A review by connorjdaley
Araña and Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow by Alex Segura

adventurous inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Grabbed this on audible during a 2-for-1 sale, and Victoria Villarreal brought an authentic feel to the characters, and overall the narration was a lot of fun. 

First and foremost, I am a Peter Parker Spider-Man fan. The OG animated series from when I as a kid, as well as the Tobey McGuire movies. Unless you’re counting the PS4 game and Sony-verse, I know next to nothing about Miles Morales, and my knowledge of Spider-Man 2099 (other than random things) mostly starts with Oscar Isaac. So I gave this a shot simply because it was Marvel and Spidey adjacent, I actually didn’t even know who Araña was at all. 

Anya, who takes on the spider-identity of Araña, has a familiar, tough upbringing through her abilities. She must juggle school, a secret identity while living with her father, and the loss of a mentor, all right before a short tussle with an artifact called El Obelisco sends her crashing into the future. Don’t let my condensed version fool you though, because I actually felt like all that set up went on a little longer than I expected, at least for me, who did not read the blurb before jumping in!

In this far-flung future, Anya finds out that there was a Spider-Man in the year 2099, and having only arrived a few years later than that, she figures he must still be active. A lot can change in only a few years though, and the Miguel O’Hara she finds is as far from the tights-wearing hero he was can be.  He’s not only jaded, but thinks the world is better off without his costumed help. 

Personally, I can always get behind the reluctant mentor trope, and I really liked that it was a retired Spider-Man too, so that she was getting the help from the actual source. But what lacked for me, was the world he came from. Miguel is a rich, business runner with a virtual assistant that arguably does more than her fair share of the work. He even comes from the future where NYC has been renamed Nueva York, and yet I found that the author really didn’t describe it or any differences. As someone unfamiliar, this would have been a huge opportunity to sell me. 

Then throw in another dimension’s Ghost Spider out of left field in the third act and you’re really cooking with fire. It seemed like a lot of work to simply not include Peter, who is “off planet”, so I’m curious if he just wasn’t on the table. Regardless, the heroes hero, and this was another interesting and fun spider-people adventure. It had all the necessary touch points, a newbie, great responsibility, middle-story self doubts, emotional pulls, and self sacrifices. All things that make superheroes what they are. Personally a 4/5*.