Spider-Man #97
Let the Heavens Tremble at the Power of the Goblin!
As his minions dress him in a new Green Goblin costume, he asks if the Alison Mongrane situation has been dealt with. They confirm that they eliminated the Mongrane woman, but not before she could talk to the Parkers and that Peter is determined to get his May back. Fully clothed, the Goblin isn’t concerned with this development since May plays an important role in the plan ahead. As he leaves, the Green Goblin leaves a bunch of live pumpkin bombs to eliminate his men.[1]
An hour later, Spider-Man leaps over the wall outside Norman Osborn’s hunting lodge in Upstate New York. He can hardly believe his baby is still alive and has been a prisoner of Norman Osborn this whole time. He is furious at Norman Osborn for leading him and Mary Jane to think their baby was dead for months.[2] Oncec on the property, Spider-Man discovers that Norman has set up a number of traps, including spike pits and trees that seem to move on their own. After getting the wind knocked out of him by a tree branch, the wall-crawler reminds himself to not let his growing anger cloud his spider-sense. As he swings onward, he is unaware that some four-legged creatures have detected his presence and are now silently stalking him.
Meanwhile, Mary Jane is trying on fashions for Gianni Vermicelli, who is amazed at how beautiful Mary Jane looks in one of his dresses. Mary Jane and her friend Jill Stacy are still surprised at Mary Jane’s fast track back into the modelling industry. When Mary Jane remarks how quickly things change, Jill mentions how she recently made peace with Spider-Man regarding the deat of her cousin Gwen.[3] Mention of her husband’s alter-ego makes Mary Jane secretly wish Peter could be here instead of off chasing ghosts from their past.
Back upstate, Spider-Man’s spider-sense is going crazy but he can’t pinpoint where the danger is coming from. Deciding to face it, he drops down to the ground and is suddenly surrounded by a pack of mutated dogs. When one lunges at him, Spider-Man grabs the dog by the throat and incapacitates it. The other dogs recognize that they are facing a formitable foe, but are webbed to the ground before they can flee. With the immediate danger out of the way, Spider-Man continues his trek to Osborn’s hunting lodge. As he reaches the building he is confronted by the Green Goblin who is disappointed that the wall-crawler has not been looking for the clues he had set up for their final confrontation. With time running out, he decides to indulge one of the false leads he set up. Tossing Spider-Man one of his journals, Spider-Man is surprised when the words inside begin to change when he opens it up. Osborn explains he hoped that Spider-Man would have found it when he first attacked Norman earlier and take it to the authorities, thinking it would expose all of Osborn’s crimes.[4] Instead the words change to those of a concerned citizen afraid for his life after discovering Spider-Man’s secret identity. The book would not only have exposed Peter Parker’s secret identity, but also accused him of murdering his Aunt May when she learned his secret.[5] However, the Goblin is finished with games now that he has achieved godhood and plans on using DNA bombs to reshape the world in his own image, it is time to finally kill Spider-Man.
Back in the city, Mary Jane is front and center of a press conference announcing that she is being hired on as a model for Gianni Vermicelli. While smiling for te cameras, she starts wondering if Peter might be right and Osborn might actually have their baby.
Upstate, the battle between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin rages on. When Peter vows to rescue his baby, Norman denies ever taking it, saying the child died. Falling into another fit of rage, Spider-Man refuses to believe this and tackles Norman off his Goblin Glider and demands to know the truth. Instead, Norman offers to give Spider-Man a painless death. Naturally, the wall-crawler refuses. After making the Goblin Glider crash, Spider-Man races toward the house, figuring that Norman is trying to keep him away. Recovering from his fall, the Green Goblin tackles Spider-Man right through the front door and into the lobby of the massive hunting lodge. Recovering from the blow, Spider-Man recounts how everyone Norman has touched has been corrupted, especially his son Harry, and the late Gwen Stacy.[6] He has had enough and vows to stop Osborn once and for all. However, the Goblin refuses to surrender until Spider-Man is dead. Unwilling to surrender, Spider-Man lands a knock out blow on the Goblin and then webs him up. Spider-Man then starts frantically searching for his baby. This search is abruptly ended when someone smashes a vase over his head.[7] Looking up, Spider-Man can’t believe the sight of his attacker, who turns out to be Aunt May.[8] Elsewhere in the mansion, the Green Goblin howls with laughter.
This story is continued in Spectacular Spider-Man #263…
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Green Goblin, Mary Jane Watson, Jill Stacy, Aunt May
Continuity Notes
There is a lot to unpack here so here are the facts:
Norman Osborn’s hired men are surprised that he is actually the Green Goblin. Although Norman was outed as the original Green Goblin in Spider-Man: Legacy of Evil #1, he has since used his position as owner of the Daily Bugle to discredit this claim starting in Spectacular Spider-Man #250.
One of his minions is worried that Norman has been acting strange since the Gathering of Five ceremony. That happened in Amazing Spider-Man #441.
Amazing Spider-Man #441 is also the same story where Alison Mongrane was killed. Norman has been trying to eliminate her since Amazing Spider-Man #434.
Peter Parker is told that May is still alive. Peter thinks this is his unborn child that was stillborn in Amazing Spider-Man #418. He’s wrong as we learn later this issue.
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife in this story. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple in this story.
Gwen Stacy was murdered by the Green Goblin back in Amazing Spider-Man #121. Jill blamed Spider-Man for this death until the two had a heart-to-heart talk about it in Spider-Man #94.
The Green Goblin is referring to when he goaded Spider-Man into attacking him on camera in Spectacular Spider-Man #250. In that story, Peter stopped close to seriously hurting Norman and was later chased away by his security.
At the time of this story, Peter has been led to believe that his Aunt May died in Amazing Spider-Man #400 due to her frail health. As seen later this issue, that was not the case.
At the time of this story, Peter believes Harry died in Spectacular Spider-Man #200 due to a side effect of his father’s Goblin Formula. However, Harry actually survived and was secreted away by his father. With the help of Mysterio, Norman has been perpetuating the myth that his son is dead, as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #581.
This moment is paying homage to Amazing Spider-Man #114, where Aunt May managed to coldcock Spider-Man in much the same way. The explanation here is that Peter does not consider his Aunt May a threat and as such she does not set off his spider-sense.
Yes this is the real Aunt May, as we’ll learn next issue.
