Green Goblin #12

Background

Onslaught! Ben Urich and his nephew Phil are walking the strangest of beats as the huge sentinels are decimating New York City! And the goblin faces his greatest enemy - his self-esteem!

Story Details

They relay news of the attack to the Daily Bugle, just as a huge Sentinel takes out the newspaper's electricity. Lynn, Meredith, and Phil run up to the roof to get a better look, and are awestruck by the widespread destruction. Lynn and Meredith leave to get a street-level view, and Phil summons his glider. All this time, fear grips the youth, and feelings of uncertainty. Even as he dons the brain-sizzling mask, Phil is pre-occupied with doubts and fears.

When the Goblin attacks the Sentinel, he is greeted only with failure! His pumpkin bombs don't make a dent in the Sentinel's thick armor, and his razor-bat blades only put scratches on the robot's shiny head. Phil tries his maniacal laugh last, and that seems to have an effect, making the Sentinel shake. But, a solid blow landed by the huge android sends Goblin and glider alike sliding into an alleyway. Beaten and desperate, Phil chucks the goblin-mask, and the Sentinel, no longer detecting super-human powers, leaves Phil alone in the alleyway.

Mired in self-pity, Phil recalls his escapades as the Green Goblin, from the fateful night in the Osborn warehouse where he saved his uncle's life by using the Goblin-gear to the most recent adventure against Angel Face. He wonders why people like Spider-Man or Daredevil risk their lives constantly to save lives, and why characters like the Scarlet Spider disappear after a little while. After a little soul-searching, Phil sucks it up, picks his mask back up, and jumps back on his glider!

The Sentinel, recognizing that Phil had re-gained his powers, begins again in his attempts to destroy Phil. However, after a little tricky flying and some slick maneuvering, Phil puts his glider on a suicide run for the Sentinel's head! It slams through the robot's metal cranium, causing a huge explosive. However, a piece of shrapnel from the explosion hits Phil's mask, and totals it!

General Comments

Oh no, Phil's source of power, his mask, is trashed! What's going to happen now? This issue is one-hundred-and-eighty degrees from last issue in terms of attitude. We get to witness a great turning-point in Phil's life, where he learns to accept responsibility for his powers, and his actions! Sentinels are great enemies, huge and inhuman, with no real discernible agenda except destruction. The art is okay, but the style is much more straightforward than previous issues. But blended together, all the elements come together very nicely to make it a good Goblin-issue! I love to root for Phil!

Overall Rating

With the story carrying the majority of the load, a four-web rating seems to be in order. It had definite strength in the story and mood, but the art lacked real individuality and style.