10 Comics That Broke All The Rules

10. Green Goblin Reborn! (1971)

Stan Lee was vocal in his annoyance at the strict rules imposed on creators by the CCA, and he was the first creator to challenge them. In The Amazing Spider-Man #96–98, a story called "Green Goblin Reborn" touched on drug addiction, which was a big no-no at the time.

The rules were so strict, a publisher couldn't get away with an anti-drug story, but Lee didn't care, and he wrote the books with Gil Kane on for illustrations and John Romita Sr. providing the inking. In the story, Peter moves in with Harry after accepting a job working for Norman Osborn.

At the time, Peter knew Osborn was the Green Goblin, but his amnesia mitigated that potential conflict. The story injects several instances of drug use, all of which were negative. The Green Goblin returns, but the real problem arose when Peter found out that Harry was popping pills to the point of suffering a drug overdose.

This was the first major story arc in the mainstream to buck the rules, and Marvel got away with it. In the end, "Green Goblin Reborn" was incredibly popular, and because all the drug use was negatively portrayed, nobody could object. Incidentally, the CCA seal was notably absent from these three issues.