Comic Book Review – Spider-Man Epic Collection: The Goblin’s Last Stand

Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: The Goblin’s Last Stand (2017)
Reprints Amazing Spider-Man #105-123
Written by Stan Lee & Jerry Conway
Art by John Romita, Gil Kane, Jim Starlin, and Paul Reinman

Throughout the 1960s, Stan Lee had his hand in every single Marvel comic being published. This was most often in the role of scripting, which ensured the comics all had a similar voice. He also garnered the ire of his artistic collaborators, Jack Kirby & Steve Ditko, being the most well-known. The fact that most people associate Marvel with Lee without knowing who these other people are indicates the sort of manipulator Lee was. By 1972, Lee stepped away from writing duties and assumed the role of publisher, overseeing Marvel’s growing media empire. 

In late 2021, I started reading the Spider-Man Epic Collections, beginning with the origin and first year of Spider-Man comics. I knew I would eventually reach the end of Lee’s tenure on the book and was curious to see what that shift felt like, moving from Lee to 19-year old Gerry Conway. It’s weird, but that shift is about one of the most seamless I’ve ever seen. After 110 issues, you would think readers would feel a sudden shift, but Conway was clearly schooled in the expected Marvel style, and if it wasn’t for a change in the title page credits, you might not even notice. 

Lee’s last batch of six issues is here and provides nothing revolutionary. Issues 105 through 107 are a Spider Slayer story. Once again, J. Jonah Jameson believes his recurring collaborator, Spencer Smythe, can create a new robotic creation to take down Spider-Man. At this point, you would think the frequent failures would be enough. It’s a fairly bog standard story at this point, teasing about Spidey finally being outed as Peter Parker only to have those quickly sidestepped with some deus ex machina. In the background, Harry Osborn returns from rehab, and Peter juggles the drama of his personal life. You get the sense Lee could just write this book forever, but that would also mean just rotating villains in doing variations on the same plots they’ve done before.

Issues 108 and 109 focus on Flash Thompson and some of his untold experiences while serving in Vietnam. He was injured at one point and stumbled across a hidden temple of the followers of the Monks of Light. Flash became aware of an imminent airstrike by U.S. forces and tried to convince the people in the temple to evacuate. They stayed put and died. Now, the survivors of this faith hold Thompson responsible for what happened. Because of the mystical nature of the story, Lee brings Doctor Strange in with the second part, and he provides exposition to explain to Spidey what is going on.

Lee’s final issue is rather unceremonious, highlighting how abruptly he must have decided to accept the publisher position. Issue 100 introduces The Gibbon, one of many Spider-Man villains that have been rightfully forgotten. There’s not much compelling about the guy; he’s essentially a mutant without the book saying he’s one. Issue 111 continues this story, but without Lee, Gerry Conway was now writing the title and would remain there for three years. This issue also marks the 10th anniversary of Amazing Spider-Man’s publication and clarifies that Marvel will have a sliding timeline that ignores how its characters seemingly never age. At this point, Peter should have been around 26 years old. However, he was still in his undergraduate years and wouldn’t graduate until 1979. Conway throws Kraven into the Gibbon story, and it’s okay. 

Issues 112 through 116 would compose the Gang War story arc that saw the return of Doctor Octopus, the introduction of Hammerhead, and the beginnings of a romance between Doc Ock & Aunt May (!?) Ock, as a member of the mafia, was a take I never really clicked with. Ock, as an arrogant mad scientist, always made more sense to me. Spidey loses his mask at one point and has to use the mask that goes with a costume store knock-off, which is an amusing bit very fitting of the down-on-his-luck tropes. Hammerhead isn’t really exciting to me, and I was left wondering if this was a possible variation on Dick Tracy’s Flattop. In a comics magazine at the time, Conway expressed his desire to introduce a Dick Tracy-style villain into the book, so I suppose he is. When you look at the swath of underworld comics villains, Hammerhead doesn’t really stand out. He’s got the head gimmick, but his personality is bland. 

Issues 116 through 118 are a bit of a cheat. Conway receives dual credit with Stan Lee. That’s not because Lee returned to co-write these issues, but because Conway repurposes Spectacular Spider-Man #2, a black & white large format magazine that lasted for two issues during the late 1960s. That story saw Spider-Man up against a corrupt politician with a supernatural twist. Conway tells the same story, but he and Romita update things to stay in line with current continuity. In that original story, police captain George Stacy had been a critical player, and his scenes were removed. This also makes me think Conway’s addition to the book was unexpected because re-using this rather forgettable story, stretching it out over three issues, feels like a strategy that could give him time to get ahead on scripts.

Issues 119 through 120 are a team-up/battle with the Hulk and the continuation of the Doc Ock. Spidey travels to Montreal to figure out what Ock is really up to. At this point, May lives in Ock’s Westchester Mansion as his housekeeper (and lover?). A telegram from someone named Rimbaud implores her to come to Montreal for important business, and Peter follows. The Hulk has crossed into Canada, and General Thunderbolt Ross is pursuing him. I didn’t find it to be a very memorable story. I always felt more could have been made from Spidey and the Hulk’s shared menace status. They both have old men who are trying to turn society against them. Has anyone ever explored those parallel ideas? I’m unaware of any comics that do, so let me know in the comments if they exist.

And then, we get to the books that tell of one of Spidey’s most pivotal moments. Issues 122 through 123 saw Peter Parker’s life forever changed. First, we must address one of this story’s silliest things. Harry takes LSD, which makes him fall into a clinical psychosis. This was one of the anti-drug lies slung around during the 1960s to discourage young people from experimenting with the psychedelic. The problem with that is that there has never been a link proven between LSD and people going into psychosis. LSD is a drug and, therefore, should be handled with respect & education; anything this potent can be abused and cause harm if not used correctly. The extent and severity of that harm have been conflated by ignoring the fact that the people who see the most ill effects are often using multiple substances at once. That’s much more likely to do harm than dropping a tab or two and letting your mind wander. However, in America, we seem to live by the idea that withholding and miseducating the youth will benefit them. Time & time again, that’s what has been proven to be untrue. 

Back to the story, Norman holds Peter responsible for this. The older man undergoes a mental breakdown, which allows the Goblin persona to re-emerge. Because Norman knows Peter is Spider-Man, he targets Gwen Stacy, kidnapping her and provoking Spidey to follow him to the George Washington Bridge. Gwen is motionless when our hero arrives and is eventually bumped off the bridge. Spidey’s web catches her, but the kickback snaps her neck. The Goblin taunts that the fall killed her, not his web, cackles, and flies away. Spidey vows revenge. 

The following issue sees Peter filled with rage, hunting down the Goblin for one final battle. You know the plot beats if you’ve seen any version of this story. The Goblin attempts to kill Peter with his glider and is impaled on it himself. This doesn’t do much to heal the pain of Gwen’s death. When Peter returns to his apartment, Mary Jane is there, ready to console him, but he lashes out, shouting at her to leave. She moves to do so but stops, turns back, and ignores what he said, knowing he needs someone there. Peter weeps. 

The last issue in the book reminds us that Spider-Man is still seen as the responsible party in George Stacy’s death, and now he’s being linked to Gwen’s. When Norman’s body is found, it is sans Goblin costume, which leads JJ to try and blame that death on Spidey, too. Gwen’s funeral is held, and everyone feels wholly shattered. She was such a point of light in an increasingly dark world, and now that she’s gone, her friends seem adrift. JJ hired Luke Cage to hunt down Spider-Man, leading to a clash between these heroes. They resolve things by the end, leaving JJ once again looking like an ass.

But this story marks a crucial point in the development of Spider-Man. He began as someone haunted by the death of his Uncle Ben. Along the way, Lee and his co-creators found a way to resolve that guilt and allow Spider-Man to just be Spider-Man. With the death of Gwen Stacy, remorse & tragedy have returned. I would argue that the deaths of Uncle Ben and Gwen have hindered Spider-Man’s character development ever since. When writers come on board a Spider-Man comic, they often want to rehash these tragedies in one form or another. The Goblin would not be permanently gone, and even Norman Osborn would don the mask again & again. Peter Parker is trapped in a personal Hell that writers keep him in, a constant state of grief bouncing between the two poles of Ben & Gwen. He has never been allowed to escape these things, which is crucial to why the comics have been dreadful for so long. We’ll see how the changing climate of New York City in the 1970s and this dark storytelling style leads to some truly disturbing tales in our review next week.