The post-apocalyptic future of 2211 was first introduced in the legendary Spider-Man Meets Spider-Man 2099, published in 1995. However, what we saw was only a glimpse. Some shattered ruins of New York City. A red-and-blue Spider-Man with four robotic arms. A Hobgoblin who had melded science with sorcery. A cracked, green sky. Retcon bombs. Guided webbing. Intriguing bits, however, never followed up on due most certainly to the amount of space in the one-shot, and the unfortunate folding of the 2099 line a year later.

So when the 2099 Underground was Revised in 2005, the dream project I’d always wanted to do was a sequel to Spider-Man Meets Spider-Man 2099. A sequel that would help explain some of the plot holes left over from the original one-shot, and something that would really delve headlong into the future world of 2211.

The 2211 future I had envisioned for this one-shot (originally set to release late 2005) involved the humanity surviving the “Apocalypse of 2112” (something the internet-baddy Discord from the pages of Spider-Man 2099 had predicted would happen) in fully autonomous ‘city-states’ constructed from the surviving nano-technology. And there was one city-state in particular that modeled itself after the legacy of the Spider-Man.

Of course, that one-shot sequel would eventually be delayed into fanfic limbo, until David Ellis and I resurrected the idea for our new Spider-Man series. We decided to put Miggy through the paces by bringing him to his own future. Or at least, something that could be his future.

The funny thing in this whole complicated mess? Right after Dave and I decide to go with this story, Peter David finishes his original vision for the 2211 future in his new series, “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”, which involves the Hobgoblin 2211 being the Spider-Man 2211’s daughter, and humanity living underground in what look like really cool shopping malls.

So, in other words, the 2211 you’ve seen in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is completely different from the 2211 you’ll see in the Spider-Man 2099UGR series. Even though PAD’s vision of the future was awesome, we decided to go with this version for our purposes. And besides, since both 2211s stem from 2099, we could say they’re both alternate futures. One’s just as likely to happen as the other.

Bearing that in mind, Dave and I would like to announce that we’re looking for writers to contribute stories to a 2211 UGR one-shot, to be released sometime around Christmas/New Year’s Eve. And the great part: You can write about either version of 2211. The version by PAD appearing in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man # 8 – 10, or the version by Dave and me appearing in Spider-Man 2099UGR # 3 – 5. It’s all fair game.

So send your proposals to David Ellis or Jason McDonald (or both). The stories can be any length you want. But if you’ve ever had an itch to explore the 2211 world, e-mail us now!

And now, for the other version of 2211:

Jason McDonald
2099UGR Assistant Editor

Detriot.

In the twentieth century, it is classified as a state. One in a puzzle-piece picture of the United States of America.

In 2099, it is classified as a “Designated Toxification Zone”, headed by a sole corporate presence going by the designation DSquareD. Within this sprawl lies a pollution zone the likes of which rival the poison island Hellrock.

Toxic green and black dust choke the air; a corrosive, pressurized mixture of discarded chemical pollutants, biological viruses, and industrial waste. Smog spews daily from criss-cross arrays of factories and processing centers that dot the landscape. Trash litters every square meter of the twenty-five mile diameter of Detroit. Toxic compost and oozing sludge work their way deep into the soil beneath the garbage dunes, rendering the soil completely inert and lifeless. Nothing organic could ever survive in this literal wasteland, especially in the daylight hours; the pressurized air producing a greenhouse effect the likes of which resemble the inhospitality of the planet Venus.

Lording over this garbage nightmare is DSquareD, a corporate power concerned entirely on meeting the needs of other corporation’s garbage disposal needs. To that end, they have since bought up the region formerly known as the State of Detroit and maintain it as a national dumping zone for any industrial waste the corporations would rather never see the light of day again. In order to properly process and compact the staggering quantities of trash DSquareD imports daily onto its own private property, they have constructed factories and disposal plants that are resistant to the airborne acids that constantly pummel the landscape; making these constructs the only free-standing buildings still viable in Detroit’s corrosive atmosphere. Manning these factories are crews of tempered android agents, cybernetically-reinforced humans and humans in specialized pressure suits; all outfitted with technological and metallurgical protection against the deadly Detroit environment.

As Detriot is designated as a Toxification Zone, the atmospheric toxin levels need not adhere to any ecological hazardlines and restrictions. Were the Detroit atmosphere to intermix with any atmosphere protected by these corporate ecological air-quality standards, DSquareD would be found in breach of contract and most likely sued into bankruptcy. So, to keep the destructive atmosphere from mingling in with any other section of on-planet atmosphere which does adhere to global ecological standards, DSquareD has commissioned an enormous electro-static field dome encasing Detriot, vacuum-sealing the state’s vile air from the rest of the planet. The atmosphere is firmly pressurized behind an array of electrostatic barriers, which carefully allow garbage scowls safe passage through the field to dump their loads as quickly as possible and leave before their ships begin to dissolve.

And so, in 2099, DSquareD continues to operate solely inside the confines of Detriot, granting its only territory as a basin of trash collection for others. Firmly believing that they have things very much under control. That the atmospheric safeguards will never fail. That the workers will always have a good reason to stay loyal to the company; the standard promise of platinum-status credit lines to the workers and their family members as well as post-humorous black-card updates for all widows and relatives of the deceased usually being enough to keep workers and their families tremendously satisfied with their situations.

And so DSquareD continues on like a machine, never straying an inch from their intended goals. Never budging. Never compromising. Never considering the possibility that they will fail.

By 2211, the electrostatic barriers that held Detroit’s pressurized atmosphere have been destroyed, dispersing airborne toxins upon the populace of the globe.

The orbit of the island Hellrock, once placed into orbit by President Doom for ecological concerns, has decayed, its sizable crater covering most of the shattered European landscape.

The Reserves, underground bunkers housing technological and mystical marvels of the heroic age deemed too dangerous to be allowed to fall under non-corporate influence, have been raided by the masses.

The corporations, once the major seats of power throughout the globe, are now completely dissolved. The continental governments they once influenced now washed away with the sludge rain and poison clouds of this new era.

The only vestiges of humankind left reside in small, nomadic tribes and city-states built upon the ruins of cultures which have long ago run their parallel courses on self-imposed suicide tracks.

The twilight of the corporate gods has come and gone. Ragnarok has passed.

And in the ruins, herald the survivors.

It started with 2099, the Second Heroic Age having brought heroism back to the Marvel Universe a century after the fall of the heroes. But even further in the future, a Third Age ... begins.

After this prophesized event nearly brings about the end of the world in 2112, the remnants of mankind struggle to heal and rebuild what's left of civilization.

One of these architects ... is Spider-Man.

Now, the year is 2211. Society has taken the form of nomadic tribes and city-states, with only a relative few attempting to unite the scattered remains of humanity.

Earth, once a planet-wide disaster-area, is slowly returning to its former health, as untamed wilderness stretches across what had once been civilized.

Many humans now roam the galaxies, having long ago abandoned Earth to its own fate. Mankind's empire is now steadily gaining a foothold among the stars.

Humanity's ultimate fate has yet to be decided, but it will be glimpsed ... in 2211UGR, a one-shot special coming in December, featuring short stories of various facets of this new era.

Submissions wanted.