Stillanerd Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 #28 review
By Mike McNulty
A brutal, climatic brawl between Spider-Man and Norman is the high-point in an otherwise rushed finale for Dan Slott’s “Osborn Legacy.”
Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 #28
“The Osborn Identity Part Four: One-On-One”
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Writer: Dan Slott
Penciler: Stuart Immonen
Inker: Wade von Grwbadger
Colorist: Marte Gracia, with Andres Mossa
Lettering: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover: Alex Ross
There’s a reason many consider Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, Spider-Man’s number one villain. More than anyone else, he has done more to harm Peter Parker—not just physically, but also psychologically. From Gwen Stacy’s death to masterminding the Clone Saga, Osborn has driven Spider-Man close to the breaking point more times than one can count. For Peter, his battle with Norman can only be personal.
Dan Slott, in his conclusion of “The Osborn Identity,” reminds us how deep the animosity between Peter and Norman runs. With his powers and tech disabled, Norman forces Spider-Man into fighting him on his terms. As they battle in the snow-covered Symarkian mountains, their fight becomes increasingly viscous and primitive, with Peter refusing to give up even while he’s near defeat. Like Spider-Man vol. 1 #75, it’s a battle between two men, another chapter in a long-standing feud marked by tragedy, envy, and vengeance.
At least that’s the general idea behind Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 #28. So long as you let the visceral spectacle of seeing two of the most antagonistic rivals in all of comics punching each other senseless sweep you up, it’s all good. You just need to ignore what led up to this fight, the circumstances surrounding it, and what follows afterward.
Credit: Stuart Immonen, Wade von Grawbadger, Marte Gracia, and Andres Mossa (Marvel Comics); from Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 #28
Without a mutual knowledge of their secret identities, the battle between Peter and Norman can never be personal; it can only be a shadow of what it once was…
But before they go mano-a-mano, Norman chides the wall-crawler for being so hellbent on coming after him when he, supposedly, was letting bygones be bygones. “What did I ever do to you?” he asks. This makes Peter flash back to the oft-reproduced moment from “The Night Gwen Stacy Died,” when he cradles Gwen’s lifeless body in his arms. Enraged by this memory, Spidey then tackles Norman out a window, making them both fall several stories. It’s a scene which also knocks the wind out of the reader, and the two-page spread by artist Stuart Immonen depicting this is breathtaking as it is satisfying.
But here’s the thing: Norman sincerely doesn’t know why Spider-Man hates him so much. Because Norman no longer remembers Spider-Man as Peter Parker, and hasn’t since Slott established this during “New Ways to Die.”
You may wonder why that’s such a problem; after all, Peter still remembers everything Norman ever did to him, even if Norman doesn’t have full knowledge about Spider-Man. Except the reason Norman was such a formidable foe was because he did know who Spider-Man really was. It allowed him to go after Peter and the people he loved, putting Peter’s principles and values to the test. The most classic Green Goblin stories couldn’t have happened otherwise.
Without a mutual knowledge of their secret identities, the battle between Peter and Norman can never be personal; it can only be a shadow of what it once was. And that’s all we get here with this issue and with “The Osborn Identity” as a whole. In attempting to reinvigorate the war between Peter and Norman, Slott still forgoes the very thing which made the Green Goblin Spider-Man’s greatest arch-nemesis.
Credit: Stuart Immonen, Wade von Grawbadger, Marte Gracia, and Andres Mossa (Marvel Comics); from Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 #28
“The Osborn Identity” is another story where Slott rushes towards the ending as fast as he can…too many plots became shoved into a limited number of pages at the last possible moment.
Instead, Slott persists with the notion that Norman has become a greater threat than he’s ever been. The conceit of “Osborn Identity” is that Norman, despite the losing of his powers along with the Goblin Formula, is no longer mad. This makes him cold, calculating, and even more dangerous—except Norman, Goblin-serum or no, has always been cold and calculating. Moreover, Slott writes sane-Norman the same way he did crazy-Norman.
It’d be one thing if Slott was showing how Norman (even when not cackling maniacally while riding his bat-glider and throwing pumpkin bombs) is still just as insane as ever. How would it explain Spider-Man’s acknowledging that Norman no longer has the Green Goblin’s level of crazy? Telling us about who Norman has become while showing us something else is just bad, sloppy characterization on Slott’s part—pure and simple.
Also, “The Osborn Identity” is another story where Slott rushes towards the end as fast as he can. Mockingbird intercepts and attempts disabling a missile containing the Goblin Formula heading right for Symkaria, while Silver Sable engages the Countess Katrina Karkov in a sword fight. And in both cases, other than scenes where it looks as though they’ll fail, Slott resolves Mockingbird and Sable’s challenges off-panel. Once again, too many plots are shoved into a limited number of pages at the last possible moment.
On a similar note, ASM vol. 4 #28 makes for one weak ending. The resolution between Spider-Man and Osborn’s showdown results in the later literally running away. A talk between Spidey and Harry about the importance of family comes out of nowhere. And for what’s been billed as the start of Parker Industries’ fall, Nick Fury’s justification for dissolving the partnership between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Peter’s company ends up being hypocritical nonsense.
It also doesn’t help whenever Slott tries and fails at lampshading his own tropes. Spider-Man, for example, wonders aloud why his bad guys keep turning people into spiders, lizards, Carrion clones, and now Goblins, instead of just robbing banks. If Slott did this to dissuade accusations of being a one-trick pony when it comes to his story lines, he, instead, has personally handed his critics more evidence.
Credit: Stuart Immonen, Wade von Grawbadger, Marte Gracia, and Andres Mossa (Marvel Comics); from Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 #28
…even if the script doesn’t carry the emotional resonance it desires, [Stuart Immonen’s] art more than makes up for it.
This means, once again, it’s the artist who must save Slott’s story from total collapse. As has been since the beginning of “Osborn Identity,” Immonen’s shading techniques and transitions between panels are irregular at times. But when he pulls out the stops like he does here, his illustrations are wondrous to behold. Even if the script doesn’t carry the emotional resonance it desires, the art more than makes up for it.
Case in point: when we see Silver and the Countess begin their duel, the lighting and postures create a genuinely epic feel; or when Spidey sees Norman’s disfigured face for the first time, we share his disgust despite having seeing what it was before the last issue. It’s what makes the main bout between Peter and Norman as grandiose and savage as it is, because Immonen draws weight behind every impact and blow. It will be hard to forget the image of an exhausted, desperate Spider-Man beating Norman with a rock.
So, yes, ASM vol. 4 #28 can rouse up excitement, making up for the dull slog that was ASM vol. 4 #27. But this can only take the comic so far, and it does mask its flaws in the least. Just as how the fight between Peter and Norman, for one moment, makes you feel like you’re reading Spider-Man again. That is, until the scenes of S.H.I.E.L.D. jets flying overhead and Aunt May delivering relief packages, courtesy of the “Uncle Ben Foundation,” remind you otherwise.
Stillanerd’s Score: 2 out of 5
Next: Stillanerd Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 #27 review
Stillanerd’s Nerdy Nitpicks (possible spoilers)
Credit: Stuart Immonen, Wade von Grawbadger, Marte Gracia, and Andres Mossa (Marvel Comics); from Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 #28
“Bobbi! You’re a super-scientist …” Because being a biochemist also means you’re a rocket scientist. Wait, what?!
So Spider-Man no longer objects towards Silver potentially killing people, I see—’cause she’s pretty trigger-happy now.
And here I thought the people of Symkaria welcomed Silver and her Wild Pack with open arms last issue. Guess J. Jonah Jameson isn’t the only one who excels at propaganda.
“Back to your saber fight. Use the Force!” i.e. we must remind the readers Disney also owns Star Wars along with Marvel.
Somehow, I don’t think the Goblin rocket would’ve landed in the webbing like that.
Not that I want you to do this, Nick Fury, but … if Spider-Man is guilty as you say, why aren’t you arresting him?
And Aunt May still doesn’t recognize “Mr. Spider-Man” as her nephew even if the mask exposes Peter’s eyes.