Writers: Zeb Wells
Pencilers: Todd Nauck & Ed McGuinness
Inker: Todd Nauck & Wade Von Grawbadger
Colorists: Marcio Menyz
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: Ed McGuinness & Marcio Menyz; Ivan Bigarella; Tony Daniel & Marcelo Maiolo; Russell Dauterman; Gabriele Dell’Otto
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $4.99
Release Date: July 10, 2024
The Green Goblin transformed Peter Parker into Spider-Goblin. Chasm loosened the Golbin's hold on his mind. But then Peter ignores the plans he made for the Goblin's return. Without Spider-Man leading the Goblin Resistance, will Ms. Marvel, J Jonah Jameson, Dr Curt Connors, the Walking Brain, and their Web-Whanging replacement commemorate their victory with Riesling and Gorgonzola? Or will the Green Goblin detonate their new plans with a flurry of pumpkin bombs? Let's thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #53, Big Believers, and find out!
Story
The Emissary transported Peter Parker and Mary Jane to an alternate Earth. When Paul sent Peter back to Earth-616, Norman helped Peter return to rescue Mary Jane. Even though Norman was helping his friend, Ms Marvel blames Norman for instigating the events that led to her death. If the Green Goblin influenced Norman's actions, that also makes him responsible for wrecking Peter’s love life and Mary Jane becoming the superhero Jackpot. Whatever the case, Ms Marvel’s not in a hurry to die again. So she teams with the Walking Brain’s posse and invades Oscorp.
Norman Osborn currently owns Oscorp, but Peter, Kamala, Dr Curt Connors, and his assistant Doug have spent days and years there. It's as familiar a battleground for the participants as Central Park was for the gangs of New York. Still, much is uncertain in Amazing Spider-Man #53. In Peter's absence, Dr Curt Connors tries to control Doc Ock’s old mechanical legs, the Walking Brain furiously calculates the Green Goblin’s goal, and Norman’s former intern takes on a supervillain with decades of fighting expertise. Yes, Rek-Rap, it is indeed slobberin’ time.
Chasm’s psychoreactive goo helped Peter's consciousness return. But like Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up," once Peter hears the Green Goblin's thoughts, he can't get them out of his head. So, like many of us, he struggles to ignore distracting thoughts and concentrate on what he wants to do. Peter has a plan to combat the Green Goblin. It involves a spear that gave him Norman Osborn's sins and a machine that turns people into goblins. Peter told Hallows' Eve that no good ever came from the Winkler machine. He insisted the machine couldn’t heal Chasm. So why does Peter think that a sin-filled spear and a machine up to no good can heal Norman Osborn?
In Amazing Spider-Man #53, the protagonists battle a superior adversary. They struggle and fall. And a hero descends into the darkness to relieve his friend of his inner demons.
Art
After glaring at faces on a monitor, Norman stands beside his goblin suit and loosens his tie. Norman never looked as happy in a business suit as when clad in his beloved green and purple costume. As Ms Marvel shows how she invaded Oscorp, a goblin glider enters the room. Todd Nauck and Ed McGuinness maintain the tension through character expressions and body language in Amazing Spider-Man #53. Peter hunches over his workbench before clasping his adapted spear. Ms Marvel’s long arms reach out for Norman as Curt Connors scrambles atop Doc Ock’s old mechanical legs. Rek-Rap grabs Green Goblin upside down and stares deeply into his eyes. Hey! That's Mary Jane and Spider-Man's special move, Rek-Rap!
Marcio Menyz adorns heroes and villains with bold, eye-catching colors. Orange and yellow replace gray backgrounds when Green Goblin leaps aboard his glider, and the Walking Brain executes his endgame. Waves of red radiate from Peter as he struggles to control his thoughts, while the Walking Brain and Green Goblin share the same bright color. In the lair of the Sinister Six, Kraven surveys his unconscious associates. If the Green Goblin, Mysterio, Elektro, Vulture, Doc Ock, and Sandman all wear green, does that mean the Walking Brain is evil too?
Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black lettering into dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. The fonts grow bold for inflection, swell for increased volume, get italicized for machine-speak, and rarely shrink for lowered voices. The Green Goblin’s giant red “Me” seeks harmony with Peter Parker’s “No,” while Rek-Rap’s Chud opposes the Goblin’s red laughter. Kraven’s orange narrative boxes follow Ms Marvel’s distraught orange cry, reminding readers that popular characters can die in Amazing Spider-Man #53. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
As Ms Marvel assembles a team of people more accustomed to using their minds than their fists, Spider-Man attempts to banish Norman's thoughts from his mind. Amazing Spider-Man #53 speaks to the duality inside each of us and reminds us of the importance of our mental health.
9.4/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
