Issue(s): Web of Spider-Man #93, Web of Spider-Man #94
Cover Date: Oct-Nov 92
Title: Hobgoblin Reborn: "The test" / "Target two"
Credits:
Howard Mackie - Writer
Alex Saviuk - Penciler
Bob McLeod / Don Hudson - Inker
Eric Fein - Assistant Editor
Danny Fingeroth - Editor

Review/plot:
This issue begins with Jason Macendale, the current Hobgoblin, running through a training exercise set up by the Foreigner. Macendale is testing that he's back in shape after having been separated from the Demogoblin. But (and this was probably the Foreigner's plan all along) Macendale is too vigorous during the exercise and he winds up killing several of the Foreigner's men. This puts Macendale in the Foreigner's debt, so he has to pay his way out by doing two contract jobs. They are both assassination jobs: one target is Moon Knight and the other is Nick Katzenberg.

Meanwhile, Mary Jane is mad at Peter for helping Betty Brant with the Foreigner affair in the last two issues (why is she mad?) but a box of Malomars appeases her.

Later that night, Spider-Man can't sleep (and it's not because he's all sugared up on Malomars; MJ ate them all), so he goes out for a swing. He notices a "Spider-Signal" in the distance...

...and it turns out to be the Foreigner. He tells Spider-Man about the two hits that's he's contracted to the Hobgoblin.

As far as he's concerned, if the Hobgoblin manages to kill his targets despite Spider-Man trying to stop him, then he'll hire him full time. If Spider-Man gets killed, that's fine too. Foreigner escapes before Spider-Man can catch him, and Spider-Man decides to try to save Katzenberg first, reasoning that Moon Knight can take care of himself. But he winds up coming across Moon Knight anyway.

Spider-Man notes that the Hobgoblin seems more "self-assured" than usual, and he's not able to stop Hobgoblin from blasting Moon Knight. Moon Knight, who is wearing heavy armor nowadays, falls into the river and seemingly drowns. So Hobgoblin assumes that he's fulfilled that contract, and flies away. But it turns out that Moon Knight, in part thanks to the fact that he's infused with demon blood at the moment, survived after all. And despite the fact that he's racing against the clock to get a cure for himself, he decides to Team-Up with Spider-Man to stop Hobgoblin.

Meanwhile, the Hobgoblin has gone to one of Nick Katzenberg's known hang-outs in order to find him. What he didn't count on was the fact that a local hero, Mustache Man, hangs out at the same bar. Here's Mustache Man in his secret civilian identity, downplaying his strength by claiming he can only bench 250.

But when trouble strikes, he dons his Mighty Mustache and... gets his ass kicked.

Hobgoblin tortures the bartender, Nick's brother-in-law, until he gets a location for Nick. Spider-Man and Moon Knight get to the scene as the bartender is being taken away by EMS, and they learn where Hobgoblin is going.

Spidey defeats Hobgoblin while Moon Knight is helping with a fire started by the fight. But Nick has a heart attack after he's rescued.

Meanwhile, the Demogoblin, who is being held in a "high-tech security cell while awaiting transfer to the Vault", summons the Doppelganger.

And Hag and Troll attack a Vault transport truck, inadvertently freeing Venom.

This all sets up the Spirits of Venom crossover that begins next issue.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This takes place during Moon Knight #44, after Moon Knight leaves Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Strange and before he meets with his Shadow Cabinet. Web of Spider-Man #95, the first part of the Spirits of Venom crossover, continues directly from the end of this issue with Spider-Man carrying Hobgoblin to the police. Hag and Troll next appear in Spirits of Vengeance #4, which is before the start of the Spirits of Venom crossover, so that also takes place soon after this issue.

References:

• Peter has been "kinda fragile" since the return of his parents in Amazing Spider-Man #365-366.
  
• Macendale once hired Foreigner to assassinate Ned Leeds, in Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1.
  
• Macendale made a deal and was merged with a demon in Spectacular Spider-Man #147.
  
• He split from the Demogoblin in Web of Spider-Man #86.
  
• Regarding Moon Knight's current condition, see Moon Knight #40 through Moon Knight #44.
  
• Moon Knight and Hobgoblin had a run-in in Moon Knight #32-33 (which was apparently only "last month"). Hobgoblin doesn't know it, but that's when Moon Knight got infected with the Demogoblin's essence.
  
• I don't know who put the hit out on Moon Knight, but Nick Katzenberg is targeted because of the photo he took in Spectacular Spider-Man #173 that was a plot point in the Name of the Rose storyline. Due to a credits mix-up, it was originally thought that Peter Parker took the photo, but in Web of Spider-Man #89 the hit on Parker was cancelled.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Mackie seemed to have a thing for the Macendale Hobgoblin around this time. He would appear in several stories in both Web Of and Adjectiveless Spider-Man, and Mackie will even give Macendale a semi-effective power-up about a year and a half after these issues.

Who the heck would even bother to put a hit out on Nick Katzenberg? Wouldn't it just be much cheaper to wait for nature to take its course as he inevitably kicks the bucket from lung cancer and/or cirrhosis of the liver?

"Wouldn't it just be much cheaper to wait for nature to take its course as he inevitably kicks the bucket from lung cancer" Spoiler alert;)

Seriously, as TCP observed in his comment, around this time Howard Mackie was apparently putting in a tremendous amount of effort in attempting to build up the Macendale Hobgoblin as a major threat. So why have the Hobgoblin go after Nick Katzenberg... and then have him fail? What sort of top-tier hitman is unable to kill an overweight alcoholic chain-smoker who engages in zero regular exercise? If you wanted to increase the Hobgoblin's credibility as a villain, showing him fumble the assassination of a schlub Katzenberg is the worst way to do it.

The second part of this was one of the very first comics I ever owned. The multiple goblins and Spider-Men running around definitely confused me, but I was still hooked.

I like what Mackie's doing with Hobgoblin at this point. The character had been ruined and it seems like he took a look at what worked with previous goblins and then applied it to Macendale. One of the fun things with the original Green Goblin was the way he escalated as a threat and constantly revealed new weapons. Later, Stern did this again with Hobgoblin by having him gradually unlocking the secrets of the Osbourne journals and learning from mistakes.

All of that has been missing for years. Macendale just stole some stuff from the original Hobgoblin. He's no inventor and he has no secret notes to work from or hideouts to loot. They gave him a power boost with the demon thing but that's not the same as an escalating threat or regular new surprises and it was bungled anyway.

So how to replicate the effect with Macendale? By remembering his actual character! He was a successful non-powered mercenary and terrorist for years. He always had an organisation and conacts and he'd do jobs for others. He was no loner like the previous goblins. It makes sense to have him deal with AIM to get access to new weapons and equipment.

He gets his butt kicked here, but he was stopped by Spider-man (who sort of compares him favourably to his old half demon version), not Nick or Captain Moustache and at this point he's already a joke. The original Hobgoblin was no great threat to start with but got better and this seems to be like that to me. He was shown killing some highly trained killers earlier. The trick from here is to keep making him more dangerous.

I notice that his weapons upgrade was a pretty feeble looking thing last issue, but he's now moved up to a honking great 90s cannon thing. Something more imaginative would be sort of nice though.

Oh, and I loved that bit about the secret moustache donning superhero! That's hilarious. How did that happen? I guess the inker must have missed that they were the same guy?

Oh, and he was deliberately set up by the Foreigner here. Even though I believe this is supposed to be him at a low point gradually fighting back and becoming stronger it's nowhere nears as bad as when he first became Hobgoblin and went from being a decent threat who beat Spider-man and later set the Sinister Syndicate on him and Silver Sable because he was busy, to getting his handed to him by Flash Thompson, being called a worthless unemployable loser by the Arranger, getting chucked out of a window by non-powered Tombstone, still trying ti impress them anyway because he was that desperate and then being kicked in by Spider-man when he was drunk!

"Meanwhile, Mary Jane is mad at Peter for helping Betty Brant with the Foreigner affair in the last two issues (why is she mad?)"
Fnord, I think MJ is mad because Betty kissed Peter (granted, it was so the Foreigner's goons wouldn't notice anything but still, it was a kiss from an ex-girlfriend).

And not just any ex-girlfriend. This was the first girl Peter ever loved. I still think MJ would have gotten jealous if any girl kissed him. She's definitely not the understanding type, IMO.

I'm really having to constantly remind myself of how bad Name of the Rose was by the end to stop me from being too complimentary to Mackie.

I just really like what he's doing with Hobgoblin and Demogoblin. I mean, there's shoddy convoluted and convenient writing all over the place but I'm finding myself willing to overlook it because I am enjoying the goblins.

I really wanted Katzenberg to die though. I think trying to show him as capable of good was a misstep. He's been too slimy and horrid to ever really deserve to be redeemed in any way.

That statement:
"This takes place during Moon Knight #44, after Moon Knight leaves Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Strange and before he meets with his Shadow Cabinet."
is not true.
There are at least two editor's note (one at the end of #94) which confirms this is all happening prior to Moon Knight 44
Basicaly at the last page Moon Knight leaves battle sight and says he is going to visit Reed Richards

The editors note in #94 refers us to Moon Knight #44 "to learn more about Moon Knight's mysterious dilemma". The one in #93 points to MK #40-43 for the same thing. In both instances, Moon Knight says that he needs to get back to Mr. Fantastic, which obviously means that he's already spoken to him once. Neither footnote "confirms" that this story takes place prior to MK #44; they're just informational, letting readers know where to find out more about MK's condition.

Additionally, MK #44 begins during Infinity War, with MK and other heroes frozen in time and then the return of the FF from space. Moon Knight's appearance here couldn't take place prior to that.

I think You are wrong.
It is clearly expained in Moon Knight 44, that "getting back" is neccessary, cause after the Infinity War ended everybody was automatically send when he was before it all started.
That's why Moon Knight tried to "get back" to Reed during Web of Spiderman issues, and he finally did that in MK 44

The way You ordered it he tried to get back to him twice. First after Infinity War ended, and second time after he visited him once. Which is really absurd If You think about it... And have no justification story wise...

I don't see how there's anything "absurd" about Moon Knight having to get back to Four Freedoms Plaza after Infinity War and still having to get back to Mr. Fantastic to continue his cure. In fact, it's indisputable that he does have to "get back to him twice".

In terms of "justification story wise", at the end of the scene with Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Strange in MK #44, Moon Knight has 72 hours before he fully transforms. Then, in the next and final scene, Moon Knight is at his Shadowkeep and he says that his encounter with Spider-Man and Hobgoblin in WOSM #93 happened "on my way back here" (i.e. Shadowkeep). And his deadline has gone from 72 hours to 25 hours between those two scenes. So it seems pretty clear that's where the WOSM appearance occurs. And that's how the MCP place things too. So that settles it for me.

So let me get this straight: there is a scene at the end of Moon Knight #44 that definitelly takes place AFTER Web of Spider-Man 93, and You use that as an argument to place Moon Knight #44 PRIOR to Web of Spider-Man 93...

OK.

The bulk of MK #44 takes place before WOSM 93. There's a whole "Chronological Placement Considerations" section and on both entries he points out WOSM 93 takes place between pages of MK 44. He doesn't chop up comics and if he was gonna start doing that it's not going to be a few pages of Terry Kavanagh dross that sway him.