**** (four of five stars)
Favorite Quote: "I don't believe this. Twice in two months I'm gonna have to leave through my bedroom window. Maybe I should just put in another door there." -- Miguel, as he's escaping the security droids Lyla sicked on him
Summary
With an unconscious Dana in tow, Miguel escapes from the security droids into his bedroom. He webs up a mattress to the door to buy him some time while he changes into his Spider-Man costume. Lyla expresses doubt that a mattress can hold off the droids and Miguel apologizes if his exhortation for her to think is behind her current malfunctions. He then heads to his window, telling Lyla to thank the droids for blasting it. Lyla continues to scream after him, telling him that he should love someone who can do "calculations to the 20th decimal point in a millisecond [sic]" or tell him the temperature in Bombay. She then sends the droids after him as he escapes with Dana. As he climbs down the building, he expresses thanks that his mother chose to go to Gabriel's. At that moment, Conchata discovers a plugged-in Gabe. She tries to disconnect him, but doing so shocks her. Meanwhile, Miguel observes the city in chaos, with the traffic guidance system and moving sidewalks going haywire. He rescues a woman thrown off the sidewalk and they watch as a holographic image at a nearby mall apologizes for the "minor computer difficulties." Suddenly, however, a new face appears saying that everything is not going to be repaired and will, in fact, go to Hell. At Alchemax, Tyler Stone is screaming at his staff as they struggle to discover why Winston went haywire. One of them explains that a virus was introduced and Stone expresses shock, saying that Winston was "bug proof." The staffer says that nothing is bug-proof if the programmer is smart enough and explains that the virus makes programs do the opposite of their core programming. Stone then asks who's controlling the virus and who usurped the announcement board. When one of the staffers says that it might be Discord, Stone comments, "We're dead."
On the streets, the CEO of Stark-Fujikawa, Hikaru-sama, asks his driver why they've stopped. When the driver tells him that the central traffic-control system is experiencing difficults, Hikaru tells him to put it in manual and drive. But, the driver explains that he's trying and can't. Before Hikaru can connect a call to Stone to ask what's happening, the driver notes that a train is heading straight for them. When they try to escape, they realize that the doors are computer locked. They're saved when Spider-Man tears off the roof of their car. Miguel departs to help other people and Hikaru ponders how he's going to continue a blood feud with someone who saved his life. Meanwhile, Dana is revealed to have been stashed in a storage locker when Miguel arrives to free her, handing her a bag with her clothes. He then explains about the chaos and Dana suggests that they go to Alchemax. Miguel instead decides to bring them to Gabriel's since he's the computer whiz. However, once there, they're greeted by Conchata, with frizzed-out hair, who leads them to the plugged-in Gabriel. Dana asks if Miguel can unplug him, but Miguel explains that he can't without knowing what happened to his archetype. Miguel explains that he, too, has an archetype, one created for him by Gabriel who asked him to play with him once. Miguel then proceeds to plug into the Cybernet to go looking for Firelight. Miguel observes that cyberspace is quieter than it was the last time and then expresses some shock when he realizes that his archetype looks similar to his Spider-Man costume, remembering that Gabe thought that he was being funny when he created it for him. However, he does remember that the costume comes with skates and he follows a trail of fire that apparently is the "sig line" of Gabe's maglev car. He arrives at the car's wreckage and comes face-to-face with Discord, who informs him that he should enjoy cyberspace for the remaining 22 minutes that he and "civilization as we know it" have to exist.
In the back-up feature, Angela arrives to discover a drenched Miguel and asks why he's wet. Miguel says it's because he always sweats profusely when he's nervous, but Angela isn't buying it. Miguel confesses that someone dumped water on him but says he doesn't know who it was. Angela promises that things'll get better and tells him that she can get him anything that he wants. He asks for a pony and Angela reminds him that horses are difficult to find after the "Animal Epidemic of '32." Miguel comments that, "You asked. I answered," and then leaves to change. Meanwhile, Angela goes to Kron Stone's room and insists that he apologize to Miguel. Kron refuses and Angela pulls his hair. He pops a knife from his sleeve and tries to stab her, but she grabs his wrist before he can and then slams his head into a wall. Later, Angela finds a dryer Miguel and escorts him through the school, informing him that Kron will be apologizing later. Miguel catches the eye of a cute girl named Xina and Angela leads him into a room where he comes face-to-face with a horse. She tells him that this room is the first of many secrets at the Alchemax School, informing him that Alchemax was able to buy some of the advanced technology lost at the end of the Heroic Age and use it for special purposes. She explains that the holotech in this room is unlike any other and then asks if he wants a ride. Miguel bolts from the room, however, explaining that horses scare him.
The Review
Everything was even more connected than I thought! Not only were Lyla and Winston's malfunctions connected, as I wondered last issue, but it seems that Gabe's cyberspace enemy, Discord, was responsible. Moreover, if I'm guessing correctly, Discord may be Tyler Stone's son, Kron, whose ashes we saw Tyler flush down the toilet in issue #10 and who is revealed to be the one responsible with pouring water over a young Miguel last issue. Talk about multiple levels of intrigue. I really did not anticipate David weaving together Tyler's deceased son, Lyla's odd behavior, and Gabe's cyberspace addiction into one story. Moreover, with the hints at the 2099's world's past and the re-appearance of Stark-Fujikawa, I really felt like we were back where we were before "Fall of the Hammer" hijacked the title. Great stuff. Four stars, no doubt.
The Good
1) For the first time really, David really gives us some hints of the 2099's reality's past, implying that a Third World War happened and referring to the "Animal Epidemic of '32." Moreover, we again hear about all the advanced technology lost at the end of the Heroic Age. These hints not only serves to flesh out the world but raise some really interesting questions that I hope we get a chance to see answered in the coming months. (I'm particularly intrigued by the lost technology, particularly given that the 2099 reality's technology isn't exactly anything to dismiss easily.)
2) I do really love how irreverent Miguel is. Asking Dana if she's the lady of the house when he rescues her from the storage locker or telling Conchata that her frizzed-out hair is a new look for her reminds me of Peter Parker, using quips to offset his nervousness when everything goes badly. To be honest, we saw a lot more of that in the first few issues of this series than we have lately and I'm really glad to see it return, because it's really what makes this book feel like a Spider-Man book.
The Unknown
1) In addition to the aforementioned plot threads that David resurrects here, I'm also intrigued where we're going with Stark-Fujikawa, now that the CEO owes Spider-Man a debt.
2) At the site of the wreckage of Gabe's car, Discord comments, "Well, well...it took you long enough" when he encounters Miguel. At first, I thought he had set up everything to bring Miguel into cyberspace, but he then makes it clear that he doesn't know who he is. But, he seems to have wanted someone to come after Firelight, though I'm not entirely sure why. I guess we'll see.
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