Since it’s the end of the year, I thought I’d try to end
with some more Ultimate Spider-Man. I didn’t talk about the newest trailer for
Spider-Man: Homecoming last time, so I’ll give a couple of thoughts here. It
looked fine. We’re back to high school with an even younger Peter Parker. He’s
even got Tony Stark as his mentor. It also looks like we’re getting a new
villain in the form of the Vulture played by Michael Keaton of all people. I don’t know if I’ll see this in theaters or
not yet. I’ll just have to see when July comes. As for this trade, this is
Hobgoblin. It contains Ultimate Spider-Man #72-78. The team is pretty much the
same. Bendis is writing, Bagley is penciling, Hanna is inking, and J.D. Smith
is the sole colorist on this one. So, let’s see what happens when Harry Osborn
returns.
Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 13: Hobgoblin
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Mark Bagley
Inks: Scott Hanna
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Colors: J.D. Smith
SYNOPSIS
The story starts off nine months ago when Peter got bitten
by the spider. We find out that Mary Jane and Harry Osborn had feelings for
each other at that time. We then cut to the present day where Spider-Man takes
out some random supervillain. He heads back to school where he finds out that
Harry Osborn is back. After he gets some time alone with MJ, he tells her to
stay away from Harry and the two get into a fight about it. After school, Peter
heads home where Aunt May is packing up. Since they’ve now have had another
person die at the house, it’s time to move down the street. While Peter is
cleaning up his stuff in the basement, Harry comes by and tells him about his
former relationship with MJ.
A little awkward considering their last meeting.
We also get flashbacks on what Harry was doing before he
came back. Since things seem to be settling down for him, SHIELD decides to let
Harry resume his life. He comes home and more or less becomes the sole owner of
what’s left of his father’s business. While Harry’s trying to get everything
sorted out, Shaw, the man who tailed Peter after he got his powers, tells Harry
to come with him. They go to a lab that houses Norman Osborn’s Goblin tech. We
also find out that Norman’s hypno experiments on Harry go deeper. Shaw wants to
find out where Norman is at and he’ll use Harry to get Spider-Man to tell them
where he’s being held.
Back in the present, Harry says he’s going to try to help
Peter somehow. At school, Peter’s ignoring MJ in class. After class, the two
have it out on the roof about her relationship with Harry. Peter leaves in a
huff and MJ ends up bumping into Harry later. They talk and Harry tells her a
lie about Peter killing Norman in self defense. Meanwhile, Spider-Man is out
patrolling and almost kills a robber. He tries to turn himself into the police,
but Captain Jeanne De Wolfe tells him to relax and probably switch to decaf.
Peter heads back home and gets a phone call from Harry. He ask him to come on
out in costume, but Aunt May refuses to let Peter to go out at night.
Man, Peter really should switch to decaf.
The next day, Peter avoids MJ. They later hash it out over
lunch and she asks if Peter killed Norman Osborn. Peter lashes out and tells
her the truth and runs off to find Harry. He finds Harry at his penthouse where
Shaw is wondering when Harry will face Peter again. We then find out that Shaw is
essentially a figment of Harry’s fractured mind. We also find out that Harry
was also in the accident that made Norman into the Green Goblin. Harry then
transforms into another Goblin and he and Spider-Man fight. It spreads to the
street where we find out that MJ also skipped class and came to the penthouse.
She almost gets hurt but a really peeved Spider-Man gets her out of there and
tells her to hide.
The fight then continues and SHIELD even gets in on the
action. The then find out a shocking truth: Harry wants to die. He does all he
can to get SHIELD to use their weapons to take him down. He changes back into
his human form but is still alive. This peeves off Spider-Man to the point
where he punches Nick Fury. After he leaves, Fury says Peter will need to be
reined in soon. Peter finds MJ at her house. He ends up breaking up with her
since he doesn’t want to lose her too. The last issues looks at how MJ deals
with the break up. Because of Liz, she ends up hanging out with a musician.
Even though they almost hit it off, she can’t let go of Peter just yet.
Nick Fury: I HAVE HAD IT WITH THAT MOTHER-LOVIN' BOY MESSING UP MY NUTCRACKIN' CITY!
Other Agents: (silence an stares)
Nick Fury: WHAT? I CAN'T QUOTE THAT "SAMUEL JACKSON" GUY? THAT DUDE'S AWESOME! I EVEN THINK WE LOOK ALIKE!
OPINION
After the decent filler that was “Superstars”, we get right
back on track. This time, we’re back to the Osborns and not the Ozzie variety
either. Remember when I said back in Ultimate Six that Harry would be making a
big return? Well, here it is. Harry’s back and is apparently as crazy as his
father is. Luckily, it’s the sympathetic kind instead of the scary kind. We
really feel for Harry in his situation. When you find out he wants to die after
he transforms, it’s pretty sad. He is pretty much an unwilling victim in this
case especially with what his own father did to him.
Nice lab and is that Grant Morrison??
We also get another turning point with Peter’s and Mary
Jane’s relationship. This time, it’s Peter who calls it off. Peter himself was
pretty much a paranoid nutball here and you can’t blame him either. After all that’s happened in the last few
volumes, something had to break. You also got to feel sorry for MJ. They both
handled some situations here wrong, but then you remember they’re two teenagers
dealing with things that adults would have a hard time dealing with. MJ’s sole
issue at the end was a nice way to see her side of the overall story. We also
got an interesting exchange between Peter and Nick Fury towards the end. It was
probably going to come sooner or later especially after the Ultimate Six
storyline.
As usual, the artwork is pretty good. There’s not much
really to say on that front. Harry’s Hobgoblin form was okay. It definitely had
echoes of his father’s look but it was just orange. How that happened is
anyone’s guess. Heck, I am talking about a dude who transforms into a
fire-generating… thing, so it is what it is. The fight scene with Peter,
Hobgoblin, and SHIELD was pretty good in itself. Even the dramatic, not-so-quiet
scenes with Peter and MJ were effective especially the final embrace.
I don’t have too much to complain about this one. I did
think the whole thing involving Shaw was a bit confusing. So, did Harry imagine
that lab as well as Shaw or was that hidden lab real? Also, the reveal of Shaw
being a delusion could have been shown better. That’s one area where the
artwork failed a little bit. I also thought the flashback
sequences were weirdly placed in the story itself. They weren’t bad at all but
it did feel a little jarring. Other than those things and a couple of small
things, this was good.
Reveals/Unmaskings of Spider-Man: 0
That’s right, folks. Peter keeps his mask on that pale face
of his this time. He takes it off around Harry, but that doesn’t count. Still,
I think I’ll drink some sparkling grape juice anyway.
Total Reveals/Unmaskings of Spider-Man: 14
HIGHLIGHTS
This too didn’t have too many highlights either. It’s weird
that most of mine come from the latter half of the story.
-Spidey and SHIELD vs. Hobgoblin – The fight between the two
was pretty brutal and sad especially at the end.
-Spidey punches Nick Fury – After having a bit enough of Fury’s
SHIELD-ness regarding Harry, Spidey punches him down. I wonder what’ll come
from this.
-The breakup – Pete’s and MJ’s breakup was pretty sad. I didn’t
shed tears but it still got to me, man!
………………………………………………………………………
In the end, this was a good one even though it had a couple
of issues. It definitely brought the feels in terms of how downbeat it was.
Maybe next time will be a little less morose. Well, that’s all I got for now.
Now if you excuse me, I need to finish reading something. Until then, Peace,
God Bless, and be careful out there.
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