Dear READER! We approach yet another ADVENTURE of our hapless hero. Shall we find more instructions upon which to base our suppositions of activities half a year ago? ‘Tis possible we will see that scarlet-maned DAMSEL or could, mayhaps, a different love interest will raise her fair head to our hopeless PROTAGONIST? Be WARNED! The EXCURSIONS of JUSTICE in this book includes a GLUT of GOBLINS which may overly stress women, small children, men with weak hearts, and certain CHICAGOIANS. All this, and a MIGHTY MISSIVE of note from a BELOVED CRAWLSPACER makes an appearance in yonder letters pages.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Story Title: Double Double Toil and Trouble!
Writer: Zeb Wells
Pencils: John Romita, Jr
Inker: Scott Hanna
Colorist: Marco Menyz
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga
Cover Artists: John Romita, Jr, Scott Hanna, and Marco Menyz
Asst. Editor: Lindsey Cohick and Kaeden McGahey
Editor: Nick Lowe
Remedial ASM 101
The Story – Pay Attention, This Will Be on the Test
In the aftermath of the Hobgoblin attack on Kingsley and Norman’s secret meeting, Kingsley manages to escape while Norman must be carried off to the hospital. Peter is a bit irritated that Norman told him the wrong date for the meeting and goes to check on Ned Leeds. Ned is looking a quite the conspiracy nut in his secret journalistic compound and is hyper-focused on Osborn.
Just when you think it is quite clear that Leeds is the Hobgoblin again (especially since he’s been dressing up as Hobby while holding his child), in burst Hobgoblin! Ol’ HG isn’t at all happy at seeing Spider-Man using a glider, which is ironic since he stole the glider technology from the Green Goblin. Spider-Man beats the Hobgoblin and unmasks him to reveal – Kingsley! But as Kingsley begins to sparkle touch Spider-Man (eek – that sounded bad), Spidey gets a confusing burst from his Spider-Sense and gets hit from behind by another Hobgoblin claiming to be Ned Leeds himself!
What Passed and Failed
PASS – Peter using science-based cutting remarks – I think it makes him feel more science-background-y
PA SS – The Spider-Glider – Do I want Spidey to use a glider from now on out? Not in the slightest. Am I enjoying the ride for now? Absolutely! It’s fun and different for the time being.
OOTI (Onomatopoeia of the Issue)
On a scale of 1 (POW) to 10 (BLRKBQRKPQRBLNB), ZZZZZZK rates a solid 8. I like it. It’s simple. It’s hardly pronounceable. It’s effective.
Analysis
Sinless Norman – Here we have Norman on pain medications. If he is going to break character, it would be here. Instead, we get him continuing to be the “good” guy – even when there is no one in the room to hear him.
So what does this mean? I had a few hesitations to believing that Norman was not faking it. After all, we did see him switch seamlessly between sinful Norman and sinless Norman during the end of Spencer’s run, so maybe he is putting on fronts. But that seems unlikely at this point. We have a Norman who is legitimately trying to be good. We’ve seen that before in glimpses with Harry was in the hospital long ago. There is good in him. Unfortunately, it is buried beneath a whole lot of bad. My theory on how the sin-cleansing works is based on the Christian notion of sin forgiveness. God may forgive you of your sins, but you still have the in-life consequences of your actions. You are now still the same person you are with the same temptations. That’s why we still see glimpses of an angry Norman from time to time. Part of repentance is overcoming that. Many people fail at this. Norman is trying and I believe we are to take this as genuine. This will make his fall all the more tragic when it finally happens. The holdout here? He watches the fight on a camera installed in the Spider-Man suit. Didn’t they say earlier that there was no way for him to use the suit to track Peter? If there are cameras that can be turned on remotely, might that not also indicate there is a some deception going on here? The other potential red flag is the lack of red or blue in this image:
This is obviously the Spider-Suit, but the color scheme is more Green Gobliny. Is that just a coincidence? Probably not. Does it mean that Norman is really designing a goblin suit and using Spider-Man in some manner to perfect the suit? I don’t know. It is one of the aspects of this Norman story that excites me. There are a lot of potentially conflicting clues for me to sift through.
I know many readers out there are conflicted because Norman did so many things to Peter that there should be no way to forgive him. I see that point. May I humbly suggest that this is a unique scenario since there was a magic sin-cleansing going on that could only exist in this universe. It is a not a normal turning-over-a-new-leaf situation. Not only that, we have precedence for Peter giving people another chance. Look at the Fox. Well, that is a too-simplistic example. Take Venom. Venom was a known killer and not repentant in the slightest, but Peter shook hands with him and made a deal to give Venom a chance to live peacefully somewhere else. On top of that, when no one else was there for him, Norman was. The fact that this takes place in that six-month mystery makes some feel that this is unearned, but I don’t feel that way. In ASM, we were told that this happened and that this was a big deal. I may not like not seeing it for myself, but that doesn’t change the fact that my protagonist saw it and experienced it. All this is to say that it is in the realm of possibility for Peter to do this and stay in character. I do not believe that this is a plot driving the story situation here. It makes it more palatable that Peter is obviously still mistrustful while trying to give this second chance.
More Hobgoblins Than You Can Shake a Stick at – This was a nice little twist to have both Leeds and Kingsley being the Hobgoblin here. I did not see that coming and kudos to any of you that did. What is more intriguing to me is that it is fairly certain that neither are cognizant of this behavior. The question becomes, who is in control of the Hobgoblins? I think it is very doubtful that Ned Leeds is truly in control (though he does claim to be the one who used the Winkler device on Kingsley). Who gave the Winkler device to Leeds? It seems that there are three probable answers:
Queen Goblin – With Kafka being the current reigning goblin-figure out there, it would seem likely that she may branch out of the green variety and branch out into the hob-styles as well. Assuming she knows it is Osborn’s sins she carries (I can’t remember if she knows or cares), that may explain why the Hobgoblins are targeting Norman. Add to this her penchant for mind manipulation, and it seems almost likely that she will surface. This may also be a chance to capitalize on Norman’s set-up as a heroic figure – turning his hopeful growth into tragedy – especially if he must sacrifice his cleansed self in order to save Kafka from his sins.
Crawlspace Odds . . . . . 80%
Norman Osborn – Before this issue, it seems much more likely that he may be faking this hero-Norman persona in order to yield to his goblin proclivities. After this issue, though, I am putting a lot of stock in the panel where he is alone and still wanting to do good and dismissing the camera tracker.
Crawlspace Odds . . . . . 15%
Aunt May – This devious little bitty, in a fit of fury at constantly being lied to by Peter uses her innocent old lady facade to cover her nefarious activities. The clues are there. She did work for quite some time for the master criminal Mr. Negative. She also has a record of assaulting police officers. Add to this that she could be experiencing flashbacks from her crack-cocaine days (a call back to the bloody handkerchief that we were led to believe belonged to Jameson). What a tribute to Spidey’s challenge of the Comics Code Authority in a former Goblin-centric adventure. This would be a nice bow on top of a stellar year of celebrating sixty years of our favorite wall crawler! Unfortunately, we here at the Crawlspace, while unequivocally hoping for this outcome, do not believe Nick Lowe nor Zeb Wells has the creative genius to put this together.
Crawlspace odds . . . . . 5%
Extra Credit
Thought you guys might like to see a little behind the scenes here at the Crawlspace. This exchange at the Crawlspace Bullpen happened right after the preview for this issue came out.
Final Grade
I am enjoying this ride! I was going for a B or even B+, but the more I looked back over it to write this review, the better this issue got. I like the Hobgoblin mystery. I like the Norman mystery. I like the Spider-Glider (for now). All this has the potential to crash and burn, but for this issue’s reading experience, I’m going
A-
Your Turn
What grade do YOU give it?
But Wait! There’s More!
You know me – I am ALWAYS happy to see one of our own make it into the letters pages! Recently Javi graced those hallowed halls and I am glad to say that our very own Bruce made it in this round!
Homework
Watch the podcast this Saturday!
‘Nuff Said!
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@Bruce – I could not tell you about Lowe’s social media presence. I can’t believe he wouldn’t. Congrats again on the letter!
Thank you so much for mentioning my published fan letter in this issue! Even though I hadn’t tried in 50 years, it really was a “Spidey Bucket List” item of mine. Does Nick Lowe have a social media presence (Instagram, Facebook)?
This issue was definitely a fun read, and the mysteries are cool!
@Michael
Thank you. I even read all of those events you cited, but I couldn’t focus enough to remember them. I’m getting old, it seems.
Anyway, there’s good reason Norman isn’t in prison right now if the Janus organization cleaned his record.
@Aqu- he was exposed and imprisoned at the end of Siege. Later on, during Superior Spider-Man, it’s noted that Norman can only operate in the United States under an alias, At the end of Go Down Swinging, he’s in an asylum for the Criminally Insane. The dialogue in the Ravencroft series implies that he made a deal with the JANUS organization to have his record cleaned in exchange for helping them. But that raises a question- does the JANUS organization consider Norman’s debt paid or does he still have to do favors for them now that he’s “good”?
You almost got me there, with the reference to letters. Alas, it wasn’t me. Well, I sent mine in August, I think, so I’ll wait a couple more issues before sharing it here if someone is interested.
To answer Bruce: hadn’t Norman been pardoned by the president during Dark Reign? Did he publicly commit some other crime as Norman Osborn after that? Because otherwise Lowe is right (I can’t believe I’m saying this LOL), in that it would be difficult to even just demonstrate he was the Green Goblin committing those crimes.
@Chi-Town, @Michael, and @Adam
Chi-Town – I have only merely said that I do not like JRjr’s art, but I have also said it is not a big deal to me. I HAVE complained greatly about Bagley, who phones it in half the time. He drew MJ like a Steve Ditko henchman multiple times. That is my complaint. I still disagree, though about the plot running the story. At least until we get what happened six months ago. The characters are reacting to something that happened to them and until proven otherwise, I am going to believe that their actions are a direct result of them responding to whatever happened and not them responding specifically so we can have events. And as for the feature image – what are friends for?
@Michael – You are right. When I read it, I thought it was Ned announcing himself – “You should take another look at Ned Leeds” meaning, “It was me all a long!” But after you reframed it in my head, it does appear that that word balloon is not coming from the Hobgoblin who swiped his head from behind, but rather Kingsley. But the premise of my argument doesn’t change too much. Kingsley appears confused for a minute about where he was. I don’t believe Kingsley is behind this. I believe he is being manipulated. So the question just becomes, “Who gave Kingsley the Winkler Device?” Crawlspace odds still play out as they stand. As far as why does she make her plans convoluted? I’m guessing the mere pleasure of manipulating others minds. She seems to get a real kick out of that now.
@Adam – That tracks. Norman, cleansed or not, is still Norman. Sure, he isn’t trying to be evil, but he has still shown us plenty of panels that fit his character. The desire for Peter to carry on his legacy still would be there with the added bonus that maybe Spider-Man using the Goblin gear would clean up the Goblin legacy.
Regarding Norman designing a Goblin suit for Peter.
Back in the early 2000’s Norman did want Peter to carry on his legacy. Maybe he still does. He might not be evil, but still concerned about his legacy.
Peter’s rejection could be the start of a rift between them?
” I think it is very doubtful that Ned Leeds is truly in control (though he does claim to be the one who used the Winkler device on Kingsley). Who gave the Winkler device to Leeds? ”
I thought it was Kingsley claiming he put Ned Leeds back in the Winkler device, not Leeds claiming he used the device on Kingsley.
I do think that Kingsley’s dialogue about how Spider-Man is helping Norman hide form his sins reflects how Kafka feels. She did her best to help Ben and hide Peter’s identity and she was turned into a monster. She feels Peter abandoned her and went to help Norman at her expense, after everything Norman had done. I just wonder why she’s coming up with such a convoluted plan instead of just confronting Peter directly.
That feature image…how DARE you. With “friends”like you, who needs enemies.
That being said, I going to agree with you on the grade and share your opinion, cept for one thing. It is the story driving the characters. This whole run is, HOWEVER, this issue does derail from it just a tad to make it entertaining to read. I even liked JRJR work on here and I’m surprised to read that you didn’t complain about it like you usually do.