would have thought imaginable, including a new character, Spider-Man 3099, going toe to toe with Spider-Man 2099. I do find it odd that the cliffhanger of issue #1 seemingly had Spider-Man 3099 kill Spider-Man 2099, but it was, in fact, a cheap fake-out. They spar here, and fake-out aside, Orlando has an interesting new character in Spider-Man 3099 that’ll pique your interest.
With any good fight comic comes good art, and Roberson does a great job bringing that event-caliber detail to the page. Many pages feature multiple characters in great detail, with a few poster-worthy full-page spreads to ogle. The fact that he accurately draws every single one, even when they’re tiny on the page, is a testament to their detailed work.
Test, your might…Mortal Kombat!!!!!
Credit: Marvel
A couple of characters do float to the top, so it’s not mindless fighting only, but just barely. As a huge Spider-Man nerd, I’m fascinated by Spider-Man 3099, who has a whole world to learn about, not to mention their identity under the suit. Fans of Wolverine get some tasty morsels as well, but the biggest character to move the needle, especially for X-Men fans, may be Wanda Magnus from the House of M universe. Need I say more?
Of course, with so many characters, your interest may vary based on how well you know the 2099 characters. There are some mini battles that may hold more water for those who know the characters’ backstories. This issue feels a lot less dense than the last one, but it’s at least carving out specific characters amongst the chaos.
One other gripe is the not-so-surprising cliffhanger. It should be expected by most when involving Knull adjacent characters, but it’s not clear how much it matters. The final words of a character are also a bit eye-rolling, especially if you’re tapped into Marvel Comics news and the canon of the last ten years.
The End 2099 #2 fully commits to its role as a multiversal brawl, pitting future heroes against an army pulled from across realities with unapologetic excess. While it occasionally stumbles over familiar event tropes, the sheer scale, Roberson’s meticulous art, and the introduction of compelling new players like Spider-Man 3099 keep the momentum strong. It may not deepen every character equally, but it successfully turns chaos into curiosity, which is exactly what a fight comic of this size needs to do.
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