The Green Goblin may be gone, but the Hobgoblin? That’s an entirely different ballgame. Your Major Spoilers review of Amazing Spider-Man #11 from Marvel Comics awaits!

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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #11

Writer: Zeb Wells
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Scott Hanna
Colorist: Marcio Menyz
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Editor: Nick Lowe
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: October 12, 2022

Previously in Amazing Spider-Man: The timing of this goblin’s return with Peter working at Oscorp MUST be a coincidence, right? But who is donning the yellow cowl? Roderick Kingsley? Ned Leeds? Flash Thompson? If you know anything about Hobgoblin, you know that you know nothing about Hobgoblin.

WHO IS THE HOBGOBLIN?

So, thanks to the Goblin serum in his blood, the late Ned Leeds isn’t nearly as late as he once seemed, and he and his wife Betty have reconciled and had their baby, whom they’ve named Winston. Their old friend Peter even sent a gift (though a newborn has little use for a chemistry set), thanks to his new job with Oscorp, working for Norman Osborn, one of his most implacable foes. Norman has finally kicked the Goblin habit and gone straight, which makes the revelation that he’s been meeting with crime lord Roderick Kingsley disturbing. Kingsley, who was the first Hobgoblin, is still angry that Norman forced him out and bought up his holdings, but when Peter confronts Norman. Osborn flat-out tells him the truth: He’s going to give Kingsley back his empire and let the chips fall where they may.

And that’s when the Hobgoblin arrives with a message for both of them: Madness rides the night wind!

MUST PETER BE A LOSER?

As someone who remembers the first time John Romita, Jr. illustrated a mystery around The Hobgoblin, I found certain elements of this story to be a little familiar, but that’s not really an argument against it. Wells writes a likable Peter Parker, and the premise that Peter is now working FOR his old enemy (alongside intern Kamala Khan, which I really like) is interesting. The resources of Oscorp behind Spider-Man give us a little bit of a return to the Horizon Labs days, without the baggage of Peter having to be in charge. That said, the real star is the art, as Romita gives us a truly terrifying Hobgoblin, perhaps the first really scary one I can recall. (The blood on his razor-sharp glider wings got me.) There’s also a cool new Spidey costume under construction, some quiet moments at Ned and Betty’s house that are full of suspense, and a lovely sequence wherein Spider-Man finally asks The Black Cat out on a rooftop. Her response of “confidence looks good on you” is one that I absolutely agree with.

BOTTOM LINE: MOSTLY BALANCED, A LITTLE HEAVY ON THE “PARKER LUCK”

All in all, though, Amazing Spider-Man #11 held my interest all the way through, assembling a number of Hobgoblin subjects but never quite making it clear who is or isn’t eliminated from being behind the latex mask, with excellent art and a unique Norman/Peter relationship at its center, earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. I am not as big a fan of the idea that Peter’s life must always be in chaos and disarray as modern Marvel editorial seems to be, but I appreciate the new ground being broken with this premise and REALLY love Romita’s art.

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