Issue(s): Marvel Comics Presents #112 (Demogoblin story only)
Cover Date: 1992
Title: "Demogoblin's lament"
Credits:
Danny Fingeroth - Writer
Gene Colan - Penciler
Al Williamson - Inker
Mark Powers - Assistant Editor
Terry Kavanagh - Editor

Review/plot:
The Demogoblin is keeping the Spider-Man doppelganger in a restaurant's freezer.

It seems that the Demogoblin is still influenced by his former human side.

(See the Considerations regarding that footnote to Infinity War #6.)

To determine what he might be able to do with the doppelganger, Demogoblin heads back to the site where it first appeared. But he's spotted by some bystanders, who call the police, and Code: Blue is sent after him.

Demogoblin deliberately puts homeless people at risk as a distraction during the fight, but his human "virus" sometimes forces him to save them. And the delay allows Code: Blue to stop and apprehend him.

He's imprisoned at the "Tombs' Prison".

This is more of a plot bridge more than anything. I like stories focusing on villains, but Demogoblin doesn't have much of a personality. The idea that he's still influenced by Jason Macendale is new information, though. It's pretty sad when your moral compass is a sociopathic mercenary, but i guess that's better than being a demon.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: A footnote indicates that this story takes place between Spider-Man #24 and Web of Spider-Man #93. It also needs to take place before Moon Knight #41-43, since Demogoblin being in prison is mentioned there. That's problematic because Demogoblin says that the doppelganger should have disappeared along with the other doppelgangers, and a footnote points to Infinity War #6. Moon Knight #41-43 is a tie-in with Infinity War #4. I can't even say that it's a mistaken footnote to the doppelgangers disappearing after the fight in Infinity War #4, since Moon Knight #41-43 takes place during that fight. So i'm just going to ignore the footnote altogether; it's not like Demogoblin should really know what's going on with Infinity War.

References:

• The Demogoblin took the Spider-Man doppelganger in Spider-Man #24.
  
• The Demogoblin split from Jason Macendale in Web of Spider-Man #86.

Crossover: Infinity War

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

This was one of the few times Code: Blue was allowed to defeat a bad guy on their own. Usually they are shown as having to call in a super-hero for help, or don't even show up until the end of a fight to cart a criminal off to jail.

I always thought more should have been done with the Code: Blue. They could have been used to explore how the police in the Marvel universe feel about being forced to rely on costumed vigilantes, and how this group of cops really wanted to be able to demonstrate that the authorities were actually capable of dealing with super-powered felons.

Anyway, nice artwork on this one by the team of Gene Colan & Al Williamson. Colan was always very well-suited for horror-related material, and he does a great job rendering Demogoblin.

I find it pretty fascinating that Demogoblin ends up getting used way more than the regular Hobgoblin in this period where they both existed as separate entities.

For all the criticism McFarlane got for making Hobgoblin into a religious zealot, it seems to have been a direction that appealed to a lot of the writers at the time. Particularly since Hobgoblin as a mercenary soldier-of-fortune seems to be more in tune with the era. Imagine the amount of pouches they could've slapped on him!

I can see why Demogoblin got more use for a while there since, nutty though he is, he still has more personality than the Macendale Hobgoblin.

Thanks for adding the scan, Fnord!

I guess in the case of this prison, Tombs is the proper name. Could still be a stand-in for the Manhattan Detention Complex. Seems to serve the same primary function, temporary detention pending processing/trial - probably the place you get booked before they send you to "Ryker's" Island.

Here's info about the jail, as well as history of the nickname:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tombs

I spent a night in the (real) Tombs during the 2004 RNC. Not my favorite place!

fnord, one of the COde: Blue members mentions fighting Asgardians. Should that get a mention in References?

No, that's like Spider-Man saying he's fought Doctor Octopus. It might have been intended to refer to their invasion of Asgard (which i'll be placing after this) but it could just as easily apply to their involvement in battles with Ulik, or the Loki/Thor battle, or even the Asgardian powered Wrecking Crew. It doesn't have to be anything specific.

Ah. I'm not as informed on Code Blue as I should be, I thought they only had a skirmish with Hogun and with Ulik. Sorry.