Green Goblin #5

Background

Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich's nephew, Philip, accidentally stumbled into one of the Green Goblin's secret HQ's, and took all of his equipment and stuff. He's now the new GREEN GOBLIN!!!! Philip's only problem is...he doesn't know what to do about it!

Issue #5 sees the introduction of a new penciller. Kevin Kobasic picks up the art and brings a brighter and slightly more conventional look to the book. Personally I prefer McDaniel, but that's OK - he's back for #6 anyway.

Story 'The Ghosts of Goblins Past'

Philip is being haunted by the ghosts of all the previous goblins, including the first Hobgoblin and the Demogoblin. Perhaps he's been reading his uncle's "Dynasty of Evil" book too much, or maybe his guilt is getting the better of him. The nightmares are keeping him up.

During the day, Philip interns for his uncle at the Bugle, and the two spend the day tracking down Judge Tomb, a New York court judge who's been up to no good. Ben seems to have the hots for bringing down the good judge. "Maybe he'll do something foolish..." Ben comments to Philip. Later, as the Green Goblin, Phil tries to cash in on his image by making a deal with a card company to publish GREEN GOBLIN cards.

After being turned down, Phil flies around town, trying to figure out what he should do with his new "gig". While The Goblin struggles with his fate, Uncle Ben gets jumped by some faceless hoods and is badly beaten. Phil hears about his uncle's condition while shmoozing at a party with his crush-of-the-week, Lynn Walsh. He runs to the hospital to talk with Ben, who de-emphasizes the incident. His suspicion that Judge Tomb was behind the whole thing only fuels Ben's commitment to exposing the judge.

That is enough to drive Philip to the edge. "Death comes to all who dare assume the mantle of the Green Goblin!", warns the ghostly image of the Demogoblin, but that does nothing to subdue our man Phil. Now his fate is clear; the Green Goblin is here to stay!

General Comments

The first few issues I bought of GG had me wondering: when is this guy going to suck it in and play super-hero? Tom DeFalco has taken his time, building up the characters and the storyline to this book, bringing things to a head. No, GG isn't blasting villains into oblivion yet, but now he has motivation. I think that next few months are going to be the ones to watch.

Philip is growing as a character, and my admiration for the Green Goblin as a hero grows with him.

Overall Rating

The haunting of Philip was done well, and it gave a lot of insight into the history of the character(s). With an intriguing storyline, and the always-wonderful art, it's kind of hard not to give it the full five webs - so I will!

All of you people who are in the "I'm not buying it because it's just another VENOM" camp should take the time to check the series out. Afterwards, you might have a different opinion.