Pretty classic kind of cover, there. “Not… him!” Daring you not to put down your 75 cents, open the book and find out who. Random thought I had last block that I’m reminded of by this cover: I have not taken note of exactly when Spider-Man’s chest emblem changes. The legs go from all pointing toward his own arms to 4 up, 4 down at some point. I think maybe John Romita, Jr. did it, but I don’t actually know. Brett Breeding reappears on finishes this month, and a “D. Martin” colors. Not sure who that is. Hobgoblin is very proud that his basically useless computer targeting system beat Spider-Man, seeming not to notice it was his messed up shoulder that left him open to being zapped.
Hobby sees Spider-Man is a little crazy today, and becomes afraid. He also knows by now he can’t beat Spider-Man close range, so he drops a pumpkin bomb and runs. He tries to swing around and use his dumb random finger again, but Spidey’s got a big gross ball of webbing on a line and splats it right into Hobby’s face. There follows one of the most over-described panels I’ve ever seen.
Stan Lee had a bad habit of over-describing what was going on as if you couldn’t see it sometimes. You know, a character would take a huge Kirby punch and be like “He hit me!” And those who followed him, in trying to maintain his “voice,” often did the same, but that top panel is tough to beat. Are we SURE we know what’s happening? Maybe he should’ve described it a little more. Hobby isn’t talking like anyone who’s been made a suspect. He’s talking full cheesy supervillain now. “If I should be recognized–!” That sound like Flash, Ned, or Lance? No, sir. I don’t think it sounds like any of the people who could’ve been Hobgoblin, frankly, including any of the behind-the-scenes names that were thrown around or the one eventually unmasked. Anyway, Spider-Man spends a full page just whining, whining, whining about how he’s so ready to stop being Spider-Man forever and this was supposed to be his last fight and it’s just not fair. He’s becoming quite insufferable. To further darken his mood, the girls next door are inexplicably putting a dresser together on the roof in the cold, all bundled up, so he can’t go home. MJ is supposed to be there waiting for him, so he drops down to the street and asks a guy if he can borrow a quarter. The guy thinks he’s being robbed, but Spidey really just wants a quarter to call the phone in his own apartment.
Their relationship would be in a weird place right now even if Peter wasn’t being a big emo baby. Meanwhile, Flash goes to see Sha Shan in the hospital, recovering from her ordeal. At first, she’s extremely relieved to see him, but…
Ol’ Flash isn’t a terribly cool guy these days, either. Sheesh. Everyone in the book is sad and/or angry right now. Perhaps a reflection of the deteriorating relationship between creative team and editor behind the scenes? Can’t say for sure.
Interesting bunch of reactions, hm? Roderick Kingsly back in the mix after being largely absent since Stern left, and Lance Bannon back on the table. And, I mean, if people watching this are suspects, I guess Peter Parker & Betty Brant, too! Rose calls his man to ask if he’s upset, but Hobby says not at all, and he’s already thought of a way to exploit the situation. Hobgoblin is shown unmasked, but in shadow. Frenz decides to draw his silhouette with a particular haircut that really narrows down the suspect list, and I have to wonder if that was intentional or not. Why set up all these red herrings if you can kind of guess based on this image? Maybe they thought they were almost done. Ha. Anyway, Hobby tells himself he’s got yet another new weapon, and says Spider-Man will soon taste the wrath of The Hobgoblin. It’s been, like, hours since his last super-mega-weapon failed utterly, but he never lets a thing like failure get him down. We briefly cut away to see The Fly, now once again called The Human Fly (Presumably since the title of the same name starring a different character has been cancelled) escape from an insane asylum. Then…
Oh ho. Ya know, if there’s anything worse than “Peter wants to quit being Spider-Man,” I think it’s “Peter wants to quit being Spider-Man, but feels obligated to keep being Spider-Man, and complains about it the entire time.” You may have guessed from my comments we’re entering yet another rough patch in Spider-History. It is sadly going to last more or less up to Dave Michelinie resetting the books in ASM 290. 15 more months of this emo junk. Ugh. It’s hard being a Spider-Man fan. Aaaanyway:
The Scourge of The Underworld. I think I’ve mentioned him before. He’s a Captain America villain, a serial killer who kills super villains. The Scourge goes to great lengths to hide his identity. He’s appeared as both men and women of all shapes and sizes in his quest to kill supervillains. You never know it’s him until a shot rings out and he utters his catch phrase, “Justice is served!” As Marvel was in pretty tight continuity at this point, The Scourge bled out into other titles to heighten the suspense, taking out various z-list villains, before finally being stopped by Captain America. Sort of. He seemingly killed himself rather than be caught, and left Cap no closer to answers about who he was. But, anyway, that’s the future. For now, he’s gotten rid of The Fly, and no great loss there. Spidey’s about to go investigate when The Hobgoblin finds him. Hobby says their war has gone on far too long, and one way or another, it ends tonight. And so, battle is joined yet again. And yet again, Spider-Man handily dodges Hobby’s much-hyped targeting system. But this time, that’s just to get him into position for a new kind of gas bomb.
Spidey’s makeshift missile zips by Hobby’s head, and Hobby thinks, “N- No! If that has struck me–! What’s happened to Spider-Man? I’ve never seen him battle with such wild abandonment!” still more dialogue that doesn’t sound like anyone. Spidey just wanted to distract him with the pipe, and it worked, allowing our hero to jump on Hobby’s back and steer him into an abandoned warehouse. But he can’t hold on in the crash without his sticking power (This whole “gas that negates certain powers” thing is really well past my suspension of disbelief), and The Goblin puts distance between them.
Egads! Is it true? Could Flash Thompson be The Hobgoblin??
Well, obviously not. It’s the Lefty Donovan move all over again. But, man. I don’t know who’s idea it was to IMMEDIATELY reveal Flash is a red herring, editorial or writer, but what a dumb move! Everyone’s dying to know who Hobgoblin is for almost 4 years by this point! At least let your swerve breathe for a month! Yeesh.