The last few years of The Amazing Spider-Man comics have been a real wild ride for Norman Osborn. Ever since Norman had his sins erased and his sanity restored, he’s been doing his best to walk the straight and narrow path. Even Peter Parker has been forced to accept that Norman truly wants redemption.
The strange saga of a post-Green Goblin Norman Osborn has taken an even weirder turn of late. With Peter himself trapped in deep space, Norman has taken it upon himself to carry on the mantle of Spider-Man. Can a man with this much blood on his hands truly live up to Spidey’s example? That’s one of the main questions fueling Joe Kelly, Pepe Larraz, and John Romita, Jr. 's run going forward.
IGN was able to chat with Kelly via email to learn more about the future of the series as it divides its focus between Peter’s cosmic misadventures and Norman’s fight back in New York. Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive first look at October's The Amazing Spider-Man #13 and the cover art for December’s The Amazing Spider-Man #17 and #18, and then read on to learn more.
The Amazing Spider-Man #11 dropped the big reveal that Norman has taken on the mantle of Spider-Man for himself. No one seems ready to trust Norman with his newfound responsibility, least of all Ben Reilly, who has an agenda of his own as he impersonates his clone brother. As Kelly explains, the possibilities of exploring Norman in this new role were too good to ignore.
“On shock value alone it's a fun beat, but the post-sins version of Norman is fascinating. He's not suddenly a ‘good person’ - everything that he ever did wrong still happened, but he has an opportunity to move forward as a sane person for the first time, maybe ever,” Kelly tells IGN. “What does a person like that do with a second chance, especially when they are still prone to ego, anger, and the rest? Norman has been letting himself get close to Peter, becoming someone Pete truly relies on. When Peter disappears, how does Norman fill that vacuum? Is it the best idea to put on a Spider-Man suit? Why would he think he could take on that mantle? What's he trying to prove? All great stuff to explore.”
Needless to say, it’s going to be an uphill battle for Norman, especially as he’s dragged into a conflict involving fellow Goblins like Queen Goblin and Hobgoblin. Some mysterious foe is hunting Goblins, and that includes the former Green Goblin himself.
“I can't say what it is exactly, but I will say that we will find out who tried to kill Norman and see their plan expand…” Kelly teases. “Someone is hunting goblins. There will be a bunch of folks popping out of the woodwork, but maybe not as we've seen them in the past. It's gonna get ugly.”
As for Peter Parker, the “real” Spider-Man is currently many light-years away from home and well out of his comfort zone. Peter’s deep-space exile comes in the wake of his brutal defeat at the hands of his new nemesis, Hellgate. Hellgate’s last words to Spidey were “Get stronger,” and Peter is doing his best to carry out that mission. He’s even got a spiffy new costume. And Kelly confirms that this order will be motivating Peter as he deals with his new surroundings.
“It absolutely is driving many of his choices,” Kelly says. “We used Pepe's first arc to establish that Peter has a deep fear of losing his loved ones - a childhood trauma. Then we used JR's arc to have that nightmare come true - though the audience didn't know it at first. So Hellgate's command is a seed planted in the very fertile ground of Peter's deepest fears. It will definitely bear fruit, whether or not it's top of Peter's mind.”
At the same time, Peter’s field trip has taken an unexpected turn thanks to issue #11. There, Peter rescues a group of captive alien test subjects, including the one and only Rocket Raccoon. For a man burdened by his sense of responsibility, these test subjects will force him to play the role of guardian, whether he likes it or not.
“Peter's never ever going to turn his back on someone in need, whether he's in New York or an alien planet,” Kelly says. “So discovering a ship full of aliens held against their will is going to press his buttons. But he's not feeling like much of a "guardian" post-Hellgate, so that interaction should kick up some interesting stuff for him.”
These twin storylines will carry the book through this next phase, and also dictate how Larraz and Romita share art duties. Whereas Larraz drew the series' opening arc and Romita the second, now each will trade off issues, with Larraz handling those focused on the space storyline and Romita those set in New York.
“Early on, I wanted to do something big that threw Spider-Man out of his element,” Kelly explains of this shake-up. "’Punching him into space’ became my quick pitch - but then it stuck. As I was working this out, the realities of how Amazing Spider-Man is a bi-weekly book started to set in. I knew that there would be two initial arcs, but I wondered if splitting a few months between Pepe and JR would work - one artist every two weeks to tell two parallel stories. We thought it would be a cool challenge, and then developed the Space/New York storylines. It's been a blast to write, and I hope folks dig it.”
It’s also worth noting that Marvel is inching closer and closer to publishing the 1000th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man (with the recent #11 being #975 in legacy numbering). Kelly confirms that he has big plans in mind for when the series reaches that point in 2026, even if the prospect is more than a little daunting.
“So big! The BIGGEST! No pressure at all! Why would you think that there's any pressure? No pressure... None. Zero,” Kelly says. “In all seriousness, it's a monumental milestone book, and I am so excited to be a part of it. It's going to be something special... no pressure.”
The Amazing Spider-Man #17 will be released on December 10, followed by issue #18 on December 24. You can preorder both issues at your local comic shop.
In other comics news, Dark Horse is releasing The Art of Star Wars: A New Hope - The Manga, and Absolute Batman #12 provides twisted new origin stories for several iconic DC villains.
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