“Take a look, Parker–a good, long look–it’s the last face Spider-Man will ever see–it’s the real face of the Green Goblin–the face of Norman Osborn!”
Finally! A book I can review immediately after finishing it instead of reviewing something that I actually read a few months ago. (Although to be completely transparent this is being written on September 30th, even if I don’t end up posting it for a few weeks, sneaky sneaky… I know)
Well folks lets jump right in cause this was a good one! Every issue seemed to lead into the next, everything is connected. The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Volume 2 collects The Amazing Spider-Man #39-67, Annuals #3-5, and the Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #1-2.
We jump right back into the thick of things right from the very first issue. The Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) is plotting his revenge against Spider-Man. He catches Peter changing out of his Spider-Man outfit and follows him home and captures him. In his cockiness believing he has defeated Spider-Man he reveals his identity back to Peter. Ultimately Spider-Man ends of defeating him and the battle leaves Norman Osborn with no memory of being the Green Goblin or Spider-Mans identity.
Peter, now a college student spends a lot of his time with his friends Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, and Mary-Jane Watson. He ends up buying a motorcycle and is often viewed as a self-centered conceded jerk because he disappears often and when he is around is usually so deep in thought about his own problems people think he is ignoring them! He also moves in with Harry and Aunt May moves in with Mary-Jane’s Aunt Anna.
Flash Thompson got drafted into the army and with him leaving so did a lot of the Peter Parker being a huge nerd stereotypes that were common in the first omnibus. Peter is more sociable, has more friends, moved on from Betty and Liz to Gwen and MJ.
This omnibus had first apperances of the shocker, rhino and the Kingpin, as well as many of Spider-Mans earlier foes showed up for at least an issue or two. The Kingpin I recall as being one of Spider-Mans main foes from the cartoon, and his comic counter-part seems to have the potential to get there as well. He can go punch for punch with Spider-Man but usually gets outsmarted. We saw Spider-Man hilariously try to join the Avengers and both sides mutually decided it just wasn’t a good fit.
In one story-arc which spanned a couple issues, Doctor Octopus stole some device and Spider-Man naturally tried to stop him. Doc ends up escaping and moving in with Aunt May, not knowing that she is the aunt of Spider-Man. Peter is distraught and attacks as Spider-Man but Doc Ock convinces Aunt May that Spider-Man was trying to rob the home. Spidey hunts Doc Ock and ultimately ends up getting his memory wiped by the technology that was stolen. The doc then convinced him they were partners in crime and thats why Spidey wore a mask to keep his identity a secret. Spider-Man ends up meeting Ka-Zar who through battle and nearly drowning him, helps Peter get his memory back.
Throughout the book we get glimpses of Norman Osborn, whenever he sees images of the green goblin or spider-man it puts him in distress and he can’t seem to figure out why. Finally in the spectacular spider-man magazine he remembers everything and invites Peter, Harry, Gwen and MJ for a dinner to celebrate him being released from the hospital. Peter starts a fire in the house and the two have another showdown where Peter uses the goblins devices against him to make him suffer from amnesia once again. Though something tells me this won’t be the last we see of the green goblin!
The omnibus ends with Spider-Man annual #5 where Peter discovers more about his biological parents that his father was a double-agent working for the Red Skull. Peter ends up finding out the Red Skull is also responsible for the deaths of his parents
Thanks for reading!