The various Spider-Man titles have been fortunate enough to contain many great stories throughout the years, but only a select few can truly be called classics. "Shadow of Evils Past" is one of those stories. This landmark issue introduces the Hobgoblin, one of Spider-Man's most important villains and the successor to the legacy of the Green Goblin. That concept alone makes this issue significant, but the storytelling is magnificent. Writer Roger Stern and regular artist John Romita Jr. are joined by legendary Spider-Man artist John Romita Sr. to create a masterpiece of suspense and intrigue. "Who is the Hobgoblin?" became the hottest question in comics back in 1983, evoking the same sense of mystery that Romita Sr., Steve Ditko and Stan Lee created with the original Green Goblin.

As any fan can tell you, the Green Goblin is probably the villain most associated with Spider-Man. But by the late 1970s, he actually no longer was active. The original Green Goblin, Norman Osborn, (apparently) died in the landmark Amazing Spider-Man #122. Harry Osborn, Norman's son and Peter's best friend, briefly became the Green Goblin in a fit of madness in Amazing Spider-Man #136-137. But Harry recovered and by this time, showed no signs of returning to his Goblin ways. A third man, Dr. Bart Hamilton, took up the Green Goblin mantle in Amazing Spider-Man #176-180. But Hamilton died in an explosion, ending his threat forever.

Quite frankly, the Green Goblin was missed during this five-year stretch. While I do believe the Green Goblin should be reserved for occasional, meaningful storylines and not overused (a mistake that perhaps has been made in recent years), Spider-Man needs the Goblin. A hero is defined in some part by his or her villains and the Green Goblin is Spider-Man's arch-rival. If the threat of the Green Goblin isn't out there, the hero is somewhat diminished. Stern and Romita found a brilliant way to continue the Goblin's legacy while giving it a fresh new spin.

This issue begins innocently enough, as a proud Peter Parker watches his Aunt May sign the legal papers required to allow her to open her own boarding house for senior citizens. Aunt May had been living at the Restwell Nursing Home, but she decided to move back to the Parker home in Queens, where she and Uncle Ben raised Peter, and convert it into a residence for some of her elderly friends. But as Peter, Aunt May and May's boyfriend Nathan Lubensky are leaving to celebrate, a speeding car of bank robbers nearly runs them down. Peter runs off to do something about it. "When people I love are threatened, I see red! And Peter Parker can let off a lot more steam -- and do a lot more good -- as Spider-Man!" he thinks.

Spider-Man jumps into the speeding car and takes out the bank robbers, who are threatening a lot of innocent people with their high-speed chase. But one bandit jumps out of the car and flees on foot. The crook ducks down a nearby manhole into the sewer. "Pee-yew! Boy, is it ever rank down here! Times like these, I'm glad I got my powers from the bite of a radioactive spider...and not a bloodhound!" Spider-Man thinks.

The terrified bank robber, a guy named Georgie, gets away and during his escape, he accidentally triggers a hidden door in the sewer. A subtle clue is left for readers, as the Romita boys place a sign reading "Osborn Manufacturing" in the background. Georgie walks down a secret corridor to find a former hideout of the Green Goblin, filled with his old equipment!

Georgie contacts a mystery man, whose face is always hidden in shadow, and shows him the hideout. "I figured a dude like you'd be interested!" Georgie says. The man is instantly intrigued by the stash of equipment. The men set fire to the warehouse, which leads Peter Parker and Joe Robertson from the Daily Bugle to come over and investigate. "Oh no! I've been in rooms like this one before! As burnt as the place is, I can still recognize the fixtures on the wall!" Peter thinks. "The last time I saw a metal rack like that, it was holding a row of jet-gliders! This was one of Norman Osborn's hideaways when he was the Green Goblin!"

Meanwhile, the mystery man has moved the equipment to an empty warehouse in the Bronx. Georgie drives off to dispose of the van they used - which promptly explodes. Whoever this mystery man is, he is a cold-blooded killer. He later reveals that he spent all night pouring over Norman Osborn's journals. "He was mad, of course...almost totally mad! That much is obvious from my readings." the man thinks. "But the mind boggles at the thought of what he still accomplished." The man the tries out some of the Green Goblin's weapons, including his pumpkin bombs, the "Goblin sparks" that shoot from the fingertips of his gloves and, of course, the Goblin-glider.

The man then steps into the shadows and starts trying on a costume. He's kept the basic design of the Green Goblin's costume, but changed the color scheme from purple and green to orange and gray-green and altered the mask. "Well, Norman Osborn may have died, but his legacy -- his power -- will live on! And this time, it will be shaped by a man who knows how to use power! The Green Goblin is no more! But in his place now stands -- the Hobgoblin!!" The issue closes with an absolutely awesome full-page shot and our first look at the villain who will become Spider-Man's chief rival during the 1980s.

Although this issue doesn't need much more, we also get a scene of Aunt May calling her friend Anna Watson down in Florida. And who is with Aunt Anna? None other than Peter's favorite redhead, Mary Jane Watson. Peter and Mary Jane weren't a couple then and, as hard as this may be to believe now, she actually had largely disappeared from the Spider-Man books for a while. So it was good to see Mary Jane again - and she would quickly become a regular once more.

In closing, this issue absolutely is a must-read for any Spider-Man fan. It really doesn't get much better than this!

Next issue: We don't have to wait long - Spider-Man has his first-ever battle with the Hobgoblin!

Reviewed by Bruce Buchanan.

Lakeside Tattooz Included in the back of this issue. Values listed are with or without the Tattooz. Same Tattooz can be found in Fantastic Four #252.

Reprinted In:
Marvel Tales #257