Title : Hobgoblin Part 1
Writer : Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils : Mark Bagley
Inks : Scott Hanna
Colors : J.D. Smith
Letters : Chris Eliopoulos
Editor : Ralph Macchio
Publisher : Marvel Comics
Peter Parker’s week just goes from bad to worse after the nightmare (literally) time he had involving Doctor Strange and the ghosts of enemies past.
Super-hero life catches up with Peter, as he flirts with unconsciousness (and disaster) in what should have been a run-of-the-mill encounter with a try-hard villain. Meanwhile, pressure accumulates at school, as his relationship with Mary Jane frays at the edges. And most worryingly, the absent-but-not-forgotten Harry Osborn returns to school with a knowing glint in his eye. The glint, of course, represents his knowledge of just what Peter Parker has been doing with his spare time.
This story-line in some ways provides a preview of the possible paths that Harry Osborn may take in Spider-Man 3. He’s learnt that his father is / was a super-villain and than his best friend is (a) a super-hero and (b) the one responsible for taking down / killing his father. How would he react?
This issue is all set-up really, with interesting flashbacks to the day of the spider-bite, as well as a flush of teen-age romance between Harry and Mary Jane.
Bendis is good at communicating that Peter’s life is very much not a bed of roses, despite the jealousy that people like Harry feel. The ‘great responsibility’ referred to so often is a huge burden for a youngster to bear.
As well, the keeping of Peter as a teen-ager means that the deaths which he feels guilt for (Ben, Gwen, Cap. Stacy) have all occurred in a relatively narrow window of time, making his stress and hair-trigger temper all the more understandable.
The only fault with Bendis’ script is one I often complain about with Ultimate Spidey – the lack of forward progression in the story compared to the page count. Numerous reaction shots, along with repetitive dialogue, can mean that five pages are read in seconds.
The art is, as always, excellent. This is particularly the case given Bagley’s punishing schedule. The only quibble is that Harry looks waaay older than Peter, even though they are meant to be in the same level of school. See the last page for an example of what I mean.
Waiting for the fight scene…
