Spider-Man 2099 #16: "Fall of the Hammer" Part 1 ("The Hammer Strikes!")

*** (three of five stars)

Summary
Valhalla continues its march, passing over Randall, an "indy" town not affiliated with a corporation.  Thor announces that he will retain some of the people inside the Floating City to serve as sentinels, but everyone else will be lead to the place of departure by Heimdall.  Before he finishes the thought, Thor notices Dana in the crowd.  Calling her a "comely wench," he offers to let her see the "sport of the gods."  Miguel interrupts at this point, telling Thor that they're not leaving Valhalla since Alchemax built it, not him.  Thor takes umbrage when Miguel refers to him as "whoever you're supposed to be" and asserts that he is Thor.  Miguel asks where Sif is and Thor responds that he'll take any port in a storm (meaning Dana), cryptically referring to the upcoming storm "blowing" our way.  When Miguel tells Thor that he couldn't blow his own nose, Thor grabs him, angry at his insolence.  He's initially surprised by Miguel's strength, though, when Miguel again insults him, Thor lifts him above his head and hurls him through a window.  Dana accuses Thor of killing Miguel and Thor tells her that she's confusing him with her "Judeo-Christian gods," declaring that the Aesir are not gods for "soft undisciplined masses."  He insists that those worshiping the Aesir have to be "truly great" and tells her to leave with the rest of the unworthy.  Meanwhile, Miguel flies through the window and grabs onto the side of Valhalla, changing into his costume.  As he does, he notices that they're heading to New York, wondering if it's coincidence or "divine guidance."  Elsewhere, at the Wellvale home, Conchata knocks out a staff member getting into his car, stealing it and driving away.  In one of the many ships departing Valhalla, Dana sobs about the loss of Miguel.  One of the passengers chastises her, telling her that Thor might've let them all stay had she not rejected his advances.  ("He was trying to be nice and you blew him off.")  Dana decries the passenger's suggestion that he really is Thor and continues to lament Miguel's death.

In Valhalla, Spidey appears, demanding to know where "the woman" is.  Thor exults at the chance to attack his false harbinger and tells him that she has departed "with the rest of the sheep that bleated in this city."  Satisfied, Spidey tells Thor that he'll get leaving, but Thor orders Heimdall to attack.  Heimdall hurls his sword, Hofund, at Spidey, who manages to grab it.  Thor demands that Heimdall release his mental control over Hofund so that he and Spidey can fight like gods.  Thor knocks Hofund from Spidey's hands with his hammer, though Spidey grabs it with a Web-Line and hurls it at Thor.  Enraged by the ensuing scratch across his cheek, Thor viciously attacks Miguel, insisting that he is Thor and that Miguel has aggrandized himself by laying claim to Thor's name.  Miguel defends himself, saying that the people decided on its own that he was a harbinger.  Thor suggests that he's willing to forgive Miguel given his attempt to absolve himself of his responsibility, but asserts that his wrath must be assuaged.  Miguel strikes him across the jaw ("Assuage this!!") and Thor decides that he has had enough.  Declaring that he has only slain a handful of mortals in his time, Thor announces that Spidey is not worthy to be among them.  He then hurls his hammer at Miguel's chest, sending him to a "place of public humiliation" so he can end the "harbinger nonsense."  Mjolnir propels Spidey from Valhalla and across the sky until Spidey manages to free himself.  He creates a Web-Chute to slow down his descent and lands on the ground.  But, Mjolnir returns to him, striking him in a huge blow.  Meanwhile, at Miguel's apartment, an agitated Gabe appears, demanding that Lyla tell him where Miguel is so that they can have words.  Lyla repeatedly offers him a cruller, which he refuses.  Exasperated, Gabe yells at Lyla, who suddenly takes on the appearance of a steroid queen, threatening to order security droids to rip our Gabe's intestines and shove them down his throat unless he takes a cruller.  Gabe agrees.  In a pile of rubble, Spidey comes to consciousness just in time to see the Punisher standing over him.

The Review
This issue begins the "Fall of the Hammer" cross-over event running through the 2099 titles.  David spends most of the issue setting the stage, giving over large parts of the comic to Thor's monologues.  Despite the lack of much action (except for a Spidey's brief battle with Heimdall and Thor), David does a great job in creating excitement for the event, mostly by using the monologues to portray Thor in a way that makes you wonder if he might actually be our guy (or, at least, some later reincarnation of him).

The Good
1) I liked how David leaves open the possibility that Thor is, well, Thor.  Like Dana and Miguel, I automatically assumed that he was an impostor, but, here, we definitely see him engage in some godly behavior, from his incredible strength to his obvious control of Mjolnir.  It certainly doesn't guarantee that he is actually Thor, given that it's pretty easy to believe that someone used technology to endow him with strength or give him control of the hammer.  But, it did make me raise an eyebrow.  He's a little coarser than our Thor, given his somewhat more energetic assertion of his godly rights than we're used to seeing.  But, maybe it's because he's been outside the realm of humans for a while...

2) Miguel really needs to start thinking before he acts!  In both this issue and "2099 Unlimited" #2, he defends a woman (Dana here; Anna there) from a super-villain in his civilian identity.  In "2099 Unlimited," it exposed him as Spider-Man, even if Anna doesn't remember it in the end (though I still wonder if Mutagen does).  In this issue, Miguel appears to be killed, meaning that he's going to have to explain to Dana, at some point, how he survived getting hurled from a window of the Floating City.  I'm all for saving damsels in distress, but Miguel is going to have to start learning how to do so without so obviously jeopardizing his secret identity.  (I put this comment under "Good" instead of "Bad" because it actually fits with Miguel's hot-headed identity.  It makes sense that Miguel would get pissy with Thor when he's hitting on Dana, though I did think it weird that Miguel seemed more upset that Thor was claiming Valhalla for his own, almost defending Alchemax when he notes that Alchemax, and not Thor, built Valhalla.  But, I think David made it clear that Miguel was mostly acting on behalf of Dana, so I'm willing to look past the somewhat weird exchange.)