Spider-Man Becomes a Religion in Marvel’s Future | Screen Rant
Despite his controversial status within the Marvel Universe, Spider-Man has plenty of fans. And as it turns out, Spidey’s fame will only continue to grow after Peter Parker dies, causing him to be regarded as a legendary figure. By the year 2099 - when a new hero, Miguel O’Hara, chooses to don the costume and become Spider-Man 2099 - “Spider-Man” has gone from being a historical figure to a full-blown religion.
This strange journey was chronicled throughout the 1992-1996’s Spider-Man 2099 comic book series, which revealed the hilarious, dangerous, and tragic results of putting one’s faith in a superhero.
In Marvel’s 2099 alternate timeline, classic heroes like Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the X-Men are figures from a bygone “Heroic Age.” While many people still remember their adventures, most regard them as relics, or - in geneticist Miguel O’Hara’s case - subjects to be replicated in corporate-sponsored experiments to create soldiers for one company’s greedy agenda. In an ironic twist of fate, however, Miguel became a test subject in his own experiment and secretly developed spider-powers that enabled him to become the new Spider-Man. This proved a terrifying experience for Miguel and, shortly after his transformation, he escaped from his burning laboratory by hitching a ride on a hang-gliding religious zealot dressed like Thor.
Although Thor had vanished along with the other heroes decades earlier, many people began viewing him as a Messianic figure and started a religion that proclaimed he would return to lead his people into a new golden age. Dubbed “Thorites” by the general population, they were mostly seen as deluded fanatics, although a few saw their religion as a reason to aid the downtrodden.
The hang-gliding Thorite, however, was a man named Kenny who flew over the skyscrapers announcing Thor’s second coming simply to air out his frustrations. When Miguel leapt onto his “sky kite,” Kenny was shocked - and then delighted when his passenger sarcastically announced that he was Spider-Man. As Spider-Man was one of Thor’s legendary allies, Kenny believed that Miguel was the “harbinger of Thor” and had emerged to announce Thor’s coming.
Kenny flew Miguel to safety but accidentally crashed his sky kite. Inviting Miguel to take the kite’s special cloth and mask himself, Kenny inadvertently gave Miguel the gliding material he would use in his costume. Miguel’s employers began sending bounty hunters after the unknown man who had blown up one of their laboratories and, while Miguel still had no intention of becoming a hero, he found himself thrown into battles that inevitably prompted him to help people in trouble.
Unknown to Miguel, Kenny - inspired by his chance meeting with the new Spider-Man - went through a transformation of his own. Shortly after meeting Miguel, Kenny told his fellow Thorite worshippers what happened but was met with ridicule. Angry, Kenny quit the Thorites - but then saw a broadcast of Miguel in his Spider-Man suit fighting a cyborg bounty hunter. When their fight accidentally caused some of Kenny’s Thorite friends to get killed, Kenny became convinced that they had been divinely punished for not believing what he’d said about Spider-Man.
Convinced that he should worship Spider-Man now, Kenny started a new religious movement - the Spiderites. Encouraging his followers to dress up in replicas of Spider-Man’s outfit, he began leading “Spiderite” prayer circles in his apartment, much to the disgust of his wife Loren who announced she wanted a divorce. Unwilling to compromise, Kenny went out to fight a street gang with the Spiderites and was nearly beaten to death. When the real Spider-Man showed up, the gang ran away and Kenny became convinced he was part of Spider-Man’s grand plan.
Miguel got to see Kenny’s new zealots again when they paraded around the city denouncing the corrupt corporate system. Ironically, Miguel wasn’t wearing his own Spider-Man costume and had stolen a policeman’s uniform and bike so he could get home without being harassed. When he saw the fake-Spider-Men in trouble, however, Miguel secretly aided them - by wrapping a web line around a Spiderite’s arm and keeping him from falling to his death. The Spiderite, however, was convinced he had generated the line and believed he was becoming one with Spider-Man, increasing Spider-Man’s status as a religious icon.
Kenny’s religious mania continued to get worse and he leapt off the top of a high rise, believing Spider-Man would save him in front of everyone. As he fell, he saw Miguel standing in the crowd, and realized he couldn’t help him. Fortunately for Kenny, Loren had gone to church where she met the “Net Prophet,” a friend of Spider-Man’s who could teleport vast distances. Hearing Loren’s concerns about her husband, the Net Prophet offered to talk to him, and teleported to Kenny’s side just in time to transport him to safety.
Now convinced he was supposed to worship the Net Prophet, Kenny was disappointed when the Prophet just kicked him and announced he was a fool. Assuring Kenny that Spider-Man was just a man, the Net Prophet told Kenny to have more faith in himself and not put his belief in messiah figures. Kenny appeared to take the Net Propet’s words to heart - but some time later, the Thorites began denouncing Spider-Man when it looked like he was siding with corporate interests, and Kenny couldn’t resist getting involved.
Feeling he needed to support Spider-Man, Kenny donned his Spiderite costume - only to be captured by a gang of Thorites who strung him up and burned him at the stake. Spider-Man swung by and chased off the Thorites, but was too late to save Kenny, who proclaimed his faith in Spider-Man as he died. Shortly after, Miguel attended the funeral of his ex-fiancé Dana. During the service, Miguel saw Loren place a Spider-Man mask on Kenny’s grave. Approaching her, Miguel asked about her husband and learned all about Kenny’s Spiderite movement and his belief that Spider-Man would make the world a better place.
While Kenny’s misguided crusade seemed to have ended in failure, it produced some unexpected positive results - struck by Kenny’s faith in Spider-Man, Miguel decided to try and reform Alchemax from the inside. Even more ironically, in one version of the 2099 timeline, Miguel became worthy of the hammer of Thor and lived for a thousand years helping to lead humanity into a new golden age defined by mutual cooperation.
A satirical look at the dangers of religious fervor, the rise and fall (and rise?) of Spider-Man’s religious status serves as a warning against blindly following messianic figures. Although Spider-Man did help create a better world, humanity ultimately saved itself by working together - not by following some grand plan that only existed in Kenny’s delusions. Heroes can be inspiring figures, but unless that inspiration motivates others to improve themselves, their efforts are useless.
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