Spider-Man 2099 #18

Blown Circuits

When Miguel O'Hara and his mother Conchata return to his apartment, this comes as a shock to both Miguel's brother Gabriel and his fiancee Dana D'Angelo. This is because they believed he was killed when a Thor impostor tossed him out of Valhalla.[1] In order to cover for his double identity, Miguel tells them that he was saved by Spider-Man and the Punisher. When his mother praises Spider-Man as a hero, Miguel tries to convince her that Spider-Man is shorter in real life and has a large nose. However, Conchata doesn't buy this and thinks her son is just making these things up. While Dana is happy to see him, Gabriel makes a sarcastic comment about how great it was Spider-Man saved his life. When Miguel asks what Gabe means, he brushes it off as nothing.[2] Gabriel decides to take his mother home but tells Miguel that they have things to talk about later. Before he leaves, Gabriel also warns his brother that Layla, Miguel's holographic assistant, has been acting strangely.[3]

Meanwhile, at Alchemax, Tyler Stone asks his assistant Winston for a status report on what is being said about the Aesir on the internet. However, instead of giving Tyler the status update he demands, he strikes his employer in the face. Back at Avalon Towers, Miguel is shocked to learn that Layla was acting strangely, even threatening his brother. When the virtual assistant suggests that Miguel is overreacting, he orders her to shut down until he can find out what is wrong with her. He then threatens to delete her if she continues to give him more grief. This is hurtful to the artificial intelligence, especially when Miguel says he'd get along just fine without her. Layla appears to comply, but when Miguel carries Dana back to his room for some romance, they are unaware that the jealous AI is watching them from the shadows. Back at Alchemax, security enters Tyler Stone's office to try and pry Winston off their boss. As they struggle, Tyler pulls out a device and places it on Winston's brow, shutting him down. Tyler doesn't know why his assistant attacked him, but orders the guards to take him down to the lab for a diagnostic test. By this point, Gabriel has returned home with his mother and calls his girlfriend Kasey Nash. After he apologizes for how he acted when she last saw him, she tells him that she needs a break from him.[4] When Gabriel asks if this has something to do with Spider-Man, she denies it. However, when she hangs up, she admits to herself that it has everything to do with Spider-Man. When Conchata tries to tell her son that he'll get over Kasey dumping him, Gabriel insists that he is fine. He then goes to his room where he pulls a virtual reality kit out from under his bed. He intends to "jack in" for the first time in a long time, telling the empty room to look out because Firelight is back.

Later that evening, back at Babylon Towers, Miguel tries to talk to Dana about his concerns about Gabriel. Suddenly, Dana gets sealed in the bathroom and the water temperature in the shower begins to increase. When Miguel tries to free her, Layla orders a pair of security droids to subdue him as an intruder. As Miguel fights off these robots, he becomes aware that Lalya has become mentally unhinged. After destroying the two robots, O'Hara breaks into the bathroom. By this point, the scalding heat has caused Dana passed out. As he checks on her, Layla arrives with more security drones. When Miguel asks her why she is doing this, Layla tells him that you always hurt the ones you love. Meanwhile, Gabriel is enjoying the escapism of traveling virtual reality in his virtual avatar known as Firelight. As he flies across the netscape in his Mag-Lev with a girl, he revels in the experience. Suddenly, a voice calls out to him that Gabriel has not heard in many years. This is a shock to him, because the owner of the voice is dead, or at least Gabriel thought he was, suddenly a wall appears before Gabriel. With no time to swerve out of the way, Gabriel slams into the wall, his car exploding on impact.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Gabriel O’Hara, Dana D’Angelo, Conchata O’Hara, Kasey Nash, Tyler Stone, Winston, Lyla, Discord (voice)

Continuity Notes

1. This phony Thor attempted to kill Miguel during the Fall of the Hammer story arc.

2. Unknown to Miguel at this time, Gabriel learned that his brother is really Spider-Man during the events of Spider-Man 2099 #1-3.

3. Layla has been acting strange ever since she had a malfunction in Spider-Man 2099 #12.

4. Gabriel stormed out on Kasey when she was gushing over Spider-Man in Spider-Man 2099 #15.

School Daze

Today is the day young Miguel O'Hara is being sent off to a private school run by Alchemax. Although his mother, Conchata, doesn't like this idea, his father George reminds his son that this is a huge opportunity not only for Miguel but for their family.[1] George tells his son that the family is getting a new home that is awarded to Alchemax families that show potential. George is delighted when Tyler Stone arrives to personally bring Miguel to his new school. Although Tyler warmly greets Conchata, she is unimpressed with him coming to take her son away, believing that he was in good hands before he came to take him.

Inside the car, Tyler Stone gets a first-hand lesson in the boy's sarcastic sense of humor. Tyler tries to impress the boy by showing him a holo-vid of a sumo wrestling match. He uses this as a metaphor to warn Miguel about ruining his opportunity, pointing out that his abusive father may not respond well to Miguel flunking out. They soon arrive at the Alchemax School For Gifted Youngsters.[2] Tyler remarks how the school had been destroyed a number of times in the past, but always "rises up like a phoenix".[3]

There he is introduced to the headmistress, Angela Daskalakis, who welcomes the boy. Before Tyler Stone leaves, Miguel tells the businessman that he is not afraid of him. Tyler smirks and tells the boy that it is because he doesn't know him yet. With that, Tyler Stone leaves. When Miguel turns to enter the mansion, someone dumps a bucket of water on his head.

Recurring Characters

Miguel O’Hara, George O’Hara, Tyler Stone, Winston, Conchata O’Hara, Gabriel O’Hara, Angela Daskalakis

Continuity Notes

1. Unknown to George and Miguel, George is not Miguel's biological father. Miguel is actually the product of an affair between his mother Conchata and Tyler Stone. This is revealed in Spider-Man 2099 #25.

2. Tyler mentions how this school, which is implied to be Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, home of the X-Men of the modern age. Tyler states that the school was "destroyed several times in the last century through a series of mishaps". This statement implies that the modern age X-Men existed in the 20th Century. However, Earth-928 operates on a Sliding Timescale in that the modern age of heroes is locked in 2 generations prior to 2099 AD of Earth-928, this the Modern Age has since slid forward to having taken place in the early 21st Century.

3.  On Earth-616, Xavier's school had been destroyed many times only to be rebuilt. By the time Spider-Man 2099 #18 was published, Xavier's mansion was destroyed and rebuilt at least twice in the X-Books taking place on Earth-616 in Uncanny X-Men #154 and Uncanny X-Men #243. One could assume that these instances and all later instances when the school was destroyed on Earth-616 still happened on Earth-928.

Continuity Errors

1. In this story, Angela Daskalakis is depicted as African-American. However, in all other appearances, she is depicted as Caucasian.