Spider-Man 2099 is going to play a major role in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) judging from the first trailer. While he may seem brand new to general audiences, comic book fans know this version of Spider-Man from a century in the future has been a part of the broader Marvel Universe since the early 1990s.
Miguel O'Hara was one of the first major variants of Spider-Man in Marvel Comics, so his appearance in the upcoming movie is welcome for fans of the character. Though he originated with mostly forgotten 2099 sub-universe, he's since become a fixture of the growing Spider-Verse in the comics and now on the screen.
A Dark Future
Spider-Man 2099 hails from one of the darkest future timelines in Marvel Comics, set a century beyond the present day of the Earth-616 universe. This future is controlled entirely by powerful corporations, with the most powerful, Alchemax, intertwined in nearly every aspect of life around the world.
Miguel O'Hara runs the genetic engineering division of the company, and it's through experiments to recreate the creation of the Peter Parker Spider-Man that he accidentally gets his own spider-powers, though they differ in some ways from the original.
Rewritten DNA
Miguel O'Hara's DNA was rewritten by the experiment, which gives him the equivalent powers of Peter Parker, including superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and agility. Beyond the basic abilities of the original Spider-Man, he has razor-sharp fingernails that allow him to grip surfaces and attack enemies.
He also has "spinnerets" that allow him to fire webbing he can use to sling around the towering future landscape of Nueva York. One thing he doesn't have is a Spider-Sense, but Miguel still ranks among the most powerful versions of Spider-Man.
World Of Tomorrow
Spider-Man 2099 kicked off in 1992, co-created by writer Peter David and artist Rick Leonardi. By 1996, the concept was nearly at an end. 2099: World of Tomorrow was an anthology series that attempted to restart the future timeline just a few months after the main title ended.
Spider-Man 2099 ends up in Latveria, the home of Doom 2099, one of the most powerful variants of Doctor Doom. The comic continued a storyline that was cut off with the abrupt cancellation of the monthly Spider-Man 2099 title, but this new series was itself canceled after only eight issues.
Timestorm
After the demise of the ongoing 2099 sub-line of comics, Miguel O'Hara mostly faded from the limelight. He came back in a big way in Timestorm 2009-2099, a mini-series that effectively rebooted Spider-Man 2099 for a new audience.
This story updates Miguel's origin and powers, changing the inciting incident from his genetic experiments to the titular Timestorm, a massive temporal threat that also eventually brings him into contact with his present-day counterpart, Peter Parker. It's possible the Timestorm is the central issue in the upcoming animated movie.
Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man
Miguel O'Hara and Peter Parker had actually met once before, in a story from 1995, Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man. The two main heroes switch places, with Miguel waking up next to Mary Jane Watson, Spider-Man's greatest love interest.
Miguel and Peter are swapped thanks to time travel experiments by Alchemax that could end the world in the present. It's a fun story that could inform some of the animated movie and even possibly the live-action MCU exploration of the multiverse as well.
Connections To The Spider-Verse
Spider-Man 2099 is already a part of the Spider-Verse, thanks to the comics. The Spider-Verse crossover event from 2014, which represented some of the best Spider-Man comic books of the 2010s. The storyline sees Miguel travel to the present to warn Peter Parker of an impending disaster created by the evil Morlun.
This could play out in the animated movie in some way. What's certain is that Spider-Man 2099 will interact with other Spider-Man variants from across the multiverse as he does in the comics, including Lady Spider and others.
Exiles
The multiverse begins to get really complicated to Miguel O'Hara in the course of the Exiles comic book series. A second Spider-Man 2099 is created when Proteus goes back in time and triggers a new branch of reality from the main 2099 universe. This version of Miguel would continue to fight alongside the universe-hopping Exiles for some time.
He would later elect to stay in a universe where he becomes romantically involved with Mary Jane Watson, but his peaceful life is destroyed when he's killed by Morlun as part of the Spider-Verse crossover event.
Harbinger Of Thor
One of the most unique and strange parts of Spider-Man 2099's story is that many people believe he is a kind of prophet. Specifically, the Thorites, a group of devotees of Thor believe Miguel represents the herald of Thor's return to Earth.
Spider-Man 2099 eventually discovers that Alchemax is using genetic experiments to transform normal people into Asgardians, including a number of people who believe they are Thor, leading to a major confrontation between the forces of good and evil.
One Nation Under Doom
Comic book fans know Doctor Doom is one of the greatest Marvel Comics supervillains. That only continues in 2099. In "One Nation Under Doom," a major storyline beginning in Spider-Man 2099 #33, Miguel has to contend with a Doom that has taken over the United States, Alchemax, and all other corporations.
It's not a simple fight for control of freedom, especially when Doom offers Miguel the position of CEO of the Alchemax corporation. Miguel takes the position, complicating his life and his relationship with the villain.
Arachknight 2099
More variants of Spider-Man 2099 continue to emerge in the comics. One of the most unique was born of the 2018 Infinity Warps crossover, where Gamora used the Infinity Stones to warp all over reality. Spider-Man 2099 merged with another character, Ravage, to form Arachknight 2099.
This version of the character could appear in the animated movie or elsewhere, especially as Arachknight 2099 actually takes his name from another Arachknight, who is an amalgamation of Spider-Man and Moon Knight, who is also coming to the MCU.