Spider-Man 2099 #5 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue isn't really all that heavy on plot, but it is a rollicking good time.  Spidey and Cap take the fight to Kweeg (a.k.a. Venture), and it's as awesome as I hoped that it would be.

Along the way, we do get some pieces of new information.  Cap takes Spidey to her apartment so that she can change into her uniform, and she confirms that Roberta only thinks that her family is with her in the present:  they're really in 2099.  We also learn that Roberta recognized Miguel in the split-second before he put on his costume last issue, because she had been one of his test subjects years ago.  (Apparently he hit on her.  Shocker.)  This revelation raises the question, which Miguel does Roberta think that she's encountering?  The Miguel of "Secret Wars 2099" was very different from the Miguel (or, should I say, Miguels) from the original "Spider-Man 2099" continuity.  (I'm still not really sure what we're supposed to think about continuity in the wake of "Secret Wars."  Has "Secret Wars 2099" replaced "Spider-Man 2099?"  I'm not sure I care about the answer, to be honest.)  Moving onto other mysteries, Miguel is baffled by the fact that Kweeg hasn't disappeared after an hour in the present, since he disappears every time that he spends an hour in the future.  But, the duo doesn't really have more time to share stories.  They manage to prevent Kweeg from destroying too much of Times Square, though he's ultimately rescued by a woman named Aisa from the Fist.  She asks him to join their team, with the goal of destroying the United States.  (I'm guessing that it may be the Fist that serves as the anomaly that erased Miguel's 2099, but we'll see.)

All that said, this issue is really about the fighting.  David infuses it with fun through Spidey and Cap's easy banter, most of it based around Miguel being an arrogant and somewhat sexist prat.  But, it also allows Sliney to showcase his talents.  He gives Cap wings (an homage to the present-day Cap, Sam Wilson) and, combined with Miguel's new rocket-boots, it gives us some great acrobatics that remind me of the first series, where Miguel spent not an insignificant amount of time gliding through the air.  Oh, the good ol' days.

*** (three of five stars)