GOBLIN NATION. The Good & The Bad of Spider-Man’s Latest Event

When Superior Spider-man first began I like most was on the fence…it’s not Spider-man without Peter Parker! A big reason a lot of people disliked the Clone Saga. But of course I wasn’t going to give up my Spidey fix, and as much fun as I had with Amazing Spider-man i was willing to give Dan Slott his chance. I wobbled on the fence between continuing and dropping the title for a while, but in the end I stuck with it, and I am truly glad I did. It really has been a fun ride and with the Finale coming up and Goblin Nation wrapping up in the same issue I couldn’t be more excited. But I need to tell you…this Goblin Nation story has really been messing with my innards…

What I Like…

Firstly and most obviously, as much fun as I have had with Sp-Ock when Pete came back in issue 30 I got the goosebumps! After what has felt like an eternity PETER PARKER IS BACK! Not only did Peter get control of his head back Octavius actually tipped his hat and without putting up any struggle admits to Parker that he truly is “the Superior Spider-man”

Second the Green Goblin is finally back and just as crazy as ever! Not only has he taken over the city with an army of “goblins” but he is also one of about…two people who are aware of what Doc Ock did to Spidey, (luckily still unaware as to whose body Spider-man belongs to.) Most intriguing about Goblin is that we are still less than certain as to who is under that mask! For a while now in Spider-man the name of the game has been that no villain is who they once were. Starting with Phil Ulrich stealing goblin tech to become the new Hobgoblin and then the reemergence of the old Hoby Roderick Kingsley selling old villain gear to new bad guys… and of course… you know…Otto Octavius being Spider-man and all that.  So I spend half my day ninety-three percent certain that it is Norman Osborn causing all this ruckus as Green Goblin then the other half thinking that because of how certain I am that it is Norman that is probably won’t be. But we will find out soon enough!

What Bothers Me…

The Honorable Mayor Jameson has been under Spider-man’s blackmailing thumb for quite some time now. I understand that can wear on a guy but Spidey-slayers! AGAIN! At a time like this! Goblin’s are destroying the city and of course it is Spider-man’s fault! Now to someone who isn’t super involved in the Spider-man comics you would say that this is par for the course for Jonah but that hasn’t been the case recently! After Jameson’s wife Marla died he actually toned down the whole “SPIDER-MAN IS A MENACE!” thing as her dying wish to him was to let go of his hate. Now some would argue that is was to get back at Spider-man for blackmailing him. But for me, I don’t feel like the black mail should have been an issue. Back when Jameson first took office he had a run in with the vulture after which Peter Parker doctors photos to keep Jonahs reputation clean. But Jameson after the sacrifice of one of his security guards decides that he wants to be honest with the public and take what may be coming to him. Nothing comes of it but I thought it was speaking to a growth in character for Jonah.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am really happy that Peter is back. I am also happy that Otto admitted that Peter was the better Spider-man, but the timing was all wrong. The city is in ruins Green Goblin has Otto’s love Anna Maria hostage and Pete let’s Otto know he is there for him to help and Otto basically says “nope, you got this,” and leaves! For me a big part of this whole Superior Spider-man title was Otto’s chance at redemption! Ya he wasn’t the most personable hero but he did what he could and helped a lot of people. But the minute things got to hard he throws in the towel. I would have rather him stuck it out to help clean up his mess if for no other reason than to make sure Anna Maria the woman he was about to propose to got out of this whole mess alright.

Final Verdict…

I love a good redemption story! Heck that is what Spider-man is at its core! So yes I am a little bummed that two ongoing redemption stories came to mean little or nothing in the long run. but overall I am loving this whole mess! A fantastic finale for Doc and a glorious return for Peter. Plus the fallout of this story arc is going to make things quite interesting for a while to come. Especially since Ock wiped not only his memories of his previous life but his memories as Spider-man as well! When Pete left he was about to ask out Mary Jane and was working for Horizon labs. Now Horizion Labs doesn’t even exist anymore Pete has his Doctorate and his own company (at the moment it is more or less destroyed) plus Mary Jane hates Pete and he is intimately involved with Anna Maria, and Doc didn’t take a minute to tell him any of it! Superior Spider-man issue 31 hit’s shelves April 16th followed by Amazing Spider-man issue 1 later this month.