Crawling Back: Web of Spider-Man #66-67 Review (The Osborn Prelude, Part 13)
This two-parter contains subplots stronger than its central story, especially as the main narrative mischaracterizes two vital figures
—by Nathan on May 24, 2025—
We're back with more Green Goblin goodness…and I mean that in more ways than one!
We're nearing the end of the "Osborn Prelude," with just one review after this one before we reach the climactic Spectacular Spider-Man #200. Today, we concern ourselves with a little two-parter written by the man who delivered perhaps the most famous Green Goblin tale of all in "The Death of Gwen Stacy": Gerry Conway.
How far we've come. In the years since poor Gwen was stolen from Spidey, a lot has happened on the Harry Osborn side of things. He watched his father die, became the Green Goblin himself, was kidnapped by his psychiatrist, married Liz Allen, had a son, and most recently in these reviews, donned the Goblin outfit again out of slightly more altruistic notions. I say "slightly," because Harry's last two appearances as Mr. Green Jeans weren't out of purely noble motives; they were largely to protect his and his father's legacies, first against Bart Hamilton, then against the Hobgoblin. Yeah, there's the whole bit about wanting to keep his wife and son safe, but we know the "ghost" of Stormin' Norman is always knocking at the back of Harry's skull.
But in this two-parter, we get a Harry who, actually, maybe gives a good effort to the whole "superhero" thing. Maybe we get a Green Goblin who wants to reshape the shadows of the Osborn legacy into something less violent and gruesome…
…but only if a certain Wall-Crawler will let him.
"Friends and Enemies"
Writers: Gerry Conway and Ben Trovato
Penciler: Alex Saviuk
Inkers: Keith Williams and Mike Manley
Colorists: Marc McLaurin and Bob Sharen
Letterers: Rick Parker and Jack Morelli
Issue: Web of Spider-Man #66-67
Issue Publication Dates: July-August 1990
I remember seeing the cover to WSM #66 several years ago in a book chronicling Spidey's history and immediately thinking, What circumstances would ever cause Spider-Man to team up with the Green Goblin? Years later, and I finally have my answer: Harry Osborn's unbridled excitement and enthusiasm…which our buddy in the red-and-blue tights feels is sorely misplaced.
I'll grant Conway this: his set up in the first half works well, cultivating a narrative that's almost as interesting for the non-Green Goblin aspects as it is for the Goblin elements. There is, initially, a security that Conway develops. You open the first issue recalling Conway's impactful contributions to the Spidey/Goblin saga. Gwen's death, followed by Norman's, followed by Harry's first stint as a new villainous Green Goblin. Watching Harry hopefully take the persona in a different direction should feel like the completion of a circle, a culmination of all which has come before. There should be healing here, not just in the Spidey/Goblin dynamic, but in the Harry/Peter friendship. Maybe a note of finality. A good ending for our two wayward young men.
There is. There is? Kinda. It's fleeting, but it's there. And it's not that this incredibly brief "honeymoon period" of the Goblin fighting alongside Spidey as a brother-in-arms is sorely missed–you would expect things to sour eventually-but it's in the briefness and how the ending happens where I found myself frustrated. I place the blame on Conway, as he writes WSM #66 and is credited as plotter for #67, though a writer going by "Ben Trovato" is credited as writing #67 and maybe deserves some of the blame. Fun, tangential fact, however, which I learned while doing some research into this story: "ben trovato" is part of an Italian phrase which refers to anecdotes which are invented but plausible. Believable fiction, I suppose. Which is funny, because the second issue isn't all that plausible. One site I saw noted speculation that John Bryne wrote this issue under the pen name, so maybe we can blame him, which would be a shame. Byrne's writing isn't perfect, but he's nailed some strong characters, so this portrayal of both Peter and Harry is a misfire, and that's regardless of whatever writer is responsible, Conway or someone else.
What is frustrating about this two-parter is that the idea of Harry developing into a heroic Green Goblin for the sake of his own fulfillment has merit. We've seen several instances where Harry has allowed some outside circumstance–the memory of his father, drugs, personal vendettas–guide him into dangerous situations. By 1990, he reads like a different person, someone who has finally gotten parts of his life together and behaves with more agency, not just how his dad would have wanted him to and not just what a chemical imbalance coerced him to do, but what Harry wanted or believed he needed to do for the sake of himself and his family. It's why he went after the Hobgoblin during "Inferno." And it's why he picks up the costume again here…admittedly, after telling his wife he'd gotten rid of it, so there's that little piece of deception.
"Ben Trovato" does chalk Harry's turn to heroics as "missing the excitement" after battling the Hobgoblin, which I do feel is a little reductionist for the character. Better worded is a statement made to Spider-Man that Harry "can make [his] own decisions," embracing a level of agency he's not yet experienced, even if it's a tad misguided. But the point is that those decisions are his, not under the thumb of his selfish father. Harry is a tragic figure, as we have seen and will later see, but the point here shouldn't be for the reader to see that. We want improvement, we want something to go right for the guy, and hey, maybe flying around on a goblin glider as a good guy offers some of that fulfillment.
So the seeds are planted, pretty decently, but the last half of the second issue tears it all down, stripping any growth we've seen from Harry. Spidey, believing Harry is unfit for superheroics, tries to stop his best bud through the best possible option: diplomatic conversation over a cup of coffee. No, no, that's a joke. This is a superhero mag, and if two characters have a disagreement over something, what else are they gonna do but slug it out? So Spidey attacks Harry and basically forces him to reconsider his standing by trashing Harry's superhero hideout.
Perhaps Peter believes Harry, convinced he can wipe the slate clean for both his father and himself by becoming a good Goblin, wouldn't otherwise listen to reason. Perhaps he feels the time for diplomacy has passed. That's what Conway and Maybe-John-Byrne would have the reader believe. The whole argument falls apart because Spidey resorts to violence so immediately. Yes, within the entire context of Harry's history as the Goblin, Peter has seen his friend's instability multiple times, and Peter argues he's subduing the Gobin to bring Harry into psychiatric assistance. But telling his buddy he needs help–heck, demanding Harry in one panel dedicate his life to seeking help–while wrecking his stuff and punching him in the face feels needlessly cruel. Harry's response is violence in kind, which I find somewhat justifiable.
Were the writers in Harry's corner with all this, I would understand. This isn't like their first fight in Amazing Spider-Man #136, where Peter convinced himself the only way to take out the genuinely hysterical, genuinely murderous Harry "Green Goblin" Osborn was through some well-placed punches. That philosophy I could understand, insofar as it vindicated your standard hero-on-villain fisticuffs. If the writers were switching the concept in these issues, stressing that Peter's reasoning strains credulity and highlighting his immediate violence towards Harry as bad form, I would agree. But they don't. We're supposed to side with Peter. Maybe, just maybe, the intent is to give Harry proper motivation to assume a more villainous role in a few later appearances, but even then, doing so by having Peter embrace such out-of-character behavior feels forced.
As I noted, the non-Goblin bits of the tale work much better. Conway draws in some elements from other stories he's developed as SSM's writer, including at least one reference to the "Cosmic Spider-Man" saga, which wrapped up shortly before this two-parter, as well as appearances by Robbie Robertson and Tombstone. This narrative takes place after Robbie's false conviction and stint in jail, but Tombstone hasn't forgotten him. The issue's first plot enables the pieces to move around fairly decently, with tension stemming not only from Spidey teaming with Harry and Harry's brother-in-law the Molten Man against Tombstone but also Robbie's involvement in an attempt to end their long-running vendetta. A cliffhanger ending to the first issue generates some engaging surprises or the next, and though these remain unfinished by the end of WSM #67,they kept me more interested in the face of Conway's lackluster skirmish between Peter and Harry.
I won't argue Harry's desperate endeavor to make himself a hero is misplaced, and I won't argue that Peter's belief his friend is not superhero material is wrong. There is conflict derived from the concept, but I feel the execution is almost as misguided as Harry's efforts. Even if the "Harry as superhero" subplot had been extended a few issues, with some additional development, I would have been satisfied. But Peter's heel turn against his friend and the violent way in which he reacts is painful to watch. There's some secondhand embarrassment on my behalf, as if I have to apologize for Spidey's behavior. "I'm sorry he's acting this way, Harry, I really am." What's worse is that Conway and "Ben Trovato" seem supportive of this notion, perhaps as a way to nudge Harry towards villainy. There have been ideas with smoother executions in comics…this feels like an idea tied up, stuffed into a bag, and dumped into a river, fighting for air until the last seconds of suffocation.