In Review: The Amazing Spider-Man (2025-) #20 NIGHT OF THE GOBLIN

Synopsis: NIGHT OF THE GOBLIN (SLAYERS)! Norman Osborn may be purged of his sins, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still come back to haunt him! HOBGOBLIN wants Norman out of the SPIDER-MAN game (and this life) for good – and he’s got the hyper-lethal tech of an entire goblin-slaying army at his disposal. What does Norman have…?! A Spider-Man or Woman or two who trust him as far as they can throw him…

The Story

With Peter Parker still off in space with Rocket Raccoon and a group of fellow misfits, Norman Osborn continues to shoulder Spider-Man duty in New York. Despite being warned by the wider Spider-Family to stop wearing the suit, Osborn is dragged back into action when Peter Parker’s boss becomes a target of the Goblin Slayers, who are hunting Norman specifically.

Forced once again into the Spider-Man costume, Osborn finds himself fighting on two fronts. The Goblin Slayers have teamed up with the Hobgoblin, and together they unleash hyper-lethal technology designed to end Norman once and for all. Complicating matters is the fact that they know Osborn is posing as Spider-Man and have no interest in his supposed redemption. To them, he is still the Green Goblin, and redemption is irrelevant.

The issue unfolds like a relentless manhunt, driven by a guilty conscience strapped to the front. Norman scrambles, fights, and constantly struggles not to become the monster everyone expects him to be. Flashbacks to his childhood reveal a chilling truth: his father once told him that empathy was a weakness and would ultimately be his undoing. These moments feed into strong internal dialogue as Norman battles to stay present, resist darker impulses, and prove, perhaps most of all to himself, that he really has changed.

Artwork

John Romita Jr. continues to deliver some fantastic artwork on this series. The panels depicting Norman Osborn’s father holding a young Norman aloft by his wrists, coldly telling him that empathy will be his undoing, are particularly effective and genuinely haunting. Romita Jr. gives those moments a brutal intimacy that lingers well beyond the page, reinforcing just how deeply that cruelty shaped Norman’s worldview.

The action sequences are equally strong. The panels where Spider-Gwen and Kitsugi arrive to aid Norman are dynamic and impactful, providing a much-needed sense of momentum and relief amid the chaos. Romita Jr.’s depiction of the ensuing fight is clear, forceful, and energetic, with a weight and physicality that sells the danger Norman is facing. Whether handling psychological trauma or full-throttle combat, the artwork consistently elevates the story and gives this issue much of its emotional punch.

Overall

This is a solid issue that genuinely digs into Norman’s fractured state of mind and the mental safeguards he is fighting to keep in place to stop himself from slipping back into his old ways. The tension doesn’t just come from the physical danger he’s in, but from the constant fear that one bad moment could undo everything he’s trying to build. By the final pages, the question isn’t whether Norman can survive the Goblin Slayers, but whether he can survive himself. It will be interesting to see if Peter Parker makes it back to Earth in time to stop Norman from finally losing the plot.