‘Gold Goblin #1’ Review (Marvel Comics)
Written by Christopher Cantwell | Art by Lan Medina | Published by Marvel Comics
Don’t know about you, but I reached a saturation point with Norman Osborn some time ago. Although a great villain, as originally conceived and created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko nearly 60 years ago, writers have struggled to do anything original with him for quite some time. He’s been split personality, downright evil, an anti-hero, a government figure, a business leader, and just a father. He’s been the Green Goblin, Iron Patriot, Red Goblin, plain old Norman Osborn, and now the Gold Goblin. I suspect I’d have a split personality after all that.
This book caught my eye as I wanted to see if Marvel are again just turning the wheel and we’ll end up with big bad Norman, or if this redemption arc we started to see in Spider-Man is real and lasting. Let’s take a look.
For those that came in late, this is a new Norman Osborn. Stop the sniggering at the back, this really is. The vigilante Sin-Eater took away Norman’s many sins (he must have been especially hungry that day) and cleansed him, allowing him to make a new start. He started by helping Peter Parker design a new Spider suit, and by giving him both a job and the responsibility of making sure Norman stays on the straight and narrow. Norman’s heart seems to be in the right place, but his first instinct seems to be to design and wear a new Goblin suit and get back on that glider, and we all know his fragile mental state is never too far away. Is he genuinely now good, or is he doing the things he thinks people expect of him? Whatever the reality, he’s plagued by memories of the past, all his bad deeds are haunting his every waking hour.
Cantwell opens this book well, emphasising the psychological strain all this is placing on Osborn. A man at war with himself. Can you ever be ‘good’ when all you can remember is what ‘bad’ things you’ve done? I love the angst Cantwell injects into the early pages, all while Norman enjoys time with his grandson. A brief cameo from Peter Parker follows, where he shows Norman that his ‘secret’ of being the Gold Goblin (their name, not his) is already blown. Norman’s shaken, and we see the first signs of inevitable strain. He sees a Green Goblin in the room, who turns out be Harry, and a ghostly Gwen Stacey in the lift.
Norman’s way of avoiding these issues is to throw himself into making things right. He locates Jack O’Lantern, who’s been essentially grave-robbing, and decides to take him down. Jack puts up a decent showing, but then quickly learns that he should have changed some of those glider and uniform pass codes that he’s been using from Norman. Although he wins, Norman again shows he’s not quite the hero he thinks he is. He’s just about to do something bad to Jack when some kids show up asking for his autograph, which shifts him back to a semblance of sanity. Norman is clearly not mentally well. Is the world ready for a mentally unbalanced hero?
I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. I think Cantwell’s take (and editorial’s obviously, as this spun out of the Spidey books) is excellent. He really gets under the hood of Norman’s psyche, and in a way puts us in his shoes. We see what he sees, feel what he feels. Could anyone of us be ‘normal’ if the ghosts of our victims follow us around, even if they are only in his mind. Well paced, well written. Very human. The art, from Lan Medina, is equally good, with lovely clean lines and interesting layouts. Multi-panel pages never feel cluttered, and there’s some clever design in there. Nice stuff.
I suspect that it doesn’t matter if the Goblin is Green, Red, or Gold, Norman Osborn will never be a normal person. His intent is genuine, but there are just too many pumpkin bombs under the bridge.
A book to watch.
