Axis: Hobgoblin #1 Review

Now that AXIS #3 is out, the tie-in floodgates have opened. This mini-series explores what happens when Roderick Kingsley's mental switch is flipped from "evil" to "good." It turns out that not much changes for the original Hobgoblin. Rather than franchising old supervillain identities, as he was in Dan Slott's Superior Spider-Man, he's switched to making money off of licensed heroes instead. This issue is fairly steeped in recent Spider-Man continuity, but the main appeal is simply in seeing Roderick remold himself as the television spokesman of the superhero community.

Writer Kevin Shinick brings a fun, slightly postmodern vibe to this issue as he explores the redemptive power of D-List heroes.In a way, it's almost like reading the good guy version of Superior Foes of Spider-Man. The industry can always use more books of that caliber. Unfortunately, this issue does get bogged down by its attempts to set up a more cohesive conflict. Once rival Hobgoblin Phil Urich enters the fray, the script grows clunky through the over-reliance on exposition. Hopefully things will smooth out now that the basic setup phase is out of the way.

Even if you're not a fan of AXIS, this issue is probably worth checking out on the strength of the visuals and its celebration of Spider-Man's goblin-themed enemies.

Read the full review on IGN here