Spider-Man 2099 #39
Brother's Keeper
When Miguel O'Hara arrives at Alchemax, he is bothered by the fact that the staff all call him "Mister O'Hara" when before they would call him Miggy if anything at all. He soon arrives in the lab where Kron Stone has been contained since they were defeated by Spider-Man. Kron is unhappy with being contained and demands to be let out. He is surprised to see Kron alive, especially after reports that he was killed not long earlier.[1] When Miguel demands some answers, Kron refuses and openly mocks O'Hara. Losing his temper, Miguel orders his staff out of the lab so he can deal with Stone in his own way. Releasing his old tormentor, Miguel offers Kron a deal -- if Kron can beat him in a fight, Stone gets to leave free and clear. However, if he loses, he has to tell Miguel everything he knows. Confident that he can beat Miguel in a fight, Kron accepts and attacks. Unfortunately for Kron, he does not account for the fact that Miguel's speed, reflexes, and strength have been enhanced by his spider-powers and he easily trounces Kron. Although Kron eventually relents and agrees to talk, Miguel is still furious over the people that Kron had murdered as Venom and continues to beat on him.[2]
Meanwhile, Downtown, Kasey Nash tells her friend Raff about the mystery man who saved her from the Vulture earlier. Just as she finishes her story, Raff notices that some is hanging out by the window. It is the man in the goblin costume that saved Kasey earlier. Thinking the newcomer to be a threat, Raff draws a gun but the masked man easily disarms him. The Goblin then asks Kasey if she has had any trouble from the Vulture since their last encounter. The Goblin then says he has designated himself as the newest adversary against Alchemax and intends to reclaim Downtown for the people. When Kasey suggests that the Goblin work with Spider-Man, the Goblin scoffs at this idea, referring to the S-Man as a corporate tool before leaving. After the Goblin's departure, both Kasey and Raff admit they don't trust this newcomer, but Kasey intends to learn more about this self-appointed savior of the downtrodden.
Back at Alchemax, the lab technicians fear the worst for their employer when Miguel suddenly emerges from the lab no worse for wear. He tells the technicians that their prisoner will be more compliant now and leaves them to do their work. When they enter the lab, they are shocked to discover that Kron Stone has been severely beaten. Miguel then returns to his office where he laments about his complicated family tree to Lyla, his virtual assistant.[3] Layla then informs Miguel that she has removed Dana D'Angelo from his Christmas card list. This angers Miguel as this reminder that Dana is dead was very heartless. At first, he tells off Lyla, but realizes that she couldn't know how insensitive her comments were as she is only artificial intelligence. He then has Lyla check on his brother and Xina. His brother has not returned home yet, and Xina's assistant, Jack, says she isn't taking calls. Miguel decides to pay her Xina a personal visit and changes into his Spider-Man costume.
Arriving at Xina's apartment, he is welcomed in by Jack. There he tries to get Xina to talk to him as she has not been dealing with Dana's death very well. Xina is conflicted because Dana sacrificed herself and all Xina can do is feel relieved that it wasn't her. Miguel tries to convince her that she isn't a monster for thinking that way, saying that she is just scared because she had a brush with her own mortality. She then surprises O'Hara by telling him that she thinks he should run Alchemax after all. She explains that her sudden change in position is that she realizes that she was dictating how he should run his life when she should be grateful that he has a life to live. Back downtown, the Goblin meets up with the Vulture on a rooftop. As it turns out, the Goblin has been colluding with the Vulture as part of a grander scheme of taking over Downtown for themselves. When the Vulture asks why the goblin singled out Kasey Nash, the Goblin explains that she is a well-respected member of the community, but denies any other -- more personal -- reasons for choosing her.
By this time, Miguel has returned to Alchemax and is visited by Father Jennifer. He recognizes her instantly, almost blowing his double identity because he has only met her as Spider-Man, but quickly makes a reasonable excuse as to why he knows her by name.[4] As it turns out, Father Jennifer is Dana D'Angelo's estranged sister. Seeing a holographic projection of Kron Stone, she asks if this is the man who killed her sister. Miguel confirms this and invites her to tag along with him to listen to the details of Kron's mysterious resurrection. In the lab, Kron explains that he was fatally shot and left for dead in the sewers by the vigilante known as the Punisher. As fate would have it, his body came into contact with the Venom symbiote which had been lying dormant in the sewers for some time. Having mutated over the years the symbiote fully bonded to Kron, bringing him back from the brink of death, turning him into the new Venom. In order to trick people into thinking that he was dead, Kron killed a homeless man and disfiguring the body beyond any means of identification and leaving his identification with the corpse. Exhausted from this first kill, Kron and the symbiote then went into hiding to rest and regain their strength. He finally decided to come out of hiding after he had heard that his father was shot, as he wanted the opportunity to kill Tyler Stone before someone else could.[5] After hearing all of this, Miguel is horrified when Father Jennifer is so readily able to forgive Kron for the murders he committed. She explains that it is not up to her, but God, to judge Kron for his crimes. When Miguel raises his voice at her, the priest warns Miguel that if he does so again he will knock his teeth out and walks out.
That's when Miguel gets a call from his brother Gabriel, who tells him that Spider-Man is needed Downtown. Miguel finds it strange that Miguel went from being angry with Miguel to requesting Spider-Man's aid, but he goes Downtown to indulge his brother anyway. He doesn't think there could be any harm in humoring Gabriel, unaware that his arrival in Downtown has been observed by the Goblin, who begins to follow Spider-Man.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Raff, Kasey Nash, Lyla, Xina Kwan, Father Jennifer D’Angelo, Kron Stone, Goblin, Vulture
Continuity Notes
Kron was seemingly killed by the Punisher in Punisher 2099 #2.
Among those murdered by Venom was Dana D'Angelo, Miguel's ex-fiancee, in Spider-Man 2099 #37.
In Spider-Man 2099 #25, Miguel learned that he was the product of an affair between his mother and Tyler Stone. This makes Kron Stone his half-brother on his father's side of the family, and Gabriel O'Hara his half-brother on his mother's side.
Miguel thinks about his first encounter with Father Jennifer during his first battle with the Vulture. That happened in Spider-Man 2099 #8.
Tyler Stone was shot in Spider-Man 2099 #34.
