I think Rob H. should have written the Other... that wonderfully short narrative only reaffirms that that convoluted Spider-Man story could have been told with one issue. I still weep openly that The Other attempted to be so much, yet fell so short of the goal.

I haven't seen the new Spider-Man outfit in a book yet, but when i do, I am certain that additional weeping will be necessary.

The Crying Man,
Monte

Roger:  Masterfully-crafted?  Yeah, up until DeFalco and Frenz left AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.  A letdown?  Compared to what?  The ending of the Hobgoblin saga in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #289 had me, (to quote Ron White) spinning into a dimension of pissed-off I have never been before in my life.  What an utter and total piss-poor way to end a terrific character.  Ned Leeds' death was shown in a flashback to a book that wasn't even available on the spinner rack of the store where I bought my comics at the time.  So, I came into that issue with a big ol' "WTF??!!!"

***

Roger, I totally agree about 289 - a huge letdown, as well. I was in error not to allude to that issue, too.  I'll throw them both into the Blue Balls category.

Greg: Missing the point.  In all fairness, I felt the same way at first, but when you really go back to the original Hobgoblin stories, Kingsley is definitely part of the fabric and a perfectly logical choice.  The problem, obviously, is that so many years passed before Rog got the chance to tell the story he originally wanted to tell.  Had Hobgoblin Lives been released in 1986, it would've been a fantastic resolution.

***

I can see your point to an extent, Greg - but IMHO, if you're doing a multi-year build up/reveal, even after a few years, it kind of sucks for the identity to be someone one has to rack one's brain to remember.  My first reaction was "Who?"  Probably not the reaction Roger would've wanted as an author.

But, we all know what Teddy Roosevelt said about critics ;)  In the end, I'm grateful for the fun I had with Hobby up until 289.  And kudos to Stern for creating a baddie that sucked so many people in ...

I don't think he was a logical choice at all. There was one hint, and it relies on the crappy evil twin soap opera garbage.

Though it was still well written

Rob Hewitt: I don't think he was a logical choice at all. There was one hint, and it relies on the crappy evil twin soap opera garbage.

There was a hint in the Goblin's first appearance in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #238.  Kingsley is/was a fashion mogul, and the shadowy character in the issue modified the Green Goblin costume, dyed it a different color, and recreated the mask to be more fearsome.  It surely wasn't an obvious hint at the time, but I remember reading an interview or something with Roger Stern, and he said there were subtle clues right from the beginning.

I understand what you are sayijng, but it still came off as a dud.

It'd be like if they did a Dallas reunion and said "No Who shot JR was really Tim Farley, the gardener's Tom Farley's, twin brother."

Oh. Ok. Thanks.

It didn;t help that several of the most prominent guys (Ned, that other photographer Lance Bannon or whatever) were already dead.

Gregg Allinson: The problem, obviously, is that so many years passed before Rog got the chance to tell the story he originally wanted to tell.  Had Hobgoblin Lives been released in 1986, it would've been a fantastic resolution.

Oh, definitely.  Having the bad taste of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #289 in my mouth for ten years until Rog could tell the real story was terrible, but I was sure glad it was finally done.  A big thanks to Glenn Greenberg for being a part of that happening.

If only we could go back in time and somehow keep Rog from leaving AMAZING SPIDER-MAN after issue #250...

Rob Hewitt: It'd be like if they did a Dallas reunion and said "No Who shot JR was really Tim Farley, the gardener's Tom Farley's, twin brother."

Not quite the same thing.  Daniel Kingsley wasn't the Hobgoblin, and never was.  He was only a stand-in for Roderick on occasion.

Well there was no Tom Farley on Dallas either  SPOILER-JR was shot by his sister in law Kristin!

Anyway, do you know that Amazing 289 was one of my first issues???

I found out "who" the Hobgoblin and Rose were before I even knew there was a mystery, or a Hobgoblin and Rose

Hobgoblin Lives is a great story since it is self contained in a mini series.  Now if it were showhorned into Amazing then some of the complaints might be valid.

But in a self contained limited series it was awesome. All of the suspects are uintroduced early. They are given full backgrounds.  We never have to assume who someone is.  

While I want to praise the great writing, I also want to mention the fantastic art job Ron Frenz and George Perez did.  Simply incredible. 

By the way I also want to mention what a fantastic series REvenge of the Green Goblin was.  Roger Stern did an amazing job writing this series.  It illustrates what a true waste killing Norman Osborn was.