The Fall of the Hammer arrives in Spiderman 2099 to bring the Asgardians back to the Marvel Universe in a deluxe volume published by Panini Comics
Him Universe 2099 From Marvel Comics It was one of the most successful initiatives (even if only at the beginning, only to end up forgotten and be far surpassed shortly afterwards by Ultimate Universe) of the last century, and Spider-Man 2099 It was the header that stood out the most among all those who were there. Panini Comics continues with the compilation of this series in a second volume in which we find the most emblematic crossover of this line, the one that had Thor as the main statement.
The future is no longer what it was before
The first thing to keep in mind when approaching these stories is that they were written more than three decades ago, so many of the futuristic visions held in those early attempts in the nineties may remain more relevant today. In passing one can criticize the decision to fix this future Marvel Universe with touches of cyberpunk to something relatively close like the year 2099 rather than going further into the future to a point sufficiently unattainable for the reader.
But despite everything, here we find something that was a revolution at the time, a new adventure supported by the construction of a new solid and attractive universe. For all those who thought that nothing else could exist Spider-Man which it wasn’t Peter Parkerhere we have the example that it doesn’t necessarily have to be this way, but the stories of the wall climber can be told with someone different under the mask and in an environment radically far from what we have already seen. And in this volume we will also find a new version of this Spiderman…
Peter David and other people
As happens in most of the series in which he participates, here the screenwriter Peter David It overshadows the rest of the people involved in the volume. He is mainly responsible for the comics collected here and it is his pen that makes this series special. His distinctive style is on every page and his voice is what defines both the main protagonist, Miguel O’Haralike all the secondary ones that pass through these pages.
It’s hard to think that this series could have been successful if it weren’t for David’s magic. And even more so when in the graphics section we won’t find geniuses like Gary Frankwho accompanied him for a long time during his time with Hulkbut we have a Rick Leonardi as primarily responsible for character designs that hurt to look at and a nineties narrative that doesn’t quite work.
The fall of the hammer
The great jewel of the stories contained in this volume is undoubtedly the titled crossover The fall of the hammer. In this future dominated by large corporations, religion does not carry much weight, but the legend of Thor and the Asgardian people has taken root enough that there are believers who long for the return of the Norse god to heal a sick society.
This desire will be exploited by the evil company Alchemax create your own team of gods, destined to fight those new heroes in pajamas who are dedicated to threatening the health of the state in which. Now the Asgardians (Heimdall, Balder, Hela Yes Loki “return” together with Thor) return to Earth in the form of a corporate team at the service of the powerful who will exercise its influence on people to regain their favor and crush those who oppose the established power.
To fight this new threat O’Hara will not be alone, as the main protagonists of the 2099 line will intervene in this crossover: Doom, Punisher, Devastation and the mutants. And as a result we have a more than worthy story that plays with very powerful ideas and could have been much bigger than what it became…
In short, with this volume lovers of the 2099 Marvel Comics line will be able to have even more fun than with its predecessor. and with him cliffhanger with which we close the volume, the wait until the next episode will be very long for all those who discover these stories now…
Him tome published by Panini Comics In hard cover it contains 408 color pages with a format of 17 x 26 cm. and includes the translation of the American edition of issues 15 to 25 of Spider-Man 2099from issue 15 of Devastation 2099from issue 5 of X-Men 2099from issue 14 of Destiny 2099 and from issue #13 of The Punisher 2099, In addition to all the covers of the included issues, an introduction written by Giuliano M. Clemente and a large section of bonus material at the end. The recommended retail price is €42 and it went on sale in September 2024.
Spiderman 2099: The Complete Collection 2
With the first crossover of the entire Marvel 2099 series: “The Fall of the Hammer”. Old superheroes from the past have begun to resurface in the official future of the Marvel Universe, but… what about Thor and the Asgardian gods? His return changes everything. What does this mean for Spiderman, Ravage, X-Men, Doctor Doom and The Punisher?
Plus, the new Spiderman 2099, the threat of Risque, and who are the Maryjanes?
Authors: Tony Skinner, Grant Miehm, Pat Mills, Ron Lim, Pat Broderick, John Francis Moore, Jim Fern, Chris Batista, Peter David and Rick Leonardi