This month, as we have done before way back in USM 25, we play back through a scene involving Norman Osborn with his internal monologue over top of it. This time, instead of crazy lil imps in his head, it’s him threatening Nick Fury in his mind over Carol Danvers making a face at him and leaving last issue, thinking he wants Fury to be absolutely sure he’s done everything in his power to stop Norman, and now he will destroy Fury.
So he blows up the basement, seemingly just by wanting to, like Nitro or something. Partially obscured but now in Goblin mode, he stalks out of his cell and immolates a guard, still ranting internally at Fury, as we see other inmates are loose, too, like Kraven and Omega Red… and the Gwen Stacy clone. Thought we forgot about her in the aftermath of the clone saga, eh? We did not. She walks out in silence as Norman’s monologue is interrupted by the appearance of Doc Ock, who has made arms out of what’s at hand, like he apparently can. Ock tells Norman he looks well.
“Can’t you for a moment take a minute” is an odd turn of phrase. VERY heroic Ultimates, there. Electro appears and zaps Doc Ock unconscious. Fury is kind of an idiot. I mean, not to take Osborn’s side, but, like, keeping all these people in this place, AFTER they all busted out that one time, is insane. At least have TWO facilities, if not one for every one of these weirdos. Electro says he did this because he wants work on the outside. Norman says he’ll have it, but thinks he’s insane. Electro flies away. Norman flies away, too, which is apparently something he can do now, only to be shot down by some helicopters and disappear into the ocean.
Osborn downs a helicopter into a pier in the harbor, causing a massive explosion and thinking to Fury that they will crucify him on TV for this. Electro steals some clothes and fades into the public, and Osborn disappears on SHIELD.
What a winding career for Ultimate Patsy Walker.
As well done as all this is, it really feels like a rehash/remake of past Goblin stories. It’s hitting so many of the same beats as Ultimate Six and the 2nd Goblin encounter. Maybe that speaks to how repetitive and therefore boring a villain like Osborn is. I talked about it during New Ways To Die and elsewhere, but Spider-Man vs. the Green Goblin is largely the same thing over and over, and it seems the same for the Ultimate ones. On the other hand, maybe Bendis wanted to do something gigantic to really sell Stuart Immonen to a skeptical readership losing the longest running superhero artist of all time, and felt like he had to bring out the big guns. Maybe a little column A, a little column B. This is also the first issue of Immonen’s first double-ship month. They only make him do it twice. Most people just aren’t as fast as Bagley.