E.G.G 2099 Q&A: Episode 1

This Q&A Session contains full spoilers for E.G.G 2099 Episode 1: Gifted, and a lot happened in this one! If you have not read it, please click here to do so now!

E.G.G was destroyed on the Dark Day in the year 2015 by Eileen's evil consciousness known as Darkstream. Acacia, disheartened and alone, decided to recreate it. Now, in the year 2099, a new E.G.G has formed. Charlie, clone of Josh and 'son' of Acacia Blanco. Fumiko and Acacia Wuthrich, the teenage daughters of Seth and Celeste. And E.I.L.E.E.N, the team's AI based on Eileen. Now Spider-Man 2099, who is actively being pursued by the bounty hunters known as Venture and James, has joined forces with the Extremely Gifted Guardians, and hopes to prevent the Dark Day from ever happening, giving Charlie and his friend a better life.

2099. A year where civilization lives amongst the clouds. A year where free will is opposed by the Public Eye Patrol. A year where Alchemax has singlehandedly taken over the world. A year where the Spider-Man of this time would figure out how to prevent the incident known as the Dark Day. Our tale begins in Nueva York, in the top of the Chrysler Building, now abandoned. A man known as Charlie Westbrook led Miguel O’Hara, aka, Spider-Man 2099, into his secret base

* * *

That's right folks! Just when you thought it was over, from the ashes E.G.G 2099 emerges! An new name (Extremely Gifted Guardians), a new team, and a new mission! Teamed with Spider-Man 2099, they'll stop at nothing to prevent the Dark Day, and change history for everyone!

“How long have you guys been here?”

“As long as I can remember.” Charlie answered. “I was born here.”

“Been that long, huh?” Miguel asked.

“No,” Charlie replied. “I mean this is where my mom gave birth to me. In here, this base.”

“Oh, wow.” He said. “I guess you were born here. Your mother… she was Acacia Blanco, right?”

“Yeah,” Charlie replied sadly. “It’s been a few years now since she died, but I still miss her.”

“You know, I met her once or twice.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, back in time. Fought by her side.”

“And… my dad?”

“Oh yeah, him too.”

“What was he like? Mom never really talked about him.”

“Oh, Joshua Westbrook, he was a wildcard. He always did things his way, sometimes it was for the better, but no matter what, he always put his friends before himself.”

“Wish I could’ve known him.” Charlie said. He sighed. “Well, nothing I can do about that now.”

* * *

Okay, so let me just clear up any confusion: Charlie is a clone of Josh. He calls Acacia his mom because she grew him and raised him since birth. Since he's Josh's clone, he refers to Josh as his father. He's the leader of E.G.G 2099 and takes care of the girls. He's sort of like Josh, but he was raised by a broken, post Dark Day Acacia, so as you'll see Charlie is his own unique character, and over the next four issues will really flesh out.

“I don’t have to do a shocking thing you say,” Acacia replied. “You’re not my dad.”

“Hey, watch your mouth young lady. I may not be your father, but he put me in charge of you until…”

“Until what?” She interrupted. “Because he’s not coming back. Neither is my mom. They abandoned me!”

“They did not abandon you!” Charlie argued. “They will come back, I promise. But until then, you need to do as I say! Understood?”

“Go shock yourself.” She snapped, storming off. Charlie sighed deeply and buried his face in his hands.

“Wow,” Miguel said. “Teenagers these days.”

“I don’t see how they did it.” Josh said. “How did Seth and Celeste ever manage that girl? I mean, her sister, I understand, she’s much more well behaved. But Acacia is just… Ugh!”

“Well they did have Jerome.” Miguel said. “Maybe he helped?”

“Yeah, he was like a second father to those girls.” Charlie replied. “Man, some days I really wish they were back.”

“Right. Um… quick question, how old are Acacia and her sister?”

“Acacia’s 16 and Fumiko is 18. Why?”

“I was just wondering how they were still teenagers.”

“Oh, well, it’s a bit complicated. See, I’m a clone, so mom was able to slow down my aging process. But the girls were born naturally by Seth and Celeste. But I guess they chose the wrong time to have kids, because they were still in the hero game. One day E.G.G Base was attacked and the babies were almost killed. So Seth and Celeste both agreed to send them into the future, in a time after they had retired, so that they could be raised by the future version of their parents and be in less danger. Not unlike what Cable did with Hope Summers.”

* * *

So let's clarify: Seth (Eileen's little brother) and Celeste (Fumiko's daughter, Acacia's 'niece') got married and had kids. They decided that their lives were too dangerous, so sent the kids to the future to be raised by future versions of themselves. Then some kind of dimmensional anomaly showed up, and Seth, Celeste, and Jerome, collectively known as the Heroes of Tomorrow (as seen in ep 25) disappeared, leaving their kids, Fumiko and Acacia Wuthrich, in the hands of Charlie, who's doing the best he can to raise two teenage girls. Luckily, Fumiko is older and more level headed. Acacia however, she's a bit of a hothead, and very rebellious. That's not gonna make things easy...

“It that… Is that Eileen?” He asked. Charlie looked at him, surprised.

“How’d you know her name designation?” He asked.

“Name designation?”

“Yeah, E.I.L.E.E.N, Electronic Intelligent Living Engineered Exertive Network. Mom made her. She got the specs off of some other AI they had a while ago, what was her name… Jo, Joca… something. Either way, E.I.L.E.E.N keeps up the base and occasionally kicks some butt.”

“I am pleased to meet you.” E.I.L.E.E.N said to Miguel, shaking his hand. “I will aid you in any way you require.”

* * *

So E.I.L.E.E.N is based off of Jocasta's operating system and made to look like a holographic version of Eileen. Though she's a hologram, she wears armor (a helmet, boots, gauntlets, and a chest and waist piece) that's just a bunch of pieces she's filling it in. E.I.L.E.E.N serves as E.G.G 2099's AI, and has a lot of tricks up her sleeve...

“Dag blasted…”

“Having troubles with your little toys?” James laughed. Venture glared at him.

“Bug’s signal jumped offline ‘bout two hours ago.”

“What!” James rushed up to see Venture staring at a fuzzy screen. “I knew you’d screw this up! How did he find the device?”

“He didn’t,” Venture replied. “Probably just entered a dead zone that blocks transmissions of any sort.”

“I knew we should have went after him when we had the…”

“And there we go. He’s comin’ outta hidin’.” James looked over to see a red blip reappear on the screen. Venture shoved it in James’s chest, who grabbed it and growled under his breath. “Good things come to those who wait boy. Now come on.” He popped a blade out of his staff. “We got us a bug to catch.”

* * *

Yes, Spider-Man 2099's being hunted, and now that E.G.G's involved, surely they'll be in the cross hairs as well! anyone that's read a Spider-Man 2099 comic (or the very first two at least) know who Venture, basically a bad@$$ bounty hunter made to cause trouble for Spider-Man 2099. James is a character not in the comics, but in his Jango Fett getup and with all of his weapons and skill, teamed with Venture, Spider-Man 2099 doesn't stand a chance!

Make sure to read Episode 2 tomorrow and post comments and any questions you have so that I can answer them in the Q&A next Thursday, July 2! Can E.G.G really change the past?

Spider-Man 2099 has a plan to prevent the Dark Day from ever happening and save the lives that Darkstream destroyed. But to do it, he needs the help of E.G.G 2099. However, with Venture hot on the tail of an oblivious Miguel O'Hara, things could escalate quicker than expected. Tune in tomorrow, June 26, to read E.G.G 2099 Episode 2: Escalation!