It’s actually pretty surprising how long it’s been since the last Spider-Man/Green Goblin showdown by this point. They’ve not fought since MKSM 12, cover dated May 2005, same month as ASM 518. More than 3 years since their last tussle. When I read this before, I was so annoyed by Norman’s whole Thunderbolts thing, and Anti-Venom and Menace and Harry being alive and all this other stuff, that I couldn’t really enjoy it. But, much like many other things we’ve looked at here on the ol’ blog, notably Ben Reilly’s first outing as Spider-Man, the fire of the time is long out, and I think I can judge this a bit more fairly now. I’ve been repeatedly surprised to enjoy things more than I did at the time, or enjoy things less, reading for this blog over the years.
Man, I don’t even know what to say to that. I thought Harry didn’t die. I thought that was the whole bit, he “went to Europe” instead of dying, as is apparently The Osborn Way.
Ok?
That Spider-Man really does feel like such a synthesis of Johns Romita, Jr. of different eras. A little 80s, a little 90s, a little 00s. They reach Oscorp, where they split up, Anti-Venom going after Venom, Spider-Man going after Osborn. Inside, Norman says he’s been recording Harry’s therapy sessions for years (Since he died?), and that this was never about Spider-Man, it was about Harry. But then he gets a call from Bullseye, interrupting his monologue, to tell him A-V and Spidey are coming. So, Norman cuts short his talk with Harry to get ready to fight Spider-Man. Who is going through a door when someone calls out to him.
Shouldn’t Venorpion have sensed him?
Harry’s hatred of Spider-Man seemed weird to me in a world where he never died and doesn’t remember being the Green Goblin, but now I really don’t know what’s going on. Now I guess he just hates Spider-Man for occupying more of his dad’s thoughts than he has. He is yelling something to that effect over the battle as Spider-Man has to push him out of the way of the glider zooming toward them, getting slashed in the back by its wing in the process. Goblin says Harry doesn’t have to be in the middle of all this anymore, that he knows what Harry is up to, and he’s so close…
To be fair, he only died once. It’s not like a Jean Grey scenario where she literally won’t stay dead (Altho, in 2008, she is “dead” again. Not forever, tho!).
But… Harry doesn’t work at Oscorp anymore. Like, at first I suspected him of being behind the Freak being kidnapped, because I kinda forgot about Norman, him being off being a totally different character unrelated to Spider-Man in Thunderbolts and all. But this… I guess we’ll see. We cut to Venorpion and Anti-Venom fighting, Eddie saying he’ll gladly let both of them die to kill the symbiote, when who should appear on a nearby catwalk leading all those people to safety alongside Harry Osborn but Spider-Man. He comes down and frees Songbird and Radioactive Man, and convinces them that helping him get the people to safety is more important than trying to arrest him. But they leave the goo monsters to fight each other, having better things to do. Spidey clocked Gargan’s outfit, and actually calls him Ven-Orpion. Look at me, predicting the jokes.
I recently revisited the original 1980s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics (Hey, Spider-Man ain’t all I read, ya know), and I’m struck by how much that last panel looks like it could be from one of those. The same kind of scrappy quality. Interesting.
I like Ben’s joke there. Harry and Lily embrace. She asks about his dad, and he says he Norman was a few steps ahead of him the whole time. A lot of questions about that. Meanwhile, Songbird lets Spider-Man go, telling him to lie low for awhile, and Radioactive Man agrees.
Wait, is Crowne taking credit for the death of Spider-Man? Does Osborn know they let him go? Surely he wouldn’t want his foe killed in such a way. I guess if he knew they let him go, he’d have tortured them or something.
Hey, remember how Spider-Man was shot several times? Peter seems to be doing pretty good. Also he’s a hat guy now.
Ugh. Harry returns with the file he wanted, saying he wants to keep its contents a secret now, but when he does something with it, he’ll want help from Peter, the one guy he can trust. Peter says, “Always.” Maybe not always! As they leave, Lily seems to notice the canister of the stuff Oscorp was working on stuffed in Harry’s bag, but Peter doesn’t.
Why does Betty suck? She should be at Frontline with the rest of the gang.
Even this would’ve been a cooler reveal of Mr. Negative. I really can’t believe they wasted that moment so early.
Well, there you go. Eddie is Anti-Venom now. For awhile. A way to have your Venom and eat it too, I guess. Now Venom can be the ruthless killer of the Thunderbolts and the “lethal protector” of Spider-Man comics at the same time, sort of. Overall, this was a pretty good one, if I’m being honest. The best Brand New Day story. And, you know, perhaps not coincidentally, the first one of a normal 2008 length. Maybe if everything before this hadn’t been compressed it would’ve played better. Maybe. Well, come back next time to find out whatever happened to Flash Thompson. I know what happened, and as is often the case in this era, it’s dumb.