The most interesting character from Peter David’s and Will Sliney’s Secret Wars 2099 was Roberta Mendez, the Captain America of 2099. The creators spent a lot of time developing her throughout that arc, so it doesn’t come as a big surprise that she’s the main element to carry over from the Secret Wars spin-off. For the first few issues, Roberta was just another ingredient in the soup of this series, but in Spider-Man 2099 #4, David and Sliney start to fill in some of the blanks in her story and explain how she fits into this all-new, all-different universe. As for Miguel, not only is he starting to get a little over his head, he may be exposing an Achilles heel in Parker Industries.

The issue is pretty much dedicated to introducing readers to the new status quo for Captain America 2099. In the “Secret Wars” series, Roberta could be controlled and transformed by Miguel’s vocal command. Now, Roberta remains unaware of her super-powered split personality, but Cap 2099 is able to influence Roberta, in what seems to be the same way that Peter’s spirit influenced Otto during the “Superior” era. Captain America 2099 is also able to assume control of Roberta’s body, if she faces extreme duress.

Peter and Sliney also reintroduce a character from the original 2099 adventures from the 90s. The futuristic warriors may call him Kweeg, but Miguel calls him Venture. In the first incarnation of Spider-Man 2099, Venture was a bounty hunter, employed by Alchemax to investigate the new Spider-Man. We most recently saw Venture in one quick panel back in Superior Spider-Man #32 when Alchemax unleashed him to track down Otto, who was on the loose in 2099 during “Spider-Verse.”

Readers who were looking for answers and developments into the series’ initial storylines may be frustrated with this issue. There’s nothing more on Tempest’s mother or the terror group The Fist. It’s obvious that the creators are writing the series with the trade in mind, but the fact that David basically dedicates an entire issue to Roberta shows they aim to make her a major part of the series. In Issue #1, there were great moments of humor and satire when we learned that Miguel’s assistant had an assistant, who had an assistant. The interactions between the assistants in this issue were more straight forward, dropping the subtle commentary David had been utilizing to comment on corporate structure.

Will Sliney’s action continues to be incredibly acrobatic, so it only makes sense that he and David fill half the issue with battle scenes. Not only does he deliver kinetic in-costume poses, he gives Captain America 2099 the strength and dexterity of a gymnast and wrestler. Sliney also brightens up an otherwise dark battle by breaking up panels with white backgrounds. Venture also gets to sport a very cool looking Mad Max-Meets-The Punisher mask. However, Sliney’s biggest strength is facial features and not seeing Venture’s face takes away some of his opportunities show off.

I’m curious to see if Miguel’s rogue actions will have consequences for Parker Industries. Miguel seemingly killed Doctor Cronos last issue and now he’s indirectly introduced the world to not only a post-apocalyptic hunter, but also a morally-straight but mentally ill super heroine. Will Miguel damage Parker Industries’ public perception?  And will Peter have to crack down on Miguel at some point? For now, it seems that Miguel’s obsession with avenging Tempest has distracted him from his quest to fix the future, and the result is that he’s actually harming the timeline than helping it.