Here we are, the penultimate issue of the series. After eleven chapters of “Green Goblin,” with all of their ups and downs, we start closing out DeFalco and McDaniel’s year-long experiment. Well, DeFalco gets to close it out at least. Josh Hood returns to handle art this issue. The whole story happens in the midst of Onslaught attacking the Marvel Universe, picking up as the heroes of the 616 form a “united front” against the new villain. This book has always existed on the cusp of major events, spending its whole life in the shadow of ‘The Clone Saga.’ Maybe it’s appropriate that a bigger event ends it.
Written by Tom DeFalcoCover by Josh Hood
Pencils by Josh Hood
Inks by Derek Fisher
Letters by Jim Novak
Colors by Gregory Wright
Color Separations by Malibu HuesAs an Sentinels attack New York, Phil decides he can no longer sit on the sidelines.
The issue hits hard right out of the gate. Sentinels have taken over the city. Every hero in the area has joined forces to fight the new threat, including folks like Darkhawk and The Steel Spider. Meanwhile the Bugle scrambles to cover the madness happening just outside their windows, while staying safe in the ensuing chaos. Robbie grabs Phil, giving him an important task: making copies. That’s kind of the best gag in the whole series, no lie. But we’re thrown directly into madness of the attack right up front. A double page spread shows sentinels towering over the city. The scenes in the Bugle are hectic, with panels a little too full dialog giving the reader a claustrophobic, putting them directly in the headspace of the reports and interns struggling to make sense of what’s happening.
This is easily the best storytelling of the entire series. The plotting of the series could be a little uneven, even up until the weird romance angle of the last issue. But by 1996, DeFalco was still an industry veteran. And when he flexes his writing muscle, it shows. And while I am a little sad that McDaniel, who to me at least was critical in the tone and feel of the series, couldn’t end Phil’s story, Hood’s working at the top of his game this round. His art’s still very 90s, with large amounts of McFarlane in its DNA. But he manages to capture the energy and motion of moments in the story, with dynamic characters and action on the panel. It’s the closest any fill-in artist has come to nailing McDaniel’s sense of motion in the series.
But then the issue turns into a bit of a character study for Phil. Throughout the series, Phil’s character has been consistent, even if he hasn’t always been the smartest guy in the 616. The earliest issues of the series show how quickly he could get in over his head. Plus being the Goblin actually causes him physical pain. More than your usual superhero pain threshold, since it actually hurts to put the suit on. His powers are activated by way of electric shock from the mask. Seeing Phil rush into battle with a 70ft. tall robot, finding his way into events that would necessitate building an entirely different universe, feels like an appropriate ending for the character. And the closing panel of the Goblin mask, with Phil’s face visible behind the busted eyes and missing teeth, is genuinely upsetting.
Speaking of the mask, I like Phil ditching it at the end of the book’s second act. This book is at its best when it’s introspective, so having the metaphorical moments of rejecting and reaccepting the mantle helps drive home the climax. Plus there’s enough practical explanation to make it work in context. Sentinels are built to hunt mutants, so they target superpowers. And Phil’s mask is what activates his. We do get a brief series retrospective just to drive home the end of the arc. My favorite bit is him going through other heroes he’s met, wondering if the Scarlet Spider just gave up and quit (Ben Reilly had taken over as Spider-Man by this point… for the first time), and mentioning that Daredevil doesn’t have any powers as far as he knows. It did retroactively give Phil a Chicago Bulls hat to wear in his origin. Phil likes sports, you see.
These flashbacks even reference Phil’s older brother, a character the series completely forgot about after book one. Which I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting. As weird as the plotting of his series could be, it has made an effort to close up most of its loose ends. Phil’s parents even get a mention. They disappeared just as quickly as the brother, but without as much possible plot seeding. Ben Urich was clearly meant to be the father figure of the series, so there wasn’t much of a need for them. Although considering how little they were featured in the story, they probably could have been dropped from issue #1 in retrospect. That book could have benefited from the extra breathing room.
Overall this was a good ending for the character. Most of the major subplot bits had already been wrapped by this point, so we had room to focus on closing the loop on Phil’s story. Granted that could change next issue. But I don’t foresee that happening without “Green Goblin” #13 going wildly off the rails.
