For part one of this week’s Pull List, click here.
Timestorm 2009 – 2099: Spider-Man – Marvel – $3.99
Score: 4.5
After Spider-Man: A Short Halloween failed to get reviewed by the Pull List because it had been on the bottom of an eighteen book stack, I made sure that didn’t happen again with another Spider-Man one-shot. Unfortunately, this issue was nowhere close to the quality of A Short Halloween. This issue continues the ongoing “Timestorm” series which sent both Spider-Man and Wolverine in to the future and the Punisher of 2099 stuck in the modern age. After an explosion caused by a time-shift, young Miguel O’Hara has attained abilities similar to the Spider-Man of what he calls the heroic age. Resulting from the same explosion, another boy in his class has mutated in to a large scorpion-like monster.
At the same time, Peter Parker, our modern day Spider-Man sits in a rubber room with a straight jacket with a young mutant girl Shakti who can see in to people’s past and future. The two escape their holding facility before crossing paths with Miguel. As this run-in occurs an explosion goes off, forcing Spider-Man to go find out its cause and leaving Miguel and Shakti behind. Miguel is about to give chase when Shakti tells him he needs a disguise or his identity will be found out.
Miguel dons a costume of Spider-Man 2099 and rushes in to help Spider-Man face the scorpion creature that had been created alongside him. Before heading off to try and find a way home, Spider-Man tells Miguel to burn the costume as wearing it will bring nothing good to his life. Instead, Miguel mimics what Peter originally did and steps in to a fight arena to try and take on his time’s Human Torch.
The more I look at the issue, the less I like it. First off, it is very confusing as there are apparently three separate alternate 2099 continuities. While they all have the same basis, none of them matchup between this version where Miguel gains the powers as a youth, the original Spider-Man 2099 series, and the Spider-Man 2099 who had a brief stint in the exiles.
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