The End 2099 #1
Jamison Nilsson
Recap
2099 is the well-established future of Marvel Comics. With its own heroes, villains, and familiar faces, the end of the 2099 era begins here.
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Review
The End 2099 #1 (of 5) brings pure nightmare fuel in the form of Abyssus, the Knull-controlled Galactus of tomorrow. Steve Orlando (Scarlet Witch) wastes no time bringing down the hammer on this issue with the exploding words that a Galactus story calls for.
The pacing of issue #1, both as a standalone issue and as the beginning to a limited series, is quite good. We’re given a reason for the Devourer in Black’s hunger and a quick but sharp look at the principal heroes of Marvel 2099 in case anyone needed a refresher. A small gripe I had with the pace, especially towards the middle of the issue, is that some of the 2099 heroes got more page time than others, but their mini-stories didn’t call for the extra length and detail they were given. This is a problem because it shifts the spotlight, oftentimes unfavorably, towards characters that are likely to last longer or be more important to the plot, which can make the forgotten characters feel like wasted page space.
The artwork by Ibraim Roberson (Annihilation 2099) is deliberately messy in a stylistic way that accentuates the carnage of a dying planet and a dystopian future but is a little awkward in the motion of characters, especially the action scenes. Which can make fights hard to follow, and The End 2099 is full of fighting. The scene composition on the other hand is brilliant; the backgrounds are chock full of finer details, but they don’t overpower the characters the scene is focusing on. Andrew Dalhouse’s (Spirits of Violence) colors bring a lot to the characters and the backgrounds as well. The effects of energy blasts and the colors of superhero costumes manage to be flashy without bleeding into the also colorful backgrounds.
By the end of the first issue of The End 2099, I was genuinely intrigued by where the story would or even could go. At first the natural setup seems very cut and dry; it’s a battle… cool? But it goes beyond that; The End 2099 makes it clear that this is a wager for the future and that anything could happen, especially with Marvel’s new major universe shift in the massively anticipated Armageddon comic coming in 2026.
Final Thoughts
The End 2099 #1 (of 5) is the impetus to a larger story, focused almost entirely on setup but manages to avoid feeling like the bad kind of “required reading” by filling that setup with carnage while also establishing stakes for the characters involved. This is a big story, but it’s not a complex one, which prevents too much cramped detail and offbeat dialogue. My recommendation: If you are a fan of Marvel’s all-out war-style stories or if you have an interest in any of the iconic 2099 characters, then I recommend giving The End 2099 #1 a read.
The End 2099 #1: A Multiverse For Breakfast
- Writing - 8/108/10
- Storyline - 9/109/10
- Art - 8.5/108.5/10
- Color - 9/109/10
- Cover Art - 8/108/10
