Enjoy the art and fun backup stories when you read Amazing Spider-Man #50, which puts Green Goblin into a central focus. The art is spectacular, and the legacy of Spider-Man continues to tantalize. Read Full Review

The Amazing Spider-Man #50 delivers an over-sized anniversary issue filled with twists and back up stories for one excellent superhero reading experience. Read Full Review

I'm excited to see where this goes. Read Full Review

Final Thoughts Normans back in green, and while Peter put up one heck of a fight, he lost in the end. With Spider-man now completely nuts, its up to the Walking Brain and a human, Dr. Connors to save the day. The heaviness of the main story is offset by the numerous heartwarming and funny stories that follow it. Grab this before its gone! Read Full Review

Osborn and Parker: Round Umpty-Seven ends with a surprising twist or three, but its a long walk for a short drink of water, and the uneven nature of both art and story are sticking points. Read Full Review

Final ThoughtsAmazing Spider-Man #50 is notable onlyin thatthe Green Goblin has returned, and Peter Parker's ability to fight himis severely hindered. Sadly, Goblin's returnis marredby a lack of setup, hand-waving explanations, and copy/paste plot devices.Getting the Goblin back isagoodthing, but his return deserved better writing than this. Read Full Review

what a tense and well written issue with great art. this is great to read, i recommend it.

What’s here is great, I was just disappointed that only half of the book is the main story. $10 is a lot for this much Green Goblin art, even art as top notch as this.

This was pretty solid. The backup stories are fine. Didn't we just do evil peter, though?

Ok. This was a storyline being LOATHED when it was coming up. Doing the same thing he just did again... well it turns out its more complicated than that.

And this issue was awesome.

I legitimately didn't see the twist coming, even knowing that goblin was going to come back, the way its done here is brilliant. And Peter was pretty darn competent in this issue as well.

This could surprise us yet.

Nothing about the main story here should be shocking. We knew Green Goblin was coming and we knew something was up with Peter. But nonetheless, we get a well-written and tense showdown between the two, that is incredibly well rendered by Ed McGuinness, with some of his best art on the title to date. It's a story that's bound to get you hyped for whatever they're planning to do next.

The backups are at the very least good, as well. Marv Wolfman's Black Cat story is a bit rough around the edges, but there's an undeniable charm in how she interacts with Spider-Man.

Then, the doughnuts story written by Nikesh Shukla gives the issue a fun, heartfelt story that I honestly wouldn't expect from the title at this point.

Followed by cartoonist Lee Gatlin providing a stylistic and funny tale that thankfully doesn't overstay its welcome.

The final story (aside from the epilogue) by Joe Kelly is probably the most confusing. I expect there to be follow up, but as for what it means, I'm stumped. Maybe they're gearing up for a Doctor Strange/Spider-Man mini. Maybe Kelly is taking over after Wells. There's no context for what this story is, and it's not intriguing enough to warrant its placement here, and it's the only real miss in what's a very good milestone issue. more

Truly an amazing issue. As a standalone story, this was phenomenal, and Ed's art is best that it has ever been. I was worried about the tone, but both Wells and Ed were up to the task and I am excited to see what is next.

However, I do have problems with this issue. Not as it's own, but as 50th issue of Wells' run.

I have spoken about Norman previously and how I have felt that his turn felt sudden and there wasn't enough personal stuff with him and Peter in first half. So now turning back, it feels... still too sudden.

But the much bigger issue is how this story has been build up. Once again Wells continues his stories after ages and it has felt like they were completely forgotten or mostly forgotten. It happened with Chasm and Winkler Device and mostly with Spider-Man's First Hunt.

Norman's twist feels too sudden. Like there wasn't enough buildup. And the biggest problem for this are the Rek-Rap story and Gang War. Both stories would've been wonderful times to showcase Peter's change in subtle ways, but they didn't. And because of that, the small panels we get for teasing possible brainwash from Goblin during Last Hunt are not enough. It makes this feel more like an afterthought, even if I presume it wasn't.

This is a great comic, and a very good read, but because of the lack of buildup for me, it is not as good as I hoped it would be. However, I am interested what happens next in this Easy Going Green story. more

With Amazing Spider-Man #50 (legacy issue #944), Zeb Wells kicks off a brand new arc that promises to finally shake up the web-slinger’s status quo. While Spidey’s recent arcs have been a bit of a mixed bag w/ a lot of mini-arcs take up a lot of recent space, this issue is a step in the right direction, showcasing Wells’ ability to craft a compelling story that will keep readers engaged.

Wells' writing here succeeds despite Marvel's heavy teasing of Norman Osborn's return as Green Goblin, which could have made the reveal feel anticlimactic. Instead, Wells is able to build tension, adding a twist to Norman’s relationship with the Green Goblin that allows the situation to play out in an unexpected way. Even though the return of Green Goblin wasn't a surprise, Wells' execution makes it feel fresh and exciting. I was shockingly surprised at how much I enjoyed that scene & the issue as a whole.

A good part of that reason is Ed McGuinness' artwork, which steals the spotlight with some of the best artwork on this run. McGuinness uses the extra pages of this oversized issue to feature impressive double splash-pages that really amp up the action & intensity. His art is a perfect blend of classic Spider-Man charm and modern comic book flair, making this main story a visual pleasing experience.

In addition to the main story, the milestone issue includes several backup stories that add to the celebration. These tales are a mix of fun and adventure, including several guest characters who all get a few moments to shine. "Time to Make the Doughnuts" and "Don't Think Thrice, It's All Right" stand out for their stories and fantastic art, each showing different elements of what makes Spider-Man a timeless, classic hero. These backup stories are the icing on the cake, making this issue a must-read for any Spider-Man fan.

Amazing Spider-Man #50 surpassed my expectations for this Green Goblin story & I’m now interested to see where this will go. It's a fresh start that promises to deliver some exciting developments in Wells’ run, which something we’re all the better for.

Rating: 8/10 more

I have NOT enjoyed a lot of this run. This book? This book was really good. It does lose half a point because it was $10. The book prices are high enough, I don’t need the extra back stories. That being said, the back stories were fine.

Glad JRJR is nowhere to be seen, inside or on the cover.

I think this is fine as another ASM issue, but we really should be asking...

Are we now forever stuck in this loop of Pete as "Spider-Man rogues gallery villain #X"?

Technically, this is at least Spider-Man as a villain iteration #3 if you think of Kraven's Last Hunt as the first.

Are the Big AMERICAN Two forever limited to superhero only ideas (for their main properties)? Maybe, such is the nature of American liberal capitalism. At least DC is experimenting the idea with isekai (within the limitations of a superhero context). I am getting desperate for something completely new with Spider-Man. Maybe I'll never get that, and maybe I should move on...(and yes I am reading USM. It's different enough and it's great)

Is this still even a review? Or personal ramblings? more

Despite 49 previous issues leading up to a return of the Green Goblin the final transformation and reveal felt a little rushed. Not that I'm into drip feeding pivotal moments like ASM has trended towards in the past ten years but it just felt so sudden as well as the apparent and immediate de-powering of the Goblin. Those gripes aside the story was stellar. Moving incredibly fast but with decisive urgency. Getting to Spider-Goblin 2.0. I'm not sure what this is going to mean for Peter OR Norman now as the last time we got a Goblinized Peter Parker it was the best thing this run had to date and all of the progress that Norman has made still seems to exist inside the Norman half of the personalities. Wells has shown he can do this and make it good. I really hope he stick the landing. more

Zeb's run is filled with silly ideas, but sometimes he execute them well

The back up stories are a mixed bag. The main story is hard to judge. I get the seeds were planted, but there was no momentum in recent issues that made this return 100% worthwhile. On the other hand, it was very engaging. It had a great moments and it worked even without a great set up. It just could have been even better.

Art: 3.5/5
Story: 3.5/5
Total: 7/10

Coming from a bad run, the main story finally has some excitement mostly thanks to Ed McGuinness' dynamic art. The main story is still flawed but certainly an improvement from previous issues. The short stories are your typical cliché stories lacking substance that vary from ok to poor.

So.. WHY did Osborn keep his Goblin costume and weapons so handy instead of burning them?