*** (three of five stars)
Summary
At the Port Authority, Julia Carpenter, a.k.a. Madame Web, has a seizure, muttering to herself that "everything ends" in a "flash of gold." Meanwhile, at Shadowland, Hobgoblin has brought Peter Parker before the Kingpin, informing him that Peter is "Spider-Man's best friend." He suggests that they can use Peter as a bargaining chip to get Spider-Man to turn over the mysterious briefcase from last issue. Peter realizes that he's in trouble, but he also knows that he's too distracted by the overloaded Spider-Sense Jammers to do anything about it. Kingpin asks Peter how he contacts Spider-Man and, seeing an opportunity, Peter tells him that he does so through a signal based on Spidey's Spider-Sense. Vamping, Pete tells Kingpin that Spidey told him about the Jammers before Hobgoblin nabbed him and informs him that he won't be able to contact Spidey unless they turn off the Jammers. Kingpin demurs, but tells Tiberius Stone that he gets to stay alive since his tweak to the Jammers is working. Stone suggests that they videotape a hostage message and Hobgoblin offers up his drone to make the recording. However, he expresses frustration when it doesn't arrive. However, it's revealed that the drone didn't arrive because Rodney Kingsley as at Phil's apartment and has disabled it. Kingsley is also going through Phil's effects and discovers photos and videos of Norah. Kingsley decides to go after her, declaring that it's time for the original Hobgoblin to take Phil to school.
Meanwhile, at Horizon Labs, Max Modell receives the hostage video of Peter. Hobgoblin narrates, informing Max that "they" are watching him, so he can't call the Avengers or the police or they'll kill Peter. He then informs Max that he needs to get in touch with Spider-Man and tell him to bring the briefcase to Shadowland, stressing that Spidey'll know what he means. Desperate, Max breaks into Pete's lab in the hope of finding a way to contact Spider-Man. Max is surprised to discover all the weaponry that Pete has stored there, but focuses on the problem at hand and discovers the case. Meanwhile, at Columbia University Medical Center, Julia lies in a coma, with a doctor and a cop observing her. They reveal that they don't have anyway of confirming her identity and the doctor hypothesizes that she could be delusional, since she was raving about the apocalypse before she lost consciousness. He mentions that she declared that "his future will end...in a flash of gold," as, elsewhere, a gold octobot emerges from the sea. (Dun-dun-DUN!)
At Shadowland, Max arrives with the case, declaring that Spider-Man is with him to ensure that they don't play any tricks. Peter sees Max and expresses worry, noting that everyone in the room can tell that Max is lying. He begins working on freeing himself to save Max. Proving Pete's point, Kingpin declares that Spider-Man would never let Max risk his life for him and takes the case. Max tells Kingpin that it's booby-trapped, and Kingpin tells him that he knows, ordering a Hand ninja to open it for him. The ninja does (and promptly gets killed) and Kingpin opens the case, revealing a goblin-shaped key. He exposits that it opens "Norman Osborn's most valued cache of assets," from tech to secrets. At that moment, Kingsley appears in his Hobgoblin outfit and attacks. Phil leaps into battle and Kingpin orders the Hand to hold, declaring that the battle should be amusing.
Max sees his chance and offers to untie Pete, who reveals that he had already done so using "uh, a nail." Pete expresses disbelief that Max fell for the Hobgoblin's threat that they'd kill Pete if he alerted the Avengers, but Max replies that he didn't blindly follow orders, revealing that he came "armed:" he hands Pete Spidey's Web-Shooters. Pete worries that he won't do any better than Max with them, given his Jammer-induced migraine. Meanwhile, the Hobgoblins battle, with Roderick revealing that he knows Phil's identity and informing him that he's got "a lock" on Norah. In case something happens to him, Pete shows Max how to use the Web-Shooters and then fires a Web-Line at Roderick's glider, slamming him into Phil and then pulling the two of them into the Jammer. When Tiberius screams about the Jammer, Max sees him and Pete uses the distraction to hustle them out the door, but not before he uses his recovered senses to grab the key with a Web-Line. He hands the key to Max and then webs up several of the Hand ninjas. Max observes that Pete's good with the Web-Shooters. commenting that, "If I hadn't seen you and Spider-Man together [during Spider-Island], I'd almost..." Before he can finish that sentence, they're attacked by a ninja, who Pete webs to the wall. The two flee Shadowland and Kingpin orders the Hobgoblins after them, lest they make an enemy of him.
The Review
The fact that Peter Parker will, in all likelihood no longer be Spider-Man come January seems to be one of the most poorly kept secrets in comics. In fact, it's hard to call it a secret, given that Wacker has been previewing it in the letters pages for months and Madame Web pretty much declares it this issue. At this point, the only questions are how and why Peter ends his tenure as Spider-Man. Does his identity get revealed, forcing him into hiding? Does he die? Can he simply not take the stress anymore? Does he decide to commit to MJ? Slott isn't telling, but it's these questions that fuel this arc.
In my last review, I lamented the fact that Slott seemed to be rushing to the end, trying to bring together too many plot threads as he builds to the climax in issue #700. Did we really need the Hobgoblin vs. Hobgoblin fight? Did we have to bring back the Spider-Sense Jammers, particularly since they play a role only due to the fairly dubious assertion that Max Modell kept the designs for them in his unlocked desk drawer? Was Madame Web necessary? However, I'm glad to say that Slott manages to, I don't know, take a breath in this issue and pull these threads together better than he did last issue. I finished this issue feeling like this sequence of events, though amazing, was plausible, perhaps the ultimate example of Parker luck. I can honestly say that I'm excited to see where we go from here.
The Good
1) If I had to prioritize, I'd say that my main complaint with last issue was that Madame Web seemingly revealed Pete's identity to the "Daily Bugle" newsroom, including, most importantly, Phil Urich. The good news is that Slott essentially shelves that plot, revealing that Phil chased Pete into the streets not because he "knew" that he was Spider-Man, but because he knew that Pete designed Spidey's tech. Is it a dodge? Absolutely. If you re-read that sequence from last issue, it's pretty clear that Phil's suddenly motivated by the desire to chase down Pete because of Madame Web's revelation of his secret identity, not because he suddenly realized something that he had already known (that Pete designed Spidey's tech). But, I'm putting this shelving in the good column, because it cranks down the tension a little. Starting this arc by blowing Pete's identity really wouldn't have left that much suspense for the next few issues. By revealing it as a feint, Slott allows us to put aside that worry and focus on the story, something that I had trouble doing last issue given the secret-identity dilemma. It makes for a much better paced issue and arc.
2) Slott uses Max Modell to great effect here. Slott has always hinted that a genius like Max should be able to deduce Pete's identity. But, he addresses that issue in two ways here. First, by having Max develop a pretty ridiculous cover story for why Kingpin shouldn't kill him (because Spider-Man was "watching"), Slott reminds us that "technological genius" doesn't always mean "common sense" or "skilled liar." Second, by having Max comment on the fact that Pete and Spidey appeared next to one another during "Spider-Island," Slott provides a fairly convincing reason why Max wouldn't put two and two together when Pete used the Web-Shooters so well. Identities in superhero comics always require a willful suspension of disbelief, not only on the readers' part but also on the characters' family members. You just have to believe that they either don't see, or are willing to overlook, certain signs (a.k.a. "the Lois Lane effect"). Here, Max understandably goes with the more obvious solution rather than the more complicated one. It may not be believable in the real world, but it is in the comics world. At any rate, addressing why Max doesn't necessarily conclude that Pete is Spider-Man despite him doing Spider-Man stuff allows Slott more room in using him as the substitute for the reader here.
3) Looking more at the issue itself, Slott shows some of his trademark cleverness here. I thought it was a stroke of genius to have Peter argue that Kingpin had to turn off the Spider-Sense Jammers for him to contact Spider-Man. It, of course, didn't work, but it was a good attempt. (It was also believable that Kingpin wouldn't fall for it.) Moreover, everything involving Max's involvement felt clever, with Slott calling on instances from his entire run to bring Max to where he is at the end of this issue, both in terms of his active support of Pete and his eventual position about his identity.
The Unknown
In my last review, I mentioned both the Tiberius and Norah issues as "Unknowns." They remain so in this review, but it doesn't mean that Slott ignored them. In fact, we definitely have a better sense of where he's going with them. For example, Max discovers that Stone is working for Kingpin, bringing that long-running sub-plot to some sort of resolution. Moreover, Norah's investigation into the "Osborn files" is clearly going to prove connected to the "goblin key."
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