Spider-Man 2099 (vol. 2) #4
Miguel O’Hara was forced to go to Trans-Sabal to be present when Tiberius Stone sells Alchemax’s Spider-Slayer robots to the oppressive regime of Jalfaja Dahn. When Tiberius was captured by rebels, Miguel went after him as Spider-Man only to discover that Dahn has sent his own agent, the Scorpion.
Spider-Man tries to convince the Scorpion that they are on the same side, but Mac Gargan is spoiling for a fight. During the fight, Miguel learns that Mac was hired by Alchemax to oversee the deployment of Spider-Slayers in the region due to his experience with spiders and robots.[1] With a flick of his tail, the Scorpion sends Spider-Man flying out a window. When he lands outside, he finds himself surrounded by an army of Spider-Slayer robots. When the Scorpion leaps outside himself, he orders the robots to stand down, wanting to crush the spider himself. When Spider-Man tries to leap away one of the robots snares him in a rope and drags him back to the ground.
As the battle rages outside, Tiberius Stone is still tied up inside. Mussaret, the leader of the rebels who kidnapped him, insists they get him out of the building since it is about to collapse. However, when the roof starts caving in, Mussaret leaps over top of Tiberius to shield him from the falling debris. Shockingly, her followers decide to flee, leaving their leader to fend for herself. Tiberius has gotten free by this point and pulled himself free from the rubble. To his surprise, he discovers that Mussaret is dead, having sacrificed her own life to keep him alive.
Back outside, the Scorpion reveals that he has been outfitted with laser cannons in his tail and pincers. Deciding that this fight is a dead-end, Miguel manages to slip away and change out of his costume. Furious that Spider-Man has gotten away, he orders the Spider-Slayer to gather a group of women and children and threatens to kill them if Spider-Man doesn’t come back.[2] Quick thinking, Miguel tosses the device that contains Lyla, his holographic assistant onto the Scorpion’s back. Once there, Lyla uses her holographic projections to make the Scorpion look like this era’s Spider-Man. Unaware of what happened, the Scorpion wonders why the Spider-Slayers are suddenly pointing their weapons at him.
While the Scorpion is busy fighting his own Spider-Slayers, Miguel changes into Spider-Man and pulls all the hostages to safety. By this time, Tiberius has gotten outside, and seeing the Slayers attack the Scorpion gives the shutdown command, making them all stop. With the danger passed, Spider-Man recovers Lyla and puts out a call to Jalfaja Dahn to pick Tiberius up.
Later, Miguel and Tiberius are meeting with Dahn at his mansion. There, Tiberius surprises everyone by saying that Alchemax will not be selling the Spider-Slayers to Dahn. He then gets up to leave and when Jalfaja tries to stop him and Miguel he finds an army of Spider-Slayers prepared to tear down his kingdom if he tries to stop them. Tiberius and Miguel get into a waiting limo where Mac Gargan is nursing his wounds inside. When Mac asks Miguel if they have met before, he tells them haven’t. As they head for the airport, Miguel tries to tell Tiberius how proud he is, but Stone warns Miguel that he’ll fire him if he finishes his sentance.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man 2099, Scorpion, Lyla, Tiberius Stone, Jalfaja Dahn
Continuity Notes
The Scorpion mentions how Alchemax got him out of prison and upgraded his armor. The Scorpion had been incarcerated since Amazing Spider-Man #700.
Confusing Miguel with the Spider-Man from this era, it is mentioned that until recently Spider-Man hadn’t been acting like himself. This is a reference to the fact that Doctor Octopus took over Peter Parker’s life from Amazing Spider-Man #698 until Superior Spider-Man #31.
