Hobgoblin TPB - blech

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Not only was the story pretty bad, but I just saw it in the store yesterday - they picked the ugliest cover in the series for the TPB cover.

Too bad, because some of the covers were actually pretty good.

Anyone buy this that hadn't read the issues? I'm curious to see what people think about it who read it all at once.

On Amazon.com: Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 13: Hobgoblin Collects Ultimate Spider-Man #72-78; $10.87
 
UltimateE said:
Not only was the story pretty bad, but I just saw it in the store yesterday - they picked the ugliest cover in the series for the TPB cover.

Too bad, because some of the covers were actually pretty good.

Anyone buy this that hadn't read the issues? I'm curious to see what people think about it who read it all at once.

On Amazon.com: Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 13: Hobgoblin Collects Ultimate Spider-Man #72-78; $10.87
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I have to agree, you'd think they might at least show Hobgoblin on the cover with Spider-Man, though in the case of the trades I think just about every one has been only Spidey on the cover (with the exception of the Irresponsible trade which also featured Storm).
 
Lithium said:
i must be ab-normal because i think i'm the only one who liked this arc.
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I didn't hate it terribly, just the fact that Bendis decided to jump around Pulp Fiction style times 100 with the story. I mean, one issue we're finding out what happened to Harry last week, the next whats going on with Pete and MJ in the present, then the next back to Harry two weeks before. It was way over the top.
 
So there's a reason I was confused when I read this one. What a relief.... Let me re-read it a couple of times and I'll stop back to post on it.
 
Seldes Katne said:
So there's a reason I was confused when I read this one. What a relief.... Let me re-read it a couple of times and I'll stop back to post on it.
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It's not worth it.
 
For the simple fact that some people choose to stay away from usm and any people who read the single issues, the cover was chosen as a way to keep the fact that harry is hobgoblin from being obvious to those who took a fresh approach to the series....

Had it not been, i could easily see the mediocre number 72 or 76 issues as a possible cover.
 
DIrishB said:
I have to agree, you'd think they might at least show Hobgoblin on the cover with Spider-Man, though in the case of the trades I think just about every one has been only Spidey on the cover (with the exception of the Irresponsible trade which also featured Storm).
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The one that shows on Amazon (and this site in the ad to the right of some pages) is not the actual cover that was used. That would have been preferred. It's the one that has a close up of Spidey's and Gob's face, and I think a smaller picture of them fighting or something. It's ugly.
 
UltimateE said:
The one that shows on Amazon (and this site in the ad to the right of some pages) is not the actual cover that was used. That would have been preferred. It's the one that has a close up of Spidey's and Gob's face, and I think a smaller picture of them fighting or something. It's ugly.
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Oh ok, I was gonna say the one of him crouching on the wall facing us isn't so bad...not like the arc itself. I hope next time Hobgoblin/Harry shows up, he'll get a better story to go along with it.
 
DIrishB said:
I have to agree, you'd think they might at least show Hobgoblin on the cover with Spider-Man, though in the case of the trades I think just about every one has been only Spidey on the cover (with the exception of the Irresponsible trade which also featured Storm).
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They should have put Geldoff on the cover Irresponsible. Now THAT would have been ballsy.
 
I bought the trade and hadn't read the issues. I was glad I also had UXM Vol.9 to cheer me up after that horrid story.
 
thee great one said:
I liked the story it was better than other ones.
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...

BTW, the cover is actually Harry in foreground, with images of Spidey and Hobgoblin in the background.
 
I went back and read this again. The re-read cleared up the problem of the time jumping, but it did leave me with a few other confusing events. Such as:


  • When did Nick Fury get demoted to colonel? He was still a general in the Ultimate Six story arc, which was three or four arcs ago.

  • What's the deal with Mr. Shaw? At one point I thought he might be a figment of Harry's imagination, but he does seem to interact with the physical world, and I don't think Harry would be able to shut his own memories off and on with the "cellar door" codeword, so presumably Shaw really is there. So he has access to some form of stealth technology? Or has some innate ability to render himself invisible? Was that explained somewhere, and I missed it?

  • Some of the characters' motivations are escaping me. I'm not entirely certain I understand the point behind having Harry ask Peter about Norman Osborn's whereabouts. If Norman is in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, why would Shaw expect Peter to know where he is? Is this some sort of set-up to get Harry killed? Why? How is that going to help find Norman Osborn? The only thing I can think of is that Shaw assumes S.H.I.E.L.D. will take Harry (or Harry's corpse, if he's killed) to the same place that they're holding his father.

  • Apparently Harry does have a death wish. Or are Harry and the Hobgoblin actually two different characters inhabiting the same body, and it's the Hobgoblin that's seeking death?

  • By the end of Issue 77, Fury decides it's time for Peter to lose his spider powers. If they're still trying to figure out how Oz works, what method would they use to render Peter's powers inert? If they can do that to him, why can't they do the same to the Ultimate Six villains? Or have they? (Don't remember seeing this, but I could have missed it, I suppose.)

I rummage around the USM forum for clues, but I think the point of UltimateE's original question was to see what people thought about the trade if they had no advance knowledge of the issues. I thought this was an acceptable arc, but it did leave a lot of unanswered questions for me. The cover was all right, about the same as a couple of other covers in the trade series (#4 with the Goblin, #6 with Venom, for example). I would consider this to be an open-ended arc, with the expectation that we'll be revisiting Shaw and/or Harry's situation again at some point in the future.
 
wow, seldes, i just saw your picture on your avatar. You are a lot younger looking than I thought. You look like my aunt!
 
marvelman said:
wow, seldes, i just saw your picture on your avatar. You are a lot younger looking than I thought. You look like my aunt!
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:D Marvelman, you just made my evening. I don't know a single woman who doesn't appreciate being told she looks younger than she is. Thanks!
 
Seldes Katne said:
I went back and read this again. The re-read cleared up the problem of the time jumping, but it did leave me with a few other confusing events. Such as:


  • When did Nick Fury get demoted to colonel? He was still a general in the Ultimate Six story arc, which was three or four arcs ago.
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This is just Bendis being a dumb-*** again. Either that or we can assume the reporter was a dumb-*** and mistakenly referred to him as a Colonel. One of the two. I mean he's been a general since after UXM #11 when Ross (supposedly) died.

  • What's the deal with Mr. Shaw? At one point I thought he might be a figment of Harry's imagination, but he does seem to interact with the physical world, and I don't think Harry would be able to shut his own memories off and on with the "cellar door" codeword, so presumably Shaw really is there. So he has access to some form of stealth technology? Or has some innate ability to render himself invisible? Was that explained somewhere, and I missed it?
Click to expand...

I think this is one of those things Bendis left open, to explore further in a later arc. I think Shaw at this point was a figment of Harry's imagination as a result of the hypno-therapy (see the Legacy arc, USM #22-27 to see what I mean). See Fight Club to see how he's interacting with the real world.

  • Some of the characters' motivations are escaping me. I'm not entirely certain I understand the point behind having Harry ask Peter about Norman Osborn's whereabouts. If Norman is in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, why would Shaw expect Peter to know where he is? Is this some sort of set-up to get Harry killed? Why? How is that going to help find Norman Osborn? The only thing I can think of is that Shaw assumes S.H.I.E.L.D. will take Harry (or Harry's corpse, if he's killed) to the same place that they're holding his father.
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Cuz if Shaw's a figment of Harry's mind, then he only knows what Harry knows. And since as far as Harry is concerned Peter is involved with Norman's disappearance (see the ending of Ultimate Six), he thinks he'll know where he is.

  • Apparently Harry does have a death wish. Or are Harry and the Hobgoblin actually two different characters inhabiting the same body, and it's the Hobgoblin that's seeking death?
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I think Harry is ashamed of what he's become. Can't really offer any more insight than that.

  • By the end of Issue 77, Fury decides it's time for Peter to lose his spider powers. If they're still trying to figure out how Oz works, what method would they use to render Peter's powers inert? If they can do that to him, why can't they do the same to the Ultimate Six villains? Or have they? (Don't remember seeing this, but I could have missed it, I suppose.)
Click to expand...

They're still trying to figure out how to do it, that why Fury mentions wanting it solved by his birthday. Hence all the illegal genetic mutations still having their powers.

I rummage around the USM forum for clues, but I think the point of UltimateE's original question was to see what people thought about the trade if they had no advance knowledge of the issues. I thought this was an acceptable arc, but it did leave a lot of unanswered questions for me. The cover was all right, about the same as a couple of other covers in the trade series (#4 with the Goblin, #6 with Venom, for example). I would consider this to be an open-ended arc, with the expectation that we'll be revisiting Shaw and/or Harry's situation again at some point in the future.
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Definitly open-ended. We'll see a return of Hobgoblin sometime in the future (hopefully with Norman joining him, and maybe the rest of the Ultimate Six so that they don't have to rely on Peter being the sixth member).
 
Seldes Katne said:
What's the deal with Mr. Shaw? At one point I thought he might be a figment of Harry's imagination
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I seem to remember a pretty good debate here on whether or not he was real. I personally think he is a figment or Harry's imagination. That doesn't explain a few scenes, but I don't think it's enough to say the theory is wrong.
 
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