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Welcome back superhero enthusiasts, 1990s culture enthusiasts and comic book collectors! Today we go back to the year 1993 to explore a part of the Marvel Comics shared universe through a tale of the Spider-Man 2099 monthly series.
By 1993, the 2099 lineup of comic books became popular with Marvel Comics readers and it was the series of the futuristic Spider-Man that engaged readers a lot thanks to the in-depth writing of the late Peter David. It should be stated that David also wrote a lot of stories of the classic Spider-Man (Peter Parker) years before Marvel even launched the 2099 franchise of comic books.
With those details laid down, here is a look back at Spider-Man 2099 #12, published in 1993 by Marvel Comics with a story written by Peter David and drawn by Rick Leonardi.
Early story
The story begins in an Alchemax facility with Tyler Stone talking with Dana at work. As Miguel O’Hara walks by the virtuality unreality office, a huge explosion sudden hits them. It turns out there was an experiment by Jordan Boone that went wrong and Miguel finds him. As the two talked, Jordan remains arrogant and sarcastic towards O’Hara.
Elsewhere, the mysterious man wearing armor and a helmet uses his device to scan the Alchemax facility and he spots Tyler Stone and Dana talking with each other. He listens to their conversation closely…
Quality
This is a tale that has a careful mix of complexity and twists within. It technically is about the business of Alchemax getting disrupted from within and from the outside with the mysterious Thanatos pursuing something deep within the secrets of the company.
Miguel O’Hara is in a bind here as Dana (who is his fiancée) gets involved in a dangerous situation because of Thanatos’ sudden forced entry into Alchemax targeting Tyler Stone. At the same time, O’Hara values the company and prefers it does not collapse because of Thanatos. As expected, Miguel changes into the futuristic Spider-Man and carefully deals with Thanatos not by force but with strategic negotiation and discussion. Since he does not know what Thanatos is truly after, he has to play along while ensuring nobody from the company suffers (even though Alchemax itself has some very undesirable personalities within).
All throughout, this tale is heavy on the dialogue and there are a lot of details that you will need to absorb in order to understand the story and what Thanatos is pursuing. Along the way, this story reveals Alchemax has something valuable that has nothing to do with wealth. This is where the virtual unreality division of the company comes into place and Jordan Boone (who later becomes the fake Loki in the Fall of the Hammer storyline and also Halloween Jack in later X-Men 2099 tales) has a very notable role here. The story moves mostly in a medium pace and the build-up of the plot happens gradually. As such, there is some suspense and intrigue here.
Thanatos here is a pretty calculating antagonist. He is capable of killing others to get what he wants, but he prefers to do things patiently and strives get what he wants without using force as the primary option. There is richness in the dialogue here and his interactions with Spider-Man and Tyler have a cerebral touch throughout.
Conclusion
Spider-Man 2099 #12 (1993) is a really intriguing read filled with suspense and twists. This is not your typical superhero story about the hero fighting hard with the villain, and Thanatos is a pretty unique antagonist who puts Alchemax and others on the edge of danger. That said, this tale is the start of a new storyline and there is more that have yet to be revealed.
Overall, Spider-Man 2099 #12 (1993) is recommended.
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