Spider-Man 2099 #46: "A House Divided"

* (one of five stars)

Summary
Miguel surfaces from his (failed) attempt to save Father Jennifer, only to discover Atlantean warships descending on Alchemax Tower.  The Public Eye deploys to protect the Tower and Miguel realizes that he's in the middle of the two warring sides.  Miguel acknowledges that he feels a "cursory loyalty" to Alchemax (given that he's the CEO), but, conversely, also feels, as Spidey, that he owes Alchemax "even less than nothing."  Given the latter, he wonders why he's leaping to Alchemax's defense and concludes that maybe, "deep down inside, there are some things [he] really [does] care about."  As he approaches the Tower, an Atlantean declares that it belongs to Attuma, Monarch of Atlantis, and that anyone who tries to enter will be executed.  Miguel engages in one-sided banter with the axe-wielding Atlantean, distracting him long enough to leap over him, grab the handle of his axe, and use his momentum to fling the soldier into an approaching one.  Miguel then leaps onto the original soldier's now-vacated skysled and heads to his office.  He frets that the Public Eye isn't trained to fight a war and that Alchemax employees aren't soldiers capable of repelling this sort of assault.  He therefore prioritizes evacuating the Tower, but finds himself in confrontation with another Atlantean as he arrives at his office.  This one rails that Miguel's "people" have encroached on Attuma's sovereignty, but, more importantly, desecrated "the Holy Sarcophagus of Prince Namor."  The two grapple as Miguel tells the Mr. Exposition that he doesn't know anything about the desecration.  The Atlantean doesn't accept Miguel's assertion that he knows nothing about it and exposits that these events are in accordance with some sort of prophesy that says the waters will rise, the "guardians of the false prophet" will be killed, and, by dawn, the surface world will cease to exist.  Their struggles is interrupted when they are peppered with "razor-sharp vanadium darts;" Miguel turns to discover that they were fired by the Vulture, who stands atop a pile of bodies.  Referring to the "scraps" (meaning the bodies) of his "surf and turf meal" (heh), he tells Miguel to scram while he feasts on Father Jennifer, lest Spidey become his dessert.

Elsewhere in AlchemaxTower, Conchata leads a contingent of Public-Eye officers fighting off Attuma's hordes.  One officer expresses fear over the fact that the hordes keep coming and Conchata tells him that, if they don't stop them from overrunning the Tower, everyone will die.  She fires her gun, but it's empty, so she uses it as a blunt weapon to fend off an Atlantean's attack with his axe.  The Atlantean tells her that she's stronger than other females of her species; telling him that she's also crazier, she then kicks him into the horde behind him.  She declares that the Atlanteans should leave her son's company if they know what's good for them.  The narrator informs us that she's exorcising some demons in the fight, fantasizing that it's Tyler on the other end of her fists.  Meanwhile, Tyler himself makes his way through the halls, predicting that the Tower will fall within the hour, but observing that he'll be on the way to Mars.  A dying Public-Eye officer asks for Tyler's help, but Tyler runs over him with his wheelchair instead.  An Atlantean tells him to halt, but then decides not to waste ammo on a "cripple."  Tyler taunts him and the Atlantean pulls out a knife; he lunges to attack, telling Tyler to pray to his gods.  Tyler hits a button in his wheelchair, firing a rocket into the Atlantean's gut; as he passes the burnt carcass, Tyler informs the dead Atlantean that he's an atheist.

In Miguel's office, Miguel demands that the Vulture release Father Jennifer, since she's never done anything to him. The Vulture tells Miguel that he's wrong, since she's undermined his Downtown operation for years with her "peace, love and understanding."  Miguel offers himself instead, saying that he's just as responsible for getting in the Vulture's way.  The Vulture agrees, but says that he wouldn't be as succulent.  He then reveals that he knows Miguel's identity.  Miguel tries to pretend that the Vulture is wrong ("been hittin' the homo sapien sangria a bit hard -- ain'tcha, Wings?"), but the Vulture says that he's got it on good faith from a little "goblin."  Miguel reels at the revelation that Gabe is involved with the Vulture and told him his identity.  He pledges to find Gabe, but, before he can do anything about it, the Vulture informs Miguel that he's rigged every floor of Alchemax with remote explosives.  Miguel realizes that he has to bring his confrontation with the Vulture to a close, given that his shoulder is still smarting from where one of the Vulture's darts hit him; moreover, the Vulture announces that the entire place is going to blow in ten minutes.  Accordingly, Miguel webs up the Vulture's mouth and hurls him from the Tower.  Miguel realizes that he doesn't have time to remove 100 detonators in less than eight minutes.  Father Jennifer comes to consciousness and removes the dart from the back of Miguel's shoulder.  Miguel tells her than they have to evacuate the Tower, not only because of the invading Atlanteans, but also because of the Vulture rigging the building with "two tons of explosive thermite!"  Miguel tells her to keep praying and then activates the public-address system, announcing, as the CEO, that everyone needs to evacuate the building immediately.  Father Jennifer is horrified at the carnage around them and Miguel says that it's all in the name of some jihad.  Noting that it doesn't say a lot about religion, Miguel hears a commotion behind a nearby door.  It suddenly opens and an Atlantean is hurled into the hallway.  Conchata steps from the door and Miguel welcomes her; Conchata informs him that she expects to be paid overtime.

In the hanger, Tyler approaches the ship that'll take him to Mars.  He exposits that the Board of Directors scoffed at him when he proposed the Mars colony, preferring that he build New Atlantis instead; they apparently even laughed him from the board room.  He notes that he's the one laughing now since, by the time that he's on Mars, Earth will be "little more than a glorified puddle."  Thinking himself the clever one, he prepares to board, when a laser blast destroys his wheelchair.  Realizing that he has a broken rib, Tyler screams, "Don't you know who I am?  I'm Tyler Stone."  The Atlantean standing over him tells him that he knows, because an executioner always knows his victim.  He says that he knows that Tyler was responsible for building New Atlantis and that he'll die at his hands.  (He also announces that he's General Dagim.)  Tyler tells himself that he refuses to die for someone else's mistake, particularly when he's so close to escaping, and warns Dagim that, if he pulls the trigger, he'll give him new meaning to the word pain.

In the hallway outside the hanger, Father Jennifer tells Miguel that he's gotten them in a fine mess, but Miguel tells her that the transport ship is located there; it just happens to be behind enemy lines.  Miguel finally breaks into the hanger and leaps onto Dagim as he fires on an annoyed Tyler, who takes the blast "square in the gut at almost point-blank range."  Miguel beats on Dagim as he realizes that Tyler couldn't survive that sort of blast, even with his life-support chair.  Father Jennifer prepares to enter the hanger, but Conchata stops her, saying that she needs to ask her something.  Conchata asks if Father Jennifer knows Gabriel and Father Jennifer says that she does, wondering if Conchata knows about his "other self."  Conchata tells her that she's afraid something's wrong with him and has been ever since he broke his cyberspace addiction.  She asks Father Jennifer to help him if they survive and, on cue, she's suddenly shot through the chest.  The narrator informs us that a violent thought has never "found purchase in [Father Jennifer's] heart and mind" until now and she shoots the Atlantean who shot Conchata.  She bends over Conchata as the detonator timer hits 2 minutes and Conchata, realizing that she's dying, asks her to tell her sons that she loves them; she dies with the image of her sons flashing in front of her eyes.  Father Jennifer goes to tell Miguel, who's unmasked and holding a dying Tyler in his lap.  Miguel asks if Conchata's gone and Jennifer confirms that she is.  Tyler croaks out, "First your -- hak hak -- mother -- and now me...this is just not your day -- koff koff -- is it, son?"  He tells Miguel that they're cut from the same cloth, with their actions destroying the people closest to them whether they intend to do so or not.  The clock hits one and Jennifer tries to get Miguel to leave.  Miguel hesitates and tells Tyler's now-dead body that he's wrong, that he's no longer an "egocentric, punk kid who doesn't give a shock about anyone but himself."  He says that he has a real opportunity to do something with his abilities, something that Tyler never did with his wealth, power, and prestige.  He concludes by saying that he's got a chance to make a difference in the world and is nothing like Tyler.  He and Jennifer then depart the Tower in the ship as it explodes.

The Review

It has become clear to me that this series, as we knew it, ended in issue #44.  Picking up a theme that I started exploring in my review of "Fantastic Four 2099" #6, it's almost like we're dealing with a different version of the 2099 Universe here, where Attuma replaced Roman as the head of the Atlanteans in the middle of their invasion of New York.  If you think of it this way, essentially ignoring issue #44 (and the Venomization of Roman), it sort of works.  The problem, of course, is that it's not true, leaving us with a mess of conflicting plots and sub-plots.

I will try to wrap up my thoughts on this series in a separate post.  Here, I just want to take a moment to lament what the hijacking of this series by the unnamed cross-over event denied us in terms of character developments and dangling threads.  Coming off the Venom and Goblin arcs, we were presented with a new status quo for several characters that clearly needed to be explored.  We needed to see how Miguel adjusted to his new role as CEO of Alchemax and lost role as guardian of Downtown as well as how he handled the death of Dana and the disappearance of Xina.  Beyond just Miguel, we had several paths of possible outcomes for Gabe that needed to be explored, possibly even setting up a moment where he had to choose whether he was going to step into the role of guardian of Downtown (and whether he was going to do so just to impress Kasey) or if he was going to continue to be motivated solely by his need for revenge against Miguel.  We even probably would've been treated to Conchata and Tyler circling one another like prize fighters as Tyler tried to find a way to oust Miguel.

David started this process in the New Atlantis arc in issues #43-#44, where Miguel started using Spidey similar to how Tony Stark uses Iron Man.  This process didn't have to last too long.  Marvel still could've told the story that it tells here; it just would've given more time to its authors to plan for this sort of cataclysm.  However, because Marvel canceled the entire 2099 line, the authors are clearly forced to abandon their ongoing stories in order to get all the characters on the same page; hence, we see, in "Fantastic Four 2099" #8, the 2099 heroes flee to the Savage Land with the survivors of the Earth's flooding.  In the end, we're denied an emotionally satisfying ending and left with a inferior-quality product.  It's sort of like waking up one day discovering that all your Transformers became Go-Bots.

I originally gave this issue two stars, since, despite all its faults, it at least somewhat flows.  But, the obvious problems detailed in the next few sections makes it clear that it really only merits one star.

The Good

I loved Conchata as a Atlantean-bustin' bad ass.

The Unknown
1) We never really learn here why Attuma took over Atlantis or where he got the sort of weaponry that the Atlanteans deploy here.  It's entirely possible that it was explained in "Doom 2099" or "Fantastic Four 2099."  But, as I mentioned in "The Review" section, I realized that Marvel really should've treated this entire arc as a cross-over event, like "Fall of the Hammer."  But, they didn't.  Given the lack of context provided about events that have occurred in other books, it's really difficult to follow the story here without getting distracted by the various unknowns.  

2) I'm not really sure what Tyler was planning to do in his confrontation with Dagim.  He threatens Dagim with pain if Dagim kills him, but how would he accomplish that if, you know, he was dead?  Did he plan to haunt him?  Also, he seemed annoyed with Miguel interrupting his "plan" when Miguel leapt on Dagim, but, again, he didn't really seem to have one (or, at least, a viable one).  Was the plan to play dead?

3) We never learn what was happening on Mars.  Captain Pike, in the last issue, implied some sort of problem at the colony, but, since Tyler never makes it there, we don't hear about it again.

The Meh

Gabe telling the Vulture Miguel's identity really isn't all that shocking.  I know that we're supposed to feel that way, but it just isn't.  First, Gabe was crazed with hatred for Miguel, so it makes sense that he'd break this bond of trust, since it's the most important one.  But, given that the entire Earth is on the brink of ending, it's unclear to me why Miguel would care too much.  In fact, one of my problems with this issue and issue #45 is that the stakes are a lot lower than the ones depicted in "Fantastic Four 2099" #6 and #8.  Miguel seems just to be fighting for Alchemax, when, really, the entire Northern Hemipshere has apparently been flooded.  It again speaks to the poor coordination within this soft cross-over event.

The Bad

1) Given that the entire Atlantean invasion was more or less inspired by the desecration of Namor's tomb, you'd think that we would've been given a little more detail regarding the events of "X-Nation" #4 than just "the guardians of the false prophets were slain."  Who did desecrate Namor's tomb?  Did it really merit an invasion?  Were the Atlanteans merely taking advantage of the raising sea-waters caused by the oncoming planetoid?  Or, were they inspired by the prophesy?  I can't believe that we're left without answers to these questions, given that the entire status quo of the 2099 universe revolves around them.  Again, they might've been covered in other titles, but we merited at least some mention of them here.

2) Along those lines, it remains clear that Raab and Kavanagh were instructed to write this issue for readers who didn't regularly read the title, given moments like Miguel contemplating his role as Alchemax CEO as he headed for the tower.  But, again, we can be beaten over the head with information that a regular reader would already know, but we can't get more detail about "X-Nation" #4?

The Really Bad

1)  The Vulture, some low-life thug from Downtown, managed to evade Alchemax security for enough time that he could put explosives on all 100+ floors.  Really?  The Atlantean assault hasn't been going on that long for me to believe that the Public Eye was so distracted that it didn't notice.  After all, Father Jennifer didn't know anything about it and she was clearly with the Vulture the whole time.  Plus, how did Miguel know that it was "two tons of explosive thermite?"  Is he just doing the calculations in his head?  This whole plot was so deus ex machina that I just more or less stopped caring whether it made sense.   

2) OK, so, they're facing down death and Conchata decides that it's the right time to talk to Father Jennifer about Gabe?  Really?  "Hey, I know we're a minute from getting into a nice, safe ship, but let's pause here in the war zone so I can express my worry over my sons.

The Terrible

The dual murder of Conchata and Tyler is mind-boggling.  Both characters have played central roles in the drama that unfolded throughout this series and they both held the potential to play even greater and more fascinating roles, with Conchata in the thick of things at Alchemax and Tyler plotting from the outside.  I'm not sure what the future of Alchemax is in this new status quo, but I'm sure, even if it was dissolved, Conchata and Tyler would've found some other arena to play out their war.  Killing off the two was completely unnecessary.  In fact, by killing both of them at the same time, it reduced the impact of each death, which in and of itself would've been shocking.

Spider-Man 2099 #45: "Drowning by Inches"

*** (three of five stars)

Summary
At the Baxter building, Miguel hacks into Tyler Stone's private satellite to gain a visual of the "unidentified geological mass" heading to Earth.  Mr. Fantastic congratulates him, saying that they should now be able to determine why the planetoid is wrecking such havoc (specifically, melting the polar ice-caps and flooding the Northern Hemisphere).  Miguel reminds him that they also have to determine why the Atlanteans have declared jihad.  Reminded of Atlantis, Miguel asks how the search for the Human Torch is going and Reed goes to the computer , asking it to transmit visuals of the former colony using the surveillance system that Alchemax installed in it.  The computer complies and they are greeted to an image of a destroyed Fantasticar.  Miguel assures Reed that Sue and Ben are OK, given all that they've faced together.  Reed agrees, saying that he has faith that they'll survive; he stresses that a destroyed Fantasticar is only circumstantial evidence.  He  then reminds Miguel of the task at hand and, as they resume work, Miguel privately observes to himself that Reed's concern is eating at him.  Miguel decides to check on Downtown and orders the computer to provide a visual of St. Pat's.  When he sees that the city is once gain flooded, Miguel decides to head to the cathedral, to see if he can save Father Jennifer.  Reed wishes him luck as he observes a "thermo-dynamie pattern" moving up the coast and heading to New York.

Downtown, Miguel plunges into the water only to be horrified when he encounters a mass of floating bodies, including several Alchemax employees that he recognizes.  He remembers that one lived on the West Side, making him realize that he either came to the cathedral to make peace with God or the undertow dragged him clear across town.  Realizing that he's got limited time before he needs air, even with his enhanced respiratory system, Miguel attempts to enter St. Pat's, hoping that Father Jennifer left in time.  He ponders how Father Jennifer would been his sister-in-law (even though, technically, he and Dana weren't married, so she wouldn't have been) and how Gabe would go ballistic if she died.  He can't open the doors, but then sees a Public-Eye skybike floating in the water.  He exposits that he had the bikes modified for use in extreme conditions and then revvs up the bike, crashing it through the door.  He's shocked to discover Father Jennifer's body floating in the water and he does something that the narrator tells us that he hasn't done in years:  he prays.  He moves to where she is, seeing that her chest isn't moving.  As he realizes that he's too late to save her, the Goblin attacks, asking what type of hero Miguel is for failing to stop the flood.  He tells Spidey that all the blood is on his hands and Miguel realizes that he doesn't have a lot of oxygen left.  However, the Goblin presses his attack, meaning to kill him.  The two float outside the cathedral while, inside, the Vulture emerges from the shadows, grabbing Father Jennifer, who's revealed not yet to be dead.  Intending to use her for his victory feast (ick), he bursts from the cathedral into the sky, with Father Jennifer in his clutches (literally).  He lists to himself the three things that have kept him from taking over Downtown:  Father Jennifer, Spider-Man, and Alchemax.  He notes that he has Jennifer and the Goblin is going to kill Spidey, leaving Alchemax as his sole remaining obstacle:  he then asks a barely conscious Father Jennifer if she can see where this story is going as he passes Alchemax Tower.

In the tower, the rising waters threaten Alchemax as Tyler Stone makes his way through the halls, noting that none of the water is an exploitable resource.  Pondering the profit to be made from "this little global catastrophe," Tyler uses his "retina-morph implant" to pretend to be Miguel and enter his office.  Inside, he speaks with the hologram of someone named Captain Pike, who observes that Tyler received his communiqué.  Tyler expresses annoyance at how long it took Pike to send it, but Pike tells him that they were suffering some complications on Mars and wanted to keep their presence hidden from the general population.  Tyler asks about the complications and Pike says that he doesn't know much:  the population has dropped, due to unexplained disappearances.  Tyler says that it means that Mars has more room for him, hypothesizing that Earth will be little more than a giant puddle if the polar ice-caps keep melting.  Pike tells him that the interplanetary transport is scheduled for him and Miguel for the next day and Tyler says, cryptically, that they'll be there.

Downtown, Miguel feels his lungs close to bursting as the Goblin tells him that it's the one fight that he won't win.  Miguel webs up the Goblin's mouth, distracting him, and then heads to the surface.  The Goblin tears off the webbing and tells Miguel that he can't escape, since the Goblin knows Miguel almost as well as he knows himself.  (Gee, I wonder why.)  Miguel makes it to the surface and wonders if he has a punctured lung as he crawls onto a ledge.  Miguel hopes that the Goblin (calling him "Batboy") ate right before entering Downtown so that he'd cramp and Miguel could go after Father Jennifer.  (Sure, ok...)  Unfortunately, the Goblin surfaces, calling Spidey "Miguel" and announcing that he's smarter and stronger than Miguel and always has been.  Miguel tells him that he's suffering from "debilitating neuroses" as he privately wonders how the Goblin knows his identity and why he used the term "always."  The Goblin continues his tirade, telling him that he knows all the demons that haunt him and all the secrets buried in his conscience.  He fires on Miguel, but Miguel knows now to avoid his blasts.  Miguel wonders how to shake the Goblin, given that he seems so calm and collected.  He realizes that the Goblin thinks that he has the advantage because he knows Miguel's identity so Miguel decides to take that advantage from him.  Miguel swings under a ledge, but the Goblin announces that he knows all his moves; he hypothesizes that Miguel wants him to think that he's fallen off the roof while he really just jumped to a lower ledge.  Miguel surprises him, however, leaping at him feet first, knocking him under the jaw.  (In reality, he was using his talons to cling to the building, not hiding on a lower ledge.  The end result, though, is the same.)  Miguel wonders how the Goblin fell for that, as does the Goblin, who realizes that he got too cocky.  Miguel tries to take off his mask, but the Goblin recovers and decks him.  The Goblin tells him that he's better than Miguel and Spidey and Miguel wonders why the Goblin is so competitive about both Spidey and Miguel.

Miguel suddenly notices a broken mirror and uses it to deflect the Goblin's incoming blast back at the Goblin.  Miguel exposits that he knows that the blasts cause hallucinatory episodes, like the one that Miguel experienced when he entered cyberspace with Gabe, as well as crippling fear.  The Goblin reels from the blast, fearing that Miguel will learn the truth.  As Miguel pulls off the mask, the Goblin is revealed to be Gabe:  images flash in front of him of Kasey telling him that she wanted him to be more like Spider-Man, or Dana cheating on him with Miguel, and of Conchata telling him that she forgave Miguel.  Miguel stands shocked as Gabe mutters that Miguel was always everyone's favorites.  Miguel says that he doesn't know what to do, but Gabe says that he's done enough, having taken everything and everyone that was ever special from him.  He mentions Dana and Kasey, but then also their mother, the "one woman whose love [he] thought would be [his] alone forever."  Gabe then tells Miguel to get "the shock out of [his] life."  Miguel tells him that he can't just disappear with things as they are and asks why Gabe didn't ever tell him how he felt.  Miguel calls him his kid brother and Gabe says that he's been in Miguel's shadow for too long; he's now playing with power.  Miguel asks who gave Gabe his powers, but Gabe tells Miguel that he's not going to make it easy for him.  He tells him that he should go ask Jenny D'Angelo about it, making Miguel remember that he has to save Father Jennifer.

Diving into the water, Miguel wonders what he's going to do about Gabe and worries that Gabe's suffering side effects from whatever gave him his powers.  He tells himself to pull himself together, allowing worry about Gabe but focusing on the task at hand, finding Father Jennifer.  He arrives at St. Pat's and moves some equipment, but can't find Jennifer, even near the altar.  He searches the pews, but he doesn't find the woman "who gave him a reason to believe in himself."  His wounded lung starts to hurt and he realizes that he has to head to the surface because he can't hold his breath any longer.  He recognizes that Jennifer couldn't possibly have made it from the water alive.  He asks God for forgiveness, saying that he's done his best and that he's going to miss Father Jennifer.  Saying to himself that the day couldnt' get worse, he surfaces to discover the Atleantean armada invading New York.

The Review
This issue, oddly, is written as if it happened in "Fantastic Four 2099" and not "Spider-Man 2099."  It's peppered with editorial notes about previous "Spider-Man 2099" issues that regular readers of the title wouldn't need.  It also goes into details that regular readers would already know, like how Downtown is New York's seamy underbelly or how Miguel respected Father Jennifer.  Conversely, it fails to mention that the events that drive this issue -- the massive flood caused by a mysterious planetoid rocketing towards Earth -- happened in "Fantastic Four 2099" #6.  If you didn't know to read that issue -- something that you wouldn't know to do since issue #44 didn't direct you to it -- you probably spent most of this issue completely and totally confused, since the flood caused by Roman in issues #43 passed in issue #44.

In fact, it's clear that "Spider-Man 2099" #44 was this series' final issue.  The larger event that Marvel is planning to use to wrap up the 2099 line -- begun in "Fantastic Four 2099" #6 -- has hijacked this title.  I mean, Raab and Kavanagh do a good job focusing on Spidey-specific elements in this issue, like his relationship with Father Jennifer and the revelation of the Goblin's identity.  But, as I mentioned in my review of "Fantastic Four 2099" #6, the re-flooding of Downtown feels awkward, given that we just had a similar story in this title.  Moreover, the potential destruction of Earth certainly sweeps away the more subtle stories that David had been telling, such as Xina's struggle to cope with her survivor's guilt, Miguel's new relationship with his mother, or Tyler's obvious intention to unseat Miguel as CEO.  Although they all may be addressed in the remaining issue of this series or the "2099:  World of Tomorrow" series, they'll unlikely be done in a satisfying way; instead, it's likely to be done in a rush to tie up loose ends.  They certainly won't be unfurled with the sort of care that David would bring to them.  (That said, we're at least treated to a decent resolution of the Green Goblin storyline, as I'll detail below.)

All in all, I can tell that the next few issues are going to be difficult to read, given that we're now nearing the end.

The Good
Despite hating the "Fantastic Four 2099" series that they write, Raab and Kavanagh did a better-than-expected job, in my book, of presenting the denouement of the Goblin mystery.  They have a good read on Gabe and Miguel, both their individual personalities and their difficult relationship.  In the confrontation itself, Raab strikes all the right emotional notes, stressing that Miguel essentially stole all the women in Gabe's life (Dana, Kasey, and Conchata) from him.  Raab makes you understand why Gabe has essentially been driven to assert himself after a lifetime in Miguel's shadow.  Moreover, Gabe doesn't view himself as a villain.  Although some of his decisions might have been questionable, Gabe hasn't directly put anyone's life in danger:  he's really only gunning for Miguel.  In that way, David and Raab didn't take the easy path by having Gabe make a heel turn.  In so doing, it makes you wonder where Gabe is going from here, since a heel turn could still be possible if his frustrated attempts for revenge against Miguel eventually override his moral compass.  But, by not rushing him there, it makes the character all the more fascinating and makes his ongoing evolution feel more organic.  Finally, we now learn that David gave Gabe a power set that flows from his comparative advantage:  cyperspace.  Raab and Kavanagh make it clear that the Goblin's power comes, in part, from Gabe's experiences as Firelight:  Miguel specifically draws the connection between the Goblin's powers and the trippy experience that he had when he followed Gabe into cyberspace.  In the end, Raab and Kavanagh pull together the various clues that David had left to present the Goblin as a fully formed character with a clear motivation and a questionabel future.  I honestly don't think that David could've done a better job on either front and it's the reason why I actually felt like this issue deserved its three stars, despite my disappointment in the obvious shift in focus and tone of the series.

The Unknown
1) Why would Miguel have to hack into Tyler Stone's personal satellite?  Wouldn't he have access to it as CEO of Alchemax?

2) How did Gabe get his powers?  He tells Miguel to ask Father Jennifer about them, but I don't get why she would know.  Did she give them to him?  If she did, did she know that he intended to use them against Spider-Man?  If so, did she know that Miguel is Spider-Man?  If so, why would she be OK with that?  Is it revenge for Dana?

The Bad
1) As I may have mentioned in my review of "Fantastic Four 2099" #6 (and should've mentioned, if I didn't), I'm annoyed by Raab's scripting of Miguel.  He tries too hard to make him like Peter, despite the fact that he's not anything like Peter.  Although Peter is quick with the puns, as Raab writes Miguel here, Miguel is actually quicker with the sarcasm.  It's pretty clear that Raab wasn't well versed in Miguel when he was handed the task of writing him and it shows here, in his depiction of Miguel's humor the most.

2) Really?  Miguel just happened to order the Public Eye's skybikes to be able to operate under water?  How convenient.

3) How the Hell are Miguel and the Goblin talking under water?

4) How did Jennifer survive the deluge?  If she was just holding her breath, why didn't she respond when Spider-Man knocked down the doors of St. Pat's?  Why did she just float there with her eyes closed?  Of all the unbelievable moments in this issue, the revelation that she was still alive was the most ridiculous in my book.

5) The whole part about the Goblin saying that he knows that Miguel is trying to trick him into approaching the ledge...and the Goblin approaching the ledge anyway...was totally bziarre.

6) Despite Miguel unmasking Gabe, he doesn't actually do so per the art.  We never see Gabe's face; he keeps on his mask the entire time.  It seems a pretty big missed opportunity, to show the anger on Gabe's face when his hatred of Miguel is finally revealed.

Spider-Man 2099 #44: "The Last Dance"

**** (four of five stars)

Summary
Miguel and Roman fight as the sea monster hovering above them comes close to squashing them under its descending foot.  Miguel manages to maneuver them to safety, but loses his grip on Roman.  Roman is carried with the tide and Miguel heads to the surface.  Sucking in air, he notices the horn that Roman used to control the monster floating in front of him.  He head towards it, just as one of the Atlantean mutates also notices it.  The mutate lunges for it, but Miguel manages to snag it with a Web-Line.  The mutate leaps to attack him, but Miguel hides under the water and then pounces, sending his feet straight into the mutate's jaw.  The unconscious mutate floats in the water as Miguel heads to the monster with the horn.  Meanwhile, at St. Pat's, Gabe and Father Jennifer swim through a trap door into the dry attic, wondering how long until it, too, floods.  Outside, the monster rages and Miguel worries not only about flooded Downtown but also the possibility of the monster taking out the supports that hold up Uptown, destroying the whole city in the process.  Before he can act, however, Roman reappears and lunges at him.  Miguel manages to dodge him and then uses a Web-Line to climb up the monster.  He blows a note on the horn (that he hopes says, "Go the shock home"), but it only causes the monster to roar.  Miguel keeps trying until he manages to find the right one.  As the monster heads to the sea, the Public Eye arrives and opens fire on the mutates, who flee.  Roman returns and demands the horn.  Miguel accuses him of wanting it to destroy more innocent lives, but Roman says that his mutates guaranteed that no one died during the "incursion."  He then rails against the surface people selling their souls to Alchemax for momentary safety, swearing that no one is safe from "the wrath of the Sub-Mariner."  Miguel then bites Roman with his fangs, injecting a poison into him that disorients him.  Miguel punches him, sending him soaring off the monster.  However, Miguel grabs him with a Web-Line, to prevent him from plummeting into the ocean, as the monster continues to depart New York, taking the water with it.  (Miguel hypothesizes that it had some sort of telepathic control over the water, keeping enough depth to support its mass.)

At Alchemax, Conchata orders a Public-Eye officer appearing via a hologram to find Miguel; the officer observes that Miguel shouldn't have gone to Downtown without protection, but Conchata just orders him to return Miguel in one piece.  At that moment, Tyler arrives and Conchata reminds him that Miguel evicted him.  Tyler suddenly remembers the shooting.  He tells Conchata that he didn't recognize her without her gun.  He taunts her that she wants to shout out the fact that she shot him and she makes it clear that she does, telling him that he tormented Miguel and destroyed Dana.  He tells Conchata that he loved Dana, but she ignores him, saying that she's going to Miguel's office and that he should be gone by the time that she returns.  Tyler calls after her, telling her that Miguel knows that he's his father.

Elsewhere, Xina tells her hitchhiker that she doesn't know where she's running but that she's doing it on borrowed time.  The hitchhiker tells her that he left behind a life years ago that still seems hazy, but that he now remembers his name, John Tensen.  Before they can talk further, Dana almost runs them into a truck around a tight corner.  Tensen uses his power to create a teleportation gate, moving them past the truck safely.  Xina says that the portal shorted out her car and Tensen tells her that he's a meta-human who can protect her from all harm.

In New York, Roman tries to break free of his prison tube as Miguel tells him that he was going to try to negotiate with him and give New Atlantis a break.  However, after Roman's attack, he's issuing an ultimatum:  everyone in New Atlantis must surrender and give up his property.  Roman asks, "Or else what?"  Miguel simply walks from him and Roman screams that New Atlantis withstood Tyler's posturings and that Miguel's almost as bad as Tyler.  Miguel then goes to his office, where he finds Conchata holding a gun to Tyler's head.  Downtown, Gabe asks Father Jennifer to hold a trunk for him until "things settle down."  She says that they were fortunate to survive the deluge and that God has further plans for them.  Gabe asks about his dreams as he leaves and she suggests that he pray for guidance.  She opens his trunk to reveal the Goblin costume and observes that the suggestions that one receives from God might not always be what one expects.  At Alchemax, nervous lab technicians fear that Roman is going to break free of his enclosure so they gas him, while, in Miguel's office, Tyler tells Miguel that he came to Alchemax to give him one last chance to turn over the reins to him.  He says that he'll tell the authorities that Conchata shot him if he doesn't.  Conchata reminds him that Alchemax is the authorities, thanks to him, and reminds him that she knows where the bodies are buried and what he did to his wife.  She tells Miguel to let her end it and Tyler taunts him, telling him that, if he does, he'll "put the lie to [his] moral posturing once and for all."  Miguel tells Conchata to call the lab and order them to release the Sub-Mariner and escort him to the ocean.  However, before she can do so, he breaks free.  A Public-Eye officer appears in Miguel's office via hologram, telling him that the Sub-Mariner has escaped but that they have him him pinned in Lab 27.  Miguel observes that Lab 27 is where they have Venom and, on cue, Roman bursts free of Alchemax, now bonded to the Venom symbiote and announcing that Miguel won't life to see 2100.

In Miguel's office, Conchata prepares to fire, but Miguel uses a Web-Line to grab the gun, causing her to miss.  Conchata looks at him in shock and Tyler says that he knew that Miguel was Spider-Man from the beginning.  He says that he kept it to himself, but all the cards are on the table now and everyone can know where they stand.  Miguel agrees and opens fire.  The bullets pass through Tyler, revealing that he was appearing via hologram.  As his image fades, Tyler announces that Miguel's as ruthless as he'd hope.  Conchata screams about Tyler playing a game and Miguel says that he knew that it was a "holovid" because it didn't cast shadows.  Conchata asks if Miguel knew that before he shot Tyler and Miguel responds, "I hope so."  Conchata tells Miguel that no mother ever loved her son more than she did right then because no mother ever had a son so much better than she was.  Miguel cries and suggests that they take off the rest of the day to have lunch.  As they depart, he wonders if Conchata always knew that he was Spider-Man, just as Tyler did.  He contemplates the future, but comes to the conclusion that everything will fall in place if he can just come to some sort of understanding with his mother and that the "curse of Spider-Man' will prove to be more of a blessing than he'd been prepared to admit.

The Review
Wow.  We really got a thrilling and unexpected ending here.  Sure, it felt a little rushed, probably the reality of David feeling the need to provide a valediction to Miguel after he decided to leave the book when Marvel fired Joey.  But, David still wraps up the Atlantis issue in an intriguing way and builds to the confrontation between Conchata and Tyler in a way that maximizes the suspense.  It's hard to believe that we only have two issues left in this series, given how much we're likely to leave on the table.

The Really Good
1) OMG, Venomariner!  Crazy.  I totally didn't see that coming.  I can't say if it was really necessary, but it doesn't matter if it was.  It was pretty damn cool either way.

2) The denouement of the Conchata/Miguel/Tyler story was amazing, if only because David made it clear that we couldn't really trust anything that anyone said.  Did Tyler really know that Miguel was Spider-Man, or was he just trying to cover up his shock?  David was almost heavy handed at the start of this series with the idea that Tyler knew, but he appeared to back off that position in later issues; in fact, in issue #35, Joey said in the letters column that Tyler was more clueless than we were.  Moreover, did Miguel really know that Tyler was just a hologram or was he really willing to kill his father?  I tend to believe the former, since Miguel has had ample opportunity to kill Tyler before this confrontation.  But, then again, Tyler threatening Conchata certainly upped the stakes, so maybe Miguel did decide that enough was enough.  Finally, we've gotten Conchata's numerous threats about knowing where the bodies are buried and what Tyler did to his wife.  Given that we're established that Conchata is cray-cray, it's unclear if Conchata really does have this information or if she just thinks that she does.  The ambiguity in the motivations of all three characters just make this scene all the more fascinating.

The Good
I always love when Miguel uses his more infrequently used powers, so I cheered a little when he poisoned Roman with his fangs.

The Meh
1) John Tensen.  The Net Prophet is John Tensen.  I had no effing idea who John Tensen was, but Google tells me that he's from the New Universe.

2) The Gabe resolution is a little anti-climactic and confusing.  It's anti-climactic because David doesn't necessarily confirm that Gabe is the Goblin here, but he does up the stakes sufficiently to mean that he'd have to have a really clever twist up his sleeve if he's going to reveal that it's someone else.  It's confusing because Gabe came to Father Jennifer last issue to seek guidance about his dreams, without any obvious trunk in tow.  But, now, it seems that his whole point was leaving the trunk with Father Jennifer.  (How did the trunk miraculously survive the flood?)  Why did he give her the trunk?  Is he giving up his role as the Goblin?  Does Father Jennifer plan to take it?  Why did Gabe decide to trust Father Jennifer?  Sure, she seems trustworthy, but it's not like he was that close to her.  His ex-girlfriend dies and suddenly he decides to tell her sister that he's a super-villain?

The Unknown
So, what happens to Kron if he no longer possesses the symbiote?

The Bad
OK, the only bad thing here (and the reason why I honestly couldn't give this issue five stars) is that the Atlantis story definitely gets sacrificed to David's need to wrap up his time with Miguel.  First, I'm not sure why Roman revealed in this issue that he had ordered his mutates to save the residents of Downtown from drowning, given that last issue he announced that his intent was to rule the surface world for its affront to Atlantis.  You can't really make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.  But, David doesn't really get a chance to reveal Roman's real motivation, making this entire exchange all the more confusing.  Second, why did the various mutates just disperse after Roman was captured?  Why would they let Alchemax capture their leader?  I get that the sea monster was the main threat, but I'm surprised that the Atlanteans simply retreated when Miguel "convinced" it to depart.  Finally, although I love the Venomariner, I do wonder why David felt the need to do it.  Roman seemed like enough of a threat in his own right that he didn't need to be super-sized, essentially.  Essentially, I felt like the Atlantis story needed the full attention of this issue to be fully explored and it unfortunately didn't get that.  David still managed to make it gripping, but the issues that I've laid out here makes you realize that it could've been even better if he had more time.

Spider-Man 2099 #43: "Water"

*** (three of five stars)

Summary
A "shattered undersea base" explodes to the surface of the ocean and a man in a futuristic diving suit surfaces moments later.  He's greeted by Spider-Man, who's hanging from the bottom of a helicopter circling the site; Spidey grabs the man's wrist with a Web-Line and begins to pull him from the water.  The man complains that Spidey didn't save him sooner and, just as Spidey's telling him not to panic, a huge shark lunges at them, causing Miguel to drop the man.  At Alchemax, Gabe confronts his mother about taking the job as Miguel's secretary, noting that she has always said that she can't stand Miguel and she hates Alchemax.  Conchata responds that, when it comes to her anger at Miguel, she's learn to "blow some off" recently.  She says that she's committed to making amends with him and notes that he needs her.  Gabe says that Miguel needs a swift kick and Conchata argues that her being there might be just that.  They're interrupted by a call from Boru, who asks if Miguel has gone through their list of demands.  She tells him that Miguel's in conference, while, in the ocean, Miguel uses his accelerated vision to evade the shark underwater.  He manages to slash it with his talon, causing the other gathering sharks to focus their attention on it and allowing him to escape.  He surfaces, grabs the man in the diving suit, and gets off a Web-Line to the helicopter.  As the helicopter flies from the scene, Miguel notices a blue man gazing at him from the ocean.

In the helicopter, Spidey exposits that the man in the diving suit and his team had been sent to New Atlantis in an exploratory vessel after Alchemax lost touch with the colony; Miguel sent Spidey when Alchemax lost touch with the vessel.  The man replies that they found New Atlantis but, instead of the "genetically engineered undersea mutates" bred to live the quiet life of servitude that Alchemax had envisioned, they had rallied around a man named Roman and revolted.  (Roman took his name from Namor, the Sub-Mariner.)  The Atlanteans killed the humans who fought the revolt, kept some for "hideous experiments," and released the others with the understanding that they would be killed if they tried to retake Atlantis.  The man says that Tyler Stone sent them as a counter-offensive but he was the only one to survive.  He asks what Spider-Man thinks O'Hara is going to do.  Spidey says that he doesn't know, but comments on "rumors" coming from a meeting that Miguel had with some "high-powered business types..."

In a flashback, a Public-Eye official tells Miguel that overseas investors are worried about the "New Atlantis business," fearing that the mutates will attack the U.S.-Europe tunnel and any vessel crossing the Atlantic.  Another "business type" notes that they've declared independence and should be punished, similar to what America did when Atlantis did the same thing 100 years earlier.  He notes that the British also fought back, though Miguel says that they did the wrong thing.  The man disagrees, saying that they did the right thing, but it just turned out badly for them.  Hikaru-sama observes that Stark-Fujikawa aided Alchemax in the development of New Atlantis and tells him to rectify the situation less Stark-Fujikawa decide that Alchemax doesn't care about its financial concerns, something that would have dire consequences.

In the present, the man presses Spider-Man whether Miguel will leave Atlantis alone.  Spidey responds that it's not really an option; Miguel'll have to force the mutates to turn back control of New Atlantis to Alchemax.  The man says that the Atlanteans won't do it, but Miguel says that they'll have to do so, since it's not their city.  Enraged, the man rips off his shirt, exposing blue scales and revealing himself to be one of the "hideous experiments."  He says that he came to understand the "rightness" of the mutates and jumps from the helicopter to warn Roman of the surface world's answer.  Miguel calls after him, saying that he wasn't giving his official answer, but it's too late.  The man heads to Roman, who hypothesizes that Alchemax will not allow New Atlantis to be free.  The man confirms that this hypothesis was Spider-Man's impression.  Roman notes that he learned from diaries left by Namor that he had engaged in similar subterfuge as the one that Roman used with the man, going to the surface and blending with the population to learn their intentions.  When he learned the threat that they posed to Atlantis, he "taught them a lesson."

At Alchemax, Miguel tells his Public-Eye advisor not to prepare shock troops to invade Atlantis, as he wants, but that he's opening peace talks with them.  The division heads are shocked, claiming that the mutates aren't even human (something that Miguel takes personally, given that he's essentially one of them).  Miguel says that it's better to convince New Atlantis to do something that Alchemax and its allies want it to do on its own volition.  The advisors continue to argue at Miguel's back as he leaves, but Conchata dismisses them (and they flee in fear of her).  Conchata reminds Miguel about his appointment with Boru and he says that he'll meet him in Downtown that afternoon.  Conchata says that he should have Boru come to him, to keep home-field advantage.  Miguel says that the last thing that he wants is to think of Alchemax as home and tells her to set up the meeting, which she icily agrees to do.  Downtown, Gabe approaches Father Jennifer, telling her that he needs to talk to her.  She expresses sadness that it took Dana's death for them to get re-acquainted and he agrees.  He tells her that they have a lot to discuss, since they have "stuff" that needs to get done.  When she asks about this "stuff," he tells her that he's been having dreams of the end of the world and that he thinks God might be sending to him.

Spidey makes his way to Boru, contemplating the "biiiiiiiig" mistake that he's making.  Boru and his men are waiting for O'Hara, but the men report that their scouts show no sign of O'Hara.  Boru notes that the meeting is in two minutes and he expected such childish behavior.  He expects Miguel to be sending his regrets soon, but he's surprised when Miguel appears, asking where he got his "major league chip on [his] shoulder."  Boru asks where his limo is and Miguel says that he walked since it's "lovely today with no acid rain expected."  They shake hands and Boru tries to squeeze Miguel's to intimidate him, but Miguel squeezes back Boru's hand just as forcefully, surprising him.  Suddenly, they feel some drops of water and Miguel again notes that it wasn't supposed to rain.  At that moment, a huge tidal wave sweeps into Downtown.  Boru accuses Miguel of engineering it, but Miguel asks why he'd arrange to be there with him if he did.  At St. Pat's,  Gabe notes "fire and flood" to Father Jennifer, just as he was saying, but she grabs him and pulls him to safety.  Boru gets everyone inside, but can't find Miguel.  Miguel is climbing up a building, lamenting the fact that he ditched his new shoes.  He's then shocked to see an enormous sea monster wrecking Downtown.  Suddenly, Roman appears, saying that the Atlanteans wanted to be left alone but instead they've decided to rule the surface.  Spidey attacks him, telling him that he ruined everything and he just had to wait.  However, they're both pushed underwater by the sea monster's wake and find themselves poised under his descending foot.

The Review
I actually don't have too much to say about this issue, since it's a fun self-contained story where everything fits together nicely.  David puts the drama of recent issues on the back burner to return to New Atlantis, a sub-plot that I've wanted to see addressed for a long time.  Roman, the new Sub-Mariner, is a fitting heir to Namor, since he's just as hot-headed and impulsive.  Although I've enjoyed the high drama of Venom and the Green Goblin, it's nice to take a break and see Miguel go against a formidable enemy who doesn't also happen to be his brother.

The Good
1) I'm thrilled that David returned to New Atlantis.  The concept has been ripe for exploration since it was first introduced and it definitely delivers.  David uses it to show what a task Miguel has ahead of him, trying to clean up Alchemax's more nefarious dealings.  If all the mistakes are on the same level as creating an underwater colony of mutates who rise against the surface world, he's got a lot of work ahead of him.

2) This issue confirms that Miguel is now using Spider-Man in a way similar to how Tony Stark used Iron Man.  It really opens up the series to more stories, since it allows Spider-Man to be in situations that would be unbelievable without this connection.  For example, Miguel would've risked exposing himself as Spider-Man had David set up the conflict with Roman by having Miguel visit New Atlantis as CEO of Alchemax.  Spidey's sudden appearance under the sea would've been suspicious, as it was in "2099 Unlimited" #3, when he appeared in the same lab moments after Mutagen attacked Miguel and the other two people in the lab.  David gets around this problem with the Iron-Man approach, breaking the necessary connection between Miguel and Spidey.  Unfortunately, the series ends in three issues, so it's just another example of the squandered opportunity that the cancellation of the 2099 line was.

The Unknown
If Gabe is the Green Goblin, David might be implying here that he is sub-consciously.  Something about Gabe's interaction with Father Jennifer made it seem that he doesn't have his wits fully about him.  However, David has previously had Gabe make comments that make it pretty clear that he'd know that he's the Green Goblin, such as when he told Kasey in issue #36 that she would make him become something that he's not.  Curiouser and curiouser.

The Bad
The sequence of events related to New Atlantis confused me upon my second reading of the issue.  Although Spidey says that Miguel sent the exploratory vessel to New Atlantis after Alchemax lost touch with the colony, the man in the diving suit says that Tyler Stone sent them as a "counter-offensive."  The latter implies that Alchemax knew that an uprising happened and Tyler responded with troops; the former implies that Alchemax was ignorant about the fate of New Atlantis and Miguel sent a team to investigate.  They're two pretty different stories.  To make matters more confusing, Miguel is fully briefed on the situation of the mutates declaring independence in the flashback, but he's shocked when he sees the mutate as he's saving the man in the diving suit.  It almost implies that the flashback is a flash-forward, happening after Miguel returns from the ocean, except for the fact that Spidey is clearly telling the man the results of that meeting.  The story doesn't really hinge on the sequencing here, but it's confusing nonetheless, since we don't really knew what Alchemax knew when and which CEO did what.

Spider-Man 2099 #42: "Earth"

*** (three of five stars)

Favorite Quote:  "So, Thursday, then.  Morning or afternoon?"  "Morning's no good.  Parent-teacher conferences.  I defnitely need afternoon."  - Conchata and Boru, de-conflicting their calendars

Summary
Miguel listens in increasing frustration as various Alchemax division heads plead their cases to him.  Snapping, he stands on his desk and begins a game of "duck, duck, goose," tagging each one on his head before declaring one of them "goose!"  When one of them asks what he's doing, Miguel says that they were playing their game of "who can jerk around the new boss and get the most for himself?" so he changed the game.  Informing them that he's not playing their game anymore, he evicts them from his office, telling them that he'll address their concerns in due time and in his own way.  He then calls Personnel as the men leave his office, asking where his secretary is (given the loss of Winston), since he needs a gate keeper.  Personnel sends in someone named April, who looks almost exactly like Aunt May.  She buttons Miguel's top button and he tells her to take a seat.  He then calls Personnel again, asking for someone else.  However, the guy in Personnel says that no one's willing to take the job, since it's "like volunteering to be the first trooper in line to go down in battle."  However, someone appears around the corner, telling the guy that she may have the perfect candidate.

Downtown, Raff calls Kasey to the window, telling her that he's watching the biggest gathering that he's ever seen.  Kasey says that she's not in the mood, but Raff tells her to get into the mood, observing that it's all the "grunt" unions ("sewer workers, construction guys, watchdogs, truckers...").  Kasey wonders what got them together and then notices a guy with bionic arms at the front of the column.  She recognizes him as someone named "Boru," but she tells Raff that she thought that he was dead.  Meanwhile, a driver is bringing Miguel to Xina's, since he's planning on offering her the leadership of Alchemax's E.T. research division.  He wants to tell her that he trusts her and realizes that he originally thought that Gabe was the one that he could trust.  However he hasn't heard from Gabe since Dana died.  He believes that Gabe thinks that Miguel should've saved her and comments to himself that he agrees with him.  The driver halts the car, given the chaos surrounding Stark-Fujikawa's broadcasts about the Fantastic Four (see "Fantastic Four" #2).  Miguel tells the driver that he'll walk the rest of the way and then changes into his Spidey costume to cover the remaining distance to Xina's.  He realizes that the only time that anything is good in his life is when he's wearing the mask, acknowledging that he doesn't really have to wear the suit anymore but does because he's invested the better part of himself into his role as Spider-Man.  He arrives at Xina's and blows past Jack (Xina's Lyla) when Jack tells him that she won't see him.  Miguel announces that he's there to offer the job to Xina, but Jack tells him that Xina's left, possibly not to return (if her words are to be believed).

The division heads swarm around Miguel when he returns to Alchemax.  He flees into his office, but, before they can follow, his new secretary tells them to make appointments with her for tomorrow.  When one of them tries to press his case, she pulls a gun on him.  Miguel realizes that it's quiet and goes to his office's lobby to disocver that the secretary is Conchata.  (Meanwhile, Boru leads the army of grunts with a smile.)  Miguel tells Conchata that she's crazy to think that she can work for him, but she tells him that she's the perfect barrier between him and the rest of the world.  She also tells him that they're in it together, since she's the one who shot Tyler and got Miguel the job in the first place.  Miguel expresses shock, but she tells him that she was trying to protect Dana from Tyler, since he was "evil incarnate" and Dana was innocent.  She says that she wishes that she could've saved her and MIguel pauses a moment before laughing.  She says that she had the same reaction when he told her that he was Spider-Man.  Miguel pauses again and heads to the roof for some peace.  From there, he notices the mob and decides to see if Spidey could negotiate a peace.

Down below, Spidey asks who's in charge and Boru confirms that he is.  Spidey asks why they're there and Boru says that they're the "common laborers" whose demands have been ignored.  He says that they have lived in a world run by Tyler Stone and Alchemax and, now that the wheel has turned, they want their due.  Spidey asks why they went with a show of force rather than sending a representative, but Boru said that they did and O'Hara ignored him, along with the others clamoring for his attention.  Boru asks if Spidey speaks for him; Spidey says that he doesn't, but he does speak to him.  Spidey says that he's been accused of being a corporate stooge, but that he's worked for the betterment of the city.  He says that shows of force often make matters worse; Boru agrees but says that sometimes they also make a point.  He then lunges at Spidey, who's shocked by his speed and the distance that he's able to cover.  He avoids him, but Boru grabs his ankle mid-leap.  Spidey realizes that Boru's something more than human, particularly when Boru shows his claws and fangs.  He manages to kick Boru in the jaw, but he keeps coming.  Elsewhere, Xina drives through the desert and decides to pick up a hitchhiker (possibly the Net Prophet) since she figures that she's already working on borrowed time.

In New York, Spidey realizes that he's in a no-win situation.  If Boru wins, he'll go looking for Miguel, who'll, of course, be lying unconscious.  If Spidey wins, the crowd riots and thrashes the city.  He decides that prolonging the fight would only make sense in terms of his pride and flees in order to change into Miguel and meet Boru.  Boru begins to rally the crowd as the Private-Eye troops prepare to face them, but Conchata arrives and tells him to make an appointment.  Boru calls her a "dumpy little gnome" and Conchata smacks him, something that he finds amusing.  They then make an appointment (working around Boru's parent-teacher conference) and Boru declares the march over.  Miguel arrives and Boru complements Conchata's courage to him, saying that she has more than Spider-Man.  Conchata berates him for bad-mouthing Spider-Man and Boru leaves amused.  She then asks Miguel about vacation days.

The Review
David doesn't really cover any new ground here in terms of the series' ongoing plots and sub-plots, but, partially because of that, this issue is a breath of fresh air.  After the gauntlet of twists and turns in issues #34-#41 (amazing though they were), David gives Miguel a moment to catch his breath.  Accordingly, we're treated to some insight into Miguel's struggle to adjust to his new status as CEO of Alchemax and, seemingly, his first opportunity to change the company's policies when it comes to the common man.  But, it's the comic relief on the part of Conchata that really makes this issue special.  I'm sure that next issue we're going to see a resumption of the various plans and schemes that Miguel's various enemies are hatching.  But, it was a fun break while it lasted.

The Good
1) A seemingly re-incarnated (not literally, but metaphorically) Aunt May as "April," Miguel's secretary?  My first response was shock that Lyla wasn't Miguel's secretary.  My second response was that this book was going down hill quickly.  My third response is that we've already mined that joke (in issue #2).  But, her replacement with Conchata was nothing short of genius.  Her old role as crazy person complicating Miguel's life was growing stale and this new one is a great re-invigoration of her character (and fertile source of comedy).


2) Speaking of Cochata, I liked the idea that she was acting on Dana's behalf.  It's a bit of a stretch, but it still works and it humanizes her in a way that we really haven't previously seen.

3) David raises an interesting issue when it comes to Miguel pondering whether Spider-Man is the best part of himself.  After the events of recent issues, you'd figure that he'd see Spider-Man as bringing nothing but grief onto him.  The fact that he doesn't view him that way shows how much his role as CEO of Alchemax is weighing on him.

The Bad
It's not really all that bad, but Boru highlighting Miguel's busy schedule by nothing that they sent a rep but Miguel couldn't meet with him/her was a little over the top.  The point that Miguel was swamped had already been made; we didn't really need Boru to emphasize it. 

Spider-Man 2099 #41: "Despair"

**** (four of five stars)

Summary
Miguel lands in an Alchemax helicopter on the lawn of the ruined White House.  Pondering the wreckage, he's reminded of the Shelley poem, "Ozymandias," describing a great conqueror "powerful in his time...and since forgotten."  "Benzelli," one of the two guards escorting Miguel, asks why he's come to the White House, given that it's just rubble.  Miguel replies that he's there for closure and begins to rummage through the debris.  He then finds what he realizes that he was sub-consciously trying to find:  Tyler Stone's name plate.  Miguel observes that it's cracked, but still readable, making him realize that he can't get rid of Tyler's nameplate, let alone Tyler himself.  Miguel and the guards board the helicopter and the other guard asks him what he was trying to find.  Miguel responds, "Nothing."  The guard asks how he knew to stop looking if he was looking for nothing and Miguel responds because he found nothing.  (Profound, I know.)

In New York, Tyler, in a wheelchair, makes his way through the halls of Alchemax, to the shock of everyone around him.  He arrives at his destination -- Kron's tube -- and asks the lab technician to confirm that it is, indeed, Kron.  Before the technician can respond, Tyler mentions that the news footage indicated that Venom had no "internal structure."  The technician informs him that the symbiote bonded with Kron on a molecular level; he observes that the original Venom similarly had an outsized jaw and tongue.  Tyler cuts off the technician, demanding an answer; the technician confirms that it is, indeed, Kron.  Tyler demands Kron killed, noting that he has no legal status since he was already declared dead.  The technician tells Stone that he can't execute Kron, even given his "questionable legal status," since Miguel would have to give that order.  Tyler responds that he'll clear it with "Mike," telling the technician that he'll be in charge by the end of the day.

In New York, Spidey notices a group of Thorites burning Spider-Man in effigy, but then suddenly realizes that it's actually a Spiderite.  Spidey puts out the fire, while the Thorites throw prop hammers at him.  A Thorite screams at him for being a corporate tool while the angry guy from last issue (secretly the Vulture) calls him a traitor.  Spidey tells him that he fought the corps on their side and the Vulture tells him that he's now on "their" side, firing an arrow at him.  Spidey catches the arrow and remarks that the Thorites used to be peaceful.  The Vulture tells him that things change and orders the Thorites to attack Spidey.  In the melee, Spidey recognizes the guy as the Vulture.  The Vulture and his crew leave as the Public Eye arrives; Spidey tells them to call medics.  The Spiderite asks Spidey to tell him that he's not on the side of the corps and Spidey takes off his mask, revealing him to be Kenny, the Thorite from his first night as Spider-Man.  One of the flyboys tells Spidey that Kenny looks like a goner; Spidey punches him, confirming for Kenny that he isn't pro-corporation.  Saying that Loreen'll never believe it, Kenny dies and Miguel is bereaved, commenting that he didn't even know Kenny's name.

Downtown, the Net Prophet arrives, where he finds Father Jennifer with a shiner.  He asks what happened and she tells him that it was a poor, desperate soul.  She asks why the Prophet keeps visiting her and he asks her if she enjoys his visits.  She says that she does and, in fact, misses him when he's gone; in fact, she had prayed for him to return when she feared that he wouldn't.  She tells him that she's attending her sister's funeral that day and needs something life-affirming amidst all the misery that she sees every day, lest her soul shrivel and die.  He asks how much the Church has changed (nothing that she's Father Jennifer); she comments, "That much," and they share a kiss.

At Gabe's apartment, he smashes the mirror when he can't affix his tie ("stupid twencen relic"); Conchata arrives and helps bandage his hand and fix his tie.  (He lets her decide which task to do first, commenting, "Every decision I've made lately I screwed up.")  At Miguel's, he's also tying his tie when Tyler arrives.  He asks if he needs a lift to Dana's funeral and Miguel passes; he asks if he's seen Kron and Tyler tells him that he's ordered him killed.  Miguel is shocked, since he's Tyler's son, but Tyler says that gives him control to take his life, since he gave it to him.  Saying that it's taking responsibility for his mistakes, Tyler also tells Miguel that he'll be assuming the reins at Alchemax the next day.  Miguel says that he's glad to return them, since he wouldn't want to become Tyler.  Tyler tells Miguel that he loved Dana, that her sweetness and joy touched him.  He remarks that Miguel might think of him as a one-note villain, but she made him happy.  They suddenly here violin music and it's Lyla, saying that she thought that it was appropriate.

Father Jennifer delivers the eulogy at Dana's funeral.  She turns over the podium to whoever wants to speak; Gabe does, saying that he doesn't share Father Jennifer's faith, since, if God existed, he would've saved Dana.  He then comments that somebody should've saved Dana.  He says that he tried to make her happy but couldn't, hypothesizing that she needed people who needed her the most.  Xina then speaks, saying that Dana and she had been in competition; some might think that she "won," since she's there, but she says that Dana had more class and nobility than she did and wishes they'd been friends.  Father Jennifer invites Miguel to speak, but he freezes when he sees everyone in the crowd as Dana.  He leaves the podium without speaking and wanders through the graveyard, running into someone putting Spidey's mask at a grave marker.  He approaches her, asking if she's Loreen.  She asks if he knew Kenny and he says that they were acquaintances.  She says that none of his friends came, because the movement fell apart with the revelation that Spidey had gone corporate, but Kenny still believed that Spider-Man would make the world a better place.  Loreen says that Kenny had seen Miguel's unmasked face and claimed that he saw in his face the future of the world. She comments how insane that is and Miguel agrees; she breaks down crying, hugging Miguel and telling him that she has no one else.  She apologizes and he tells her, in a whisper, that he's also sorry.

At Alchemax, the next day, Tyler arrives at his office, but Miguel hasn't left it.  Miguel notes that he wasn't at the funeral, but Tyler says that he skipped it because he's not much for public displays of grief.  He asks if Miguel's cleared out the desk and Miguel tells him that he's staying in the job.  He tells him that he'll run Alchemax with compassion, dedicated to helping humanity; he informs him that he revoked Kron's execution order.  Tyler tells Miguel that he's in way over his head but Miguel tells him that he paid Tyler's doctors to verify that Tyler's not in his right mind; to twist the dagger further, he used Tyler's expense account to do so.  Tyler tells him that everything he has is from him and reveals that he's Miguel's father.  Miguel takes a sip of coffee and tells Tyler that he knows.  Tyler is stunned and Miguel tells him, "Now get out of my office...Dad."

The Review
David somehow manages to take all the angst and chaos of the last few issues and channel them into a new direction for Miguel.  With Spidey's role as protector of Downtown lost, David re-balances the equation, making Miguel more important as an agent of change in his own right.  It injects a Tony Stark/Iron Man dynamic into the series that I think could work really well, since it feels like a natural progression and not a forced change. 

The Really Good
David does a beautiful job of setting in motion the series of events that leads to the final confrontation between Miguel and Tyler.  Miguel starts the issue adrift as a result of Spider-Man losing his status as protector of Downtown and finds himself in a worse state when Kenny dies as a result of his faith in him.  It's hard to see how Miguel will emerge from this downward spiral, but David sets up the moment of redemption beautifully.  David uses Loreen to remind Miguel that Kenny had seen him unmasked and believed in the man behind the mask, not just the mask itself.  It rekindles the fire in Miguel, reminding him of the power that Miguel himself has, and emboldens him to take charge of Alchemax.  Daredevil can police Downtown (as the "Next Issue" box seems to imply).  But, Miguel can change Uptown and, in so doing, save Downtown.  The denouement itself -- Tyler trying to use his revelation that he's Miguel's father to undermine Miguel and Miguel responding by calling him "Dad" -- was worth the price of admission.  It's rare to see such a well choreographed issue, where the author moves the pieces in an unexpected way to produce an unexpected result, but it's what makes this issue such a pleasure to read.

The Good
I'm glad that Spidey recognizes the Vulture here.  At the very least, it'll help Miguel realize that the people of Downtown were manipulated into abandoning him.  It probably plays some part of his commitment to use his control over Alchemax to effect change, since he knew that all hope wasn't lost.

The Unknown
1) At some point, it would be nice to know what exactly happened between Kron and Tyler to make them want to kill each other.  For that matter, it would also be nice to know what happened to Tyler's first wife and how he met Conchata.

2) Who the Hell beat up Father Jennifer?

The Bad
In a great example of pet peeve #2, Miguel doesn't the Green Goblin at tall in this issue.  In fact, the Goblin doesn't appear at all (if you don't count Gabe's appearance).

Spider-Man 2099 #40: "Judas Goat"

*** (three of five stars)

Summary
In a hospital room, Tyler Stone screams at a doctor to tell him where Dana is.  He tells the doctor that, if it's too difficult for him to do, he should get President Doom on the line.  The doctor tries to stall, but Stone demands an answer.  When the doctor tells him that Dana is dead, Tyler sheds a tear and asks how.

Downtown, the Goblin attacks Spidey from behind, hurling a projectile at him that sends him into free fall and then hitting him with a flash grenade to disorient him.  Spidey remembers the location of a near by building and manages to grab the side of it, arresting his fall.  The Goblin announces that he's there to reveal Spider-Man as a fraud; Spidey comments that one masked guy calling another masked guy a fraud is a bit ironic.  The Goblin tells him that he's betrayed the people of Downtown and must be forced to confess, though he doubts that "one such as [Miguel] could ever be genuinely penitent."  He attacks Spidey with another projectile (some sort of bird-looking item) and Miguel leaps to avoid it.  However, before Miguel can get off a Web-Line, the Goblin entraps him with some sort of mechanical belt, pinning his arms to his side.  Nearby, Kasey, with Raff in tow, is driving to a location that the Goblin provided to her in a message, in which he told her that he'll prove what he was saying about Spider-Man.  Raff remarks that he doesn't care what the Goblin has to prove, because he doesn't trust either of them.  They see Spidey falling above them, where the Goblin is telling Spidey that he'll release him if he swears to a public confession and agrees to leave Downtown forever.  The Goblin says that he wants to save the citizens, but, before he can continue his rant, Miguel entraps him with a Web-Line.  Spidey tells the Goblin that he has to save both of them if he wants to save Downtown.  The Goblin tells Spidey that he can't fly ensnared in Miguel's webbing and Miguel tells him that he'll have to free both of them to free himself.  The Goblin says that he'd sooner die and they simply stare at each other as they continue to fall.

At St. Pat's, the Net Prophet appears looking for Father Jennifer, but she's not there; he then leaves.  Outside, the Goblin finally blinks and releases Miguel, who tells him to go loose so that he can snag him.  The Goblin refuses the help, breaking off the webbing himself.  He then fires a series of blasts at Miguel, who struggles to avoid them.  One of the blasts connects, however, and Miguel falls.  When he gets to his feet, he sees numerous goblins and bizarre colors.  Miguel wonders if he's been tossed in cyberspace as Kasey and Raff watch from the sidelines.  Miguel then attacks Raff, thinking that he's the Goblin.  The Goblin declares to the crowd watching the fight that Miguel is "lashing out" over the Goblin confronting him with his lies.  He continues, noting how easily Spidey struck down "one of [their] own" and warning the crowd that Spidey'll want to leave no witnesses.  Miguel hears him yelling (though can't make out the words) and continues his rampage, acknowledging how confused he is.  The Goblin tells the crowd that he'll protect them and tells Spidey to face him.  Miguel focuses on the Goblin's voice as he taunts him, managing to raze his wing with his claws.  Miguel realizes that only one of the denizens is attacking him and shuts his eyes to rely on his senses to defeat the Goblin.

Uptown, Xina packs a bag, telling Jack (her electronic servant) that she'll be leaving town after Dana's funeral to find the "cosmic purpose" for why she's alive and Dana's dead.  Downtown, the Goblin taunts Spidey for "just standing there," but Miguel hears his footsteps and feels the rush of air next to him, accurately guessing where he was.  He grabs him with some webbing and then attacks him, kicking him across the jaw and then landing several punches.  He contemplates how he was just minding his own business when this guy attacked, as others have, but then the effects of the blasts dissolves and Miguel sees Kasey.  Kasey confronts him, telling him that she thought that she knew who he was.  Spidey tries to explain that he was seeing visions, but the Goblin cuts off his sentence, saying that he made him see the truth.  The Goblin declares that he's no hero for the masses, but a corporate stooge.  He then plays a series of videos -- of Doom offering Spidey a Cabinet post, of the Public Eye telling Spidey that it's got orders to leave him alone, of Miguel telling the Public Eye that Spidey is off limits, and of Spidey rescuing Hikaru-sama -- claiming them as proof that Spidey's a stooge.  Spidey wonders how the Goblin has all that video while trying to defend himself, telling the crowd that he saved Hikaru-sama's life when he didn't even know who he was.  Goblin tells him that he just saved his meal ticket.  Kasey asks him to deny it, but an angry guy in the crowd says that he shouldn't, since he's always acted better than them when he's gone slumming in Downtown.  He notes that people always get hurt or die when Spidey's there and asks who needs him.  An enraged Spidey says that he tried to make their lives better, wondering who needs them.  He departs, saying that they're free to listen to the Goblin's lies.  The angry guy tells him not to return and Spidey asks how he'll stop him; the guy and several other denizens show their weapons and some open fire.

Spidey returns Uptown and wonders how he got fired form a job that he never wanted.  He wonders why the denizens bought the Goblin's lies and ponders Doom's message of just taking power and not worrying about people's feelings.  However, falling emps (as seen in "Doom 2099" #33) interrupt his reverie.  Meanwhile, the angry guy from the crowd watches from a rooftop, saying that he and the Goblin now can feed off the rotting corpse of Downtown.  Revealing himself to be the Vulture, he takes flight, revealing that he plans on eliminating the Goblin to have it all to himself.

The Review
This issue feels like a clear shift in the status quo, with Spidey evicted as protector of Downtown and now enjoying not one, but two arch-nemeses.  It's all the more of the shame that this series ends in six issues, since David really just seems to be hitting his stride here.

The Really Good
1) It's not like any period of "Spider-Man 2099" has been bad, but this entire sequence with the debuts of Venom 2099 and the Green Goblin 2099 have certainly felt like something of a renaissance.  Given that both villains test Miguel's ability to defeat them, it make you feel like Miguel is entering the next stage of his career, facing more difficult enemies that challenge him even as he becomes more adroit in using his super-powers.  With Venom, it was finding a way to overcome his sheer strength and brutality, but with the Goblin -- as it should be -- it's outstmarting his array of toys and weapons.  The Goblin using his psychedelic blasts to get Spidey to attack the Downtown denizens was a brilliant tactic, showing that the Goblin knew exactly what he was doing when it came to laying the appropriate trap for Spider-Man.  McDonell really did a spectacular job throughout this issue using a wide palette of bright colors to show how disoriented Miguel was.  Both the device itself and the elaborate plan attached to it are exactly the type of things that the original Green Goblin would've used, making this one a worthy successor.  Both villains make Miguel step up his game, exactly where we should be as we approach 50 issues.

2) Miguel's weariness is really clear here.  As he's fighting Goblin blind, he contemplates how many people have attacked him.  It reminds you that we're talking about a guy who never wanted to be a superhero in the first place.

The Good
1) It's not exactly a hint, but Spidey and the Goblin's mutual refusal to stop their free fall has a fraternal feel to it, something that'll be all the more hilarious when/if it's revealed that the Goblin is really Gabe.

2) It's interesting that Miguel offered to save the Goblin.  After all, he let the Vulture fall to his death.  David seems to be implying that Miguel has realized that the guilt that he still feels for letting the Vulture fall means that he wants to be a better kind of hero.  David doesn't say that explicitly here, but it seems clear that Miguel is embracing a more "Heroic Age" view of heroism here than he is a 2099 one.  It reminds me of the recent arc in "Scarlet Spider" where Kaine refuses to return to being the monster that Kraven wanted him to be.

3) David shows how advanced Miguel's use of his powers is here, with him defeating Goblin literally blind.  It's that delicate dance, with Miguel learning how to use his powers better because he needs to use them better to survive.

4) I thought it was clever that David used a disguised Vulture to incite the crowd against Spider-Man.  It would've been hard to believe (as Miguel found it to be) that the crowd would've turned so suddenly against Spider-Man on its own.  With the Vulture whipping up their anger, it made a lot more sense.

The Unknown
1) I have to say, David is really going to have to deliver when it comes to explaining how the Goblin got his hands on the video that he did.  The images that we see make it appear that he's had some sort of flying drone following both Miguel and Spider-Man wherever he goes.  Is it maybe the Roving Eye that Miguel's father invented?  Is the Goblin Miguel's father and not Gabe?  However cool that may be, it would still be hard to believe that Miguel has had something like that hovering over his shoulder this entire time without noticing it, no matter how accustomed that he is to living in the surveillance society of the 2099 world.

2) I'm still not sure what I'm supposed to believe about Tyler's relationship with Dana.  David made it pretty clear when it all start that it was essentially just Tyler using Dana to get at Miguel, but this issue makes it equally clear that Tyler grew to care for her.  I'm totally fine with that, but it would be nice at some point to get an idea of his original plan (if it was anything more than just screwing with Miguel for the fun of it).

The Unsure
1) If Gabe is the Goblin, his heel turn is notable not just for the fact that he's willing to attack his brother, but also that his plan is so nihlistic.  Rather than just hurting Miguel, Gabe is trying to destroy the faith that Downtown residents have in Spider-Man as their protector.  Gabe doesn't really believe (or care) that Miguel is a corporate stooge; he only want to destroy people's (and particularly Kasey's) faith in Spider-Man.  I can't think of anything more selfish, taking away the one hero that a downtrodden group of people has in order to get revenge on a former girlfriend.

2) Just when I thought that I had continuity more or less established, this issue takes us back a few steps.  This issue shows the emps falling from the skies, an event that originally happened in "Doom 2099" #33, published at the same time as "Spider-Man 2099" #35.  It seems then that everything that's been happening over the last few months in the 2099 universe since "Spider-Man 2099" #35 -- namely, the events of "Doom 2099" #33 and #39, "2099 A.D. Apocalypse" #1, "2099 A.D. Genesis" #1, and "Fantastic Four" #2 -- occurs after this issue.  Crazy, but true, I think.