(writers) Dan Slott and Christos Gage
(artist) Giuseppe Camuncoli
"Goblin Wars" part 3 (part 4 if you count the prologue in issue #26)
I should have been reviewing this particular storyline from the very beginning but I got caught up in other things.
In a nutshell, the Green Goblin (who apparently may or may not be Norman Osborn) has invited Otto Octavius, aka Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, to join his criminal empire, which he has been building right under Otto's nose throughout nearly the entire series since issue #5. Thanks to information co-opted from Peter Parker's ex-girlfriend Carlie Cooper the Goblin knows that Otto is Spider-Man but through some narrative sleight-of-hand which I'm not entirely sure I buy he still doesn't know that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. Otto declines, so the Goblin and his minions have started the painful process of pulling Otto's empire down around his ears. Meanwhile, the consciousness of Peter Parker, who was thought to have been buried in issue #9 when Otto erased almost all of his memories, has resurfaced, and to guard against another attempt to erase him he has taken refuge in Otto's memories, an experience which, apparently, is affecting him considerably. Miguel O'Hara, also known as Spider Man 2099, who has been trapped in this time as of issue #19, also shows up.
I have to credit Marvel; we already know Peter Parker is going to be back in control of his body in about a month's time, but they're doing a remarkable job at maintaining suspense as to how exactly it's going to happen. There's a certain gratification to see Otto's world collapse, considering how irritatingly smug he's gotten over the series. Although this series has really allowed us to see a different side of the man once known as (and who may one day again be) Doctor Octopus, Otto remains very much an arrogant prick, and Dan Slott builds the story of Otto's fall on his central weakness, his pride. As absurd as this may sound, I actually found myself rooting for the Green Goblin this time around; at least he's honest about who he is and what he wants, unlike the former villain who wants to play hero but has no compunctions about employing his old methods in the process.
Equally interesting is the degree to which Peter Parker is actually finding himself immersed in Otto's memories; by the time he's back in charge, there is no doubt he will be a changed man. Still, Otto had full access to all of Peter's memories before erasing him and he was none the saintlier for them.
The weak link for me was Giuseppe Camuncoli's art. His renditions of Spider-Man here are better than usual (his take is normally a little too chunky for my liking) but his rendering of everything else feels a tad off. Still, if nothing else, he turns in a solid storytelling effort.
Two more issues to go until P-Day!
3.5/5
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