**** (four of five stars)
Summary
Summary
Some kids joyriding in a flying car above the city discuss whether or not they're going to get caught by the authorities, but one of them insists that they're fine since the "flyboys" never come so high because of the crosswinds. However, the kids are stunned to see Spider-Man hurl over their car with the Public Eye, on flying cycles, in hot pursuit. As the officers pursue Spider-Man, one of them exposits that Alchemax wants Spider-Man alive. They're surprised when Spidey leaps onto one of their cycles, taking down the cycle and its rider. Spidey lands on the ground with the rider and takes him into a crowded space, where he ditches the officer and blends into the crowd (presumably after having changed into his civvies). Later, someone named Miguel returns to his apartment at the Babylon Towers, where his holographic servant Lyla informs him of the time and temperature. She also notes that his "personal bio readings" indicate he's recently exerted himself and then plays his holographic messages for him. The first message is from "Tyler," who tells Miguel to come to him to work out "something," noting that he knows Miguel needs "the drug." The next is from "Gabe," who tells him that the "corporate raider program" on which Miguel is working is a nasty piece of work, and the following one is from "Dana," a girl with a bruise on her face who notes that she was scared when he was "strung out on the drugs" the other day. Lyla informs Miguel that the next three messages are also from Dana. She expresses her concern that his present behavior is "not within normal programming parameters" and notes he hasn't made an entry in his journal for five days. On that cue, Miguel begins to discuss his previous few days.
He begins by recalling a conversation he had with someone named Aaron, who appears to have some position of authority at Alchemax but who resents Miguel for being the golden child brought into the company to head up a particular genetics program. Miguel cracks wise at Aaron's expense and informs him that his experiments altering the genetic structure of test animals had gone well. He also shows him photos of the original Spider-Man and explains that he's Miguel's inspiration for the corporate-raider program. Meanwhile, "Tyler" is revealed to be Tyler Stone, a big wig at Alchemax. He enters the lab and informs Miguel that he wants to see some results from his experiments. Miguel cautions that they can't rush the project, but Tyler presses, providing him with a convict as a test subject. Miguel stresses they're not ready for human tests yet, but the convict says he volunteered for the project in order to avoid getting forcibly aged (the punishment for his crime). Miguel agrees to conduct the experiment to give the guy a chance of surviving, focusing on just giving him extra strength (and not using the Spider-Man imprint program, as Aaron offered as a possibility). The experiment goes wrong in Miguel's eyes, since the convict emerges from the genetic-sequencer machine as a "mutated freak" who almost immediately dies. However, Stone is pleased since the convict did, in fact, gain accelerated strength.
Later that night, Miguel tries to quit Alchemax in protest, but Stone tries to convince him otherwise, noting that he's been groomed for Alchemax just like his father. Miguel stands firm and Tyler slips "rapture" into his drink, a drug that becomes instantly addictive and that only Alchemax (legally) distributes. Stone notes how much more difficult it is to fight the drug than submit to it and how nasty the withdrawal symptoms are. He then expresses his hope that Miguel will "be a member of the Alchemax family for some time to come." Miguel returns home, where Dana, revealed to be his fiancée, is jazzercising with Lyla. When she notices how terrible Miguel looks, she tries to comfort him, but he shoves her from him, giving her the aforementioned black eye. He apologizes and tells her that Stone slipped him the drug as "incentive" to stay at Alchemax and he's been trying to fight it. But, since fighting it makes its effects worse, he's been hallucinating, seeing monsters everywhere, which is why he struck her. Dana tells him that she has friends who can get him the drug on the black market, but he furiously asks her if she wants him to be a drug addict his whole life. She hugs him, saying she just wants him well.
Later, he goes to Alchemax, wiping the security system of his presence and putting himself in the genetic sequencer in order to write over his genetic structure with a copy he had made before taking the drug. (Rapture bonds with its users genetically and Miguel happened to have a copy of his pre-rapture genetic sequence because he had been using it for his experiments.) He gets into the machine, where he's observed by Aaron, who starts screwing with the inputs in an attempt to kill Miguel. He winds up including the Spider-Man file into the genetic sequence being written over Miguel's genetic code and the machine eventually explodes. Aaron expresses shock when Miguel emerges unscathed and tries to play innocent, threatening Miguel with telling Stone about how he destroyed the equipment in a tantrum. However, when Miguel looks at him, Aaron is shocked to see he has fangs and talons.
He begins by recalling a conversation he had with someone named Aaron, who appears to have some position of authority at Alchemax but who resents Miguel for being the golden child brought into the company to head up a particular genetics program. Miguel cracks wise at Aaron's expense and informs him that his experiments altering the genetic structure of test animals had gone well. He also shows him photos of the original Spider-Man and explains that he's Miguel's inspiration for the corporate-raider program. Meanwhile, "Tyler" is revealed to be Tyler Stone, a big wig at Alchemax. He enters the lab and informs Miguel that he wants to see some results from his experiments. Miguel cautions that they can't rush the project, but Tyler presses, providing him with a convict as a test subject. Miguel stresses they're not ready for human tests yet, but the convict says he volunteered for the project in order to avoid getting forcibly aged (the punishment for his crime). Miguel agrees to conduct the experiment to give the guy a chance of surviving, focusing on just giving him extra strength (and not using the Spider-Man imprint program, as Aaron offered as a possibility). The experiment goes wrong in Miguel's eyes, since the convict emerges from the genetic-sequencer machine as a "mutated freak" who almost immediately dies. However, Stone is pleased since the convict did, in fact, gain accelerated strength.
Later that night, Miguel tries to quit Alchemax in protest, but Stone tries to convince him otherwise, noting that he's been groomed for Alchemax just like his father. Miguel stands firm and Tyler slips "rapture" into his drink, a drug that becomes instantly addictive and that only Alchemax (legally) distributes. Stone notes how much more difficult it is to fight the drug than submit to it and how nasty the withdrawal symptoms are. He then expresses his hope that Miguel will "be a member of the Alchemax family for some time to come." Miguel returns home, where Dana, revealed to be his fiancée, is jazzercising with Lyla. When she notices how terrible Miguel looks, she tries to comfort him, but he shoves her from him, giving her the aforementioned black eye. He apologizes and tells her that Stone slipped him the drug as "incentive" to stay at Alchemax and he's been trying to fight it. But, since fighting it makes its effects worse, he's been hallucinating, seeing monsters everywhere, which is why he struck her. Dana tells him that she has friends who can get him the drug on the black market, but he furiously asks her if she wants him to be a drug addict his whole life. She hugs him, saying she just wants him well.
Later, he goes to Alchemax, wiping the security system of his presence and putting himself in the genetic sequencer in order to write over his genetic structure with a copy he had made before taking the drug. (Rapture bonds with its users genetically and Miguel happened to have a copy of his pre-rapture genetic sequence because he had been using it for his experiments.) He gets into the machine, where he's observed by Aaron, who starts screwing with the inputs in an attempt to kill Miguel. He winds up including the Spider-Man file into the genetic sequence being written over Miguel's genetic code and the machine eventually explodes. Aaron expresses shock when Miguel emerges unscathed and tries to play innocent, threatening Miguel with telling Stone about how he destroyed the equipment in a tantrum. However, when Miguel looks at him, Aaron is shocked to see he has fangs and talons.
The Review
Drug use, domestic violence, genetic testing on human beings: talk about a dark origin story! I had totally forgotten that David wrote this series and was obviously super stoked when I realized it, given how much I love his work on "X-Factor." I was not disappointed. This issue creates a fully fledged, fairly damaged character in the form of Miguel O'Hara, who veers more towards the anti-hero side of the superhero spectrum than his present-day counterpart, Peter Parker. After delivering one of the most compelling and best presented origins in recent history, David leaves you wanting to know so much more about Miguel and his world.
The Really Good
I thought David did an amazing job in creating Miguel, giving us a conflicted, interesting character right from the start. Miguel becomes Spider-Man thanks to two related events: 1) his arrogant haranguing of Aaron Delgato and 2) his moral conflict with Tyler Stone over human testing. His "good" stand is the reason why he finds himself in the genetic sequencer in the first place: he's trying to erase his addiction to rapture, something induced by Stone to keep him at Alchemax despite his protest over testing on humans. His "bad" stand is the reason why he gets himself imbued with Spider-Man's powers: Delgato is seeking revenge on Miguel for his haughty behavior. David lays this groundwork so cleverly, going beyond the stereotypical "accident" in building Spider-Man 2099's origin.
However, each "stand" is more complicated than just "good" and "bad." For example, while he's firing up the genetic sequencer, Miguel comments that he spent so much time talking like "Mr. Over-Confident" that he actually became over-confident, leaving himself open to Stone's manipulation. It raises the question why he felt like he had to be "Mr. Over-Confident" in the first place and implies he's not as arrogant as he first appears. Moreover, he knew that he was working on Alchemax's "corporate-raider program," but only drew a line when Tyler was willing to test his findings on the convict. Essentially, he was OK with corporate espionage, but not human testing. I'm not saying corporate espionage and human testing are on the same level of the "morally wrong" scale, but his comfort with one and not the other shows that Miguel is not as black-and-white as most superheroes we see, particularly not in the first issue of their series. His overconfidence is a minus, but David hints that it comes from a place that might make him a more sympathetic character. His moral stand was laudable, but it came after being OK with other less morally objectionable (though still morally questionable) actions Alchemax asked him to take. It's really a testament to David's skill that he's able to present such detailed and layered anti-hero in the first issue!
However, each "stand" is more complicated than just "good" and "bad." For example, while he's firing up the genetic sequencer, Miguel comments that he spent so much time talking like "Mr. Over-Confident" that he actually became over-confident, leaving himself open to Stone's manipulation. It raises the question why he felt like he had to be "Mr. Over-Confident" in the first place and implies he's not as arrogant as he first appears. Moreover, he knew that he was working on Alchemax's "corporate-raider program," but only drew a line when Tyler was willing to test his findings on the convict. Essentially, he was OK with corporate espionage, but not human testing. I'm not saying corporate espionage and human testing are on the same level of the "morally wrong" scale, but his comfort with one and not the other shows that Miguel is not as black-and-white as most superheroes we see, particularly not in the first issue of their series. His overconfidence is a minus, but David hints that it comes from a place that might make him a more sympathetic character. His moral stand was laudable, but it came after being OK with other less morally objectionable (though still morally questionable) actions Alchemax asked him to take. It's really a testament to David's skill that he's able to present such detailed and layered anti-hero in the first issue!
The Good
1) I also thought that David deserves plaudits for making the origin story for Spider-Man 2099 match the tenor and tone of the original Spider-Man's origin story. On some level, they're mirror images of one another. Peter got bitten by the radioactive spider partly because he was a good kid (a science geek), but his emergence as Spider-Man came because of a moral failure, opting not to stop the burglar who would later kill Uncle Ben. Miguel actually gains his powers because of his moral failure, harassing Aaron Delgato to the point where he felt the need to exact revenge, though I'm guessing it's his moral stand against Tyler Stone that will wind up inspiring him to become Spider-Man. One gains his powers through innocence, the other guilt; one uses his powers from guilt, the other innocence. Only David could have been this clever and it's why this story, from the first page, feels likes a Spider-Man story.
2) I thought the drug plot-device was an interesting and clever twist. It goes beyond just setting up the typical scenario of a superhero gaining his powers in a lab accident by also establishing the central conflict that will likely be the plot of the first few issues at least, since I assume it'll be revenge on Alchemax that motivates Miguel to put on his Spider-Man costume for the first time. For anyone who works for a large organization and often feels trapped by it, it really gives you an incentive to root for him!
The Unexpected
I don't think I've ever used this term, "The Unexpected," before, but I wasn't sure how to classify the subject of Miguel hitting his fiancée, Dana. I've mentioned the "Life of Reilly" blog a few times on this blog; it's a detailed history of the "Clone Saga" that includes commentary from the people who created it. In one of the posts, the editor discusses the reaction to "Spectacular Spider-Man" #226, an issue in which Peter Parker hits Mary Jane. First, he defends the scene in the sense that he notes Peter doesn't actually hit Mary Jane; he accidentally strikes her while she's trying to keep him from pummeling Ben Reilly. Second, he notes that said defense didn't really work and Marvel was shy to show anything approaching violence against women for years. (I guess they didn't notice Chuck Austen's "misogyny is fun!" arc in "Avengers" #77-#82.) I'm intrigued if this issue garnered a similar reaction, given that the incident is somewhat similar: Miguel accidentally hits Dana because he's hallucinating that he's being attacked by monsters. Both Peter and Miguel hit his significant other without meaning to do so and the incident is used to show how crazy he is in that moment. But, we've all known Peter Parker for years; we, in theory, know it's not something he would normally do. Conversely, it's a little stark when one of the first things we see Miguel O'Hara do is hit his fiancée. Again, we're definitely in anti-hero territory here.
The Unknown
I wonder how David is going to address the fact that Aaron essentially knows that Miguel has Spider-Powers. He sees the fangs and the talons, so it's probably not going to be too much of a stretch (regardless of how dumb Miguel thinks he is) for Aaron to put two and two together when Spider-Man appears on the scene. My guess is that Aaron might not be long for this world, but what (and who) exactly eliminates him remains to be seen.
The Unknown
I wonder how David is going to address the fact that Aaron essentially knows that Miguel has Spider-Powers. He sees the fangs and the talons, so it's probably not going to be too much of a stretch (regardless of how dumb Miguel thinks he is) for Aaron to put two and two together when Spider-Man appears on the scene. My guess is that Aaron might not be long for this world, but what (and who) exactly eliminates him remains to be seen.
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