Reviewplot:
My Origin of the Hobgoblin trade screws me again by cutting out all of the subplots. This includes all of the cool scenes where Spider-Man gets hit hard with Spidey sense attacks that foreshadow the coming of the Beyonder and Secret Wars. It seems like an unnecessary amount of work to have deleted the scenes as it required some real precision. For example, here's the original scene from #249.
Why do that?!? Was it really just to avoid an external reference for trade readers? Or was it due to some deep seated Shooter hating? (I've been reading Jim Shooter's blog lately, that's why my thoughts are going in that direction.)
These issues also present a challenge to my project. As mentioned, in the course of this story, Spider-Man loses his spider-sense. And issues of Spectacular Spider-Man and Marvel Team-Up take place while he's lost it. But there's no clean break between these issues of ASM where those additional Spider-Man stories can occur. Which means that the other comics must take place concurrently with this story arc, in between panels. Not the first time we've run into this, and we'll deal with it in the Continuity Considerations section, but it's always my preference when the issues take place sequentially. That said, this is still a case where i think there's a major benefit to reading Marvel's line as a whole in chronological order. Otherwise if you're reading, say, the Spectacular Spider-Man series and suddenly Spidey doesn't have his spider-sense, you're missing part of the story! And that's not even considering the fact that all of these issues end with Spider-Man heading to Secret Wars.
Before we get into the plot summary, one more thing. This is Roger Stern and John Romita Jr.'s last arc on Amazing Spider-Man. Issue #251 begins the Defalco/Frenz run, with Defalco scripting a Stern plot. Famously (among comic nerds, anyway), Stern didn't supply DeFalco (or anyone) with the Hobgoblin's identity, and this will lead to a lot of confusion and a number of bad reveals over the next few years. I don't know why he chose not to reveal the Hobgoblin's identity, but in retrospect it seems like a bad idea.
Major update here: It turns out Stern did disclose to DeFalco his intentions for the Hobgoblin's identity, but DeFalco didn't like the idea of it being Kinglsey. See Comic Book Resources review of the Hobgoblin identity snafu Part 1 and Part 2.
As for JRJR's art, it was of course great. Not stylized and angular like his later work. Just a very nice clean Marvel house style. On complaint is that his Peter Parker became too much of a heroic muscular type. Peter (and Spidey) is supposed to be slender and agile looking. Spider-Man is strong, sure. But he shouldn't look like Captain America.
It's actually a pretty common problem for people drawing super-hero comics. In the 70s, Mr. Fantastic was drawn with a similar muscular frame. Beyond that, Romita Jr.'s was a great compliment to Stern's writing. And going forward, Ron Frenz's Dikto-tribute style will certainly correct the Peter Parker issue.
Now on to the plot! Via Osborn's notes, the Hobgoblin has acquired dirt on various business leaders, and he's decided to go for blackmail. J. Jonah Jameson and Harry Osborn are included in the plot. JJ for having created the Scorpion, and Harry for his father's identity as the Green Goblin. Roger Kingsley, the fashion designer from Stern's Spectacular Spider-man run, is also apparently included as well, but we'll get back to that. Harry brings Peter along, and the Kingpin also shows up at the Century Club where the blackmailing is going down.
Spidey seeks out the individual blackmailees but doesn't get much help. Note two details from his visit with Kingsley, however. 1. Kingsley is upset that his brother is out of town. We haven't heard anything about a brother before. 2. Kingsley doesn't seem to remember his girlfriends name. Odd!
While Spidey notes some contradictions - JJ's only copping to his involvement in the Scorpion and not, say, the Spider-Slayers or the Fly, and the fact that he's only coming clean now - it's still a nice distinction between Jameson and the other people being blackmailed. JJ insists on publishing his confession even after Spidey stops the Hobgoblin and destroys his notes, and resigns as Editor In Chief of the Daily Bugle, turning that title over to Joe Robertson (JJ remains Publisher).
While he's without his Spider-Sense, Spider-Man pulls out his old device that tracks his Spider-Tracers. His internal monologue makes it sound like he hasn't used the device in a long long time ("It's been years since I've used the tracking receiver... and it looks like it! The batteries leaked... it's a mess in here!"), but Chris Claremont had him pull it out of his butt to give to the Invisible Girl in Marvel Team-Up #88.
Then the two of them go over a pier into the Hudson while fighting in the Hobgoblin's battle van. At this point Spidey is trying to save the Hobgoblin from drowning, but the Hobgoblin seems to prefer death. He has an odd thought about how the "disgrace would be too much for me.... and my family".
Roger Stern intended Roderick Kingsley to be the Hobgoblin. He has a twin brother Daniel who poses as Roderick in these issues. If you know what you're looking for, you can kind of see the clues, but they're very subtle and it's not surprising that subsequent writers weren't able to follow up on it without any help from Stern.
Peter's Spider-Sense goes off in issue 249, right before he and MJ go into the pool. It also goes off briefly in issue 250 and then disappears again. Maybe those scenes weren't included in your trade.
I believe it was due to him being angry at Marvel editorial during the time, and especially upset with being removed as writer of Avengers. Plus, he couldn't pass up that chance to write a new Star man series that DC was offering.
No, that's why he left MARVEL. Stern was still working at Marvel when the Hobgoblin was revealed in 1987. (His last full issue of Avengers was dated November 1987 and the Hobgoblin was revealed in June 1987.) S is asking why the Stern left Spider-Man before resolving the story.
"Just the usual creative shuffles. Towards the end of (The Amazing Spider-Man run), Tom DeFalco left to get Marvel's Star Comics line started, and J.R. picked up the X-Men assignment. Danny Fingeroth became the new Spider-editor. Danny is a good guy, but...you have to understand, as far as Spider-Man was concerned, Tom and I were absolutely on the same wavelength. When he left, it just wasn't the same without him. I didn't have to explain every little detail to Tom, the way I did with Danny.
"I liked Danny - I still do - but I could see that if we kept working together, it would drive at least one of us crazy. Maybe both of us. After about six months, I called J.R. to discuss it with him, and he said that he was thinking of leaving Amazing to spend more time on the X-Men. And that made it easier to leave the book.
"Of course, if I'd known that Ron Frenz was going to take over as the new penciler, I might have stuck around. I'd had so much fun working with him on (The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man). I finally got to work with Ron again on a Superman Annual and a couple of miniseries [Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives and Spider-Man: Revenge of the Green Goblin], but it would have been even better to work with him on Amazing. He and Tom produced some really great stories on that book."
As a kid, I just thought "Kingsley" slipped up and called one girlfriend by another's name; it's absolutely a clue! From the Kingpin using a Spider Tracer to Peter digging out the old tracker to the "I Created the Scorpion" confession by JJJ, there are so many fine little touches that make Roger Stern the best Spider-scribe since Stan Lee. At the time, JJJ's editorial and step over to Publisher seemed momentous in that Romita/Janson DD-flavored office. Obviously Jonah wanted to take the sting :-D out of the blackmail, and it DOES set up the '84 Annual, but he basically succeeded because other writers don't mention it much, right?
Yes, because of those plot and especially dialogue subtleties, it IS too bad Roger Stern didn't stick around to drive the Hobgoblin plot home, and any other Spider Stories he wanted to write, too. The art change wasn't as jarring because I was new to the book and got the homage aspect as a Marvel Tales reader, though I noticed Frenz made people less pretty (per your "nerd v hunk" art observation). This was my first awareness of an art team change on a book. I think it triggered an observation in me, as a writer, when as a child the Silver Age-styling in Tom's scripts seemed less natural. Then I realized there's a different feel in character motivations that also plays into speech, from writer to writer. That discussion, as well as the content, has drawn me back to SuperMegaMonkey many times over! I also enjoy watching concurrent story lines thread across books, and insights into the creative and publishing process meta-story.
I think JJJ's involvement with the Spider-Slayers is public knowledge at this point; when a robot runs around town with your face and voice, people tend to notice. At the very least, people at the Bugle would know about it.
1. "Roderick" says he has a brother. If we even bother to focus on what seems to be a throwaway line, at this point, we haven't seen or heard about said brother, so why would we assume it's an identical twin?
Interesting that Stern wanted to reveal Hobby's ID around #264, but he was gone after #252. I wonder how he would have handled the issues leading up to #264? Would readers have guessed Roderick was the Hobgoblin once Daniel's existence was made clear? Maybe if he was revealed before #264. If Daniel was introduced the same issue Roderick was unmasked, I think it would have been incredibly disappointing.
Yeah, I agree that at this point Daniel was in the dark about Roderick being the Hobgoblin. Thus, I don't think he's "overacting" in the scene where the Hobgoblin confronts his blackmailees, that's just Daniel being Daniel (while masquerading as Roderick).
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