Prophet and Loss

When the powerful entity known as Thanatos attempted to get control of Alchemax's Virtual Unreality portal has resulted in a stranger being pulled out of the portal.[1] The stranger asks what year it is, and he is shocked when Spider-Man tells him it is the year 2099. Two of the Unreality technicians believe that this man is the Prophet of Thor, likening his appearance to that of Spider-Man. Thanatos hears this and tells them that Thor is dead, as he was there when the thunder god had died.[2] Getting a look at Thanatos, the strange remembers seeing the armored villain there at "the end". He threatens Thanatos, but this man doesn't seem to remember who he is, and the powers he exhibits seem to run dry.[3]

Meanwhile, Dana D'Angelo speeds toward the Alchemax building to tell her fiancee Miguel O'Hara that she is okay after Thanatos kidnapped Tyler Stone. Back inside the building, Spider-Man tells Thanatos to leave the stranger alone and attack his foe. By this point, Tyler Stone has recovered from Thanatos' earlier attack. He rushes to the guards and tells them to eliminate the intruder but secure Spider-Man and the stranger for further examination. At that moment, Spider-Man is not faring well against Thanatos who is immune to all of the hero's attacks. When the stranger tries to help Spider-Man he gets disemboweled by Thanatos' sphere. The villain then turns his attention back to Spider-Man. As they struggle, two Public Eye officers enter the room with a bazooka and fire a missile to Thanatos, ignoring Tyler's orders to wait until Spider-Man was clear. The blast knocks both Thanatos and Spider-Man through the Virtual Unreality portal. Outside the Alchemax building, Kasey Nash flees from the Alchemax Building just moments before it explodes. The blast sends her flying, but she is saved by Spider-Man. Kasey manages to grab hold of the heroes mask and removes it. She is surprised to see that it is Gabriel underneath the mask. Suddenly, there is a knock at the door. Kasey wakes up to discover the entire scenario is nothing more than a dream. Kasey is woken up by a knock at the door from her fellow Throwback, Raff. He notices that Kasey doesn't look so good and suggests that she sees a doctor. When she starts telling him that she is fine, Kasey suddenly becomes sick and rushes to the bathroom to throw up.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man finds himself falling through a void on the other side of the Virtual Unreality portal. There he is haunted by the images of his friends, family, and foes who are all questioning his motivations and goals. Telling them to get away, Miguel finds himself in a white void with no definition. Suddenly, there is a blast of multicolored lights and Spider-Man finds himself in a strange wasteland. Walking across the strange black and red terrain, he suddenly realizes that it is a massive version of himself. It is being carried across the wasteland by an army of smaller people in some bizarre funeral march. Spider-Man cannot believe this is happening when suddenly the voice of Thanatos begins to respond. He explains to the masked hero that he is in Innerspace, a kind purgatory that is one place removed from the Nexus of All Realities. Suddenly, a number of hands rip out of the ground and begin pulling at the hero, removing his mask. Suddenly, he is confronted by the energy form of Thanatos. He explains that he was trapped in this realm until the first Virtual Unreality test. That explosion allowed his consciousness to travel to Miguel's reality and take possession of a recently deceased vessel, one whose final thoughts were his hatred of Spider-Man. While back in reality, Tyler Stone attends an Alchemax board meeting with Fearmaster and Anderthorp Henton. Their leader, Avatarr is unimpressed with their recent performances. Particularly that of Tyler Stone since there have been rumors swirling around the internet about the so-called "Net Prophet" that is currently in Alchemax custody. With the number of super-powered individuals increasing, Avatarr orders his subordinates to get this situation under control.

At that same moment, the so-called Net Prophet is being led to a cell by members of Alchemax security. Although he is in a stupor, he wants to help Spider-Man and is able to call up his powers and get away from his captors. Back in Innerspace, Spider-Man refuses to believe that Thanatos is an incorporeal being and leaps up at his massive form. When Thanatos grabs Miguel in his hands he gloats how he is nothing compared to the original Spider-Man and his rogues' gallery. That's when Miguel surprises him by biting into his foe's arm with his venom tipped fans. With Thanatos paralyzed, Spider-Man leaps free and recovers his mask and decides that it is time to get back home. Suddenly, a portal opens and the hand of the Net Prophet reaches through, telling Spider-Man to grab hold. With Thanatos catching up, Spider-Man grabs the outstretched hand and is pulled back through the Virtual Unreality portal. Spider-Man suddenly finds himself back in the lab. When he looks around, he finds the Net Prophet on the ground, slowly bleeding out from the wounds he sustained in battle.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Net-Prophet, Dana D’Angelo, Kasey Nash, Raff, Thanatos, Jordan Boone, Winston, Tyler Stone, Avataar, Fearmaster, Anderthorpe Henton

Continuity Notes

1. This strange man is revealed to be John Tensen of the New Universe in Spider-Man 2099 #44.

2. In Captain Marvel Vol 4 #27-30 it is revealed that Thanatos is the Rick Jones of another reality. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #12 specifies that Thanatos is from Earth-9309. Per the Thanatos entry in that handbook, it is stated that Thanatos witnessed the destruction of Thor either in his own native reality, or another unidentified one. His statements here do not have any bearing on the end of the Age of Heroes on Earth-928.

3. Again, the details of this battle are mostly unrecorded. The entry on Tensen in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #6 even questions if this is the Tinsen was from Earth-148611 or another alternate reality. While the details are vague, it is generally accepted that this is Tensen from the New Universe.