Annihilation 2099 #1 

Writer – Steve Orlando 

Artists – Ibraim Roberson and Dale Eaglesham 

During the week of July 4^th, I didn’t have to work in the office, so I decided to order a few books from Midtown Comics online. I was able to read a couple of them with coffee on the Saturday after the holiday and this one was at the top of the stack (the other issue was Venom #35 – if you are keeping score at home.) 

One of my guilty pleasures in recent years is the 2099 line of books and mini-series from Marvel Comics. I really can’t explain why I gravitate towards them but whenever I see them at the comic shop, they are automatic insta-buys. The thing that really hurts though is that –  a) they are released weekly over the course of one month and b) sometimes Eide’s Entertainment doesn’t order enough copies and I have to track them down elsewhere. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this first issue but I was pleasantly surprised with both stories. The first features the Last Nova as he recounts the devastation that transpired on Xander and how he serves justice from planet to planet. The clues are laid out to his true identity as he recounts his origin as a Nova warrior to the barkeep in a saloon. I never figured out who it was until the reveal. My reaction was, “Wow! I never would have guessed that in a million years.” The true identity of the Last Nova will probably be split between people that find it ingenious and those that will roll their eyes at it. The second tale sees a crew of alien creatures finding an object floating in space and bringing it onboard their ship. If you guess that this is a bad idea, then you are correct! If you read the previous Miguel O’Hara: Spider-Man 2099 miniseries, you’ll know what the object is and what is inside it. I won’t reveal too much here but I’m hoping we see how this plays out over the next four issues. 

Previous 2099 mini-series have shown the future of Nueva York and how the heroes of tomorrow protect the city. This is our first real glimpse of what has been happening in the cosmos and I’m all for it. I’m hoping we will see some classic characters pop up in this time like Galactus or Silver Surfer. There are so many cosmic characters that can cameo and interact with new heroes and villains, it’s worth the wait to see who shows their face. 

Spoiler Alert – Spider-Man 2099 doesn’t appear in this issue. I’m curious if he will show up during the course of this mini-series at all. Another development we will have to wait and see if it happens or not. 

Next Issue – “A WAKANDAN TECH GODDESS! STAR LORD guards the solar systems of 2099! But she faces a villain like no other: QUASAR, THE LIVING STAR! Born to a fallen star, raised on PLANET WAKANDA, Starlord risks her life to save a world against a sun gone mad!”