Slott wraps up so many different storylines in this final issue that it's hard to know where to start in terms of writing a review with a summary and various good and bad items. That format requires a certain coherence that I'm not sure we have here. In other words, it's messy. Instead of spending hours trying to force a narrative structure onto the story, I thought I would just group the main developments together and go from there. In no particular order:
I'm not sure how I feel about the Goblin being Norman (and, to a certain extent, Liz). On one hand, Slott sets up the awesome idea that a Norman now cured of the Goblin Serum's madness is a Norman who will be an even greater future thorn in Peter's side. Of course, on the other hand, this idea makes no sense. Norman only became the Goblin because of the Goblin Serum's madness. Without the madness, would Norman really be the Goblin? Slott seems to accept that premise way too quickly for me. I would love to read a story where Norman Osborn struggles with this decision, deciding if he really is a villain. It's sort of a reverse nature/nurture question. Slott precludes that debate from happening, which seems odd for him, given that the whole point of this series was Otto going through a similar journey. He essentially discards the chance to do what he did for Otto for Norman (though, likely, with Norman deciding to embrace the Goblin).
Beyond this existential question, the details (such as we know them) of Norman's return are difficult to accept. Notably, Norman Osborn full-on melted in "Avengers" #24. Slott doesn't provide any explanation for how he is un-melted, though he seems to hint that Norman may have the ability to control his shape now, allowing him to morph into Banks. (When Peter unmasks the Goblin, he's revealed to be Liz's chief of staff, Banks. Norman informs him that he took on Banks' face since everyone recognizes his own face now.) However, it's a drastic enough shift from the last time that we saw Norman, all melted, that we are really owed an explanation for how he emerged from his coma and confirmation (if I'm right) that he can in fact control his shape.
While we're on this theme, we're definitely owed an explanation for why Liz Allan would turn against Spider-Man, since we have even less information from which we can draw a conclusion. Slott wants us to believe that she did it to secure a future for Normie, but I'm not entirely sure why she would need Norman's help to do that. Did she accept that working with Norman to lay the foundations for the creation of Alchemax required accepting his plans as the Goblin? I could see a world where the entire Goblin Nation was intended to create the need for the Spider-Slayers, given that we see Tyler Stone selling them for a handsome profit, improving the viability of Alchemax as a fledgling corporation, I'd have to imagine. It seems plausible, but Slott needs to make that argument. He'd also do well to explain why Allan Chemicals and Norman's share of Oscorp weren't enough of a legacy. Slott seems to be hinting that Liz is motivated by something darker than just securing Normie's future.
In other words, when it comes to Norman's purported return and Liz's heel turn -- the two major developments of this issue -- I'm left attempting to connect the dots on my own, despite how central both twists are to the plot of not only this arc, but, the last 14 or so issues (at least). It's hard to call that a satisfying ending to this arc.
However, Peter's future is just as murky as this issue's resolution.
First Slott's answer to the problem of believing that Spider-Man has returned seems to be...Spider-Man returning. Miguel, Black Widow, the Goblin: the minute that Spidey makes it with the quips, they accept that it's him. As lazy as it is, I'm actually OK with it, in the sense that I'd like us to move past this phase of the story as quickly as possible. I can't really think of anything interesting in terms of Spider-Man trying to convince people that he's Spider-Man again. In fact, it's virtually impossible for him to be able to do so on a large scale, since people didn't really know him in the first place. Sure, with the Avengers, he can tell them the truth, they can find the tests that they ran when Otto controlled his mind, and, presto chango, problem solved. Other people, like Sajani here, might make comments about him killing his opponents for a few issues, but it seems clear that Slott is going to have people believe that he's at least behaving the way that he used to behave sooner rather than later. Any attempt to prove to the public that he wasn't in his right mind would be ridiculous, so, honestly, this approach of just having him behave as he normally would is probably the only realistic way to put this period of his history behind us.
In fact, Slott makes it clear that Peter's greatest problem is going to be, as expected, in his personal life. However, Slott (thankfully) doesn't seem intent on milking this drama for too long. It seems that, again, he'll also just be able to behave normally and all sins will be forgiven. Sure, we're going to have a crushing scene with Anna Maria, but, once he makes a few dinners with Aunt May and Jay, I'm guessing that Slott is going to try to just forget this part of his history. It would be weird if, two years from now, Jay were still complaining about that several months period when Peter was rude. Given that he was finishing up his Ph.D. and starting his own company, it's pretty clear that Peter has an excuse, and it would get old if we kept having this fight over and over again. In some ways, Slott already has Peter face the worst-case scenario: Carlie and MJ believe him that Dr. Octopus took over his body, but they realize that they can no longer take the drama that comes from associating with him. It's hard to argue with them.
The problem is that Slott premises both these best-case scenarios on everyone forgetting, eventually, that Peter was connected to Spider-Man. In the end, more than any other development in Slott's run, it's this connection that has the most impact on this series. When Spider-Man's aggressive streak is long forgotten, Peter's connection to Spider-Man will remain. Peter tells Aunt May that he's going to call a press conference distancing himself from Spider-Man, but it seems unlikely that such a move is going to work, given that, obviously, he'll always be connected in some way to him. It also seems to be poorly coordinated with Spidey returning to normal, if you will. Peter is going to disassociate with him for his bad behavior just as his behavior improves. Is Spidey going to call a press conference and say that Peter's disapproval was what he needed to get his head on straight? It seems like a bad idea since, again, it would only strengthen their connection in the public eye.
After spending most of this series assuming that the point of it was to ruin Peter's life when he returned, I read this issue wondering if Slott had just decided that he was as tired of that story as we are. He could have gone all sorts of places with it. He could've forced Peter to tell Aunt May that he was Spider-Man and possessed by Dr. Octopus to explain away his behavior, or he could have Spider-Man treated as a Batman-esque vigilante for a while. Instead, the goal seems to be to rush to the previous status quo as soon as possible, which leaves me feeling duped. If we're right back where we were at the end of "Amazing Spider-Man" #696, what was the point?
I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy this issue, but, when framed in the context of the larger story of Dr. Octopus taking over Peter's body, I'm not sure it did what it needed to do.
A Note on Miguel: To be honest, Miguel plays enough of a role here to merit me using a longer review. But, with him getting his own series (hurrah!), I'm going to have to figure out a way to handle reviews where he features prominently. In the meantime, I'll just say that Spidey arrives in time to help him defeat the Spider-Slayers and then Miguel accompanies him on his search for the Goblin King.
*** (three of five stars)
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