Legacy can be a funny thing. When we think of legacy in superhero comics, we often think of super
hero legacies. People like Kyle Rayner or Wally West or Miguel O'Hara, people who picked up the costumes and mantles of previous users and became heroes in their own right. But the thing is...the idea of legacy can also apply to
villains.
Yup, supervillains can have legacies, too. It's not uncommon for more than one person to use a supervillain mantle. For example, the Eel. The first one, first appearing in
Strange Tales #112, was Leopold Stryke. He would be killed in
Ghost Rider #21. In
Power Man and Iron Fist #92, a new Eel would appear: Edward Lavell. Those legacies tend to be much less well-known than superhero legacies. However, there is one villain that would take the idea of supervillain legacy and...twist it, but then create his own legacy: The Hobgoblin.
Here, we're going to look at the first appearance of the first Hobgoblin: Roderick Kingsley. Kingsley himself had appeared in
Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #43 (June 1980), but this is the issue where he first suited up as the Hobgoblin.
And with all of that out of the way, let's take a look at the last comic review of January 2018,
Amazing Spider-Man #238!
The cover is awesome. It depicts the Hobgoblin, his face shadowed, tearing Spidey's costume in half. I love that the face is shadowed, as it gives more of a frightening effect, and this cover gives the idea that this new Hobgoblin is not going to play around with the Webhead. He's going straight for the kill.
"Shadow of Evils Past"
Writer: Roger Stern
Artists: John Romita Jr., John Romita Sr.
Traffic Manager: Virginia Romita (Credited as "Traffic Manager")
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: Andy Yanchus
Editor: Tom DeFalco
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
The story begins with Peter Parker watching his aunt May sign some forms.
May had turned her home into a boarding house for her fellow senior citizens, and is signing some papers to make it official. Peter recalls how he grew up in May's home, which leads him to recall the death of his uncle Ben, which lead him to use the power of Spider-Man as a superhero. Peter then thinks about the new man in her life, one Nathan Lubensky. He's the wheelchair-user in the panel.
Lubensky had helped May convert her home into the boarding house. I have to say, I like the character. He's pretty awesome. He was a great fit for May, his cool laid-back nature compliment her more worrysome self. After the legal business is taken care of, the three are out on the town. Peter decides to take them to get an
egg cream. Egg creams contain neither eggs for cream. The name is a LIE. They head towards an alley, and Peter is very grateful for his Spider-Sense.
A cop ass if they're alright. Peter angrily responds that Aunt May and Nathan nearly got ran over. The cop explains that the people in the car just robbed a bank. Peter angrily storms off. Aunt May asks where he's going, but Nathan tells her to leave him be, as he's got some
serious steam to let out. Boy, he has no idea.
Peter changes into Spider-Man, and swings off. He finds the cop car in pursuit of the bank robbers and hitches a ride. He takes his miniature camera and attaches it to the cop cars' siren. Better hope they don't find it, Petey. Spidey then leaps into the crooks' car, and kayoes them. He then grabs the wheel and swerves the car, causing it to slip on its side. One of the crooks manages to escape the car. He tries to flee on foot, and Spidey decides to pay a little homage to The Shadow.
The crook races into an area that's a maze of warehouses, but Spider-Man is easily able to keep in pursuit thanks to his powers. The crook runs into a dead end. In desperation, he tries to confuse Spidey with a smoke bomb. However, it doesn't work. Spider-Man is able to use his Spider-Sense to detect the crook...somehow. The criminal seems to vanish, but Spidey discovers a convenient manhole, and heads into the sewers.
Spidey then realizes that he has to get his camera, and the cops can find the remaining robber. He already got the other three anyway. The criminal, who was hiding, stumbles onto to a hidden door. Spidey then explains this to a cop, who reassures him that they'll get him. Spidey webs up his camera and swings away, leaving the cops confused. Back in the sewers, the one remaining robber walks down a hall, wondering where this came from. He goes to the end of the hall, and ends up finding something interesting.
Evidently, the crook has stumbled upon one of the Green Goblin's old workshops. But let's check on Aunt May and Nathan, shall we? They head home, and Aunt May gets a phone call from sunny Florida. Her old friend Anna Watson is residing there currently, and wants to congratulate her on the opening of her boarding house. And Mary Jane says hello.
Peter then goes to call her, but the line is busy. Ah, the 80s. When you couldn't just text someone. He then heads out to the Daily Bugle to sell his photos. Robbie Robertson is thrilled with the photos, and tells the big-nosed nerdy copy boy about the photos. The copy boy remarks that the chase ended at an Osborn warehouse, which makes Peter wonder if Osborn will haunt him for the rest of his life. Yes. Yes he will, Pete. On a positive note, Robertson gives Peter a rather generous check for the photos, saying he's earned it.
Meanwhile, a van pulls up at said warehouse, the criminal who managed to escape Spidey, whio is revealed to be called "Georgie", finds his way back to the old warehouse, and he's brought a mysterious friend.
Robertson gives Peter a lift home, and his radio is picking up the police band. It's reporting that there's a possible break-in at Osborn Manufacturing. Peter realizes that was the place he collared that group of criminals earlier. They arrive, and both Robbie and Peter hope the fire is accidental. Peter's fellow Daily Bugle photographer, Lance Bannon, has got the fire on film thanks to his own camera.
Robbie asks a firefighter if they determined the cause of the fire. He explains they believe it was arson. The person who called them said a red van sped away. The fire did end up being contained in the chamber it appeared to have originated from...a chamber that was not in any floor plans of the building they could find. Peter, getting a bad feeling, asks if he could take a look at it. The firefighter agrees, but warns there's not much to see. Peter looks into the chamber, and realizes to his horror what it was.
It was one of Norman Osborn's old Green Goblin lairs, where he kept his gear. Peter is terrified by this. Robertson gets a call, and it's from Aunt May. She and Peter converse a bit, and Peter agrees to go to dinner with her. Peter believes the criminal he was unable to catch earlier may have found the lair and looted it. If he did, there's a new Green Goblin in town. That would make number four. At the time, Norman Osborn was believed dead, Harry Osborn had no memory of his time as the second (not to mention he was also married), and Bart Hamilton was dead.
That evening, the mysterious figure and Georgie are driving down a road in the South Bronx. The man gets out, and tells Georgie to dispose of the van. Georgie agrees and drives off. The figure pulls out a device from his coat and presses a button.
So long, Georgie. We hardly knew ye. The next day, the man returns to a room. He had spent the previous night reading through Normal Osborn's journals. The man had learned much, admiring Norman's brilliance, but also condemning Osborn's madness. It's also clear he had been doing some...tinkering with Osborn's old gear. The man tests out some of the old gear. A Pumpkin Bomb that can explode nearly silently, but can still blow a hole in a three-inch-thick slab of steel. Gloves woven with micro-circuitry that would allow the user to fire power-bursts of several thousand volts.
And the glider. The mystery man
loves the Jet-Glider. Swift, maneuverable, quiet. He is just having a
blast flying around the room. He then goes over to a mold. He's been making a new mask, and he's very pleased with his work. He's also been working on the costumes, dying them new colors. Out with the green and purple of Osborn, in with the orange and blue. Adding a hood, too. He tries one on, and it's a perfect fit.
As he puts on his new costume, the man feels a rush. It's like he now feels...powerful. He understands right there why Norman Osborn loved being the Green Goblin so much. But the man understands something that Osborn did not. The man understands why Osborn was so warped. He lacked control and let the Goblin overtake him. But this man will not make that mistake. Osborn got drunk with the Goblin's power, but this man will not let that happen. The Green Goblin is no more. The Green Goblin is dead.
Long Live the Hobgoblin.
This issue was really good. Marvel had wanted Roger Stern to bring back the Green Goblin, but Stern wasn't too receptive to the idea. He didn't want to bring Norman or Bart back from the dead. He also had no desire to have Harry put back on the suit, nor have a new character take up the role. In a way, the Hobgoblin could be seen as a compromise. It would allow the Goblin legacy to continue, but taken in a new dimension. This was a
sane Goblin, one who would not surrender to the madness that haunted the Green Goblins. There would be some interesting shenanigans regarding the identity of the man under the Hobgoblin mask over the years, which can be read about
here.
I also kind of like the idea of May owning a boarding house. It's a shame that didn't stick. I think it would have been a great way to help keep the book fresh in a way. Having boarders regularly come and go would have given us some interesting characters and stories. I also like the portrayal of the figure who would ultimately don the Hobgoblin gear. Stern does great work showing this character desiring to not repeat the mistakes of those who wore the Goblin gear in the past. The art is not bad, either. Then again, it's the Romitas. The art style seems to favor Senior over Junior, though.
I love the Roger Stern era of Spider-Man, and I honestly think it deserves more love. Next time, we take a look at the Legion of Super-Heroes, as they deal with the beginning of a great darkness...
