Spider-Man 2099 #3

By Peter David, Will Sliney & Antonio Fabela

Despite its solid execution, the last issue of this series didn’t really go anywhere. The majority of the story involved talking heads and we never received a hook or reason for continuing on. Issue #3 rectifies this on numerous levels.

Miguel travels to a foreign country with his younger grandfather to sell the leftover Spider-Slayers to a dictator. Our hero obviously has a problem with this plan and soon enough, he likes it even less. Now Miguel must run across a war-torn country to rescue his jerk grandfather who has been kidnapped by a rebel insurgence.

Peter David has suddenly found some nice conflicts to work with. Miguel must not interfere and he must allow Alchemax to rise to power, especially since his grandfather is involved. However, Alchemax is slowly evolving into the corrupt organization that it will become in 2099. It’s hard for Miguel to sit by and let this happen. If things don’t change for the better at Alchemax, Miguel may be forced to intervene and run the risk of ruining things in his time. It’s an interesting character arc that will certainly be fun to see Peter David play around with.

The lack of action in issue #2 brought Will Sliney’s art style down. Issue #3 has more action and mystery, so things should be right back on track, except for the few panels where the art doesn’t accurately depict what’s going on in the story. In one scene, there’s something happening off-panel, but there is no indication in the actual panel to let you know this. It’s a little unpleasant to be thrown out of the story like that.

The story seems to be getting better, even though the art appears to be getting worse. Regardless, Spider-Man 2099 is still one of Marvel’s more interesting comics. It’s Peter David and Miguel O’Hara, so that shouldn’t come as a surprise.