Spider-Man 2099 (Vol. 1) #14

Background

Trapped in Innerspace with Thanatos and the Net Prophet, Spider-Man takes a hand offered to him to escape back to reality.

Story 'Boiling Point'

Spidey and the Net Prophet have returned to the real world at Miguel's apartment, though only Spidey is conscious. While Tyler Stone berates Jordan for the mess in the Virtual Unreality lab, one of the guards explained how the Net Prophet seemed to warp reality such that his stun gun's blasts never reached him. Afterwards, the Net Prophet ran into the lab, and leaped into the portal after Spider-Man. The portal filled with the distorted face of Thanatos. They shut down the power to the portal as Thanatos' arm emerged. After the power was out, the hand fell to the floor, carbonized.

Back at the apartment, Spidey tends to the wounded Net Prophet. He stops his bleeding with a heat sealer. Spidey asks Lyla for medical assistance, but strangely, the computer doesn't respond. He asks the Prophet who he is, but it appears to be a victim of amnesia.

Gabe checks in on Kasey to see how she's doing. Her grumpy friend Raff tends to her, telling Gabe she's dizzy, vomiting, and tired a lot due to him. Uh oh!

Miguel reveals his identity to the Net Prophet in an effort to be straight with him while the Prophet tries to recall everything he knows. He has powers he doesn't understand. He believes his powers were different before being trapped in inter-space. Apparently, when Thanatos attacked them, he used his warping ability to automatically take them to wherever Miguel felt safest - his apartment.

Dana, at Alchemax, calls for Miguel. Lyla answers but lies to her, telling her that Miguel isn't home - and does not relay the message. The Prophet insists on exploring the best and worst of the world. Miguel agrees, and tells the lying Lyla to give Dana a message if she calls. The Prophet teleports them away.

Gabe offers to marry Kasey to support the baby. Kasey gets a good laugh at the misunderstanding - she's not pregnant! She has a concussion.

Miguel shows the Net Prophet the top of Stark Tower. The Prophet believes Thanatos killed Thor at a great battle. He thinks he had a child, a daughter that is probably long gone, though he still feels her presence. Next, they go to the worst of the world - Downtown. There, a Fenris gang tries to raid Fr. Jennifer's food reserves. They rough her up and test her faith challenging God. Spidey and the Net Prophet appear, and make quick work of the gang. Kasey and Gabe witness everything. Kasey passes out, and she awakens in a medical facility. She's in awe when she hears Spidey took care of her to get her treated.

The Prophet takes leave, thanking Spider-Man. He goes off to explore the world on his own.

General Comments

The artwork did not suit my tastes at all. Grindberg portrayed some huge torsos with tiny heads, while inker Hudson used thick "Al Milgrom-ish" strokes in some odd places. The layout and detail were fine, but those heavy black lines look too low-res to me.

Artwork aside, the story was average. The only laugh was the mistaken pregnancy bit with Kasey and Gabe. Otherwise, we don't really learn too much about the Net Prophet, and I really didn't get the sense that he learned that much about the world either. I did not understand Miguel's willingness to reveal his identity so easily to a stranger.

Overall Rating

Rating: So-so issue. The artwork put a real damper on it for me. Bring back Leonardi!