The Triumph of the Goblin!

This story continues from Spider-Man #97

Lured to the Green Goblin’s hideout under the impression that Osborn had his newborn child, Spider-Man is shocked to discover that the “May Parker” Norman Osborn was referring to was actually a woman who appears to be his Aunt May, something that Peter Parker thinks is impossible.[1]

When the Goblin tells Spider-Man to back away from the old woman, Spider-Man — thinking this is another manipulation like Norman’s involvement with the clones — is more than happy to comply.[2] Even when the Goblin slaps the woman who looks like Aunt May, Spider-Man still is convinced that this is some kind of trick. When he asks what Norman’s game is this time, the Goblin explains that he is trying to achieve godhood and once again orders him to step away from the old woman.[3] Spider-Man’s spider-sense starts buzzing and he begins to feel pangs of doubt. Even if this woman is not his Aunt May, he can’t bring himself to leave her in the clutches of his most deadly enemy. Suddenly, the Goblin changes his mind and decides that Parker should spend some time with his beloved Aunt before the end come and tosses a pumpkin bomb at the wall to blast a hole for Spider-Man to escape. Even though he feels like he is being set up, Spider-Man picks up the unconscious old woman and swings away.

Soon at the Fantastic Four’s Pier Four headquarters, the Invisible Woman interrupts one of her husband’s experiments to tell him that someone has come to see him and it is urgent. It turns out to be Spider-Man and he asks for Reed’s expertise to examine the old woman and confirm if it really is his Aunt May or not some kind of clone or imposter. After a battery of tests, Reed Richards can only confirm that this woman is human but cannot confirm if this is May Parker without some DNA to match her with. Knowing that the Goblin has the resources to doctor any samples that might be stored somewhere, Spider-Man suddenly comes up with a solution and leaves before Reed can tell him another important piece of information he gleaned from his test.

Later, at the Parker home, Mary Jane is throwing a party after signing a new modeling contract. Her Aunt Anna is surprised to see so many famous people in their home, particularly since she saw most of them on television the night before. While up in the attic, Peter Parker roots through old boxes in desperation. The noise attracts the attention of Mary Jane who goes upstairs to check on him. As he continues his search, Peter tells her how she was right, that Norman did not have their baby. However, he did have a woman who looks exactly like Aunt May. However, in order to confirm if this is really May and not some kind of trick, Peter needs some of her DNA that has not been tampered with. He finally finds what he is looking for, a box containing a science fair experiment he conducted when he was fourteen years old. Inside he finds blood samples e took from both his Aunt May and Uncle Ben at the time. Mary Jane tells Peter to do what he needs to do but warns him not to let Norman Osborn hurt him again.

Back at Pier Four, Reed Richards uses the blood sample and runs a number of tests and confirms that this woman is actually Peter’s Aunt May. Reed goes on to tell Spider-Man that an x-ray turned up an abnormality. He then shows the wall-crawler an x-ray of May’s skull which shows a small object that had been implanted at the brainstem that is giving off a series of pulses that are interfering with the functions of her nervous system. If this implant is allowed to continue operation these impulses will eventually cause May’s body to shut down. Reed has already called in a surgeon with the skill to remove the object, but he isn’t sure if there are any defenses to prevent them from removing the object. Spider-Man tells Reed that he’ll go after the Goblin and find out anything they need before they begin operating.

Spider-Man smashes his way into Norman Osborn’s office at Osborn Industries and demands to know what he implanted in Aunt May’s skull and why. Norman tells the wall-crawler that this is all part of his final plan and that this will all end in the death of one of them, a real one this time[4] When Spider-Man asks Norman why he would go after an innocent old woman like his Aunt May, Norman — putting on his Goblin mask — explains that May, like everyone on Earth, are his playthings and that soon everyone will learn the true power of the Green Goblin, a power that is that of a god. Realizing that Osborn has gone insane, Spider-Man decides to humor the Goblin to find out what he has planned. Norman reminds Peter about the mutated plants and animals that he recently saw and explains that they were part of an experiment that he also used against a rival corporation.[5] He then demonstrates the culmination of all those experiments by pressing a stud on his belt. This causes the room below to fill with gas and all the people inside to be reduced to their component DNA. The Goblin explains that once he has done this to the entire world he can remake humanity in his own image.

Calling Norman insane, Spider-Man tries to strike his foe, but Norman only shrugs it off. Grabbing Spider-Man by the throat, the Goblin decides their final battle needs to be in a public space and flies off with Spider-Man in his grasps. As they soar across the city, Norman explains his final gambit. He tells Spider-Man that through Norman Osborn’s charitable organizations he has managed to smuggle DNA bombs to key locations all over the world. The trigger that will set off the device is the small probe that he implanted in the base of Aunt May’s neck. He then explains how he managed to trick Peter into thinking his Aunt May had died. He had discovered a terminally ill actress who was looking for one final role. He had the woman learn to play the role of Aunt May and even went so far to alter the actresses’ appearance so that she would be an exact duplicate of Aunt May down to the microscopic level. He then swapped out the real Aunt May with the impostor.[6]

When they reach the Daily Bugle building, the Goblin throws Spider-Man to the ground, telling the wall-crawler that their final battle will be here in front of J. Jonah Jameson’s “bastion of journalistic integrity”. Drawing out the Bugle staff with a barrage of pumpkin bombs, the Goblin then unmasks Peter Parker in front of everyone before striking him with a pumpkin bomb at point-blank range. Gloating over his final victory, the Green Goblin picks up Peter Parker’s body and declares that he has finally killed Spider-Man.

This story is continued in Spider-Man #98…

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, Anna Watson, Jill Stacy, J. Jonah Jameson, Ben Urich, John Jameson, Betty Brant, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Green Goblin

Continuity Notes

1. There is a lot going on with the May Parker drama going on in this issue:

   • As far as Peter knew, his Aunt May died due to complications of a stroke in Amazing Spider-Man #400

   • Since then, Mary Jane announced she was pregnant in Spectacular Spider-Man #220. They decided to name the child after May.

   • Tragically, Mary Jane was led to believe that she had a miscarriage in Amazing Spider-Man #417.

   • Peter and Mary Jane were led to believe that their baby survived and that Norman Osborn had her in Spider-Man #97.

2. As revealed in Spider-Man: The Clone Journal #1, Norman Osborn manipulated events of the Clone Saga so that Peter Parker was convinced that he was a clone and that his clone, Ben Reilly, was the real Peter Parker in Spectacular Spider-Man #226. Peter learned the real truth when the Green Goblin murdered Ben Reilly in Spider-Man #75.

3. Norman Osborn’s talk about achieving godhood is a reference to the Gathering of Five story arc. In that story, Norman was involved in the Gathering of Five a mystical ceremony in the hopes of gaining ultimate power. The ceremony was completed in Sensational Spider-Man #33 and it appeared that Norman had succeeded in his goal.

4. Norman is alluding to the fact that he faked his own death. Norman was impaled by his own Goblin Glider in Amazing Spider-Man #122. As seen in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1, Norman survived thanks to the healing properties of the Goblin Formula and went into hiding for years. He eventually resurfaced in Amazing Spider-Man #412 and revealed that to Spider-Man that he was still alive in Spider-Man #75.

5. Norman previously used a chemical agent on his rivals and near his hunting lodge in Spider-Man #97

6. Osborn replaced Aunt May with the imposter after she suffered a stroke in Amazing Spider-Man #392.