Crawling Back: Spectacular Spider-Man #189 (The Osborn Prelude, Part 14)
Harry Osborn's penultimate adventure as the Green Goblin sees him fully embrace his true self in a thrilling, character-focused issue
—by Nathan on May 30, 2025—
When last the Green Goblin's glider left a winding trail of gray smog, we followed his short trek down a more heroic path. Harry Osborn, having recently defended his family against the Osborn legacy's would-be-usurper, the Hobgoblin, hoped he could reinvent his father's antagonistic alter ego, turning the Goblin into a more positive force. To that end, he helped Spidey and the Molten Man (Mark Raxton, Harry's brother-in-law) battle Tombstone's thugs and debated his intentions with a nonplussed Web-Head. Spidey, believing his friend unfit for such a role, went to great lengths to stop him, battling his best buddy in his "Goblin Cave" and wrecking a bunch of stuff, pummeling the guy into submission while verbally bludgeoning him about how much psychiatric help Harry needs.
And I thought the Goblin was a bad guy!
Spidey's intentions came from a place of hope for his friend, if not deeper fear. Hope that his friend would listen to reason, turn away from a path Peter clearly found unhealthy. Fear that his friend was actually unable–or, perhaps unwilling–to listen, that force was necessary to knock some sense into this wannabe good Goblin.
It worked, in a way. Pete knocked something into the Goblin, with Gerry Conway hinting that Harry began remembering just who the man behind the Spider-Man mask is. Angered at Spidey's interference in his newfound heroics and with old memories and wounds resurfacing, Harry steered away from a nobler road.
We're coming into a story published shortly after the conclusion of a longer arc commonly referred to as the "The Child Within," a 7-part Spectacular Spider-Man narrative courtesy of J.M. DeMatteis and Sal Buscema. I'll admit, despite the significance of this arc, I don't own these issues, and I recognize it's a glaring gap in the narrative I wish I could rectify now. With the story being collected in omnibus format later this year, I hope to review the full narrative in the future. Could I have waited for the omnibus? Absolutely, but I didn't want this Goblin train to slow down. I have a schedule for these posts and waiting for an omnibus releasing in July to review "The Child Within" so I could then review the next few Goblin appearances would throw the timeable off-kilter like the added weight of a whole Spider-Man dragging down a Goblin glider. I recognize I could also pick up the individual issues, but I would prefer to read the narrative in a complete volume format. Yes, I could bend the rules, but in this instance, I am choosing to return to the scene at a later date.
So with apologies to you, dear reader, I begin near the end, as we discuss our penultimate Green Goblin narrative.
"The Osborn Legacy"
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inker: Sal Buscema
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterers: Rick Parker
Issue: Spectacular Spider-Man #189
Issue Publication Date: June 1992
"Gotcha!"
In this issue's opening pages, Peter Parker opens a mysterious jack-in-the-box left in his apartment, and as the toy's jingle concludes, out pops a grinning goblin head with this word plastered on the front. It's a trick, see, left by Harry Osborn. Maybe it's meant as a gag–that Peter would believe a deadlier outcome would spring from the box…though this may be moot, as Harry later tries blowing Peter up, with a note left behind with the same word.
"Gotcha!"
This won't be the last time we see this word in relation to the Green Goblin, but for now, it's purpose is thematic. Harry later utters it to his family–wife Liz, son Normie, and brother-in-law Mark–when he gasses and kidnaps them. These are tricks, can't you see? The Goblin's always used tricks to pull people in, make them vulnerable. Harry's "gotcha" this time, Peter and friends…and the Goblin has gotten Harry, holding him tight. J.M. DeMatteis and Sal Buscema are ramping up to a startling conclusion, and this issue is determined to make sure the reader has ringside seats to the show.
The previous narrative, "The Child Within," pushed Harry past the brink. He made his choice, bathed in the chemicals which gave his father his Goblin strength. Now the man who could barely fight off his psychiatrist and the Hobgoblin has Norman's power…and has tipped fully into insanity. As DeMatteis aptly shows, Harry has embraced the "Osborn legacy" as Norman would have defined it for him. Not as a father, not as a businessman, not as Peter Parker's best friend, but as the Green Goblin, Spider-Man's worst enemy.
DeMatteis has generally been a strong character writer, capably diving into the heads of his villains, specifically, to pull out the beating heart of how and why they behave...or misbehave, if that seems more apropos. "Kraven's Last Hunt" showcased the raw emotions of Kraven the Hunter, tethering his hatred for Spider-Man to his family's past and his own nationalistic ties. A famous DC narrative DeMatteis penned, "Going Sane," posited what would happen if the Joker "killed" Batman, exploring a different side of the villain's personality and developing him beyond the chaotic laugh and penchant for killing henchmen. In short, DeMatteis gets into the minds of his subjects, and he offers no different an experience through untangling the labyrinth of Harry Osborn's soul.
Harry is a complex figure, and his decades of development have engaged fans, with some pointing to him as the greatest version of the Green Goblin. DeMatteis gives other writers their credit, noting that the complexities of Harry's relationship with drugs, seeing his father die, and tangling with Peter all shaped his present reality. But DeMatteis cuts through the clutter, gliding Harry to a distinct side. Other writers, such as Marv Wolfman and even Gerry Conway, had explored Harry through a dual lens: he was friend and enemy both, each side struggling for dominance. Creative as that struggle was, DeMatteis clearly sees himself as responsible for ratcheting things up a few notches to bring this glider in for a landing. The Spider/Goblin war needs to end soon…but now?
DeMatteis presents a "no turning back" point in this issue, by allowing Harry to fully embrace a more manic, villainous side of himself not completely seen since his first run-in with Peter as the Green Goblin. There is no more struggle. Harry is certain of his identity as the Goblin, and worse, he forces his family into embracing the Osborn legacy as he sees it. Tension is carved through the length of the issue, even prior to a "final" showdown between Peter and Harry. Other issues have focused on Peter's efforts at rescuing or redeeming his friend, and while that plays out here, Harry is the issue's true star. We watch his spiral hopelessly, and we lament those caught in the current.
Harry's son Normie plays a surprisingly pivotal role in this narrative, DeMatteis presenting him as the one person who seems to see Harry as a whole person. Inside and outside the costume, Harry is Normie's dad, and the little boy fully supports his father's dreams of reuniting the Osborn family. It doesn't matter that it's "Goblin persona" Harry who wants to change the Osborn's fortunes; this man is his dad, and Normie's innocent ignorance plays out palpably. While Liz and the Molten Man attempt diplomacy or to steer Harry away from this path, Normie follows his father with full gusto. When Spidey defeats the Goblin in battle, Sal Buscema provides a series of panels closing in on Normie's face, showcasing the sheer rage the boy turns upon Spidey. How dare he hurt his father! During his first dust-up with Spidey, Harry called Norman "the greatest man this world has ever known," and you get the sense Normie has inherited his dad's abiding adoration for Osborn fathers. Normie's story continues after Harry's "ends," and the seeds for that transformation are planted here, in twisted soil.
Part of the issue's strength comes from this juxtaposition then–Harry himself is complex, but the emotions surrounding him are complex, compounding my argument that Harry is the real lynch-pin in the issue. He drives the narrative forward, and how our cavalcade of characters react to his actions–how they behave and how they feel–plays into the tension. Peter is guided by worry and fear, feeling his one-time friend has gone too far. Liz and Mark desperately wish to help Harry but find themselves foiled at all angles–Liz's love for her husband is battered by the Goblin's spiteful words towards her, and Mark's initial diplomacy is frustrated by his own bouts of violent rage. And I've already touched on poor Normie's ignorance, DeMatteis using him to show how the Osborn legacy will continue spreading.
Though caught fully in the grip of the Goblin's madness–thanks a lot, chemical bath–Harry nevertheless attempts a very bizarre, very strange healing in this issue. He's come to terms with who he is. Harry is his father's son, and though Norman's legacy should have been a bustling business and fond memories, he left a very different inheritance for Harry. A costume, a glider, some bombs, and a whole heckuva lotta hate for one Wall-Crawler. Not normally what you would find in a will. It's not healing the way you and I would define it, but for Harry, this issue marks a union of identity–he knows who he is, and he wants to share that with those closest to him. It makes sense to Harry. To us, a certain spider-themed superhero, and members of Harry's extended family, it's vastly different. What seems to be unifying is in fact a severing–there is no more Harry Osborn. There is only the Green Goblin.
And we have one more issue to see how that all comes tumbling down.