“Who Was That Goblin I Saw You With?”

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN — Issue no. 180, February 1978

Book: The Amazing Spider-Man

Issue No.: 180

Published: February 7, 1978

Title: “Who Was That Goblin I Saw You With?”

Cover Price: 35¢

One of my favorite hype lines from Marvel comics of the 1970s and 1980s (and, I must assume, a favorite of the editorial staff at the time) is “this is it, the senses-shattering conclusion!” I don’t know who at Marvel coined the term “senses-shattering,” but it’s wonderfully over-the-top while also being just unusual enough that no one else would use it, making it de facto exclusive to Marvel, at least at the time.

So it’s nice that my first comic book (yes, after weeks of reading and writing about other comic books, I finally got around to that Spidey book I talked about in the premiere Marvel Time Warp post) actually uses the hype line on page one, promising the senses-shattering finale of “the most sensational Spider-Man saga of all!”

How does this, the comic book that made me a comic book nerd, live up to my memories of it (and to its own hype)? Pretty well! All these years later, I still haven’t read any of the lead-up issues to this one, but as is often the case, the writer (Len Wein) does a good job of dropping enough contextual clues to get a new reader up to speed. It’s a particularly impressive feat in this case as some of the plot threads (according to editor’s notes in a flashback scene) go back as far as issue no. 151.

Even coming in late, this is a fun story. And it really hits the ground running. There’s a new Green Goblin on the loose, and the story opens with him, Spidey, and a mobster called Silvermane, in freefall. I mean, just look at this splash page, (courtesy of penciler Ross Andru and inker Mike Esposito).

Turns out the new Goblin is Bart Hamilton, a psychiatrist who was treating Harry Osborne, the second Green Goblin (and not coincidentally the son of the original Green Goblin). Hamilton found out Osborne’s secret identity and stole his Goblin costume and weapons. The new Goblin and Spidey are fighting it out at a remote industrial locale when Osborne Goblin shows up looking for revenge — he’s not happy about Hamilton stealing his shtick. After lots of fisticuffs, Hamilton accidentally blows himself up, and Osborne gets knocked unconscious. After he wakes, Osborne has convenient comic book amnesia where he has forgotten about being the Green Goblin. At least for now.

Aside from all of the excellent Goblin vs. Goblin vs. Spider-Man action, there’s a fun one-page scene with J. Jonah Jameson, who Peter Parker (Spidey’s alter-ego) works for at the Daily Bugle newspaper. Jameson hates Spider-Man, so he’s extra annoyed when he gets a tip from Bugle editor Joe Robertson that the Goblin has kidnapped Spidey (this happens right after the freefall scene). You see, the breaking news is going to mean scrapping and reprinting the Daily Bugle’s late-night edition. (The news industry was very different before we had an internet.)

As you can probably tell, I had a great time revisiting this comic book, and I am really looking forward to reading more 1978 Spidey books.

Next time — Things get a little Crazy.