Chapter Summaries

The Avengers and X-Men fought Belasco, who overwhelmed them with dark magic and injured several heroes. With Strange holding Belasco in place, Spider-Man used the Dragonfang Sword to stab him through the chest and wound his soul.

• Captain ordered the heroes to keep their distance and support Thor and Illyana, but Belasco countered their attacks and badly injured Colossus, Wolverine, White Queen, and Storm.
• Belasco wounded Illyana and took her amulet, then burned Venom and threw Spider-Man into a wall.
• Belasco fought off Hulk, Ant-Man, Tony, Captain, and Blade, piercing Captain with the Soul Sword and attacking his soul.
• Strange asked his dispirited counterpart to maintain the defensive spells while Thor struck Belasco with Mjolnir and Strange restrained him with scarlet chains.
• Demonized Illyana attacked Belasco with the Soul Sword as Spider-Man stabbed him from behind with the Dragonfang Sword, causing pain in Belasco's soul.

Strange used Belasco’s death as a necromantic sacrifice to sever his connection to Hell’s Border temporarily, while Illyana considered taking steps to weaken Belasco further. The heroes returned home, unaware that Otto Octavius’s virus had infiltrated Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and begun copying data.

• Illyana severed Belasco’s head, and Strange used necromancy to cut Belasco’s connection to Hell’s Border for a short time.
• Strange said he would remain behind to deal with the corrupted X-Men, and he, Illyana, another Strange, and Blade stayed in Hell’s Border to discuss what to do next.
• Peter returned to Avengers Tower, the X-Men went back to their school, and the exhausted Avengers discussed their injuries and the Christmas party.
• Otto Octavius’s virus entered Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters’ underground system, failed to access Cerebro, and began analyzing the Danger Room’s program.
• Beast checked the school’s computer system and found no visible signs of the virus, which continued its copying commands unnoticed.

The Avengers spent a quiet Christmas at Avengers Tower while Peter Parker reflected on the holiday from the Empire State Building. After receiving gifts from Cindy and Felicia, Peter called Captain and went to visit children at the hospital.

• Tony Stark and the Avengers ate fast food and watched movies at Avengers Tower, where Pepper Potts explained that Tony ate Burger King regularly.
• Peter Parker swung through New York while Venom teased him about choosing Christmas gifts for the girls in his life.
• Captain delivered toys and food to orphanages and visited children with cancer at hospitals.
• Peter found a Christmas gift from Cindy containing a family photo and a message of thanks from the Mu En family.
• Felicia gave Peter a handmade black Spider-Man suit, then left before he opened it.
• Peter called Captain and headed to the hospital to visit the children.

On Christmas Eve, Peter met Illyana in Hell's Border, where she spoke about the people she missed. Meanwhile, Ned Leeds assembled plastic fragments from a restaurant explosion and discovered Goblin gear in his closet as the Ghoul Legion welcomed him.

• Peter gave Gwen his old Web Shooter and received the Osborn Tech Expo ticket stub from her.
• Illyana called Peter and took him through a portal to a bar in Hell's Border, where she explained she had become its Sorcerer Supreme.
• Illyana told Peter she wanted to talk about people she missed, and they spent Christmas Eve together.
• Ned Leeds finished assembling plastic fragments from a Manhattan restaurant explosion and recognized the result as a pumpkin-shaped object.
• Ned found a gray exoskeleton suit, an orange cape, a Flying Skateboard, and pumpkin bombs in his closet, where several Gray Goblins welcomed him to the Ghoul Legion.

On New Year’s Eve, Arnold Donovan refused a mysterious sphere that would have made him Hobgoblin, but a gray-skinned stranger abducted him and forced him to take the serum. Captain George Stacy discovered the blast at Donovan’s apartment and began investigating a string of similar disappearances as Donovan transformed into a member of the Ghoul Legion.

• J. Jonah Jameson recapped the year’s superpowered crimes on the Daily Bugle broadcast and blamed Spider-Man whenever possible.
• Arnold Donovan refused the sphere’s offer to restore his original fate as Hobgoblin and called 911 to surrender it.
• A gray-skinned stranger came to Donovan’s home, declared that he would become Hobgoblin, and abducted him.
• Captain George Stacy found Donovan’s apartment destroyed by an explosion and ordered an investigation into his disappearance and similar cases.
• The stranger injected Donovan with Hobgoblin serum, and Donovan transformed as the New Year’s bells rang.

Peter stopped Techno-Wizard from escaping with tens of millions of dollars and helped recover the stolen money. Captain George Stacy then asked Peter and Cindy for help with a case involving reported supernatural equipment and an explosion.

• Peter chased Bentley Whitman, who called himself Techno-Wizard, after he robbed Citibank with gravity-controlling discs.
• Peter destroyed most of Techno-Wizard's discs and used webbing to pull away the disc carrying the villain, leaving him pinned to a building.
• Peter caught the falling money in a web net, and Cindy arrived to help before Peter called the NYPD.
• Captain George Stacy thanked the Spider-Men and told Peter that police had found only traces of an explosion at a scene where someone had reported receiving supernatural equipment.

Peter and Silk helped Captain Stacy investigate Donovan’s abduction and the controlled explosion at his apartment. After identifying the device as a pumpkin bomb, Peter called Harry to ask whether Norman Osborn had been acting strangely, leaving him uncertain who was using Osborn’s technology.

• Captain Stacy drove Peter and Cindy to Donovan’s apartment to investigate the preserved explosion scene.
• Peter used J.A.R.V.I.S. to reconstruct events, revealing that an unidentified person took an object from Donovan, abducted him, and tossed a ball-like device into the apartment.
• Peter and Cindy found plastic fragments and reconstructed them as remnants of a pumpkin bomb made from a new polymer.
• Peter called Harry to ask whether Norman Osborn had been going out or acting strangely, then wondered who was using the pumpkin bomb.

Mary Jane began working as Benjamin Urich’s assistant at the Daily Bugle, where she helped review a restaurant explosion case. The investigation raised suspicions of superpowered involvement, while Ned Leeds concealed an injury and the chapter identified the Bugle’s reporters’ secret connections to the Green Goblin and Hobgoblin.

• J. Jonah Jameson introduced Mary Jane to Benjamin Urich and assigned her to assist him as he investigated Daredevil’s identity and the motives of masked vigilantes.
• Benjamin introduced Mary Jane to his nephew Phil Urich and reporter Ned Leeds, who had found no clues at the scene of a recent restaurant explosion.
• Benjamin told Mary Jane to prioritize her studies, then asked her to help Ned organize the explosion case files.
• Mary Jane noticed that the restaurant blast had been unusually quiet and contained, and wondered whether a superpowered person had caused it.
• The chapter revealed that Phil Urich had been both the third Green Goblin and sixth Hobgoblin, while Ned Leeds had been the third Hobgoblin.

Mary Jane found signs that the bombing investigation was being obstructed, while George Stacy suspected a deeper conspiracy. At Norman Osborn’s villa, Harry secretly watched his father’s therapy session and learned that psychiatrist Barton Hamilton was the third-generation Green Goblin.

• Mary Jane reviewed Ned’s findings and learned that witnesses had seen only a flash of green light, while police officers had been told to stop investigating.
• Mary Jane wondered whether Gwen’s father knew why the police had not sought help from the Avengers.
• George Stacy worried that no one was trying to stop his investigation because whoever was behind the crimes was confident he would uncover nothing.
• Norman welcomed psychiatrist Barton Hamilton to his villa and said the Green Goblin’s voice had returned.
• Harry used Peter’s spider robot to secretly watch Norman’s session as Barton tried to convince Norman that the Green Goblin did not exist.
• Norman asked Barton whether he had received a little ball, and Barton was revealed to be the third-generation Green Goblin.

Harry learned that Norman’s Green Goblin identity was tied to a device sent by a time traveler seeking to restore villains’ original histories. While Norman planned to alert the Avengers, a Ghoul in a sewer laboratory prepared an army of Goblin-themed villains and declared himself the King of Goblins.

• Harry questioned AI Green Goblin about Norman’s dissociative identity disorder and learned Norman had created the AI to counter his Green Goblin personality.
• Norman found Harry monitoring him, explained his efforts to treat his condition, and showed him an armored figure that offered him power through a mysterious sphere.
• Norman told Harry that a time traveler had distributed villain equipment to people the Avengers had prevented from becoming villains, and said Dr. Hamilton had also received a sphere.
• Norman and Harry decided to inform Peter so the Avengers could handle the threat.
• Dr. Hamilton called a contact beneath Manhattan, where a gray-skinned Ghoul prepared Green Goblin serum for captives.
• The Ghoul declared that his growing army would overwhelm the Avengers and named himself the King of Goblins.

Tony and Captain realized Kang’s spheres could spread supervillain equipment beyond the Avengers’ control, while Peter investigated Ned Leeds and found a hidden Green Goblin arsenal in his apartment. Peter left with Ned’s powered exoskeleton to investigate the pumpkin bombs and prepare for a possible trap.

• Tony warned that people on Kang’s list might become supervillains, but Captain argued that intervening could push them toward the futures Kang intended.
• Tony realized people might discard the spheres, allowing anyone who found them to take the equipment and become a supervillain.
• Peter investigated Ned Leeds as a possible Hobgoblin or Jack O’Lantern and sent a spider robot into Ned’s empty apartment.
• Peter’s spider robot found a patched pumpkin bomb casing, a Flying Skateboard, more pumpkin bombs, a powered exoskeleton, and Green Goblin serum in Ned’s closet.
• Suspecting Ned might be brainwashed or the evidence might be a misdirection, Peter hacked the exoskeleton and had it leave without alerting anyone.
• Peter planned to visit Osborn Industries to learn how the pumpkin bombs were built and investigate their properties.

Peter visited Norman Osborn to learn how the pumpkin bombs worked and received data about the enemy’s armor and aircraft. As Peter left to test the data, Norman considered taking time off and trying to become a better father to Harry.

• Peter questioned Norman about Dr. Connors, and Norman said Connors was recovering and the laboratory security had been upgraded.
• Norman demonstrated that the pumpkin bombs confined intense heat inside a small area and could carbonize a human body.
• Norman explained that the bombs were difficult to detonate early, though different fuse times or remote controls could reduce that weakness.
• Peter worried that Norman might be becoming the Green Goblin and urged him to maintain his mental health and make amends with Harry.
• Norman gave Peter data on the enemy’s armor and aircraft, and Peter left to test it using data from Ned’s house.
• Norman decided he needed a vacation and reflected that he wanted to become a good father to Harry.

Mary Jane investigated the restaurant explosion for the Daily Bugle and found plastic fragments that Ned had taken from the scene. She met Peter Parker at the restaurant and invited him to compare deductions, while Peter suspected someone powerful was hiding behind Ned.

• Mary Jane questioned the restaurant owner about the explosion and learned that it had produced little sound, a bright flash, and a shaking sensation.
• The owner told Mary Jane that Ned had crossed the police line to collect objects after the search, and she found two plastic fragments beneath a sofa.
• Mary Jane learned that Ned had taken the fragments and left the restaurant to inspect them further.
• Mary Jane found Peter Parker studying the cracked window, and they realized they were both investigating the explosion.
• Mary Jane invited Peter to discuss their deductions at a café, while Peter wondered who was concealing the truth behind Ned.

Peter analyzed the restaurant bombing and concluded that the killer had deliberately targeted the family, while Mary Jane suspected Daily Bugle reporter Ned Leeds was concealing evidence. Peter believed Ned might have been brainwashed and set up as the Evil Ghost, and warned Mary Jane to be careful as he prepared to investigate further.

• Peter deduced that the bomb had been detonated inside the restaurant and that the killer had likely been present, where an ATM camera might have recorded suspects.
• Peter reasoned that the killer had targeted the family for a purpose and might be an influential person connected to them but without underworld ties.
• Peter asked Mary Jane to investigate the victims' connections and pass the information to a reporter, while she decided to bring it to Mr. Ben Urich or J. Jonah Jameson.
• Peter suspected that Ned Leeds had been brainwashed into believing he was the Evil Ghost and was being positioned to take the blame for the murders.
• Mary Jane showed Peter fragments from a pumpkin bomb casing and accused Ned of taking other fragments from the crime scene.
• Peter cautioned Mary Jane not to jump to conclusions, while he anticipated that Ned might be going to prison that night.

Peter confronted Ned Leeds, who transformed into Demogoblin after being manipulated, but an attacker arrived and revealed that Arnold Donovan was also being forced into the role. Spider-Man and the masked Demogoblin fought until they crashed onto a rooftop.

• Peter disabled Ned's pumpkin bombs and hacked his equipment before waiting for him at home.
• Peter confronted Ned, who transformed into Demogoblin, and tried to convince him that someone had framed and manipulated him.
• A masked man on a Flying Skateboard attacked Peter with a pumpkin bomb, then fled as Peter pursued him.
• The masked man threw bombs and knives while Peter fought back and recognized that the terrified person beneath the mask was not truly Demogoblin.
• The attacker claimed that the King of Goblins had sent him and that Arnold Donovan was destined to become Demogoblin, then fought Peter as they fell onto a rooftop.

Peter confronted the King of Goblins, who revealed that Arnold Donovan had been turned into a Green Goblin-serum victim and killed him in an explosion. The King then taunted Peter that Ned Leeds was still in danger, leaving Peter determined to find and stop him.

• The King of Goblins explained how Conqueror Kang’s serum had created Green Goblins and Jack O’Lanterns, while Peter contacted the Avengers to rescue Ned.
• Peter attacked the demon, caught his Flying Skateboard, and snapped it in half.
• The King of Goblins revealed that he was Arnold Donovan, and Donovan begged Peter to save him.
• Peter’s Spider-Sense warned him away as Donovan exploded and burned to death.
• The King of Goblins taunted Peter over Donovan’s death and warned that Ned was still in danger.

Hank Pym learned that Ned Leeds had been captured and brainwashed by the Goblin King, but Ned died in an explosion before the Avengers could save him. After telling J. Jonah Jameson what happened, Spider-Man pursued two suspicious leads identified by J.A.R.V.I.S.

• Hank Pym approached Ned Leeds, who warned him that a bomb was inside his body and urged the Avengers to stop the Goblin King before he killed Spider-Man.
• Ned Leeds exploded before Hank Pym could save him, and Hank vowed that the Avengers would stop the Goblin King.
• Spider-Man told J. Jonah Jameson that Ned had been framed and killed while investigating the Goblin King, and Jameson decided to continue Ned’s investigation.
• Spider-Man asked J.A.R.V.I.S. to identify suspicious people from surveillance footage, which pointed to Roderick Kingsley and Barton Hamilton.
• Peter suspected Roderick Kingsley might be the Goblin King’s next disguise and planned to investigate both men.

After Ned Leeds's death, J. Jonah Jameson and Ben Urich took up his investigation, and Mary Jane shared Ned's lead on the King of Goblins. Roderick Kingsley and his brother Daniel prepared to use themselves as bait for Spider-Man and the Avengers before the Ghoul Legion attacked.

• J. Jonah Jameson announced that Ned Leeds had died investigating the bombing and vowed to continue the investigation.
• Ben Urich offered to take responsibility for the case, but Jameson decided to lead it himself.
• Mary Jane told Jameson that Ned had narrowed down the suspects' general area and that police support could help identify the King of Goblins.
• Roderick Kingsley revealed that he and Daniel had willingly become Hobgoblins after receiving three metal spheres from the King of Goblins.
• Roderick and Daniel planned to draw out Spider-Man and the Avengers so the Ghoul Legion could attack them.

J. Jonah Jameson visited Roderick Kingsley’s studio under the pretense of asking about an NYPD scandal while Peter secretly searched Kingsley for a bomb. After Peter disarmed it, the King of Goblins attacked him and claimed the title.

• Mary Jane asked what excuse Jameson would use to question Roderick Kingsley, and Jameson said he would seek Kingsley’s help with an NYPD scandal.
• Jameson brought Mary Jane and Phil Urich to Kingsley’s studio, where Mary Jane took notes and Phil photographed the premises.
• Peter searched the studio with spider robots, found a bomb implanted inside Kingsley, and dismantled its detonator.
• The King of Goblins ambushed Peter from a Flying Skateboard and accused him of tampering with the bomb.
• Peter confronted the masked demon, determined to take him down.

Peter captured a demonized Daniel Kingsley but discovered the King of Goblins had prepared a Goblin Army and targeted him in a public game. The King of Goblins threatened to kill civilians if other heroes intervened and promised to continue the attacks each week.

• Peter webbed and disarmed a demon, then identified him as Daniel Kingsley, Roderick Kingsley's younger brother, controlled through Osborn Industries neural transmission technology.
• The King of Goblins taunted Peter about whether Norman Osborn was behind the attacks and explained that he could route his signal through NYPD communications towers.
• Peter saw 23 goblins, including a huge green-armored figure, rise from Manhattan's waterways and head toward him.
• The King of Goblins announced his debut across New York's television screens and challenged Spider-Man to defeat the Goblin Army alone.
• The King of Goblins threatened indiscriminate attacks if another superhero interfered and vowed to target heroes weekly using people taken from vulnerable groups.