Goblin War!
First Aired: November 16th, 1996
Synopsis: The time dilation accelerator, which created The Spot, emerges from the dimension it was trapped in. It's found by a man who tries selling it to a pawn shop, right before opening a portal with it. Peter goes off to close it as Spider-Man right as he's talking to Mary Jane about how well everything is going between them, but Hobgoblin arrives and grabs the accelerator. He uses it as a teleporter to rob places, but it soon starts running low on power and he makes a deal with Kingpin to share some of his loot in return for some power packs. Later, Jason Phillips is announcing his engagement to Felicia Hardy at a social event Peter and Mary Jane are attending. Peter's spider-sense goes off right before he's introduced to Jason, and he assumes that it's because Kingpin's nearby. Kingpin goes to see Norman Osborn, and Peter eavesdrops on them. Kingpin wants to know Hobgoblin's identity, and while Norman's shaken by the mention of goblins, he agrees to meet Fisk later and tell him then. Shortly afterwards, Norman has a breakdown, and he hallucinates the Green Goblin talking to him before snapping and resuming the identity.
Hobgoblin commits a big robbery he was planning, but Spider-Man stops it and goes through the portal created to Kingpin's headquarters. He fights both Hobgoblin and Kingpin before the Green Goblin bursts through the wall and fights the Hobgoblin. Spider-Man chases after them when their fight carries them outside, and when Hobgoblin vanishes using a portal, Green Goblin throws him into the river and leaves since he thinks Spidey's dead. Spider-Man is fine though, and decides to head to Oscorp since he knows that Norman Osborn is the Green Goblin. At Jason's house, Felicia finds a hidden passage, and discovers that he's the Hobgoblin right as he returns home. He threatens her if she reveals his secret, but then the Green Goblin bursts in and takes him to Oscorp. He dangles Jason and Felicia above vats of acid, but Spider-Man saves them. The Green Goblin vanishes into a portal with the last of the accelerator's power, and Felicia realises that she can't marry Jason, shortly before he's arrested. At his base, the Green Goblin laughs about how he'll get his revenge.
Miscellaneous Notes:
- With her relationship with Jason soured, Felicia laments that she's like a black cat, bringing bad luck into everyone's path. Ooh, I see what you did there, writers.
- Jason reveals to Felicia that his real name is Jason Philip Macendale.This is indeed the identity of a Hobgoblin in the comics (the shitty one), who was first introduced as the villain Jack o' Lantern.
Review: Damn, what a great episode. The start's a little slow with the random man who picks up the time dilation accelerator, but once the Hobgoblin enters the picture the episode really doesn't let up. We've got scheming from the Kingpin, the reveal of Hobgoblin's identity, Norman Osborn's breakdown and subsequent brutal attack on Hobgoblin, Felicia discovering the truth, Spider-Man fighting to save both of them...phew!
There's really not a lot to say here given how excellent this episode is. There's a cascade of continuity references here to the point that while this season may not have had a lengthy arc like the last one, it certainly creates the illusion that everything's been building up to this for a while. I also loved Norman Osborn's breakdown, especially the small moment of him trying to defy the Green Goblin, saying "But it would be wrong" - Norman's well-established as a jerk in the comics, but giving him sympathetic moments and portraying him as a man struggling with what's essentially a mental illness really can work brilliantly.
So yeah, that's about all I have to say here. It's a great episode that really doesn't do a lot wrong, and I'm thoroughly invested in what next episode will bring us, given that it has the opportunity to focus entirely on the Green Goblin.
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