Here we are with the second half of my top fifteen favorite Spider-Man stories list! In part one I covered my honorable mention and entries #15 through #6. Here are my top five, plus my DIS-honorable mention- my most HATED Spider-Man story!
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5. “The Night Gwen Stacy Died”
(Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 # 121-122, 1973)
Written by Gerry Conway, penciled by Gil Kane
I know, I know… it’s a cliché. However, there is a reason this pair of issues are considered one of the most famous comic book tales of all time, even beyond what happens in them and what they meant for the industry in general. Amazing Spider-Man # 121 and its follow-up story “The Goblin’s Last Stand” in # 122 comprise a perfectly-paced, emotionally-fraught, gripping tale of tragedy and revenge. Even knowing exactly what occurred in their pages before I actually read them as a kid, I was still struck by the power of this story and just how damn ballsy it must have been back in the day of their original release.
In case you’re somehow unaware, in the face of his son Harry suffering from a drug overdose and his company facing liquidation, Norman Osborn snaps and once again becomes the Green Goblin. He kidnaps Peter Parker’s lady love Gwen Stacy and brings her to… The Bridge. Spider-Man tries to come to her rescue, but Gwen falls off The Bridge and dies. A vengeful Spider-Man vows to destroy the Green Goblin and tracks him back to his hideout. After beating the Goblin nearly senseless, a horrified Spider-Man pulls back at the last moment, unable to become a murderer like his foe. The Goblin remotely triggers his glider to stab Spider-Man from behind, but the wall-crawler dodges and-
D’oh! Of course, there have since been a number of retcons applied to this story, not least of which is Norman Osborn actually recovering from this wound and going into hiding in Europe for years. There are other, more offensive retcons that I won’t elaborate on here (Gob-lin Baaabe-ies…) but my point is you probably have to set those aside and take this story at face value. Some people can’t do that, but I can and that’s why this story is here. Much like the previous entry, I can separate what came after from what was at the time, and still consider this to be one of my favorite Spider-Man stories. I first read it in a “Spider-Man VS. Green Goblin” trade paperback that my dad bought for me one afternoon out at the mall and it still sits on my bookcase to this day.
Gwen Stacy’s death remains a hot topic of discussion among fans to this very day. From the exact means of how she died (the “snap” of her neck thanks to Spider-Man’s webbing or the shock of the fall?) to whether it should have been done at all, everything has been analyzed and discussed ad nauseam. Personally, I think it was the right move for the book, as Gwen had long since exhausted herself as a character by that time.
When she was first introduced in Amazing Spider-Man under Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, she was actually sort of the frigid, sharp “Veronica”-type to Mary Jane Watson’s more lighthearted and loopy “Betty”. However, as soon as Steve Ditko departed the book and John Romita Sr. took over on art, their roles began to reverse, with Gwen becoming the sweet, soft Miss Perfect and MJ becoming trouble on two legs. Her and Peter’s relationship became both frustrating (as Peter would resort to increasingly-insane methods to hide his Spider-Man identity from her) and near-intolerably saccharine when they were happy together. All the “edge” was basically sanded off on Gwen, both artistically and as a character.
Peter and Gwen were deeply in love, and even after the death of Gwen’s father during a fight between Spider-Man and Doc Ock and a separation period, it was clear they couldn’t live without each other. Comics are a serial fiction and Peter Parker as the original “Hard Luck Hero” could never really have a happy ending for very long, so instead of breaking them up again or marrying them, Gerry Conway and John Romita Sr. (still serving as inker on Amazing Spidey at the time) decided to axe Gwen. It created tons of story potential and character development for the rest of the supporting cast, particularly for Mary Jane, who takes her first steps to becoming Peter’s best friend and soulmate at the end of this tale. Refusing to abandon Peter in his moment of grief, even after he lashes out at her, is often referred back to as Mary Jane Watson’s defining character moment.
So yeah, maybe including this story on the list is a cliché, but I can’t help but love it on its own merits, beyond its historical significance. Killing off your hero’s significant other was really something you just DIDN’T DO back in those days, and perhaps it did set some bad precedents and removed some of the “innocence” of early-modern superhero comics. However, I still recognize the pathos and dramatic potential fully realized by Conway and the rest here and can revisit this story and marvel at that any time. Again though… I suppose you may have to put Goblin healing factors, clones, and Goblin Babies out of mind to get the full effect.
4. “Fearful Symmetry” AKA Kraven’s Last Hunt
(Web of Spider-Man Vol. 1 # 31-32, Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 # 293-294, Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1 # 131-132, 1987)
Written by J.M. DeMatteis, penciled by Mike Zeck
Another well-known and beloved classic like the last entry, the story known more widely as “Kraven’s Last Hunt” is usually on anyone’s list of recommended Spidey tales. Kraven the Hunter, while always a relatively well-known Marvel supervillain, had never really evolved as a character or made a name for himself other than “that goofy jungle guy who’s constantly playing The Most Dangerous Game” over the years.
Kraven wasn’t even writer J.M. DeMatteis’ first pick for the adversary of this story, nor was Spider-Man the first pick for the hero! He tried pitching the concept of a hero being buried alive by their opposite number multiple times in the years prior to the publication of this story. It started as a Wonder Man/Grim Reaper pitch to Marvel, went over to DC as a Batman/Joker pitch, and then finally came back to Marvel as a Spider-Man pitch. Even then, DeMatteis had planned to create a brand-new villain for the story, but instead changed his mind to Kraven after researching the character a bit and seeing potential.
The story opens with Kraven having a sort of personal crisis and craving some meaning in his empty life before it ends. Meanwhile, the newly-wed Peter and Mary Jane Watson-Parker have just recently returned from their honeymoon, and Spider-Man goes out on patrol on a particularly dark and rainy night. Kraven ambushes Spidey, drugs him, and buries him alive on the grounds of the Kravinoff estate. Kraven then dons Spider-Man’s black costume and seeks to replace him, brutalizing criminals and capturing Vermin, a mutated half-man/half-rat creature that had been roaming New York’s sewers and cannibalizing citizens.
Mary Jane is left to agonize and wander the streets looking for her husband, as Spider-Man remains in a grave for two full weeks, drugged into a state of simulated death. Suffering through numerous nightmares involving spiders and visions of his recently-deceased friend Ned Leeds, Peter finally breaks through the haze by focusing on his love for Mary Jane, "returning to life" as it were.
Learning what Kraven’s been up to in his absence, a shaken Peter heads home to reunite with MJ, then after briefly resting… heads right back out to confront the Hunter. Kraven is expecting the infuriated Spider-Man, and makes no moves to defend himself when the wall-crawler attacks him. He explains that he’s already triumphed over Spider-Man and in so doing, won a spiritual battle and filled the void in his tired, empty soul. After all, Kraven COULD have killed Spider-Man while he was unconscious, but then Spidey wouldn’t KNOW he had been defeated. Kraven then releases the imprisoned Vermin and tells Spider-Man to go after the creature and prevent it from killing again. Kraven also solemnly vows that his hunting days are over.
Once Spider-Man is gone, Kraven calmly takes a rifle and blows his own head off, seemingly at peace. He leaves behind documentation for the police that clears Spider-Man of anything Kraven did while impersonating him to boot. Spider-Man tracks Vermin back to the sewers, defeating and apprehending him, then returns to Mary Jane- the nightmare ended… for now.
This was another story that I was well-aware of before reading, as it had become so famous (or infamous) by the point I had started reading Spider-Man comics regularly that it was impossible NOT to hear about it or see it called back to in-story. It’s a dark, psychological and literal horror tale, and one not common to Spider-Man at the time of its publication. In fact, most point to this story as the point where Spider-Man started to dip into the “grim and gritty” territory usually reserved for Batman and as mentioned above, that’s not a coincidence. J.M. DeMatteis specializes in getting into a character’s head and laying bare their deepest fears, insecurities, and dreams in a way that’s deeply affecting to a reader. Mike Zeck’s pencils and colors, along with Bob McLeod’s inks, paint some moody, creepy, and dank settings throughout that will make your skin crawl just by looking at them.
It wouldn’t be unfair to say this story was the first time Kraven the Hunter was truly fleshed-out as a character, but it also was probably the peak for him as well. Over the years, writers have tried to come up with ways to explore Kraven again, either through his offspring (he’s had multiple kids who have followed in his footsteps), his lovers (his wife Sasha and the voodoo witch Calypso), and even his half-brother the Chameleon- a notable Spidey villain in his own right.
Kraven was eventually resurrected from the dead, but even he was basically like “Why? I already fulfilled my life’s ambition.” Aside from an amusing stint as Squirrel Girl’s friend and mentor, Kraven really just fell back into his usual tired routine from before “Last Hunt” up until very recently. Writer Nick Spencer just wrapped his own big Kraven story up in Amazing Spider-Man titled “Hunted”, and made yet another attempt at revitalizing/rebooting the character. As of this writing, we don’t know if this new version of Kraven the Hunter will make a more unique impression, but it’s long since been proven the basic concept is popular enough that Kraven will always be an indelible part of Spidey lore.
Much like the previous entry on this list, this story being on here might be seen as something of a cliché, but it really is damn good. Maybe J.M. DeMatteis goes a little too far and deep sometimes with the psychological intrigue and treating everyone in superhero stories as intensely-damaged individuals, but I can’t deny it makes for some visceral imagery and thrilling drama. Kraven’s Last Hunt perhaps didn’t make as much of a seismic impact on me as it did for those who read it “in the wild”, but the quality of the writing and art spoke for themselves when I did. I’m always happy to revisit it because What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
3. “The Coming of the Scorpion”
(Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 # 20, 1965)
By Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
After a few of what I’d consider “obvious” entries that would go on a lot of people’s lists, here’s a true personal favorite of mine. This is actually the first Lee/Ditko issue I ever read (aside from perhaps a reprint of Spider-Man’s origin in Amazing Fantasy # 15) and it has always been near-and-dear to me. I actually first read it as a reprint in Spider-Man Megazine, a monthly collection of reprinted stories that only lasted six installments. They would collect about three or four classic Spidey issues from different eras with no real connection to each other all for the low, low price of about three bucks (actually, that was kinda expensive back then.)
In whatever case, I only ever had this issue of Megazine, and I would re-read the reprint of Amazing Spidey # 20 over and over again, captivated by the classic style of art and storytelling. This is the first appearance of the Scorpion, and I suppose it also endeared him to me as one of my favorite Spidey villains. J. Jonah Jameson hires private investigator Mac Gargan to follow Peter Parker and discover how he gets so many pictures of Spider-Man. Peter catches on and is able to evade his stalker, so Jameson changes tactics and pays Gargan to undergo an experimental procedure that will mutate him into a being that can take Spider-Man down. Otherwise reasonable scientist Dr. Farley Stillwell grants Gargan the proportional powers of a scorpion, as well as a suit with a powerful tail to bludgeon his foe with. Gargan is also overcome with the powerful urge to “lick” people for some reason…
Jameson sics the Scorpion on Spidey, who quickly learns that Scorpey is nearly as quick as him and even stronger! After Scorpion knocks Spider-Man unconscious, Gargan realizes that no one can stand in his way now (aside from like, all the other superheroes in New York, but let the guy have his moment, huh?) and instantly decides to go on a crime spree. Jameson is horrified that Scorpion is out of his control, as well as Farley Stillwell, whose after-the-fact tests reveal that the treatment he gave Gargan has affected the goon’s mind as well as his body. Realizing that the Scorpion will become a danger to mankind, Stillwell rushes to get a counter-serum to Gargan, but falls to his death trying to administer it.
Stillwell’s death always stuck with me as a kid, as I had always assumed the early tales of Spider-Man were more innocent affairs before actually reading them. Ditko keeps his fatal plunge largely off-panel, but we see people clustering around him on the street when the reawakened Spidey arrives. Much like any good episode of the Twilight Zone, your imagination probably makes the scene even more gruesome than if you had actually seen the body.
Anyhow, Spidey goes for round two with Scorpion and loses again, although this time Scorpion nearly breaks his hand punching Spider-Man out. The supervillain decides to go kill Jameson at the Daily Bugle, as he’s the only one who knows his identity as Mac Gargan. In one of the earliest displays of Spider-Man’s incredible fortitude, Peter rises once more and limps after the Scorpion after he hears his best gal Betty Brant’s screams from the Bugle building. Inside the Bugle, Scorpion corners Jonah, but Spidey arrives and fights smarter this time, sticking Gargan to the floor, ripping off his tail, and evading his blows.
Spidey finally beats Scorpion and leaves him for the police, while Jonah is left to stew and mull over his part in the Scorpion’s creation. Peter Parker ends the issue trying to explain all his bruises to Aunt May and having to sew up his damaged costume by himself. A classic Spidey tale indeed, and a prime example of the “formula” Lee and Ditko perfected in those early days. There’s a surprising amount of pathos regarding J. Jonah Jameson as well, as his role in the Scorpion debacle would remain his shameful secret for years.
While I have a lot of fondness for Scorpion as a villain, I feel like his potential has been largely-wasted for years. He was the original “anti-” Spider-Man, with a different arachnid’s powers and specifically created to destroy the hero. However, Mac Gargan’s since had a long history of just being treated as dumb muscle and even when he became Venom for a stint, his general effectiveness didn’t increase a whole lot, even if his profile did.
In whatever case, this is probably my favorite Lee/Ditko issue, being the earliest I imprinted on, and one I always enjoy revisiting for its fast-paced plot and brutal action scenes. I also enjoy the depth shown in Jonah’s character as he agonizes over Stillwell’s death and his own responsibility in the matter. There’s also a scene where Peter learns his rival for Betty’s affections, Ned Leeds, is leaving on a trip for Europe, and his internal glee at having Betty all to himself in the meantime always cracks me up (“Aw, that’s too bad!” Hooray!”)
The one question that remains to me about this issue is what ever happened to Scorpion’s snippy-snip fingers power?? I don’t recall him ever using that again and it seems super-useful! If anyone can find an instance of him doing that again, lemme know!
2. The Fall of Harry Osborn
(Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1 # 178-184, 189-190, 200, 1991)
Written by J.M. DeMatteis, penciled by Sal Buscema
I’ve mentioned how J.M. DeMatteis specializes in exploring Spider-Man’s villains, and the one I think he handled the best was Peter Parker’s best friend… Harry Osborn. Haunted by visions of his deceased father (well, THOUGHT deceased at least and he really was considered dead at the time) Norman, Harry begins his descent into madness and ultimately death over the course of DeMatteis’ two-year run on Spectacular Spider-Man. Some of these issues were acquired by me at a young age and I was quite proud to own (and spend a whole whopping five dollars on the backmarket for) Spectacular Spider-Man # 200, where Harry’s arc largely concludes.
We start off with Spec Spidey # 178-184, a multi-part story titled “The Child Within”. While the “A”-plot focuses on Vermin (the aforementioned mutated man-rat that also featured in DeMatteis’ “Fearful Symmetry”) and his coming to grips with the abuse he suffered as a child, a parallel B-plot has Harry Osborn steadily losing his grip on reality. Having created the character of Vermin/Edward Whalen, DeMatteis sure did enjoy featuring him in stories a LOT over the course of his run on Spider-Man. Even though more time is probably dedicated to Vermin’s plot in this story, I always felt he was something of a distraction. I mean, after all- Harry Osborn was Peter’s best friend and the second Green Goblin, so of course I (and most readers, I’d wager) would be more interested in the goings-on there. I’m mostly gonna focus on Harry’s part of the story here, but I thought I’d just get Vermin mostly out of the way.
So anyhow, Harry’s seriously losing his marbles and talking to an apparition of his dead father, sometimes even in the presence of his wife Liz and son Normie. I feel like the second and third Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies took this element directly from these comics in regards to Harry (although it’s a tad more inexplicable in the movies, as Harry’s nowhere near as mentally-disturbed there.)
Harry finally snaps, becomes the Green Goblin again and drugs Spider-Man, forcing Peter on a mind-bending journey of his own inner turmoil and guilt. Peter manages to overcome this and gets away from Harry, and once recovered, has to go hunting for the escaped Vermin again. Spider-Man confronts Vermin and fights him, but the Green Goblin interrupts and then it’s a three-way struggle. After Vermin is disabled and left for the cops, Peter and Harry’s fight is carried away to a secluded area where the masks come off. The ghosts of Harry’s past are too powerful to overcome, and Peter decides to do something drastic to snap his friend out of it. He allows Harry the chance to kill him, and with the specter of Norman Osborn urging his son on, Harry goes for it. However, Harry ultimately cannot bring himself to kill his best friend, and leaves, vowing to return when Peter least expects it.
There’s a lot of heavy (and typical on the writer’s part) exploration of both physical and mental abuse in this tale, but as a kid I kind of ignored all that deeper stuff in favor of the vicious fight scenes between Peter and Harry. Drawn to perfection by Sal Buscema, Harry’s Green Goblin is a true delight (and horror) to behold here. This bit from Spec # 180 always made me chortle in particular-
Harry’s story continues in Spec Spidey # 189-190, where he seals his own fate by subjecting himself to an experimental new Goblin Formula created and hidden away by his father. Now possessing super-strength on-par with Spidey, Harry begins literally getting his house in order. He kidnaps his wife and son, along with his brother-in-law Mark Raxton- otherwise known as the reformed supervillain Molten Man. Spider-Man tracks them to the Osborn estate, where he finds Harry has… cooked dinner for them all. In perhaps one of the tensest scenes ever in a Spider-Man comic, Spidey sits down to eat dinner with the Osborns as a completely off-the-deep-end Harry holds court. Unwilling to put Liz and Normie Osborn in danger, Peter is forced to listen to Harry hurl demented accusations and bile at him, all the while wondering if Harry will reveal his secret identity to the others.
Of course, things descend into violence when Molten Man decides he’s had enough with the charade and lunges for Harry. Showcasing his new strength, Harry knocks Molten Man out and turns his attention to Peter, and we have Green Goblin VS Spider-Man Round… I’ve lost count by this point. Spidey manages to triumph over the Goblin again, and has him carted away to prison at the end, but Harry gleefully taunts Peter that he will reveal his secret identity to the world at a moment of his choosing.
Harry’s story comes to its tragic conclusion in Spectacular Spider-Man # 200. Harry’s lawyers bail him out and he’s released from Ravencroft (Marvel’s discount version of Arkham Asylum.) He continues to torment Peter but by this point, it’s clear that Harry is very sick, and not just mentally anymore. The new Goblin Formula he subjected himself is having some side-effects, and Harry is constantly sweating and in a feverish state.
Spider-Man and the Green Goblin have a final battle inside a new building Harry’s had constructed that he also planted explosives in. He initially planned to lure all of his father’s old business rivals there and kill them in one fell swoop, but once Harry manages to paralyze Spider-Man with a drug-tipped Goblin glove, he changes plans. Harry decides their families would be better off if they BOTH died together and sets a timer for the building to explode in two minutes. However, no sooner after doing so, Harry comes to the horrifying realization that Mary Jane and his son Normie are still on the premises.
Harry is crippled by his insecurities, but a still-paralyzed Peter assures his friend that he can still save them. Harry gathers himself and speeds MJ and Normie out of the building, but MJ begs him to return for Peter. With only seconds to spare, Harry flies back in and rescues Peter, his best friend and worst enemy, as the building explodes behind them. However, the strain of it all is too great for Harry’s body, and it finally succumbs to the toxic Goblin Formula he absorbed. Spider-Man rides in the ambulance with his rapidly-fading best friend to the hospital, and on the way… Harry Osborn makes peace with Peter Parker… and dies. The final, dialogue-less page of the story, where Peter has to tell MJ and Normie that Harry didn’t make it, is absolutely devastating.
All of this stuff was really powerful to me as a kid, and it still is, even with the inevitable retcons that later came (like Harry being alive, for one.) I always liked Harry better as the Green Goblin over his father, as I could relate to his and Peter’s rivalry a bit better. I mean, not a significant amount of people have a special hatred for their best friend’s FATHER, but I think anyone can relate to having a fight with their best friends themselves. Harry’s tragedy was also developed over nearly fifteen years of stories, and the issues I mention here are just the tail-end of them. I also think both Harry and Norman work best as characters when the other is not in the picture. My favorite Harry stories take place when Norman was “dead” and my favorite Norman stories take place when Harry was “dead”.
Of note, Harry’s legacy after he died would also be significant and lead to some dramatic moments down-the-line. Spectacular Spider-Man Annual # 14, the very end of the miserable storyline “Pursuit”, and the Spider-Man: Legacy of Evil one-shot all feature post-mortem Harry Osborn schemes and contingency plans that Peter has to deal with. The fact that Peter made peace with Harry just before he died makes these moments particularly bitter, especially the end of “Pursuit”, after Harry had enabled the Chameleon to trick Peter into thinking his parents were still alive.
J.M. DeMatteis and Sal Buscema’s run on Spectacular Spider-Man is one of my favorite runs on the character of all time, and their Harry Osborn arc is indeed my favorite part of it. Again, like with Aunt May’s death, you probably have to ignore what comes after this to appreciate the power of this tale, but it’s still there. Harry Osborn’s currently alive again in modern comics, and he’s never hit these personal lows... or dramatic highs again, but I’ll always prefer him and Peter as… “The Best of Enemies.”
1. The Original Hobgoblin Saga
(Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 # 238-239, 244-245, 249-251, Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1 # 85, 1983)
Written by Roger Stern, Bill Mantlo, and Tom DeFalco, penciled by John Romita Jr., Al Milgrom, and Ron Frenz
Some of the very first Spider-Man comics I read were back issues that my older cousin lent me, and they featured the Hobgoblin. Ironically enough, I believe (my memory is spotty here, having been seven or eight years old at the time) those specific comics actually starred the SECOND Hobgoblin, Jason Macendale, and not the original one who features in this story here. In whatever case, the supervillain’s distinct orange and blue color scheme and M.O. left a big impression on me, and when I started to seek out comics on my own, I was always on the lookout for Spider-Man stories that featured the Hobgoblin.
I acquired my most treasured possession in that regard in possibly the first trade paperback I ever owned- “The Origin of the Hobgoblin”, published in 1993. With its eye-catching cover (ironically enough drawn by one of my favorite Transformers artists of all time, Derek Yaniger) depicting the Hobgoblin’s hideous visage, it was something I read and re-read for years.
The issues included within constitute what most consider to be the “original” Hobgoblin saga, telling the origin of the mystery man who would become one of Spider-Man’s greatest enemies and his explosive first clashes with the wall-crawler. Amazing Spider-Man # 238 and 239 give readers a ground-level view of the man who-would-be-Goblin as he assumes his new identity, always keeping his face cloaked in shadow, but still allowing us access to his thoughts.
After Spider-Man lets a petty criminal escape into the sewers, that criminal stumbles onto one of the Green Goblin’s secret hideouts. He sells that location to our mystery shadow-man, who promptly kills the criminal and revels in his new treasures. Having access to all of the Green Goblin’s paraphernalia, along with the secret journals of Norman Osborn, our power-craving villain decides to continue the legacy and become a supervillain himself. I always liked the scenes of Mystery Man (whom we now know was business mogul Roderick Kingsley) trying out the Goblin’s toys and realizing the freedom from society such an identity would grant someone. It’s no surprise that I’d often want to be the Hobgoblin when I’d play with my other cousins or with action figures, as I was practically acting out what these scenes implied.
After the Hobgoblin locates more Goblin hideouts and Spider-Man gets wind of the thefts, the two meet and have their first scuffle. The exhausted and outmatched Hobgoblin barely manages to evade Spider-Man, realizing he’s missing a fundamental something that allowed the Green Goblin to stand up to the web-slinger so many times. He vows to find out what edge the Green Goblin had at any cost, which leads into the next part of the saga in Amazing Spidey # 244-245.
The Hobgoblin reads Norman Osborn’s journals and discovers the existence of the Goblin Formula that granted enhanced ability to its recipient. He hires and brainwashes a petty thug named Lefty Donovan to test-run the formula and stand-in as the Hobgoblin to face off against Spider-Man. In this battle, the Hobgoblin displays super-strength and is able to put up a better fight against his foe, but Spidey still triumphs over him. The true Hobgoblin has Donovan’s glider fly directly into a building wall and explode to silence his pawn, and Spider-Man gets a sense of just how ruthless and calculating his new foe is.
In Spectacular Spidey # 85, the Hobgoblin subjects himself to a refined Goblin Formula and emerges with perhaps even greater strength than the Green Goblin possessed. He heads out to test his new abilities and comes across Spider-Man and his then-paramour the Black Cat. The Black Cat is eager to prove herself to Spider-Man and unfortunately does nothing but get in his way, allowing the Hobgoblin to run rings around the pair. Satisfied with his newfound strength, the Hobgoblin departs to enact the next phase of his plans.
In Amazing Spidey # 249, Harry Osborn finds himself being blackmailed by someone who has proof that his father Norman was the original Green Goblin. Peter Parker accompanies him to the Century Club, an upper-crust establishment where various other businessmen and wealthy elites have been summoned to by the blackmailer. Among others, J. Jonah Jameson is there, having also been sent a threat to expose him for something. The blackmailer finally appears and turns out to be the Hobgoblin himself, who holds proof enough to extort whatever he wants from those assembled. Peter changes to Spider-Man and confronts the Hobgoblin, who doses him with a gas that renders his Spider-Sense inert. The Hobgoblin easily defeats Spider-Man, and prepares to execute him, when the wall-crawler is saved by a surprising guest at the meeting-
Classic Kingpin bad-assery, right? Spider-Man awakens and is told that his Spider-Tracer was placed on the Hobgoblin’s glider, so he heads off to rest and then track his foe down, even without his Spider-Sense. After going back into action, Spidey’s first stop is to the Daily Bugle, as he discovers J. Jonah Jameson preparing an editorial confessing that he was the one who created the Scorpion (remember, from a couple list entries ago?) That’s what the Hobgoblin is holding over him and Jonah’s going to beat him to the punch. Despite his long-standing feud with the guy, Spider-Man crumbles up Jonah’s work and tells him he’ll defeat the Hobgoblin and let him keep the secret.
Spidey heads off and locates the Hobgoblin’s base, busting in and surprising the villain. The two fight and when Hobgoblin activates an auto-firing ray cannon, Spidey dodges into the path of where Norman Osborn’s journals are stored. The cannon incinerates all of Osborn’s journals, infuriating the Hobgoblin as he hadn’t made copies of them yet. He throws a pumpkin bomb to stop the cannon from firing, which causes an explosion and the entire place goes up in flames. The Hobgoblin boards a special armored battle van that he acquired from Osborn’s weapon stores and smashes his way out of the conflagration, with Spider-Man clinging to its front.
After trying to scrape Spidey off by driving through a few buildings, the Hobgoblin believes he’s finally killed the wall-crawler, only to be astounded when Spider-Man tears part of the van’s roof off and jumps inside. Engaging the van’s auto-pilot, the Hobgoblin engages in some close-quarters combat with his foe, but Peter’s Spider-Sense finally returns in the nick of time, giving our hero his edge back. The battle van careens off a pier into the Hudson River, and still the Hobgoblin struggles against Spider-Man as they plunge into the water’s depths. The water short-circuits the van’s computers and initiates its self-destruct sequence as the two continue to battle.
Spider-Man tries to help the Hobgoblin escape, but the villain is beyond reason and the van explodes with both of them inside. Spider-Man recovers and makes it back to the surface, but dives back into the water to locate the Hobgoblin, who he was separated from. All Spidey finds… is Hobgoblin’s shredded mask drifting amongst the van’s wreckage. The story ends with Spidey finding out that Jonah published his confession anyway and is stepping down as editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle. And of course… the Hobgoblin is still at large...
This is like… a perfect Spider-Man story to me. I mean, yes it’s my favorite and yes probably because of massive nostalgic feelings towards it, but there’s really nothing truly bad I can say about it. Everyone’s perfectly in-character, a cool new villain with a connection to Spider-Man’s deep history is introduced, the action sequences are thrilling, and the intrigue is high. It IS unfortunate however, that the mystery of the Hobgoblin’s identity wasn’t solved here, and Marvel chose to drag it out for years until they killed it with a rushed, deeply-flawed conclusion.
Roger Stern departed Amazing Spider-Man with issue # 251 (there’s a Tom DeFalco co-writing credit on that one, actually) because of the dreaded “creative differences” with editorial, so he didn’t get to expand on the Hobgoblin’s mystery the way he wanted to at the time. The Hobgoblin mess wouldn’t be properly fixed until nearly a decade later when Roger Stern returned after the Spider-books were under new management.
Stern has admitted he didn’t have anyone in particular in mind for the Hobgoblin’s identity while plotting the story out, but realized as he was penning the dialogue for the mystery shadowed man that he was writing Roderick Kingsley’s character. He didn’t get much of a chance to set up Roderick and his twin brother Daniel’s patented “switcheroo” routine before leaving the book, and as hokey as the identical twin brother trope can be, it does make perfect sense for how the Hobgoblin operates- his love of dupes and decoys and such.
Lefty Donovan, Flash Thompson, and Ned Leeds (who Marvel editorial initially and somewhat inexplicably decided was the REAL Hobgoblin back in the day) were all framed by Kingsley as the Hobgoblin over the years, so I think the twin brother thing fits nicely with that. There are actually THREE subtle clues in this original Hobgoblin story that Stern wrote pointing towards Roddy being the Hobgoblin, and here they are-
Being a fashion designer, of course Roddy would put importance on altering the Green Goblin’s costume. Of course, the panel where Kingsley is claiming the Hobgoblin could be “one of us” seems like a sly joke on Stern’s part (clearly that’s Daniel Kingsley, not Roddy.) And the panel with Kingsley musing about his brother was the set-up for the identical twin. I think had Roger Stern remained on the Spider-Man books, the twin thing would have been more fleshed-out and set-up so it wouldn’t become a cruddy Jeph Loeb mystery with a solution that comes out of nowhere, but sadly he never got the chance. At least… Stern didn’t get the chance until the “Hobgoblin Lives!” mini-series in 1997 where he set the record straight and finished the mystery the way he intended to from the start.
Like I said, I love this story/saga- Spider-Man himself is handled perfectly and the original Hobgoblin was never really as threatening or mystifying again as he was here. This story made the Hobgoblin my favorite Spider-Man, perhaps favorite Marvel villain of all, and cemented me as a lifelong fan of Spider-Man comics in general. Now that I’ve revealed the story that basically made me a Spider-Man fan for life, there only remains to tell you about the story that KILLED Spider-Man for me… at least temporarily.
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Before I start this entry for my least favorite Spider-Man story ever, lemme just say… it isn’t “One More Day”. Don’t get me wrong, “One More Day” is awful and perhaps one of the worst comic events I’ve ever experienced BAR NONE, let alone a Spider-Man story. However, by the time it came out, I had built up more of a resistance to that sort of thing, and while incredibly disappointed in Marvel for going in that direction, I wasn’t gonna stop reading comics forever because of it.
This next story did, however, get me to quit comics FOREVER (at least at the time.) It insulted and infuriated me to such a degree that I didn’t even accept the next month’s Spider-Man comics as a free GIFT from a friend. I thought I was done with comics and Spider-Man in particular after reading this and I don’t think I’ll ever feel that way again.
So without further ado, I give you...
0. “The Final Chapter”
(Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 # 441, Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1 # 263, and Peter Parker: Spider-Man # 97-98, 1998)
Written by Howard Mackie and John Byrne, penciled by Rafael Kayanan, John Romita Jr., and Luke Ross
This story marked the end of my following Spider-Man comics (and ultimately ALL comics) for about three years, which is the longest stint I’ve ever gone without. I’m a fan of that sort of nebulous period in-between the Clone Saga and this story, where things were starting to get relatively “back-to-normal”, so to speak. However, the higher-ups at Marvel wanted to do more than that, and their Spider-Man “normal” was far different than mine. To that end, they sought to end the current titles and reboot to slowly move them in the direction they wanted. “The Final Chapter” is the first step in that direction and they immediately broke their figurative ankle.
There were plenty of intriguing plot-lines running in the comics at that time- Norman Osborn owning the Daily Bugle, his use of a Green Goblin stand-in whose identity was a mystery, and the increasing hints that Peter and Mary Jane’s daughter May was in fact alive and out there somewhere. Marvel editorial’s new direction for Spider-Man meant all these plots had to be halted, ignored, or tied-up. In this story, and its lead-in, the previous month’s crossover “The Gathering of Five”, most of that was accomplished… with the most hackneyed solutions possible. Most people would lump “The Gathering of Five” in with “The Final Chapter”, but I honestly don’t want to talk about it. It’s generically-terrible and worse- completely boring. I was willing to endure it back then because I thought it was leading to something epic. I was completely wrong.
“The Final Chapter” opens with… “The Gathering of Five” ceremony that the last month of Spider-Man stories had been building to. Yes, that’s correct- the event that the month-long story was building to didn’t even happen in the story bearing its name. Basically, Norman Osborn and four other people (who I won’t even bother to tell you about here) undertake this random magical ritual that gives each of them a three-in-five chance of gaining a significant boon. Three people will receive the gifts of wisdom, immortality, or power… while the unfortunate other two will receive either death or madness. Long story short, Norman seemingly receives “power”, which he was after from the beginning and gleefully goes off to launch his latest and final scheme. Side note, Norman’s panicked reactions in the panels where he thinks someone else received “power” are kind of hilarious.
Annny-hoo, one of Osborn’s agents who was there the night Mary Jane seemingly lost her baby (and who has been showing up for months prior in scenes indicating that she actually HAS little May) finds MJ, and passes on a message to her before dying- “May is alive.” MJ tells Peter, who immediately heads off to Osborn’s estate, convinced that Norman faked their daughter’s death and has had her in his care all these months. Bizarrely, Mary Jane doesn’t want Peter to even entertain the possibility and tells him to ignore it, figuring Norman is tricking them again. Besides, she’s gotten back into modeling and their lives could finally stabilize if Peter would just let his “obsession” with Norman Osborn go. If you think that sounds odd, don’t worry- Mary Jane’s just being written terribly, that’s all!
Spider-Man shows up at the Osborn estate, and the Green Goblin confronts him in his new (and kinda bad) costume. The two fight, and Peter demands the return of his daughter. Norman seemingly has no idea what Spidey’s going on about, but is happy to exercise the new power he supposedly received from the Gathering ritual. Spider-Man still beats him down and enters the estate, breaking down a locked door to find his May. And indeed, find his May he does…
Yep. It’s AUNT May that Norman had all along! But wait, didn’t Aunt May die months ago?? Sigh… let’s get through this… it turns out that Norman had Aunt May kidnapped from the hospital after she recovered from her coma. He replaced her with… siiiiigh a “genetically-altered actress” who pretended to be Aunt May and who died at Peter’s side in the touching Amazing Spider-Man # 400 (entry # 6 on this very list.) This is despite Norman writing in his own journal (as seen in “The Osborn Journal” one-shot also mentioned on this list) that he was happy May died of natural causes, even if he had nothing to do with it. So yeah… this completely craps all over that touching story, makes Norman look stupid, and returns Aunt May to the cast where she will return to being that dumb idiot who doesn’t know Peter is Spider-Man and a frail plot device for the next two years of stories.
I haven’t even gotten to WHY Norman would fake Aunt May’s death and keep her alive. That’s because he’s installed a “DNA Bomb” in her head that will go off and melt anyone in the vicinity into primordial goop. Norman plans on using the bombs on a wider scale and remaking all of humanity in his image because of… reasons.
Seriously, why is this even a plan Norman Osborn has? He clearly had it in the works before the Gathering ceremony, and it’s completely unlike him, even if he IS crazy-go-nuts. Anyhow, Spider-Man drops Aunt May off at the Fantastic Four’s HQ, where he leaves Reed Richards to magic… I mean, science the bomb out of the old woman’s head. He then heads to Oscorp, where Norman reveals the aforementioned DNA goop plan to Spidey, and then they fight. And Norman wins, unmasks Spider-Man in front of everyone at the Bugle, then kills him. Spider-Man is dead. The End.
Except no, because that fight we just witnessed was all in the Green Goblin’s head. Seems Norman actually received “madness” from the Gathering ceremony, not “power” and he’s gone loopier than normal. Spider-Man uses the power of overly-expositional thought bubbles to explain all this nonsense.
The Goblin is taken into custody, but the damage from their fight causes the Daily Bugle to collapse. Spider-Man leaps in and holds the building up while J. Jonah Jameson, acting like the utter loon only lazier writers portray him as, screams that it’s all Spider-Man’s fault the Bugle is collapsing and riles the crowd against him. Spider-Man mines deep reserves of inner courage and strength and yadda yadda yadda, the usual “lift heavy weight” cliché that had been done to death even back in 1998, and manages to stabilize the building. Jameson screams for Spider-Man to be arrested, the crowd of morons take Jonah’s side, and Spidey limps off to check on Aunt May.
He bursts into a surgery on her to tell Reed about the DNA bomb in May’s head, and how it might be triggered if removed. Reed is all like “I got this brah” and everything goes off without a hitch. With Aunt May back in his life, Peter and MJ burn his Spider-Man costume in a garbage can, because he’s gonna quit FOREVER this time. Sure. Until the brand-new Spider-Man # 1 titles next month, of course. Well, that’s disingenuous... it takes him TWO months to become Spider-Man again. Let’s hear it for restraint! Anyhow, the Green Goblin is removed from custody by his henchmen before his identity can be exposed, and having made a total ass of himself, Norman cackles off into the night. THE END.
(You gotta read that bottom part in Victor Caroli’s voice.)
Like I said, it really was THE END for me, because I hated this story so bad I quit comics altogether for a few years. I was really enjoying where the Spidey books were going up until this point, and then Marvel editorial decided to halt all that, put the least-qualified writer at the time (Howard Mackie) in charge of EVERYTHING, and lose my business for awhile.
Now, “One More Day” is pretty horrible, but at least some decent stories followed-up shortly from the new status quo it created. However, “The Final Chapter” was the prelude to nearly two years of some of the worst Spider-Man tales EVER, and I know because once I got back into comics, I went back and suffered through everything I had missed. Howard Mackie and John Byrne might not be entirely to blame, as editorial interference in Spider-Man comics was pretty high around that time, but they clearly couldn’t produce anything particularly remarkable under their own auspices either. Kind of funny that I hate the story where Peter gets Aunt May back through no real action of his own a tiny bit worse than the story where Peter actively sells his marriage to the devil to get Aunt May back.
If I can say something nice about it, “The Final Chapter” was another springboard (along with “Revelations”) for Tom DeFalco’s excellent Spider-Girl series. That follows on from DeFalco’s INTENDED conclusion to his run on Amazing before “The Gathering of Five” cut him off, where Osborn DOES have Baby May, she is returned to her parents safe and sound and grows-up to be a hero like her dad. DeFalco eventually addressed his version of how events occurred during "The Final Chapter" in Spider-Girl and couldn't resist a bit of critical commentary about that entire era of Spider-Man when revisiting it. See if you can notice the snark!
The only other nice thing I’ll say is that “The Final Chapter” has pretty good art, especially on Romita Jr.’s part, as you can see in a few images above. In the end, this story gets the nod as my least favorite Spider-Man story ever mostly because of the personal impact it had my hobby. It nearly convinced me comics weren’t worth reading anymore, and with Marvel in the midst of bankruptcy at the time, I might have even felt the whole industry was coming to an end. Thankfully, I was wrong and I eventually came back, but this almost truly was… “The Final Chapter.”
Thanks for reading!
-Mike
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