Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse just hit theaters around the world. The Sony Pictures Animation film that serves as a sequel to the magnificence Into the Spider-Verse is expected to be almost as successful as its predecessor, and for this it has the perfect ingredient that can make it stand out: more Spider-Mans.
As we made clear the other day, Across the Spider-Verse will introduce 280 versions of the character, 90 of which will have some kind of prominence, even if it’s just a line. This means that the audience will have the opportunity to get to know and become attached to many different alternatives.
However, not all of these Spidey versions will be as friendly as Peter Parker or Miles Morales. In fact, the antagonist of this film, as far as we know so far, is none other than Spider-Man 2099, a version of the character whose identity belongs to the Mexican Miguel O’Hara. But who is he really?
Find out who Spider-Man 2099 is
Just by looking at the appearance of Spider-Man 2099‘s suit, it’s clear that it belongs to the 1990s. Specifically, it made its debut in Amazing Spider-Man #30 in 1992 and was created by Peter David and Rick Leonardi. As the name suggests, he is a future version of Spidey, and he’s not the only one that was created with this intention at the time.
Miguel O’Hara, the man behind the mask of Spider-Man 2099, takes us to the dystopian future of the year 2099. With a unique and fascinating story, this arachnid hero has made an indelible mark in the world of comics, with very little to envy from Miles Morales himself. Now, he seeks to leave this same mark on the big screen as well.
Miguel O’Hara was born in New York in the 21st century and worked for Alchemax, a powerful megacorporation dedicated to genetic engineering. After an incident where his DNA was modified, Miguel became Spider-Man 2099. But unlike Peter Parker, the original Spider-Man, Miguel didn’t acquire his abilities from a radioactive spider bite. Instead, he underwent a scientific experiment in an attempt to reverse the genetic changes made to him.
The character of Miguel O’Hara was conceived as a futuristic version of Spider-Man, maintaining the classic aspects of the web-slinging hero but with a different approach. The design of Spider-Man 2099’s suit, with its inverted blue and red color scheme, quickly became one of the character’s most distinctive features. Additionally, being of Mexican descent, Miguel wears a suit with a mask that he once wore for the Day of the Dead festival. But he also stands out for his powers, which vary significantly from the previous Spider-Man, particularly in terms of technology.
Spider-Man 2099 became an instant success, gaining popularity among comic book readers. Although Miguel O’Hara was not an alternate version of Peter Parker but a completely new character, the legacy of Spider-Man has remained alive in his stories. Like his predecessor, Miguel fought crime and protected the innocent, facing deadly enemies in a dark and technologically advanced future. However, he also had a somewhat different morality, which has been further explored in new comics like the Spider-Verse storyline.
The setting in which the story of Spider-Man 2099 takes place is equally fascinating. In the year 2099, society is controlled by megacorporations, and living conditions are oppressive for the majority of the population. Miguel O’Hara, therefore, not only fights small-time criminals but engages in a near-apocalyptic struggle against corruption and injustice.
In addition to his solo series, Spider-Man 2099 has crossed paths with other Marvel Universe characters such as the X-Men and the Avengers, further expanding his involvement in the shared universe. These interactions have allowed Miguel O’Hara to gain even more recognition and be accepted as an integral part of the Marvel world. Moreover, with his greater powers compared to Parker, he has proven to be even more formidable on certain occasions.
Beyond the comics, Spider-Man 2099 has made an indelible mark on popular culture. The character has appeared in various adaptations, including video games, animated television series, and movies. And it is in these adaptations where the character becomes even more significant. In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the character is seen testing a device to travel through multiple realities, with the intention of leading a legion of Spider-Men to defeat a villain who threatens the multiverse.
However, as you may have seen in the movie, this soon becomes something that our heroes must oppose… and together they must confront the power of the formidable Spider-Man 2099. Undoubtedly, it is an intriguing plot that reinforces a concept that is even bigger than that of Into the Spider-Verse itself.
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