Green Goblin #13

Background

Last time we saw what Phil Urich was really made of as he flew his glider into a Sentinel's head! Unfortunately, it also destroyed his mask in the process. What's going to happen now? Can you say... nothing?

Story 'To Glide No More'

Phil takes his mask to Fast Freddie, who doesn't recognize that it's the Green Goblin mask, he just starts playing with it, until he admits he can't fix it (big surprise). Phil goes to the Bugle to find out that he's a victim of right-sizing (in more ways than one), and gets laid off from his intern job. Phil decides to go out as the Goblin anyway, with a green ski-mask and a ten-speed.

However, after running around for a while, he realizes that he's not in very good shape for that kind of thing without his enhanced powers. While resting on a rooftop, he hears a purse-snatching in progress. But, Phil's pumpkin bomb lands on another building. Just as the punks are preparing to beat the crap out of Phil, Spider-Ben shows up, webs everybody into submission, and swings off into the night.

Dejected and depressed, Phil walks back to his loft (his bike was stolen), just in time to get a call from Lynn Walsh. They're having a 'lay-off party', and Phil goes to see Lynn. She however, is only interested in the Green Goblin file. However, Merr is there and she says that she's going back to school. That gives Phil an idea. He finally decides to put his toys away and get his life going again. He grabs all his goblin-gear, and drops it off at Osborne Warehouse. The End!

General Comments

I didn't like this issue because...it was the last one!!! Phil has been a good hero, up until this issue. If he was REAL hero material, he go find Daredevil and ask to be trained!!! Oh well, I guess you can't have everything. Marvel gave us the Goblin for a while, and then took him back. Oh well, they can have him because I'm sure they'll use him again (and soon, I hope).

Overall Rating

The issue, I have to give two webs. The whole tone was one of surrender, and the gratuitous appearance of Spider-Ben was nothing like I had anticipated. He went out with a whimper, not with a bang (that was last issue).

The series, however, I give four webs! It has been the best Spider-Man spin-off series ever, and this proves that the Green Goblin is a character with staying power, on both sides of the law. This series will always be one of my favorite.

Footnote

Jonathan Couper says...

Bit tough Jason! Sure, this final issue was a bit anti-climactic, but that's OK. It resolved a lot of issues, and really there wasn't any other way it could end.

Phil happened to be in the right place at the right time. He was lucky, and he had a lot of fun - but he was never cut out to be a super-hero for the rest of his life. He didn't have the technical skills to back himself up, and more importantly, he wasn't prepared to sacrifice everything else just to wear a rubber mask. I can understand that.

Both Green Goblin and New Warriors were slashed titles, victims of sales executives who could only see the bottom line. But, was it such a bad thing for Green Goblin (or for New Warriors for that matter)? Nothing lasts for ever - and Phil had the chance to learn a lot about himself while doing some good.

Sure, Phil was no Norman Osborn - and he was no Spider-Man either. He was just an ordinary guy who got a chance to something not many people do. DeFalco, McDaniel, and Hood gave us some great stories over the space of a year - and those 13 issues will have a special place on my comics shelves for a long time to come. Thanks guys.