Issue #8 gave us a new villain and wrapped up the Liz Osborn story, ending the most recent arc as it sets up a future threat. How much of it was set up for future stories, and how much of it was DeFalco moving the pieces in place for the finale, I can’t quite tell. But with this issue, we’re four issues away from the end. If the team hasn’t gotten the stop order by now, they almost certainly will by next month. Regardless, with this issue, we have a self contained story with another villain we never see again. Plus a long running subplot gets pulled just a bit closer to its climax. This issue also sees the return of the regular creative team, and gives us perhaps the single most 90s issue of this series to date.
Written by Tom DeFalcoCover by Scott McDaniel
Pencils by Scott McDaniel
Inks by Derek Fisher
Letters by Jim Novak
Colors by Gregory Wright
Color Separations by MalibuThe Goblin finds himself caught between tech genius James Gatesworth and the video game publisher that stole his work.
Phil and Freddie are going to not-E3. They pass statues of barely disguised 90’s video game icons, and whatever characters Marvel happened to have the licenses for. The book opens with The Green Goblin battling both The Avengers and X-Men by way of VR headset. While Phil does get into the games available for play, he still makes it clear that he’d rather be at the Rangers game. Phil likes sports, you see. If there’s anything we’ve learned from this series, it’s that Phil ain’t no nerd. Narration of the opening splash page informs us that he’s “a 90s kinda super-dude who is definitely in the zone.” He also asks for “major snaps” when he beats virtual Wonder Man.
While they attend the con, that’s when we’re introduced to our villain. Jonathan Gatesworth is one of the three co-founders of video game studio Compuboot. He was forced out by the other two because he spent too much on Research and Development, though the company continued to sell the game he helped develop, “Killer Teenage Aliens.” And he does this with a holographic projector suit, chasing them as a dragon. In his final fight with Phil, he transforms himself into Spider-Man, and very thinly disguised Mortal Kombat characters. These include Kung Lao with a slightly shorter brim on his hat, and Sub-Zero but— nope, that’s pretty much just Sub-Zero. It’s not a bad origin for a villain, although it’s a little reminiscent of Batman: The Animated Series’s Riddler origin from four years earlier. His former partners are sufficiently corporate-scumbag-y. My favorite line in the book is after Gatesworth’s first attack, when they point out that thanks to the non-compete clause he signed, the company technically owns his holosuit. Side note: I think Gatesworth’s supervillain name is supposed to be “Netscape,” but it’s never used outside of the cover.
Not only do Phil and Freddie run into a super villain in the opening scene, they run into Lynn and Merry. The last few issues have at least given Lynn some personality, focusing on her desire to be more than just an intern at the Bugle. There still isn’t too super much to her character, but at least they gave her actual emotions. She’s still not openly interested in Phil, hitting it off with Freddie more than him. But the issue does end with him and Merry getting a pizza together when Lynn is more focused on her desire to get officially hired on at the Bugle. I’ve said it before, but this book doesn’t always pay off it’s set ups. So seeing something seeded actually come together is nice. Especially since Merry was barely introduced a couple issues ago, with Phil providing a bit of super dismissive exposition. Her hair is black now though. That’s just what it is now.
Other than Merry’s hair randomly changing color, this is some of the most solid art McDaniel has produced so far in the series, just in terms of technical craft. If there are anatomical abnormalities, they look like intentional exaggerations rather than unfinished work. I don’t know if Robertson filling in last issue was to give McDaniel more time to finish this issue. But if it was, it helped. And not just because he nailed Sonic the Hedgehog-but-red. I do consider myself a fan of Robertson’s work. But as much as I consider books like “Transmetropolitan” and “The Boys” to be defined by his art as their respective (and in the former’s case, unfortunate) writers, I’d say the same thing about this book and McDaniel.
(Speaking of unfortunate creators… the licensed characters in the opening scene include a certain SNES-era space hero invertebrate and Nickelodeon “eediot” cat. Again, these were just characters that Marvel happened to have the rights to at the time. Plus the problematic aspects weren’t common knowledge. But just be aware).
Overall, this was a fine issue. We had a villain with a straightforward motivation. We have some development on the Lynn/Merry subplot. Lynn hasn’t quite moved out of “sexy lamp” territory yet, but they’re at least giving her some focus. And Freddie has settled comfortably into the lovable goofball role, despite his yet to be denounced criminal ties. But while I’m not overly confident they’ll be addressed before the end of the series, his own boss Ricko the Sicko pops up next issue. Again, I don’t know when exactly the team got word the series was ending, but it does feel like the loose ends are getting tied up. At least if this issue is any indication, they’ll be tied up well, with some entertaining stories along the way.
