Tomes of Costumed Adventurers: Spider-Man--Goblin's Revenge

Tomes of Costumed Adventurers

Welcome to the land of "reality", where scientific experiments, accidents, genetic heritage, and alien influences affect the lives of ordinary mortals. Join me as I observe the superhumans of planet earth and their struggles against equally powerful foes.

W A R N I N G !

This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.

That said, on to the review!

Title: Spider-Man--Goblin's Revenge
Author: Dean Wesley Smith
Publisher: Boulevard Books
Format: Paperback
Copyright Date: 1996

Peter Parker thought his problems with Dr. Catrall's madness-inducing serum were over when he turned it over to Reed Richards--a.k.a. Mister Fantastic--of the Fantastic Four. But someone attacks Four Freedoms Plaza and steals the serum, someone whose modus operandi closely resembles that of someone Spider-Man thought long dead. What's worse, someone has also chosen to liberate one of Spidey's deadliest enemies from the federal maximum security prison known as the Vault. And this murderous enemy is already plenty insane himself, he doesn't need the serum to wreak havoc. But Spider-Man has no time to worry about it all. He's too busy combating nightmares spawned from his own self-inflicted torment, and the terrible possibility that he's going mad himself, seeing someone who he knows to be dead walking down the street. It's little consolation that J. Jonah Jameson, editor of The Daily Bugle also saw this particular shade from the past. Because whether the man is dead or not, someone has located his hidden arsenals and has begun a new wave of terror on the city dressed as one of Spider-Man's oldest foes: the Green Goblin!

I really feel for Spidey in this one. I can certainly understand how he might be beating himself up over the deaths of friends he cared deeply about. I can also understand how he can begin to question his own abilities and sanity, especially after going for so long with only limited amounts of sleep. He definitely doesn't need the added problem of a dead man walking around in broad daylight on the city streets. And our tired superhero definitely doesn't need someone claiming to be the Green Goblin flying around overhead while Carnage is on the loose. But it's a great testament to his character that Spidey--and Peter Parker--persevere in their pursuit of truth and justice.

What I liked best of all is that Spidey's nightmares weren't simply a plot convention meant to detract from his performance. The author really tied them into the plot, giving them intense symbolic importance and providing them with amazing relevance to the situations Spider-Man finds himself involved in. The players may be different from in his original nightmares, but the reality of the situation is more than adequate recompense.

Spider-Man--Goblin's Revenge does a terrific job of incorporating several of Spidey's villains attacking him in different ways, from psychological to physical to just plain brutal. With the odds stacked so heavily against him, you just have to read it to find out how he comes out on top and whether he'll still be whole or missing a few limbs!

Rating: Thumbs up! A blast from the past might be just what the mad doctor ordered for an exhausted Spidey!

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