Spider-Man 2099 #23 — Nick Peron

Feb 22

Feb 22 Spider-Man 2099 #23

No Fury

As Spider-Man swings through the city, his progress is being tracked by a cyborg woman who has a grudge against the masked hero. Furious that he is just swinging around like he owns the city, this mystery woman removes one of her gloves and fires an energy bolt at Spider-Man. Thanks to his enhanced vision, Spider-Man just barely manages to avoid getting hit by the shot. However, when he goes looking for the shooter, she is long gone. As the woman goes down to the streets, she spots a member of the Public Eye watching Spider-Man as well. When she asks why the officer isn't doing anything to apprehend the vigilante, she realizes that he is scared. Angered by this affront to his position, the officer attempts to arrest the woman but is knocked out for his trouble.

Meanwhile, Kaset Nash wakes up in a darkened lab within Stark-Fujikawa. There she is made to watch holo footage of Spider-Man's battle with the Specialist.[1] This confirms for Hikaru-Sama that the woman indeed has feelings for Spider-Man. He also suspects that the masked hero also has feelings for her. Kasey points out that Spider-Man saves a lot of people, but Hikariu is unconvinced that there isn't a connection between the two. When Kasey suggests that Hikaru wants her to betray Spider-Man to them, Hikaru tells her that is not the case. He next shows her holo footage of when Spider-Man recently rescued him as well.[2] This puts Stark-Fujikawa in an interesting predicament. On the one hand, they need to defend the honor of their employee, the Specialist, yet on the other, they owe Spider-Man for saving the owner of the company. When Kasey makes fun of Hikaru's ego, he reminds her that her mother died of an overdose and his father sold Kasey on the black market for more Rapture. He wonders what Spider-Man would think of her if he knew that Kasey used to sell her body and drugs to make a living. When Kasey tries to attack Hikaru, he restrains her, noting how much pain she carries. He then asks Kasey to let Stark-Fujikawa help her.

Later, at the home of Xina Kwan, Miguel O'Hara comes to get her assistance in repairing his holographic assistant, Layla.[3] He is greeted by her robotic assistant Jack, who is patterned after President John F. Kennedy. Jack tells Miguel that Xina is not home and invites him in to wait until she gets back. Inside, Miguel sees that Xina is still obsessed with collecting 20th Century memorabilia. He goes into her room and sitting down on her bed, he notices that Xina still has a photo of the two of them together. He relaxes enough that his finger talons come out puncturing her water bed with his fingers. This catches him off guard, and he quickly webs up the holes to stop it from leaking. When Xina gets home, she is unimpressed to see Miguel has come to her home. While at Alchemax, the mystery woman -- named Risque -- has arrived at Alchemax. As it turns out she is the sister of Venture, Alchemax's cyborg assassin. He hasn't spoken since he was defeated by Spider-Man.[4] She assures her brother that she will kill Spider-Man. Suddenly, Venture wakes up and grabs her arm, saying that Spider-Man is his. Risque rips her hand away, telling her brother that he fumbled the ball and she intends to complete his job for him.

Back at Xina's, she finishes explaining how she made Jack, a robot that was constructed out of an animatronic shell that her grandfather salvaged from Disneyland after an earthquake of 2030. She also remarks that he also had one of President Clinton as well. Miguel jokingly asks which one, Bill, or her daughter Chelsey. She stops the pleasantries and changes the subject about how she is still upset about how he dumped her.[5] Miguel also catches her up, telling her that his father has since died.[6] Eventually, Miguel gets to the reason why he came to see her. He tells her that Layla has been malfunctioning and he needs her to fix it. When Xena asks why she should do help him, he points out that Dana, his fiancee, couldn't fix his virtual assistant in a million years. While downtown, Gabriel O'Hara arrives at the Throwback's hideout. He then learns how Kasey was kidnapped from her colleague Raff and is upset that he has to go to his brother for help again. At that moment, Kasey has agreed to undergo modification so she could be equal to Spider-Man.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Kasey Nash, Raff, Gabriel O’Hara, Xina Kwan, Risque, Tyler Stone, Venture, Hikaru,

Continuity Notes

This battle occurred in Spider-Man 2099 #4-5.
Spider-Man saved Hikaru during the chaos caused by Discord in Spider-Man 2099 #19.
Layla began to malfunction following a shut down in Spider-Man 2099 #12 and had to be powered down in Spider-Man 2099 #19.
Venture battled Spider-Man in Spider-Man 2099 #1-3.
Miguel broke up with Xena to date Dana D'Angelo. This is detailed in Spider-Man 2099 #37.
It was revealed that the man who Miguel thinks of his father died not long ago, as revealed in Spider-Man 2099 #10. This is not his biological father, as revealed in Spider-Man 2099 #25.

Visiting Day

It is family day at Alchemax's School For Gifted Youngsters, and Miguel O'Hara's family has come to visit. While his father, George is very impressed with the school, unlike his mother Conchata. George's attitude sours when he sees Xina Kwan among the students. Mistaking her for being Japanese, he makes a racist comment, much to Miguel's embarrassment. Hearing this, Xina corrects him, telling George O'Hara that she is Chinese by talking like a stereotype. This mortifies Miguel, while his father thinks that she is being smart with him. Xina puts on an act, pretending that she is upset for dishonoring him by accident. Buying this display, George tells the girl that it is okay and asks her to find him a beer.

Meanwhile, Gabriel is running around the yard when he bumps into Kron Stone. Kron responds by pushing Gabriel into a tree. Hearing her son crying, Conchata goes looking for Gabriel. Finding Kron about to beat up her youngest boy, Conchata slaps Stone across the face. When Kron gets even more upset, George comes to the defense of his family. However, before he can teach the young punk a question, Tyler Stone and his wife Nancy arrive and point out that Kron is their son.

This story is continued in Spider-Man 2099 #26...