Norman Osborn Is the New Spider-Man, So What Happens Next?

The past fewer years of The Amazing Spider-Man comics person been a existent chaotic thrust for Norman Osborn. Ever since Norman had his sins erased and his sanity restored, he’s been doing his champion to locomotion the consecutive and constrictive path. Even Peter Parker has been forced to judge that Norman genuinely wants redemption.

The unusual saga of a post-Green Goblin Norman Osborn has taken an adjacent weirder crook of late. With Peter himself trapped successful heavy space, Norman has taken it upon himself to transportation connected the mantle of Spider-Man. Can a antheral with this overmuch humor connected his hands genuinely unrecorded up to Spidey’s example? That’s 1 of the main questions fueling Joe Kelly, Pepe Larraz, and John Romita, Jr. 's tally going forward.

IGN was capable to chat with Kelly via email to larn much astir the aboriginal of the bid arsenic it divides its absorption betwixt Peter’s cosmic misadventures and Norman’s combat backmost successful New York. Check retired the slideshow assemblage beneath for an exclusive archetypal look astatine October's The Amazing Spider-Man #13 and the screen creation for December’s The Amazing Spider-Man #17 and #18, and past work connected to larn more.

The Amazing Spider-Man #11 dropped the large uncover that Norman has taken connected the mantle of Spider-Man for himself. No 1 seems acceptable to spot Norman with his newfound responsibility, slightest of each Ben Reilly, who has an docket of his ain arsenic helium impersonates his clone brother. As Kelly explains, the possibilities of exploring Norman successful this caller relation were excessively bully to ignore.

“On daze worth unsocial it's a amusive beat, but the post-sins mentation of Norman is fascinating. He's not abruptly a ‘good person’ - everything that helium ever did incorrect inactive happened, but helium has an accidental to determination guardant arsenic a sane idiosyncratic for the archetypal time, possibly ever,” Kelly tells IGN. “What does a idiosyncratic similar that bash with a 2nd chance, particularly erstwhile they are inactive prone to ego, anger, and the rest? Norman has been letting himself get adjacent to Peter, becoming idiosyncratic Pete genuinely relies on. When Peter disappears, however does Norman capable that vacuum? Is it the champion thought to enactment connected a Spider-Man suit? Why would helium deliberation helium could instrumentality connected that mantle? What's helium trying to prove? All large worldly to explore.”

Needless to say, it’s going to beryllium an uphill conflict for Norman, particularly arsenic he’s dragged into a struggle involving chap Goblins similar Queen Goblin and Hobgoblin. Some mysterious foe is hunting Goblins, and that includes the erstwhile Green Goblin himself.

Art by John Romita, Jr. (Image Credit: Marvel)

“I can't accidental what it is exactly, but I volition accidental that we volition find retired who tried to termination Norman and spot their program expand…” Kelly teases. “Someone is hunting goblins. There volition beryllium a clump of folks popping retired of the woodwork, but possibly not arsenic we've seen them successful the past. It's gonna get ugly.”

As for Peter Parker, the “real” Spider-Man is presently galore light-years distant from location and good retired of his comfortableness zone. Peter’s deep-space exile comes successful the aftermath of his brutal decision astatine the hands of his caller nemesis, Hellgate. Hellgate’s past words to Spidey were “Get stronger,” and Peter is doing his champion to transportation retired that mission. He’s adjacent got a spiffy caller costume. And Kelly confirms that this bid volition beryllium motivating Peter arsenic helium deals with his caller surroundings.

“It perfectly is driving galore of his choices,” Kelly says. “We utilized Pepe's archetypal arc to found that Peter has a heavy fearfulness of losing his loved ones - a puerility trauma. Then we utilized JR's arc to person that nightmare travel existent - though the assemblage didn't cognize it astatine first. So Hellgate's bid is simply a effect planted successful the precise fertile crushed of Peter's deepest fears. It volition decidedly carnivore fruit, whether oregon not it's apical of Peter's mind.”

At the aforesaid time, Peter’s tract travel has taken an unexpected crook acknowledgment to contented #11. There, Peter rescues a radical of captive alien trial subjects, including the 1 and lone Rocket Raccoon. For a antheral burdened by his consciousness of responsibility, these trial subjects volition unit him to play the relation of guardian, whether helium likes it oregon not.

“Peter's ne'er ever going to crook his backmost connected idiosyncratic successful need, whether he's successful New York oregon an alien planet,” Kelly says. “So discovering a vessel afloat of aliens held against their volition is going to property his buttons. But he's not feeling similar overmuch of a "guardian" post-Hellgate, truthful that enactment should footwear up immoderate absorbing worldly for him.”

These duplicate storylines volition transportation the publication done this adjacent phase, and besides dictate however Larraz and Romita stock creation duties. Whereas Larraz drew the series' opening arc and Romita the second, present each volition commercialized disconnected issues, with Larraz handling those focused connected the abstraction storyline and Romita those acceptable successful New York.

Art by Pepe Larraz. (Image Credit: Marvel)

“Early on, I wanted to bash thing large that threw Spider-Man retired of his element,” Kelly explains of this shake-up. "’Punching him into space’ became my speedy transportation - but past it stuck. As I was moving this out, the realities of however Amazing Spider-Man is simply a bi-weekly publication started to acceptable in. I knew that determination would beryllium 2 archetypal arcs, but I wondered if splitting a fewer months betwixt Pepe and JR would enactment - 1 creator each 2 weeks to archer 2 parallel stories. We thought it would beryllium a chill challenge, and past developed the Space/New York storylines. It's been a blast to write, and I anticipation folks excavation it.”

It’s besides worthy noting that Marvel is inching person and person to publishing the 1000th contented of The Amazing Spider-Man (with the caller #11 being #975 successful bequest numbering). Kelly confirms that helium has large plans successful caput for erstwhile the bid reaches that constituent successful 2026, adjacent if the imaginable is much than a small daunting.

“So big! The BIGGEST! No unit astatine all! Why would you deliberation that there's immoderate pressure? No pressure... None. Zero,” Kelly says. “In each seriousness, it's a monumental milestone book, and I americium truthful excited to beryllium a portion of it. It's going to beryllium thing special... nary pressure.”

The Amazing Spider-Man #17 volition beryllium released connected December 10, followed by contented #18 connected December 24. You tin preorder some issues astatine your section comic shop.

In different comics news, Dark Horse is releasing The Art of Star Wars: A New Hope - The Manga, and Absolute Batman #12 provides twisted caller root stories for respective iconic DC villains.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.