Marvel 2099 is a Marvel Comics imprint, started in 1992, that explores one possible future of the Marvel Universe. It was originally announced by Stan Lee in his "Stan's Soapbox" column as a single series entitled The Marvel World of Tomorrow, which was being developed by Lee and John Byrne. This later changed to a line of books under the banner Marvel 2093 (the date being one hundred years from the year in which the titles launched) before finally being published as Marvel 2099. The three of the initial four titles launched â€" Doom 2099, Punisher 2099, and Spider-Man 2099 â€" starred futuristic takes on pre-existing characters. The fourth, Ravage 2099, featured an all-new superhero, scripted for several months by Stan Lee. The 2099 line soon expanded to include 2099 Unlimited, Fantastic Four 2099, Ghost Rider 2099, Hulk 2099, X-Men 2099, and X-Nation 2099.
Publication history
The initial universe began with Spider-Man 2099, Ravage 2099, Doom 2099, and Punisher 2099 being launched in subsequent months. Peter David wrote Spider-Man for the bulk of the series, and it was consistently the most popular series. It satirized corporations, with Spider-Man constantly clashing with Alchemax, which employed him in his secret identity. Stan Lee wrote the first eight issues of Ravage as an extremely political story about corruption, corporate pollution, and the environment. After Lee left, he was replaced by a series of writers who failed to provide consistent direction for the book. In 1993, Wizard reported that the 2099 line had "gone over fairly well with the fans".
Growth and decline
Fans requested further titles, and Marvel provided X-Men 2099. They also introduced a Hulk 2099 in the series 2099 Unlimited, which featured occasional Spider-Man 2099 stories, as well as early work by Warren Ellis. The comics had a strong degree of interconnectivity that was similar to comics published by Marvel in the 1960s due to the imprint's editor Joey Cavalieri. The only cross-title crossover within the 2099 universe, The Fall of the Hammer, detailed a plot by the corporations to technologically recreate the Norse pantheon, along with a new Thor, to divert attention away from the anti-corporate superheroes.
The 2099 series expanded to include Ghost Rider 2099, about a hero whose consciousness had been downloaded into a robotic body. Hulk 2099 was also given a brief chance at his own series. As sales began to flag on all titles besides Spider-Man and X-Men, Marvel commissioned ideas from various writers, including a proposal by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, before accepting Warren Ellis's idea that Doom 2099, revealed to be, in fact, Victor Von Doom, would take over the United States. Each title had the modifier "A.D." ("After Doom") added on the logo to reflect the change. The new storyline allowed Marvel to cancel several low-selling titles (Hulk, Ravage, and The Punisher). The in-universe reason for the heroes' deaths was President Rogers (an impostor Captain America who was instated after Doom was violently ousted from office) ordered the execution of the super heroes, including Punisher, Hulk and a handful of low-tier heroes who had appeared in 2099 Unlimited.
In 1996, when Marvel, during a cost-cutting exercise, fired Cavalieri, many of the 2099 creators (including Peter David and Warren Ellis) quit the line in protest. With the line floundering, two additional titles were launched: X-Nation 2099, a spin-off of X-Men 2099, and Fantastic Four 2099, which featured characters who were apparently the present day Fantastic Four accidentally sent into the future.
Around this time, Doom 2099 became the only 2099 comic to crossover with a present-day Marvel comic when he traveled back to 1996 and met Daredevil, the Fantastic Four, and Namor in a story partially told in Fantastic Four #413. Spider-Man 2099 met the original Spider-Man in a special one-shot issue, making them the only characters to meet their counterparts.
Ending and future revisits
After sales slumped, the 2099 titles were canceled and replaced by 2099: World of Tomorrow, a single title featuring the surviving characters from all the titles. The series lasted only eight issues before being canceled.
The 2099 line was concluded with a one-shot, 2099: Manifest Destiny (March 1998), in which Captain America was found in suspended animation and, with Miguel O'Hara, assembled various 2099 heroes into a new team of Avengers. The story summarized the years from 2099 to 3099, with humanity transforming the corporate world of 2099 into a utopia and then expanding into space.
The 2099 world has been seen occasionally since, most notably in Peter David's "Future Tense" storyline in Captain Marvel, which revisited both Spider-Man 2099 and the alternate future of the Maestro that David created in The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect, explaining a plot point which had been left dangling since David had abruptly left Spider-Man 2099.
In 2004, writer Robert Kirkman wrote a series of one-shot comics for the fifth anniversary of the Marvel Knights imprint, under the heading Marvel Knights 2099. The future portrayed in this series is unconnected to the original 2099 Universe, which included a different Punisher 2099.
In 2006, the Exiles visited the Marvel Universe 2099 in Exiles #75-76 as part of the "World Tour" arc. This future had split apart from the mainstream 2099 fairly early, as Doom 2099 had not yet met Spider-Man 2099. Spider-Man 2099 joined the Exiles and left with them.
In 2005, the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe one-shot, involving alternate universes, designated the Earth of 2099 as Earth-928, with Marvel Knights 2099 designated as Earth-2992. A cover of a second printing from the Spider-Man crossover The Other: Evolve or Die features the Miguel O'Hara Spider-Man.
Setting
The world of 2099 is a cyberpunk dystopia (similar to the world of Blade Runner). North America is a corporate police state ruled by a few huge megacorporations, most notably Alchemax, which owns the private police force the Public Eye (which primarily punishes criminals' bank accounts). There were, prior to the launch of the comics, no active superheroes in this world, and the previous heroes are mythologized through religion, as with the Church of Thor. The present-day Marvel continuity is referred to as an "Age of Heroes" that abruptly ended in a catastrophe a century before that also set back society (This catastrophe was averted in the present when Miguel O'Hara- Spider-Man 2099- temporarily swapped places with his past self shortly before the cataclysm, turning Miguel's world into an alternate future of the Marvel Universe rather than the future).
Card system
In the 2099 Universe, the monetary currency system uses implants commonly known as cards, which are credit ID implants. There are aluminum cards, gold cards, and platinum cards. Another type of card are black cards, which give the owner unlimited funds and law immunity. There is also a status known as decred, which denies access to many public places, such as hospitals, hypermarkets, and shopping malls.
Characters
Heroes
Protagonists
- Doom (Victor Von Doom)
- Ghost Rider (Kenshiro "Zero" Cochrane)
- Hulk (John Eisenhart)
- Punisher (Jake Gallows)
- Ravage (Paul-Phillip Ravage)
- Spider-Man (Miguel O'Hara)
X-Men 2099
- Bloodhawk (Lemuel Krugg)
- Cerebra (Shakti Hadad)
- Junkpile (very brief membership)
- Krystalin (Krystalin Porter Ogada)
- La Lunatica
- Meanstreak (Henri Huang)
- Metalhead (Eddie Van Beethoven)
- Serpentina
- Skullfire (Timothy Sean Fitzgerald)
- Xi'an Chi Xan
X-Nation 2099
- Cerebra (Shakti Haddad)
- Clarion (Hayes Isaacs)
- December (December Frost)
- Metalsmith
- Nostromo
- Twilight
- Uproar
- Willow
- Wulff
Fantastic Four 2099
- Human Torch (double of Johnny Storm)
- Invisible Woman (double of Sue Storm)
- Mister Fantastic (double of Reed Richards)
- Thing (double of Ben Grimm)
Other heroes
- Matt Axel (the Punisher's armorer)
- Barrio Man
- Captain America (imposter posing as Steve Rogers)
- Daredevil 2099
- Dr. Apollo (Dr. Nikolai Apolonio)
- Freakshow (Mama Hurricane, Breakdown, Rosa, Metalhead, Psyclone, Contagion, Tantrum, and Dominic)
- Galahad, human connected to robot
- The Ghostworks
- Goldheart
- Lachryma 2099
- The Lawless (Xi'an Chi Xan, Victor Ten Eagles, Junkpile, Broken Haiku, Mongrel, Auntie Maim, and the Reverend)
- Metalscream 2099
- Moon Knight 2099
- Net Prophet (John Roger Tensen, also known as Justice)
- S.H.I.E.L.D. 2099
- Steel Rain
- Thor (Reverend Cecil McAdams)
- Vendetta
- Hazzard 2099
- Duke Stratosphere
Villains
- Adonai (leader of LA "locusts")
- False Aesir (Thor/Cecil McAdams, Hela/Tiana, Loki/Jordan Boone, Balder, Heimdall)
- Anti-Hulk
- The Architect (Ryu Kobolt)
- Avatarr (CEO of Alchemax; secretly an alien)
- Brimstone Love and the Theatre of Pain
- Captain America (an impostor posing as Steve Rogers)
- Coda
- Dethstryk and the Mutroids of Hellrock
- Discord
- Draco
- Exodus
- Fearmaster (Darryl King)
- Fever
- Flipside
- Goblin
- Glitterspike
- Gearbox
- The Golden One
- Halloween Jack (Jordan Boone, also known as Loki; later traveled to the present in X-Force #92)
- Heartbreaker
- Anderthorp Henton (Director-General of ECO)
- Hotwire (Dean Gallows, son of Jake Gallows)
- Multi-Fractor/Jigsaw
- Dyson Kellerman (CEO of Transverse City Security)
- L-Cypher
- The Norns of the Theatre of Pain (Felicity, Bliss, Euphoria)
- Public Enemy (Saber Hagen)
- The Rat Pack (the Dealer, the Suicide Master, Mister Entertainment)
- The Shadow Dancer
- The Specialist
- Tyler Stone (dictator of Latveria in 2099 and former employee of Alchemax )
- The Synge Family (Noah, Lytton, and Desdemona)
- Technarchy/Phalanx
- Thanatos (Aaron Delgado possessed by an alternate-reality version of Rick Jones)
- Tiger Wylde
- Vengeance 2099
- Venom (Kron Stone)
- Venture
- Vulture 2099
- Walker Sloan
- Master Zhao and the Chosen (Jack, Psycho-K, Frosbite, Wingspan, and Monster)
Mega-corporations
- Alchemax (CEO Avatarr; VP Tyler Stone) and its subsidiaries
- ECO Corp. (CEO Ravage; Director-General Anderthorp Henton)
- Public Eye (Director Fearmaster)
- R&D Department (Director Tyler Stone; employees include Miguel O'Hara, Jordan Boone, and Aaron Delgado)
- Cyber-Nostra (controlled by Fearmaster)
- D/MONIX (Data Manipulation and Organization Networks) (CEO Dyson Kellerman; employees include Harrison Cochrane [Ghost Rider's father])
- Greater Nevada Syndicate (controlled by the Synge Family)
- Green Globe PLC (founded by the Ravage family)
- Ninja-Nostra
- Stark-Fujikawa (formerly Stark Enterprises) (CEO Hikaru-sama)
- Synthia (CEO Darrius Rush; employees include Mannix Dunn, Dana D'Angelo [Spider-Man's fiancée], Alain Gris [Group Manager for Sky Plantations])
Marvel Knights 2099 heroes
- Black Panther (K'Shamba)
- Daredevil (Samuel Fisk)
- The Inhumans
- Mutant 2099 (Chad Channing)
- Punisher (Cassondra Castle)
2099 series and one-shots
In other media
Television
- In the Iron Man: Armored Adventures episode "Iron Man 2099", Andros Stark (Tony Stark's grandson from the year 2099) travels back in time to warn Tony that he will create an AI named Vortex that would destroy most of humanity. To prevent this, he uses his highly advanced armor to kill Tony. Tony escapes, and forces Andros to ally himself with Justin Hammer (who is known as a hero in the year 2099) while Hammer manipulates him into attacking the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier to preserve his own successful future. Andros fights against Iron Man, Hawkeye, and S.H.I.E.L.D., until he kills Tony, but not without being infected by a virus Tony created to shut down his armor. Andros realizes that this virus would evolve into Vortex, and realizes his own interference dooms the year 2099. Using the leftover power in his armor, he goes back in time to stop himself from killing Tony, and Tony stops Andros from being infected, successfully changing the future into a better place, with Andros never being born. Also, the high-tech newspaper that Andros Stark gives to Justin Hammer changes where it reveals that the older Justin Hammer has been arrested for an unknown crime much to the anger of Justin Hammer.
- In the Ultimate Spider-Man episode The Spider-Verse: Part 1, the Marvel 2099 universe appears as the first of six parallel universes that Spider-Man ends up in, due to the Green Goblin stealing the Siege Perilous from SHEILD, and powering it up using Electro to travel across the multiverse and gather the DNA of various alternate Spider-Men. While hunting down the Green Goblin, Spider-Man encounters Spider-Man 2099, who is considering giving up his superhero career due to the villains he faces always coming back, and ends up mistaking Spider-Man for an impostor. After a brief brawl, the two are attacked by the Green Goblin, who gets Spider-Man 2099's DNA, attempts to demolish a nearby tower, and flees to the next parallel universe. The two Spider-Men manage to keep the tower from falling thanks to their combined webbing skills, and Spider-Man 2099 is convinced by his past counterpart to not give up and continue his career as a superhero. After saying goodbye to his 2099 counterpart, Spider-Man follows Green Goblin to the next parallel universe.
Video games
- A planned video game for the Sony PlayStation, titled Marvel 2099: One Nation Under Doom, was heavily promoted. But although production had begun and developed to a point of playability, the title was never commercially released.
- Spider-Man 2099 is an unlockable costume in Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro and Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.
- Ghost Rider 2099 is an unlockable costume in the Ghost Rider movie tie-in game, and a downloadable costume in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
- The Marvel 2099 reality appears in the Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions video game as one of the four realities that is affected by the shattering of an ancient artifact, the Tablet of Order and Chaos. Madame Webb contacts the Spider-Men of the four realities to re-assemble the tablet, or else all four worlds would be destroyed. Spider-Man 2099 appears with a few free-falling parts of the game and an Accelerated Vision which makes everything seem slower. In the game he goes up against the Timestorm 2009â€"2099 version of Scorpion, a female Doctor Octopus, and an insane Hobgoblin. The Nintendo DS version also has a 2099 version of Silvermane. The player can also unlock three alternate costumes for 2099 (Flipside, the Spider-Armor and Iron Spider).
- The Marvel 2099 reality reappears in Spider-Man: Edge of Time. In the game, a scientist from 2099 named Walker Sloan goes back in time to start Alchemax in the 1970s. As a result, the world of 2099 gets turned into a world where Alchemax rules Neuva York. Spider-Man 2099 is aware of this having escaped being affected by the altered history as he was inside the portal when the change took place. Spider-Man 2099 learns that because of this action, the Amazing Spider-Man will be killed at the hands of a brainwashed Anti-Venom. Spider-Man 2099 contacts Amazing Spider-Man to let him know about this, and the two team up once again to try and correct the timeline. During the game, a 2099 version of Black Cat appears as a boss initially claiming to be the original using anti-aging drugs but later confirmed to be a clone. The Alchemax CEO is an insane future version of Peter Parker attempting to control the quantum power of the portal to change history. Also, the Nintendo DS version has 2099 high-tech versions of Arcade, Big Wheel, and a female Overdrive.
