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The Red Goblin has been teased and hinted at for what feels like months now, but we get ever closer to his reveal in today’s Amazing Spider-Man #798. Dan Slott is finishing his epic run on Spidey in this “Go Down Swinging” storyline and by the end of this latest issue, that title has new meaning.
So what’s it about?
Read our preview.
Why does this matter?
Not only is this Slott’s farewell story arc, but it’s also got Stuart Immonen delivering the goods when it comes to Green Goblin fighting Spider-Man. When it comes to his foes it doesn’t get better than this.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Nerds!
This issue goes places you won’t see coming, ending in a way that suggests Dan Slott is on a mission to reset and remove elements from the board for the next writer. It opens with Peter working with his science team to help Ben Urich get a lead on where his nephew is after his tragic meeting with Norman Osborn last issue. From there the plot goes off the rails with a head-on attack from Green Goblin, explosions, Spider-Man fleeing an impossible situation, and an ending that will leave you speechless. To see Spider-Man in the state he’s in is strange, but also exciting since we’ve seen him triumph with ease for so long. Slott is whipping up a story that has Spider-Man on his toes and it will be exciting to see how he pulls him out of this one.
Immonen dazzles with his art in this issue. A key element of Spider-Man is how he fights in the sky and you get that sense of distance and depth throughout the issue. In one amazing full-page spread, Spidey and Green Goblin are fighting over the heads of Daily Bugle employees and the background has a distance that makes our characters pop. The orange highlight around the characters helps too, but Immonen also draws your eye to the background with an attention to detail that gives the page an extra level of reality. There’s also plenty of iconic images that’ll stick with you, like Spidey webbing up a globe to contain a bomb or an impressive explosion that utilizes blur and speed lines and choice details to convey the destruction at the top.
The use of color by Marte Gracia is excellent in this issue, be it the pop of color of Green Goblin’s costume or the interesting purple shadow effect on the villain as he looks down on his victims.
I love that purple shadow.
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It can’t be perfect can it?
It’s a bit perplexing to see Green Goblin approach the Daily Bugle as he does. I don’t want to spoil anything, but he transforms later in the issue and I’m at a loss as to why he didn’t do that in the first place. There isn’t any explanation. There also seems to be some kind of death in the issue that isn’t explained or confirmed. A head scratcher to be sure.
Is It Good?
This is a pulse-pounding story you won’t put down. Jump on now, because the rollercoaster is only going to get more exciting.
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