Spider

May 17, 2023

Spider-Man 2099 devises a plan to beat Carnage before he kills more people. All this happens while Alchemax continues to control Nueva York

The following contains spoilers for Spider-Man 2099: Dark Genesis, on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Spider-Man 2099: Dark Genesis has been chaotic. Carnage is back with a bloodlust, inspiring the populace to madness as he becomes the monster of the people. Supported by Halloween Jack, Carnage has been using the people's discontent to rally them and bring him more people to devour. Everyone is a target, and he's especially hungry for Spider-Man 2099's mutate blood. He says what the people want to hear, which leads to more followers under his hive.

While the focus has been on Carnage's antics, there is a noticeable grim backdrop in which everything is taking place. A lot of the symbiote's power has been due to the true danger of this dystopian future. The true power in control of Nueva York is Alchemax. The dissatisfaction bubbling within the people is because Alchemax has been disregarding their human rights. It reflects a dark possible future where humanity has ceded control of life to powerful corporations.

Related: How Spider-Man 2099's Multiversal History Established His Role in Across the Spider-Verse

Throughout Dark Genesis, fans see Alchemax employ a card system. They promote it as a way for people to finally get access to the services and privileges of the city. The lowest cardholders are aluminum, while wealthier people can get gold or platinum cards. The higher the value of your card, the more exclusive services you can access. The card was never meant to provide access to everyone. It was only meant to segregate the people and prioritize those who had the wealth to pay for Alchemax services.

In "Dark Genesis #1," (by Steve Orlando, Justin Mason, Jordan Boyd, and VC's Cory Petit) Miguel O’Hara tries to help protestors that are trying to enter an Alchemax hospital. They are stopped by Alchemax's private security, with the guards stating that entry is no longer available for aluminum cardholders. Because there is a high demand for medical care after Carnage's rampage, the corporation prioritized higher card values first. Alchemax had to use force to fight the protesters, who were trying to get medical access.

Related: Marvel Introduces Blade 2099 in the Carnage-Fueled Dark Genesis

An environment where people have no control over medical care and other services has created a disgruntled and frustrated society. The Alchemax higher-ups are dictating the city's rules for their own benefit. In such a situation, it only takes small pieces of kindling to light a large fire. As such, a creature like Carnage can use the chaos to pursue his agenda. The thing is, Carnage never really cared about the people, he cares only about the blood that they give him. He’d rather spread his control and create a new hive from these willing followers.

But the people are willing to follow because he's seen as a monster that can topple the wealthy in Nueva York. They have started feeding those in control to the monster in a twisted play on"eat the rich". If Carnage lacked the support of these people, he could easily lose power since he is fueled by blood in 2099. Things would’ve been much easier for Spider-Man 2099, but now he has to consider the rioting citizens. Even after Miguel finds a way to deal with the murderous symbiote, the problem of Nueva York and its class inequality will still remain.

Vincent Roy Yap is a writer and aspiring author based in Metro Manila, Philippines. He spends a lot of his free time consuming the latest in comics, film, TV, and video games. When he's not doing that, he's likely working on his next D&D campaign.