It’s another Peter issue so we spend the whole story with … wait, with Norman? Norman goes all out to stop the Goblin Slayers and save the Spider-Gang. Kingsley goes full villain trying to kill Norman’s grandchildren. Norman unleashes his full hatred against Kingsley and realizes he can never be Spider-Man. The mastermind behind the Goblins Slayers is revealed. And … Peter returns???
(At no time in this issue is Spider-Norman in a sewer.)
CREDITS
Writer: Joe Kelly
Pencillers: John Romita Jr. & Todd Nauck
Inkers: Scott Hanna & Todd Nauck
Color Artists: Marcio Menyz, Marte Gracia & Erick Arciniega
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
PREVIOUSLY IN AMAZING SPIDER-MAN …
In Space …
Peter faced Hellgate and decided to return to Earth (that’s about it).
On Earth …
Spider-Norman fought the Goblin Slayers at Oscorp. Brian was sent to a hospital after being infected with his and “Peter”s project. Ben decided he had enough of Peter’s life and left with Janine (making his part of this entire arc completely pointless). The Spider-Gang showed up to help Spider-Norman. Kingsley goes full villain as he decides to kill Normie and Stanley Osborn, taking over the organization from Alecto. Norman is seriously wounded as the Goblin Slayers advance.
SUMMARY
As Norman imagines the Green Goblin taunting him, the Spider-Gang fight the Goblin Slayers.
(Queen Goblin, Hobgoblin, Emily, Norman’s dad, Harry, Liz, Normie, Stanley, Norman, and … Ned Leeds?)
The Spider-Gang find themselves overwhelmed as Hobgoblin heads to the ‘burbs while talking with Mr. Gryffin.(1)
(I haven’t read this book since I was a kid, and yet I read “Mr. Gryffin” and immediately thought of it.)
Norman uses Miles’ Max Power ability to short out all of the Goblin Slayers, disconnecting them from their operators.
Norman uses an Oscorp security program called “Murmuration”(2) to destroy the remaining Goblin Slayers (we don’t find out until later, but it’s a flock of Goblin Gliders).
(If you know, you know.)
Meanwhile, at McCarthy Medical Center(3), Dr O.M. is trying to contact her son while waiting to hear about Brian, when survivors of the Oscorp attack – including Aunt May – show up.
In Westchester County, Liz Allan is with Normie and Stanley as the Hobgoblin shows up, but so does Spider-Norman, riding a Goblin Glider.
(“ROUND ONE, FIGHT!”)
Spider-Norman unleashes all of his hate and rage, defeating Hobgoblin, unmasking as he swings Hobgoblin’s sword but does not kill him.
(Ah, the old “make us think they’re going to kill them but they swing the weapon just to the side” trick.)
From the shadows, the mastermind behind the Goblin Slayers is revealed to be … Emily Osborn! Norman forgives her and passes out.
(Even with her appearance in the “Green Goblin” page, I didn’t recognize her. Also, does this woman look like a grandmother?)
Back at Norman’s home, he is recovering when … Peter Parker shows up! Norman collapses in his arms, with Peter telling him “You did great.”
(The reconciliation we’ve all been waiting to see!)
TO BE CONTINUED!(4)
INITIAL RESPONSE
So we’ve been alternating between a “Peter in space” issue and a “Spider-Norman on Earth” issue for 10 issues. The previous issue (reviewed by Marco) was a Spider-Norman issue. So this issue should have been a Peter issue, even if he had returned to Earth. But it’s not – he does not appear until the final page. If they had wanted to combine the two arcs together they should have had both Peter and Norman in the story equally. But they didn’t. And for some reason that really bothered me. On that alone this issue was a failure.
But maybe I’m just in a petty mood. The normal format of ASM is to have the story continuing from the literal previous issue, which this one (after 10 issues) actually does. And (stop me if you’ve heard me say this before) once again, the Spider-Norman story is much more interesting than the Peter story.
But then there’s that final page (don’t worry, we’ll get to it).
WHAT I LIKED
I love Norman’s internal conflict with wanting to be a good Spider-Man like Peter, but his angry, internal side keeps trying to get to the surface, with him eventually realizing he’ll never be a good man like Peter.
(“It was far easier for you, as civilized men, to behave like barbarians than it was for them as barbarians to behave like civilized men.”)
Spider-Boy wasn’t with the Spider-Gang. I don’t know when he disappeared from this group, but I like that he’s not here.
The Norman/Kingsley fight was great. This is what we wanted back in Goblins at the Gate – both of them fighting each other, in costume. Yes, Norman is in a Spider-Man costume and not the Green Goblin costume, and Hobgoblin’s costume is heavily inspired by Slott’s dumb Phil Urich/Hobgoblin outfit, but you take what you can get.
(Why does Hobgoblin have horns on his hood?)
I liked how when Norman decided to embrace his internal angry self, Kingsley knew something was wrong. Norman no longer had no interest in talking or bantering – he just wanted Kingsley hurt (or dead).
(Hobgoblin: “I’ve made a huge mistake.”)
Emily Osborn being revealed as Alecto, the person behind the Goblin Slayers, makes a lot of sense. She should have been on my suspect list. Maybe I just want to forget that Slott brought her back from the dead just for shock value.
Peter is back on Earth. No more alternating issues, and no more “Peter in space” stories Oh wait, he still has to save that planet. Is he going back into space to save them? Sigh.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
I love JRJR’s art in this arc, and I love me some Todd Nauck, but why have them both drawing this issue? JRJR has only had to draw every other issue for the last 10 issues, and you’re telling me he wasn’t able to draw this issue himself? (feel free to tell me the real world reason why he couldn’t and make me feel bad about myself for complaining about such a minor thing).
Miles is the only member of the Spider-Gang that matters in this issue. The rest of them are basically extras. You could have replaced them with Oscorp security guards.
I’ve always loved Kingsley as a villain, but something about him wanting to kill children just feels like a step too far. Before he got hired on by this group, he didn’t really *hate* Norman, did he? And now suddenly he wants to kill children to wipe out the Osborn name because maybe they’ll inherit his powers someday in the far-off future? And this was his idea, not the group’s.
For an issue where Peter returns to Earth, there is NOTHING about Peter’s story here. Nothing about what happened between the last Peter issue and this one:
- What happened to the crew?
- How exactly did they get to Earth?
- Where is the ship?
- Where is Raelith the Wretched?(5)
- Does Peter even know that Ben was living his life? He should have thought that everyone in his life thought he was missing/dead. How is he reacting to being gone for so long?
Like I said in a previous review, one of the biggest problems of these two arcs has been a time skip between each issue. Similar to the current (ending?) Ultimate Spider-Man book, time has passed since the last issue and events have happened, and we have no idea what took place. At least this issue takes place immediately after the previous one, but there is a huge jump between the last “Peter” issue and this one.
It really feels like the book is pushing a Norman/Dr. O.M. romantic relationship. Please stop this.
(“Norman, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here’s my number, so call me maybe.”)
That last page. You’re telling me that Peter has been away in outer space for weeks (months?), he gets home, has no idea what’s been going on while he was gone, and the first person he goes to is Norman Osborn??? Not Aunt May, not MJ, not Shay, not Jonah, not even Brian, but Norman freaking Osborn?(6) And all Norman needs is a hug and for Peter to validate him?
Someone on the Discord said that at least in the Zells run he had Peter say that he never fully trusted Norman and his relationship with him was just to keep an eye on him. But this Peter seems to have forgotten that Norman killed Gwen, “killed” his and MJ’s baby, “killed” Ben Reilly, and all the other crimes he’s committed. But this Peter is Norman’s BFF, ready to be there when he needs a hug.
WHAT THIS ISSUE MEANT OVERALL
Peter is back on Earth. No more alternating storylines. Will there be any consequences to Peter being gone, Ben living Peter’s life, and Norman being Spider-Man? Will any of Peter’s friends/family notice that the real Peter is back?
I guess we’re going to continue the Hellgate story, but personally I’d be more interested if they put that on the back burner for awhile and continued the Goblin Slayers story.
GRADE
C
If I was grading this on my expectations that this should have been a “Peter” issue and not a “Spider-Norman” issue, it would have gotten an F. How do you combine the two arcs with an issue where it’s 99% Spider-Norman and Peter shows up on the final page and does nothing?
But enough of my pettiness. This issue was going to get a higher grade, but that final page … Peter showing up on the final page is bad enough, but for him to hug Norman and tell him “everything’s going to be all right”?
NEXT TIME, IN AN ALL-NEW ISSUE OF AMAZING SPIDER-MAN …
(So is the half and half here indicating Peter back on Earth but still in his new suit? Or is that other half still Spider-Norman?)
FOOTNOTES
(1) Wondering who this Mr. Gryffin is? You should have read the backup story in the recent Amazing Spider-Man annual. But even if you did, you still wouldn’t know who he is.
(2) According to Google, “a murmuration is a mesmerizing, large flock of starlings flying in synchronized, shape-shifting patterns, creating vast, swirling clouds across the sky, named for the low ‘murmur’ sound of their wings and calls as they move together in unison just before dusk.”
(3) Not a real place, but has appeared in Marvel comics multiple times, most well know for where Jane Foster received her cancer treatment. Hmm, I feel like I’ve used this footnote before.
(4) In the next actual issue!
(5) If they have something like this revealing Raelith the Wretched’s fate next issue, I’ll give it an A+.
(6) This reminded me of when Peter came back to life at the end of Endgame and the person from his personal life we see him go to for a hug is … Ned? Not his Aunt, but Ned??? They couldn’t have gotten Marisa Tomei for one day to film a scene of them reconciling after he literally came back from the dead?
English (US) · 