Mother's Day

After receiving an emergency call from their mother, Miguel and Gabriel visit Conchata at the Wellvale Home. There, with Miguel's fiancee Dana D'Angelo, they listen while Conchata says what Gabriel thinks are her dying words. However, Miguel knows that she is only faking and tells her to cut it out when she pretends to die, telling her that she is upsetting Dana. His cold attitude toward her is something she expected from her eldest son and walks out of the room. Gabriel tells his brother that he needs to talk to her, but Miguel doesn't want to since he reminds her of their father.[1] Both Dana and Gabriel insist that they talk to her, and he gives in.

Once Miguel leaves, Gabriel gets comfort from Dana, as he tries to remember the last time he was happy. He thinks back to when he was a child. At the time, he was just learning how to create virtual art while Miguel focused on his studies. That's when their father, George O'Hara comes home. He announces to his family that Miguel has just been accepted at Alchemax's top educational facility. Conchata was upset at this announcement because she believes their son needs to be with his family. This leads to an argument between the couple at ends with George beating his wife. Finishing his recollection, Gabriel recounts how this was the last time Miguel really cared about his mother instead of cutting her down with smart remarks and sarcasm. Dana is sure that Miguel still cares about her, but he is guarded with his feelings. She recounts the time she met the O'Hara's father. It was shortly after she and Miguel were engaged and bumped into George O'Hara as he was repairing some Public Eye cameras. The two had harsh words for each other, especially since George was responsible for institutionalizing their mother and the fact that he is planning on getting remarried. The two almost came to blows, but Miguel decided his father wasn't worth it and left. His final words to his father were that he will dance on his grave. She concludes her story by saying that when George finally died, Miguel didn't dance on his father's grave at the funeral. In fact, he cried over his father's death when he thought nobody was looking.

Meanwhile, back at Alchemax Headquarters, Tyler Stone gets a status update on the construction of Atlantis. He learns that the construction has faced setbacks from the Atlantean mutates they have enslaved for construction. They have begun banding together, wanting Atlantis to be a sovereign nation in itself. He orders his men to get the situation under control and terminates the call. He is then joined by his assistant Winston, who enters carrying an urn. Tyler has to be reminded that these are the ashes of his son, Kron.[2] Tyler takes the ashes and unceremoniously flushes them down to the toilet. He then hands the urn back to Winston and tells him to put some flowers in it. Back at Wellvale, Miguel confronts his mother, stopping her from smoking a cigarette because they are illegal. When he tries to apologize for not visiting her so often, she slaps him across the face. When he takes that back, she slaps him again. He demands to know what she wants from him. She accuses Miguel of being self-centered and shows him what she thinks a real hero is. Opening her closet door, she shows him a number of photos of Spider-Man that she has taped up there.

He is shocked to see this and then tries to tell her that Spider-Man is no hero because he is Spider-Man. Hearing this, Conchata thinks this is a joke and begins laughing so hard she doesn't see it when Miguel tries to show her his finger talons. After she finishes her howls of laughter, she is surprised that her son is jealous of Spider-Man to the point where he tried to convince her that they were the same man. She still thinks he is a lousy son, but thanks him for giving her a good laugh. This whole situation leaves Miguel practically speechless. Later, Miguel walks across the Wellville facility in the pouring rain. He tries to decide what to do about his double identity. He thinks about how everyone, including his family, sees Spider-Man as some kind of savior. He is also quickly realizing that Spider-Man doesn't go away whenever he takes off his mask. Later that evening, a group of Thorites are protesting in the street when they are accosted by Public Eye goons. That's when Spider-Man arrives on the scene to protect the Thorites from police brutality. He then crawls up to a Public Eye camera and tells everyone watching that he's not going to be pushed around anymore before smashing the camera off the pole. This act of civil disobedience is met with cheers from the Thorites.

Later that day, Miguel pays a visit to the mausoleum where his father's ashes are stored. He has come to tell his father why he didn't beat his father up that day. He wanted his father to grow old so he could watch as the ravages of old age made him a painfilled wreck. However, these wishes were dashed when his father died suddenly, that is why he was crying on the day of his funeral. As he walks away, Miguel decides that until he finds a cure for his condition, he will use his spider-powers to make the world a place he can stand to look at.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Dana D’Angelo, Gabriel O’Hara, Conchata O’Hara, Tyler Stone, Winston, George O’Hara (flashback)

Continuity Notes

1. In this story, it is stated that George O'Hara is the father of both Miguel and Gabriel. However, as revealed ion Spider-Man 2099 #25, Miguel is actually the son of Tyler Stone. As it turns out, Conchata had an affair with Tyler and they kept it secret for decades.

2. Kron Stone was seemingly slain by the Punisher in Punisher 2099 #2. However, he survived this encounter thanks to a chance encounter with the Venom symbiote, as revealed in Spider-Man 2099 #39.