Don’t look now, but Episode 23 of the Superior Spider-Talk podcast is here! In this episode, Dan Gvozden and I talk about Superior Spider-Man #21, and talk about the latest Spider-Man news, including a certain Midtown High School bully who is soon going to become a cosmic guardian of the galaxy.
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Happy Thanksgiving Mark and Dan, and indeed thanks for a great, thought-provoking episode. Somehow, listening to these podcasts I start making all sorts of connections that never seem to come to me when reading the actual comics. To address some points you raised during the episode:
On the Potential for Killing Off Anna Maria:
I don’t think this can happen. Slott has already killed off Ashley Kafka and Marla Jameson. He also recently scripted a scene in which Spider-Man pummels the Black Cat. I don’t think Slott is a misogynist or anything, but I do think (and hope!) that Slott and editorial would be aware of the crazy bad vibes it would send off if yet another female character bit it during Slott’s tenure on Spider-Man. At this point, most creators in comics are leery of the “women in refrigerators” cliché.
On Brendan Andersen’s “Catch A Ghost” Email:
Didn’t this seed already bear fruit in Superior 19? It looks like Otto is destroyed along with Horizon Labs, and then they use Grady’s machine to bring him back. Maybe I’m misreading – time travel stuff does give me trouble.
On The Identity of The Goblin:
This is where your podcast really got me thinking. You’re right that Vin would be a total dud of a reveal. Even though you mention that idea being seeded in 600, it would be incredibly fan-ficky to have such an obscure character be the payoff to this long-running mystery, especially since Slott hasn’t even introduced Vin in Superior thus far. To reveal him as the Goblin would violate all rules of mystery-writing; ask Tom DeFalco.
For that matter, have we seen Harry or Norman in Superior, outside of maybe brief glimpses or nods to their existence? I mean of course it can be reasonably expected that readers know who these characters are, but again, it’s just too lame of a reveal: “Ah ha, the secret identity of the new Green Goblin, the one we’ve hyped for 20 issues, is… drumroll… the guy who was already Green Goblin for decades! Surprise!” It’s just too dumb.
No, the more I think about it, the more I see that the Goblin has to be Peter Parker, in some form or another. From a sheer dramatic standpoint, it must be so. How can Slott tease the Goblin’s identity every issue the way he does if he doesn’t have an immensely satisfying resolution in mind? And when you boil it down, none of the other suspects would deliver that kind of punch. Who would be truly shocking behind the Goblin mask? Who would warrant this level of build-up? Only Peter.
And on the level of evidence, we have not – at least to my recollection – seen the Goblin King commit any serious crime, nor any of his acolytes commit serious crimes at his command. We’ve only seen him amassing power and forces, but not using them to rob or murder as all other Goblins have. When a writer wants to establish a villain as a threat, the first thing he does is show the villain doing something vicious and horrible (cf. any James Bond movie). I find it telling that Slott doesn’t do it with the Goblin, who is normally one of the most vicious and horrible of Spidey’s foes.
One scene where this stands out in particular occurs in Superior 18, where the Goblin King poses as the original Hobgoblin. The whole scene lasts two panels, and the staging is incredibly awkward and static. It looks like a pinup drawing of the Hobgoblin, but he’s not really doing anything. At first, I kind of brushed it off as a rush job from Stegman. Now looking back on it, I suspect it may be that Slott and Stegman are constrained by the Goblin’s true identity. You can’t exactly depict him lobbing pumpkin bombs at civilians if it’s Peter under the mask, now can you?
Anyway, we’ll see how it plays out in the buildup to Goblin Nation. As you say, we’ll see Harry for sure, but don’t be fooled. This late in the game, the only new suspects you can introduce are red herrings.
PS: Thanks for including in the podcast the hilarious picture of the “Vulture” (AKA Lex Luthor on roids) I sent you.