When Harry Osborn assumed the identity of Spider-Mans sworn enemy, the Green Goblin, in the 1970s, part of what made this plot development so tumultuous for Spidey was the fact that Peter Parker and Harry were best friends. That phrase had been dropped so many times in the Stan Lee-era, it became canon, despite the fact that readers were never given a storyline that added any real weight to the alleged bond Peter and Harry shared. The Child Within, which is joined at the hip with the subsequent Death of Harry Osborn storyline in Spectacular Spider-Man, is a true masterpiece because it illuminates the actual stakes in the Peter/Spidey and Harry/Goblin dynamic. Writer J.M. DeMatteis and artist Sal Buscema pull out all the stops, and deliver an emotionally poignant and devastating arc, rich with provocative character moments. DeMatteis takes the Peter and Harry are best friends, trope and gives it actual substance. In The Child Within, JMD looks at the broken families Peter and Harry came from (Peter was orphaned as a young child and Harrys mother died years ago and he was raised by his sociopathic father, Norman) and how these traumas went on to shape and link these two characters. Harry resigns himself to repeat the mistakes of his father and emotionally abuses his son Normie, while Peter is wrought with guilt when Harry becomes the Green Goblin again because its another loved one who is lost because of the existence of Spider-Man. Things reach such a fever pitch in Spectacular Spider-Man #200 Harry obsessively stalks Peter, threatening to kill him or reveal his identity to the public its inevitable that one of these two characters will die by issues end. This being a Spider-Man comic, Harry bites the dust, but not before a moment of beautiful redemption for the character. Buscema, meanwhile, delivers one of the best illustrated Spider-Man stories of all time. Considering this was published concurrently when some of the industrys brightest superstars in Todd McFarlane and Erik Larsen were penciling Spider-Man, Buscema shows these neophytes how its done, with richly plotted pages oozing with emotional resonance. Every smirk or grimace on these characters faces lands a heavy blow, which elevates JMDs writing.
Mark is a professional writer living in Brooklyn and is the founder of the Chasing Amazing Blog, which documents his quest to collect every issue of Amazing Spider-Man, and the Superior Spider-Talk podcast. He also pens the "Gimmick or Good?" column at Comics Should Be Good blog.
