Spider-Man 2099 #26 — Nick Peron

Feb 22

Feb 22 Spider-Man 2099 #26

Hostile Takeover

At the offices of Alchemax, Tyler Stone arrives and orders his technicians to remove the armor from and cut loose. This is a shock to the Public Eye officer standing guard. Tyler explains that sometimes that circumstances force unusual solutions.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man wakes up from a dream in which he hangs himself with his own webbing. He is still in shock after the revelation that his biological father is Tyler Stone. He also learned that he didn't have to give himself spider-powers either.[1] As it begins to rain, Spider-Man swings for home, wondering how he will make sense of these revelations.

At that moment, in the independent township of Nightshade, Angela Daskalakis is advised that their organization is at risk of being raided by Alchemax. She then goes and checks on subject 394, former Public Eye officer Rico Estevez.[2] Observing the heavily mutated man, she asks him how he is doing. Estevez tells her that he is doing just fine. Back in Nueva York, Miguel O'Hara has returned home to brood. His mood is brightened when he discovers that Layla is back up and running.[3] After apologizing for trying to kill him, Layla notices that Miguel has been crying. He tells her that he just found out that Tyler Stone is his father. He then asks her to place an untraceable call for him. While at Gabriel's apartment, Miguel's brother wishes there was something he could do to stop Alchemax from taking his ex-girlfriend Kasey Nash.[4] His mother, Conchata, tells Gabriel that everything will eventually work out. Just then, a Public Eye flyboy drops Kasey off on his doorstep. Surprised to see her, Gabriel helps the disorientated woman back into his apartment.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man places a call to Stark-Fujikawa, he is surprised to discover that the director, Hikaru, is the same man he saved a few days earlier.[5] He demands to know what they did to Kasey Nash. Hikaru explains that he was torn between the dishonor of Spider-Man defeating their operative, the Specialist, and the hero saving his life.[6] To balance the scales, Hikaru turned Kasey into Payback, but she got out before she could be properly trained in the use of her new armor. Spider-Man is mortified and warns Hikaru against going after anyone he knows again. Hikaru is unphased by the threat, telling the masked hero not to call him again and hangs up. With the call over, Miguel has to scramble in order to change out of his costume before his fiancee Dana D'Angelo enters his apartment.[7] She is upset that Xina was in Miguel's apartment because Dana doesn't like her attitude. Miguel tells her that he is not in the mood and tells her that their engagement is over. This breaks Dana's heart and tells Miguel that she loves him. Miguel loves her too, and that is why she needs him to leave. When she asks him to talk, Miguel angrily tells her to get out and she flees.

Later, Miguel pays a visit to Xina with a gift: an authentic 20th-century gumball machine that still has the original gum inside as a way of saying thank you for repairing Layla. Needing to get out of town, Xina invites him to join her on her trip to Nightshade to visit their old headmistress, Angela Daskalakis.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Lyla, Gabriel O’Hara, Conchata O’Hara, Dana D’Angelo, Xina Kwan, Tyler Stone, Hikaru, Specialist, Payback, Angela Daskalakis, Rico Estevez

Continuity Notes

In Spider-Man 2099 #1, Tyler Stone appeared to inject Miguel with the highly addictive drug known as Rapture. He gave himself spider-powers to reverse the effects of the drugs. He discovered last issue that not only was Tyler his biological father but he faked the Rapture injection.
Angela recruited Rico in Spider-Man 2099 #8.
Layla began to malfunction after a glitch in Spider-Man 2099 #12, Miguel was forced to shut her down when she tried to kill him in Spider-Man 2099 #17-18.
Kasey was taken by Alchemax in Spider-Man 2099 #24
Spider-Man saved Hiarku in Spider-Man 2099 #19.
Spider-Man battled the Specialist in Spider-Man 2099 #4-5.
Layla asks Dana is she has ruined any relationships lately. This is a reference to the fact that Miguel broke up with Xina Kwan to date Dana. The details of this break-up was explored in Spider-Man 2099 #37.

Family Affair

This story continues from Spider-Man 2099 #23...

Family day at Alchemax's School for Gifted Youngsters has taken a turn when Kron Stone began roughing up Miguel O'Hara's baby brother Gabriel. When their parents attempt to discipline Kron, they discover that the boy is the son of Alchemax's Tyler Stone. Standing beside his wife Nancy, Tyler asks George O'Hara to put his child down. George demands that Kron apologizes to his son. Kron denies doing anything and wants an apology from George instead.

Tyler takes his son's side, but before George can apologize, his wife Conchata scolds Tyler, calling him and his son bullies. Tyler decides to drop the subject taking his protesting son away. George is mortified that his wife talked to his boss like that and storms off with his own children, leaving Conchata crying by herself. Later, Xina finds Miguel and tells him that he needs to stand up to Kron Stone. Miguel doesn't want to fight Kron, because the psychopath would possibly kill him.

Meanwhile, Nancy Stone approaches Conchata O'Hara to congratulate her for speaking up against her husband, something she herself could never bring herself to do. That's when Nancy reveals that she knows about Conchata's affair with her husband and that Miguel is his biological child. What's more shocking than this admission is the fact that Nancy wants to be Conchata's friend. When O'Hara asks why she would want to be friends after knowing this. Nancy tells Conchata that even though she isn't brave she has a lot of class.