Two goblins enter, one leaves
Contains issues 112-117.
Norman Osborn returns.
It's been quite a while since Norman Osborn's been in the picture, but when he appears, he means business. Nick Fury is not running SHIELD anymore, and taking over his position is Carol Danvers. Her biggest mistake when dealing with Osborn was underestimating this guy. Once he breaks out the Triskelion, he uses the media to his advantage. That's why I like Norman Osborn. He's insane, but always planning causing problems for everyone. He won't stop till he gets what he wants; this includes his money and his son Harry.
The other side plots in this volume have to do with school related. Peter is still trying to improve his relationship with Kitty Pryde despite not being together, while Kitty is still trying to fit in. Kong takes interest in Kitty and also slowly connects Peter and Spider-Man being the same person. There's also Mary Jane trying out broadcast journalism which is a huge departure from her mainstream counterpart.
Nick Fury's is out of the picture due to events in Ultimate Power, (which is not even hinted on) and Carol Danvers take his place. This is her first appearance in Ultimate Spider-Man but not for the Ultimate Universe (she first appeared in Ultimate Secret). She doesn't have any powers, but she still have her mainstream counterpart personality, much more in this series. Other characters include Electro, Doctor Octopus, and also Gwen Stacy.
This is officially the start for Stuart Immonen as the new artist. I wasn't worried on how Immonen would approach the art, because he is a very talented artist. His style is different from Mark Bagley. It's somewhat simple, yet stylish. It has a cartoony look to it when it comes to the characters, but he adds emotion when it comes to character's body movements along with shadowing. He also puts a lot of detail in backgrounds in environments. New York City looks like New York City.
Some of the downsides of this volume is Peter's relationship with SHIELD. Granted, when Nick Fury was running the show, he let Peter do what he wanted, but now that Carol Danvers is the head of SHIELD, she treats Peter like a criminal, but then a while later, explain to him that he's just under their protection. WHY didn't she didn't just say that? This slows down the story a bit. The climax also underrated as well. This is called, "Death of a Goblin" for a reason, but it comes off predicable and ends way too quickly compared to the pacing of this volume.
Overall: Death of a Goblin is another game changer in Ultimate Spider-Man at its time. It's not the best story featuring Norman Osborn, but it was still a good story arc.
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