Spider-Man 2099 #22 — Nick Peron

Feb 22

Feb 22 Spider-Man 2099 #22

Did You Just Say...?

This story continues from Spider-Man 2099 #20...

After saving his brother Gabriel from Discord in cyberspace, Miguel is shocked when his brother reveals that he knows of Miguel's secret identity.[1] When Miguel tries to deny it, Gabriel explains that he's known since Spider-Man first appeared and was being hunted by Venture. First, he recognized Spider-Man's costume as the one that Miguel once wore on vacation in Mexico. His suspicions were later confirmed by Miguel's virtual assistant, Layla. Convinced that his brother knows the truth, Miguel asks if he is going to tell anybody. Gabriel laughs this off, saying that would be no fun. Miguel tells his brother that this is serious since everyone is after Spider-Man, including both Alchemax and Stark-Fujikawa. Gabriel says it is fun because it's not something that is happening to him.

Meanwhile, Downtown, Kasy Nash and Raff steal one of the Watchdog's Runabouts. However, their escape is interrupted by a SIEGE Unit. The vehicle is smashed and Kasey grabbed by the SIEGE Unit. She is then turned over to members of Stark-Fujikawa who take her away. Back in cyberspace, Miguel and Gabriel are visited by Duke Stratosphere, who congratulates them for stopping Discord. Soon they come out of cyberspace, much to the relief of Dana D'Angelo and their mother, Conchata. Conchata is upset that Gabriel was cyberspacing again after kicking the habit not so long ago. Miguel assures her that it won't happen again, prompting a sarcastic comment from Gabe about alter-egos. Miguel then drags Gabe out of the room and warns his brother to stop toying with him, otherwise, he'll go right back into the room and reveal his identity to both his mother and Dana. When Gabriel calls his bluff, Miguel tells him how tried to tell his mother earlier and she didn't believe it.[2] He then tells Gabriel to put his skill to good use by helping him fix Layla.[3]

While at Alchemax, the technicians inform Tyler Stone that the network disruptions are over and his assistant Winston should be back up and running soon.[4] Watching the security monitors, Stone sees that people are getting back to normal. When he catches footage of people cheering Spider-Man as he swings by, he becomes angry because the masked hero is more popular than ever. Since his Aesir Project turned out to be a failure, he has to move on to plan b.[5] On the streets, a pair of hoodlums have stolen Public Eye hover-bikes and are terrorizing innocent people on the street. Spider-Man swings in and makes short work of them before heading back home to Babylon Towers. There, Miguel an Gabriel begin cleaning up his apartment and trying to figure out how to repair Layla.[6] First they scrub all records of Miguel using his powers in the apartment and shred the security droids in order to preserve his identity. Gabriel then looks at Layla's CPU and suggests that they toss her out and get something new. However, Miguel refuses to do that and tells Gabriel to do his best to repair Layla. Miguel's mind drifts back to the day he moved in at Babylon Towers. At the time he was still dating Xina Kwan. After getting the keys the couple decided to get into some romance. When Xina took off her shirt, Miguel took the time remark on the tattoo Xina had on her belly: The likeness of 20th-century actress, Marilyn Monroe.

At that moment, at Stark-Fujikawa, Kasey Nash is brought before Hikaru-Sama and the other members of his board of directors. Hikaru has noted that there is a connection between Kasey and Spider-Man.[7] He then demands that she help them find the hero and that they can do it with her regardless if she is dead or alive. While back at Babylon Towers, Gabriel is unable to get Layla back running the way she used to. Miguel insists that they need to restore her because he misses her. That's when Gabriel suggests that the only person who can fix her is the person who created her, Xina. When Gabriel recalls she was upset when Miguel dumped her for Dana years earlier.[8] Miguel isn't sure, but he knows there is only one way to find out.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Gabriel O’Hara, Lyla, Kasey Nash, Raff, Conchata O’Hara, Dana D’Angelo, Xina Kwan, Tyler Stone, Hikaru, Duke Stratosphere

Chronology Notes

Gabriel discovered that Miguel was Spider-Man during the course of Spider-Man 2099 #1-3.
Miguel tried to tell his mother that he was Spider-Man in Spider-Man 2099 #10. She responded by laughing in his face.
Layla became violent after she suffered a system crash in Spider-Man 2099 #12.
Everything went haywire, including Tyler's assistant Winston, by Discord's hacking as seen in Spider-Man 2099 #18-19.
The Aesir Project failed during the Fall of the Hammer event.
Layla went on a rampage in Spider-Man 2099 #18.
This connection was believed because Spider-Man saved Kasey from Stark-Fujikawa's assassin known as the Specialist. This happened in Spider-Man 2099 #4-5.
Miguel's relationship with Xina and Dana were explored in Spider-Man 2099 #37.

Dead Boy's Float

Dead Boy's Float

This story continues from Spider-Man 2099 #20...

Years Ago:

Xina Kwan arrives at the Alchemax's School's swimming pool to find Miguel O'Hara floating in the water upside down. Realizing that Miguel is not joking, she leaps into the water and turns him over to give him mouth-to-mouth. Two other classmates enter the pool area and think that Xina is making out with Miguel and begin teasing her. She turns and tells them that this is serious and to get help.

By the time headmistress Angela Daskalakis, Miguel has been revived by Xina. When she asks what's going on, nobody knows what happened prior to finding Miguel laying face down in the water. When she asks Miguel, he remembers how someone held his head underwater. However, instead of telling the truth, Miguel tells her that he had a lung cramp.

Later that day, Miguel pays a visit to Xina in her room. She doesn't buy his story, and while he admits that someone tried to drown him, but he didn't see who it was. Xina figures it was Kron Stone, and tells him they should tell Angela. Miguel refuses because Kron is mad enough at him already.[1] When Xina asks Miguel if he is scared, he tells her that he is incredibly frightened of Kron.