In the superhero world, this is swinging.
Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man
Marvel (1995)
WRITER: Peter David
PENCILER: Rick Leonardi
INKER: Al Williamson
COLORIST: Steve Buccellato
LETTERER: Ken Lopez
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Lia Pelosi
EDITOR: Joey Cavalieri
An experiment separately conducted in the present day and the alternate future of 2099 with the same basic premise causes Peter Parker and Miguel O’Hara to switch timeline. Now in the future Peter is dealing with the future version of Vulture while Miguel deals with the original Venom. However, a third party, the Spider-Man of 2211, is trying to use them as part of his battle with his version of the Green Goblin. Eventually these events mix as the three Spider-Men come together and put everyone back into their proper timelines.
What they got right: Conceptually this is a great idea. We get to see how each Spider-Man sees the positives of the other’s timelines as well as the negatives. There’s some good humor moments between the two periods, the action is good, and the plot for the most part works. The art is also really good.
What they got wrong: Everything is good until the ending, like they ran out of space and had to rush things. We really don’t know what’s going on with the 2211s versions, why they were using the experiment, or how it alters how the age of heroes ends before Miguel’s era. It ends up feeling like one of those stories in need of more space.
What did I think overall: Rushed ending aside this was a pretty good story, though more time for a more coherent ending could have made this a better story, maybe more time for Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 to have some part in their own restoration. On the plus side, they do skip the obligatory Marvel hero fight, even lampshading it in the finale. With more space this could have been a better story but, weak as it ends, what we got is at least worth a look.
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