Spider-Man 2099 (Vol. 1) #23

Background

Gabriel has admitted knowing Miguel's secret identity. In need of help to repair Lyla, Miguel must ask his old flame Xina for help.

Story 'No Fury'

A female cyborg watches Spider-Man swing overhead through the city, belittling him for unfounded confidence while taking a shot at him from a blast from her finger. Narrowly missing him, Spider-Man does not see his would-be assassin. In disbelief of the amount of trouble Spider-Man gave her brother, the woman swats a cowardly Flyboy who chose not to pursue Spidey.

Hidden in Stark-Fujikawa, Karyn "Kasey" Nash is held prisoner in a lab. Hikaru-Sama shows Kasey holographic images of Spider-Man goading her to help him find the wallcrawler. His intentions are unclear, as he reveals he has a debt of honor to the hero. Hikaru dredges up Kasey's seedy past of drugs and prostitution, as he continues his negotiation.

Miguel, meanwhile, pays a visit to Xina Kwan, his ex-girlfriend. Jack, a robot of JFK, answers the door. Xina's apartment is filled with 20th century collectibles. After Mig accidentally puncturing her waterbed, Xina returns home.

At Alchemax, the cybornetic assassin, Risque, visits her brother and Tyler Stone. Her sibling Venture tries to speak, claiming rights to kill Spider-Man first. She mocks him under her breath, and leaves.

Miguel and Xina engage in sardonic ex-lover small talk. Mig asks her to help fix Lyla, only receiving cooperation after admitting that Dana could never do it in a million years.

Downtown, Gabe finds out from Raff that Kasey has been taken by S.I.E.G.E. At Stark-Fujikawa, Kasey is immersed in a tank of liquid, connected to machinery and tubes. Hikaru has plans to transform her into a "fit associate" for Spider-Man.

Second Story, Young Miguel O'Hara in "Visiting Day" :

Miguels parents came to visit his school, along with Gabe. When Miguel's father, George, makes a crack against the Japanese, Xina overheared and pretended to be "Ling-Ling" of Japanese descent. George was too dense to understand her mockery of him. Gabe meantime crashes into Kron Stone while running around. Kron flung Gabe into a tree itching for a fight. Cochata smacked Kron. Kron threw a brick at George. Lifting Kron into the air, George's attack was stopped by Tyler Stone and his wife.

General Comments

Risque - another cyborg assassin. Blah. Between Venture, S.I.E.G.E., the Specialist, and now Risque, Spider-Man 2099's rogue's gallery has become far less interesting than Peter Parker's. After 23 issues, the introduction to another hunter after Spider-Man seemed rather redundant.

Still, Peter David's dialogue is enjoyable and playful, especially between Miguel and Xina. The Young Miguel stories, too short to merit much depth, I found had become unnecessary. Though I know opinions vary from "love it" to "hate it", Leonardi's art always impresses me, and does so again in this issue, though there is no particular panel that really stands out.

Overall Rating