Amazing Spider-Man #250

Issue Details

Synopsis

CONFESSION! Upon learning that the Hobgoblin is blackmailing members of New York's wealthy elite, Spider-Man went to the Century Club to stop him. However, the Hobgoblin managed to flee after dousing Spider-Man with a gas that nullified his spider-sense. Furious that the wall-crawler interfered, the men who are being blackmailed attempt to rush him. Seeing that his friend Harry Osborn is looking for his alter-ego, Spider-Man slips away to change back into Peter Parker. Peter pretends he doesn't know what's going on, and when Harry fills him in, Jameson leaves. When Peter suggests calling the police, Harry points out that these wealthy men have no interest in getting the authorities involved. Peter and Harry go to a nearby coffee shop where Harry points out that the Hobgoblin seemed to know the club in a way that suggests that he might be a member. Peter worries about how the Hobgoblin had been discovering the secrets of Norman Osborn, the original Green Goblin, and fears his secret identity might be compromised. Although the Hobgoblin was tagged with a spider-tracer, Parker worries he won't be able to track it now that his spider-sense is gone.  Meanwhile, at his hideout, the Hobgoblin finds the spider-tracer attached to his Goblin Glider. Knowing Spider-Man tracks these devices with his spider-sense he gloats over stripping the wall-crawler of that power. Recalling a mention in one of Osborn's journals that the Green Goblin developed the chemical to try and learn Spider-Man's secret identity, the Hobgoblin wonders if Norman had recorded this in one of his many journals. Later that afternoon, Peter tries to slip out of his apartment skylight as Spider-Man and narrowly avoids getting spotted by his landlord Maimie Muggins, beating the dust out of a rug. The wall-crawler worries that he will have to figure out something in the event that his spider-sense never comes back. Spider-Man web-slings into Manhattan where he pays a visit to wealthy financier George Vandergill. He asks George if there was anything about the Hobgoblin that he found familiar. George refuses to talk, telling the web-slinger that the Hobgoblin has nothing on him and to bother the others. Seeing that he is getting nowhere, Spider-Man departs. With Spider-Man gone, George calls his travel agent and confirms his flight out to Bimini, reiterating that it is a one-way flight.   Spider-Man next pays a visit to fashion designer Roderick Kingsley. However, when he questions Roderick, he is too frightened to talk. The pattern continues when Spider-Man visits the other blackmail victims. On his way across the city, Spider-Man is suddenly jolted by a massive warning from his spider-sense. This stuns him for a moment, but when his mind clears he recalls this was similar to the danger he sensed earlier at Harry and Liz's party. This also confirms that his spider-sense isn't gone, only numbed, and he hopes that it will return to normal before whatever this threat makes itself known to him. The wall-crawler's last visit takes him to the office of J. Jonah Jameson, who is busy writing a confession regarding his involvement in the creation of the Scorpion. Spider-Man tells Jonah that he is going to try and destroy the material the Hobgoblin has on him, but Jameson refuses to be blackmailed and intends to publish his confession. This angers the wall-crawler, who points out that Jameson is being a hypocrite, engaging in vigilante behavior over the years to try and stop Spider-Man. He also points out that this confession will also affect his career and he won't be able to be editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle. Destroying Jameson's confession, Spider-Man assures him that he will stop the Hobgoblin. Jameson merely goes back to his desk and begins writing his confession over again.   Back at his apartment, Peter Parker realizes that the has a means of picking up the signal from his spider-tracer. Digging through his closet he finds the old tracking device he used before he attuned the tracers to trigger his spider-sense. Looking for the device, he sees that it is in sad shape, but manages to repair it. Spider-Man tracks down the Hobgoblin's lair and engages his foe. During the ensuing battle, the Hobgoblin is quickly disarmed by Spider-Man, forcing the villain to activate the built-in defenses within his hideout. This proves to be his undoing as one of the laser cannons misses Spider-Man and sets the Osborn journals ablaze. Trying to save the journals, the Hobgoblin panics and tosses a pumpkin bomb at the bank of lasers causing a massive explosion that decemates the warehouse. Watching the blast from his office window, Jameson gives his confession to a copy boy and tells him to run it on the front page.