Amazing Spider-Man #261
The Sins of my Father!
Mary Jane Watson and Liz Osborn have been captured by the Hobgoblin and are now his prisoner in one of the Rose's warehouses. When the women ask why they have been kidnapped, the Hobgoblin explains that he is holding them in order to force Harry Osborn to turn over any remaining journals written by his father Norman, the original Green Goblin. He warns them not to try anything as they are expendable. When the Hobgoblin calls Mary Jane by name, she wonders how the villain knows who she is. After locking up the women, he rejoins the Rose who is waiting outside. The Hobgoblin explains that he has to make his threats otherwise the Osborns won't give him what he wants. The Rose is concerned about how pregnant Liz Osborn is, fearing that she could go into labor at any moment. This is why they also captured Mary Jane, in the hopes she can help should that happen. The Rose is also happy to see that the Hobgoblin is using the office space to store some of his equipment so he doesn't have to go back to his own secret hideout should he need anything. The Rose continues to assure the Hobgoblin that they need to work together and wishes him the best with this Osborn business. The Hobgoblin is still confident that things will work out in his favor, believing that Harry Osborn will not gamble the safety of his wife and unborn child.
Elsewhere, Harry Osborn tears through his personal storage in the hopes of finding any of his father's journals. When he finds nothing, he curses his father for his career as the Green Goblin. He figures that there are no journals left and figures they were all in the possession of the Hobgoblin when Spider-Man destroyed them. That's when Harry notices one of his father's old desks. Searching it, he finds a secret compartment which contains a diary. Looking through the book, he discovers that it is a master list of all of the secret storage rooms that Norman used as the Green Goblin. Harry leaves, determined to face the Hobgoblin alone because he can't think of anyone who could help him right now. As he drives away from the storage facility, Harry is unaware that Spider-Man has tagged his vehicle with a spider-tracer. Spider-Man follows after Harry. Along the way, he feels sorry for Harry, as his father's legacy continues to haunt him, even long after the death of his father.
Meanwhile, at the Baxter Building, a flying device infiltrates the building and flies into the laboratory of Reed Richards. It locates the containment unit that is holding Spider-Man's alien costume and blasts a small hole in the unit. This allows the alien costume to escape. As it scales down the wall of the Baxter Building, it is seething with feelings of anger and hatred and seeks to get revenge against Spider-Man for abandoning it.
At that moment in Central Park, Harry Osborn waits for the Hobgoblin to show up so he can exchange his father's diary for his wife and Mary Jane. When the Hobgoblin arrives he demands that Harry turn over the diary. However, Harry refuses to do so until Liz and Mary Jane are set free. Instead of bargaining, the Hobgoblin attacks Harry, knocking him out. Confirming that the journal is authentic, the Hobgoblin flies away with both the book and Harry. The masked villain is unaware that Spider-Man has been watching from the trees and is now following the Hobgoblin back to his hideout. Soon, Harry is tossed into the room where Liz and Mary Jane have been held, prisoner. When Harry tells them what happened, Mary Jane asks if Peter Parker knows what's going on. Harry explains that he doesn't, asking her why he would get Peter involved in this situation, unaware that Peter is actually Spider-Man. The Rose congratulates the Hobgoblin for completing his mission and then tells his partner that they need to go over their current operations and reigning in more gambling dens into their criminal empire.
Meanwhile, outside, Spider-Man arrives at the Rose's warehouse and begins taking out the guards on the grounds. Inside, Harry reveals that he has a gun strapped to his leg. They then get the attention the guard and Harry threatens to shoot him if he doesn't let them go. The thug calls Harry's bluff and Harry can't bring himself to pull the trigger. However, while everyone is focused on Harry, Mary Jane manages to sneak up behind the guard and hit him over the head with a shovel, knocking him out. As the trio make their escape, one of the other men calls out the alarm. Harry begins shooting at him, alerting the Rose and the Hobgoblin of the escape attempt. Also hearing the shots from outside, Spider-Man rips his way through the main entrance. Before the Hobgoblin can harm the Osborns and Mary Jane, Spider-Man leaps in to their rescue. While Spider-Man is busy with the Hobgoblin, the others try to escape. Instead of finding the exit, they enter the Hobgoblin's office. Seeing all the goblin equipment in the room, Harry realizes what he must do and tells Liz and Mary Jane to run for it.
At that moment, Spider-Man and the Hobgoblin's battle starts a fire in the warehouse. The Hobgoblin rushes back to his office to recover the last Osborn journal. However, Harry is waiting for him and attacks the Hobgoblin with his own weapons. As the two fight it out, the fire spreads out of control. Mary Jane and Liz try to find their way out, but they end up surrounded by flames. To make matters worse, Liz begins going into labor, leaving Mary Jane to wonder where Peter is. Spider-Man revives and hears Liz screaming, and runs to their aid. However, when he learns that Harry is fighting the Hobgoblin alone, he tells the women to hang tight while he saves Harry. Spider-Man arrives just in time to save Harry. While the wall-crawler lays into his foe, Harry rushes out and tries to save the women from the flames, but they are soon trapped. Hearing Harry calling for help, Spider-Man is forced to let the Hobgoblin escape so he can save his friends. Before leaving, the Hobgoblin destroys all the equipment and flees.
By this time, the fire department and an ambulance have arrived. Liz and Harry are quickly rushed off in an ambulance to get Liz to a hospital. As it drives off, Mary Jane hopes that Liz doesn't lose the baby, and wonders why the Osborns have to continue to suffer. Spider-Man admits that he doesn't know. Elsewhere, the Hobgoblin returns to his secret hideout and looks over the Osborn journal. He realizes that it is a list of all the storehouses that he already looted, making it useless and destroys it. Realizing that he has to rely on his own cunning from now on, the Hobgoblin vows to destroy Spider-Man once and for all.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Hobgoblin, Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, Liz Osborn, The Rose, Mr. Varley, Mr. Johnston
Continuity Notes
This story makes multiple reference to Spider-Man destroying all of Norman Osborn's journals. That happened in Amazing Spider-Man #250.
Mary Jane wonders how the Hobgoblin knows her name. As revealed in Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives #3, this Hobgoblin was actually Roderick Kingsley. Kingsley, a fashion designer, would know Mary Jane as she is a model.
Spider-Man recounts how Harry was struggling with drug addiction and suffered a mental break during the final days of the original Green Goblin. Some facts:
During the days leading up to the "death" of his father, Harry was dealing with a drug addiction, as explained in Amazing Spider-Man #96-98. He had a relapse in Amazing Spider-Man #119.
Harry discovered that his father was the Green Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #122. The led to a break insanity that led to Harry discovering Peter's secret identity and becoming the Green Goblin himself, lasting until Amazing Spider-Man #137.
Harry underwent therapy making him forget his experiences as the Green Goblin, as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #151.
Everyone in this story believes that Norman Osborn is dead following his battle with Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #122. As revealed in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1, Norman actually survived and will resurface in Amazing Spider-Man #412.
The scene in the Baxter Building occurs concurrently with the events in Fantastic Four #274 and Spider-Man/Fantastic Four #2.
