Throwdown!! Hobgoblin Lives vs Goblins at the Gate

[Metamorphosis]

Which story comes out on top? Hobgoblin Lives had Roger Stern finally revealing who he intended the Hobgoblin to be, while Goblins at the Gate featured the first encounter between Norman Osborn and Roderick Kingsley.

[oldschool]

Wow, GREAT throwdown.....need to re-read GATG before I cast my vote but 2 great stories by great creators for sure!!

[Metamorphosis]

I went with Hobgoblin Lives. Love the art by Frenz. There were some shaky parts to the story, but it came out quite good and memorable.

Goblins at the Gate I feel was a bit of a missed opportunity. A nice IDEA for a story, but the payoff wasn't super great (for one, you had the awful Green Goblin 5 running around in costume in place of Norman). I also really should re-read it, though.

[Mister Mets]

Both are good stories that are important in the larger context (The secret identity of one of the greatest Spider-Man villains revealed, Hobgoblin VS Norman Osborn) but not great.

I'm going with Hobgoblin Lives as the slightly more satisfying story. It had some impressive fight scenes, even if it was a bit clumsy to reintroduce all the suspects over a decade after the fact.

[Scott Taylor]

Makes me want to reread both stories. Now I forget which was better. But my first impression on reading this post, something inside said "Hobgoblin Lives." So going with that.

[JBatmanFan05]

Not even close, HLives easily. Hobgoblin Lives was great fun. Great fight scenes, great art, great characterization. Yes, it had to reintroduce, try to revive the mystery a bit one last time, but I thought it was effective & just retro fun. Kingsley came out of it seeming like just a badass foe.

Goblins at the Gate was disappointing as it was Luthor-lite Norman, that I hated. Green Goblin V construct dragged it down too.

[Mooper Films]

Hobgoblin Lives is the best. Goblins at the Gate should have been fantastic but with the editorial mandate wanting to change Green Goblin V from Phil Urich to a Harry clone didn't help. Also, with Osborn so: "I was never the Green Goblin." that was done away with only a few months later when Gathering of the Five started. Artwork was great and the story was there but too much: "Don't do that, you are going to ruin stories we plan on abandoning soon."

[Ozymandias]

HL was a shadow of its former glory, but it was still coming from Stern and Frenz. GATG made me embarrassed for Uncle Rog.

[Metamorphosis]

GATG made me embarrassed for Uncle Rog.

To be fair, he only plotted the story.

[Ozymandias]

To be fair, he only plotted the story.

That's why I made a distinction, between something that came from him, and something that merely carried his name. He just co-plotted.

[JTait]

(for one, you had the awful Green Goblin 5 running around in costume in place of Norman)

I can't really see much wrong with the fifth Green Goblin's appearance during Goblins at the Gate. He turned out to be a pretty pointless character, but at the time I thought that he made for quite an interesting mystery.

I'm a little surprised at the negative reception that Goblins at the Gate is receiving in this thread. It was never the most memorable or important of story arcs, but I think that it has a lot going for it. Luke Ross' artwork is terrific, and Roderick Kingsley is given a satisfying (and unique) send off. Spidey's supporting cast are well utilised and I can't think of a better modern day rendition of Norman Osborn.

[Metamorphosis]

I can't really see much wrong with the fifth Green Goblin's appearance during Goblins at the Gate. He turned out to be a pretty pointless character, but at the time I thought that he made for quite an interesting mystery.

I'm reading through that very era, for mostly the first time right now. And it is an interesting mystery, one the writers went to a lot of lengths to play up.

Which makes it even more infuriating that it was resolved the way it was over two years later.

GatG simply would've been a stronger story if it had been Norman in the suit. I know that's not how he was rolling in that era, but that's what I think.

Roderick Kingsley is given a satisfying (and unique) send off.

That I can definitely agree with. I like a lot that it's his shtick that he always gets away (save for Hobgoblin Lives).

[Celgress]

Hobgoblin Lives, hands down imo.

[Probalus]

Hobgoblin Lives just because of how well it fixed things for the better.

Goblin at the Gate was mostly meh, though it was cool to see the original Goblins finally collide, if not in costume.

[JTait]

GatG simply would've been a stronger story if it had been Norman in the suit. I know that's not how he was rolling in that era, but that's what I think.

I actually disagree with this. I am not convinced at all by Norman's post-resurrection renaissance as a scheming, behind the scenes mastermind, but in this story I thought that it worked very well. Each to their own I guess. And he does wear the Goblin mask... for a couple of panels anyway