Is Spider-Man 2099 a Vampire? Why Does He Have Fangs?

One of the unique Spider-People introduced in ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse‘ was Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man of the Spider-Man 2099 comic book storyline. Of course, what makes him unique is his set of abilities, as Gwen Stacy told Miles Morales that Miguel might be a vampire due to his fangs. We also saw Miguel attempting to bite someone. So, does that mean that Spider-Man 2099 is a vampire?

Spider-Man 2099 is not a vampire. That’s because, other than his fangs and claws, Miguel O’Hara doesn’t have any of the other features of a vampire. Miguel’s fangs and claws resulted from a genetic accident that mixed his DNA with the DNA of a spider. As such, he developed spider-like features.

It is possible that Gwen was simply referring to Miguel being a vampire as a joke, but it is also possible that she doesn’t know anything about his past due to his secretive and aloof nature. After all, Miguel may seem like a bad guy due to his serious and dark demeanor. So, with that said, let’s talk more about Spider-Man 2099 fangs and claws.

Miguel O’Hara isn’t a vampire

Before ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ was released, we already knew that Spider-Man 2099 would be in the movie, as shown in the teaser and the trailer. As such, when he appeared early in the film, no one was surprised as he would always be one of the most important characters in ‘Across the Spider-Verse.’ Of course, we saw early on that Miguel O’Hara has a demeanor and personality that are different from the other Spider-People in the sense that he is a serious and no-BS kind of person.

In fact, when we first saw Miguel, he blamed the multiverse fiasco on Gwen Stacy and the other Spider-People that appeared in Into the Spider-Verse. He even commented on the problem Doctor Strange and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man caused in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’ But what was quite surprising was that, while he was fighting the Renaissance version of the Vulture, he was about to bite his neck.

Much later in the movie, Gwen went to see Miles Morales in his own universe as she told him the story of the team of Spider-People that she joined. She told him about Miguel, who she called a vampire, as Miles was surprised about a Spider-Man with vampire powers. But the truth is that Miguel O’Hara was never a vampire.

There was never a point in the Spider-Man 2099 comics wherein Miguel was a vampire. Instead, he was simply the product of a sabotaged experiment that gave him the powers of a spider. Of course, his origin story tends to be darker than most other Spider-People, which explains why he has a serious personality and darker powers than the other characters with Spider-Man’s abilities. Still, despite his dark personality and fangs, he isn’t a vampire. 

Why does Miguel have fangs?

As mentioned, Miguel O’Hara isn’t a vampire, even though Gwen Stacy calls him one. Of course, the reason why anyone would think that Miguel is a vampire is the fact that he has fangs and even claws. So, why is it that Miguel has the features of a vampire?

To understand why Miguel has vampire-like features, we must briefly examine his past. His past also shows us why he can be a bit of a prick compared to the other Spider-People.

Miguel lives in a timeline with no superheroes because they all died in a civil war years ago. He works in Alchemax, a corrupt corporation that wants to keep him around because of his scientific genius. And Alchemax forced him to get addicted to drugs so he couldn’t leave the company.

To rewire his genes, Miguel attempted to change his DNA by using a copy of his own DNA before he became addicted to drugs. He wanted his old life back, which was the only way he could escape his addiction. Instead, his experiment was sabotaged because his DNA was spliced with the DNA of a spider. So, when he conducted his experiment, he turned into a mutant-like creature with the features of a spider.

This explains why Miguel O’Hara has fangs, as spiders are known to have fangs. He also has talon-like claws because there are some spiders with claw-like legs. Of course, he gained the proportional super-strength, speed, and agility that spiders are known to have. And when a prophet told him that he could be the second coming of Spider-Man, he decided to take on the mantle of Spider-Man in his universe.

As such, Miguel has vampire-like properties because the traits he obtained when his DNA got mixed with the DNA of a spider are similar to the ones that vampires have. Of course, bats and spiders are known to have fangs and claws, so it is easy for anyone to think that Miguel is a vampire.

It is possible that Gwen really thinks that Miguel is a vampire due to his vampire-like features and dark demeanor. After all, as Peter B. Parker said, Miguel doesn’t have the light demeanor that the other Spider-People have, and it is possible that he kept his past to himself so that not many people know about the origins of his powers. So, if Gwen never knew anything about Miguel’s past and how he became Spider-Man, it becomes understandable why she believes he is an actual vampire.

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