The Spider-Man Who Laughs: Spider-Man Just Officially Became “The Most Dangerous Superhuman in the World”

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Amazing Spider-Man #50! After decades of being known as the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, the iconic web-slinger has finally made the turn to villainy. This isn’t to say he’s become something of an antihero like when he donned the black symbiote costume, but an actual all-out lunatic who can only be described as ‘the Spider-Man Who Laughs’, making him “the most dangerous superhuman in the world”.

In The Amazing Spider-Man #50 by Zeb Wells and Ed McGuinness, Peter Parker is called to Oscorp for an emergency regarding the Living Brain. Being an integral member of the Oscorp team in the current continuity, Parker was obliged to answer the call, despite being on patrol as Spider-Man at the time. When he got there, Peter was given the message the Living Brain desperately passed on to the Oscorp scientists, and a part of it was a passcode that, once uttered in Norman Osborn’s office, revealed a hidden compartment housing the classic Green Goblin costume.

Believing that Norman had put his life of villainy behind him, Peter was shocked to discover that he had reverted to the Green Goblin. In fact, Peter only took the job at Oscorp to keep an eye on Norman after the Green Goblin persona was purged from his body by Sin Eater. And now, Peter needed to earn his keep by taking the Green Goblin down. Unfortunately, the exact opposite occurred, as Spider-Man didn’t stop the Green Goblin, he became him.

Green Goblin Turns Spider-Man Into Spider-Goblin

Green Goblin sprays Spider-Man with the toxin that initially transformed Norman Osborn into the maniacal super-villain, though that was only a fraction of the reason why Spider-Man was so easily corrupted. In an earlier storyline, after Sin Eater purged Norman Osborn of the Green Goblin identity, his ‘sins’ were weaponized into a spear wielded by the Goblin Queen. That spear awakened Spider-Man’s inner darkness, and its influence nearly drove Spider-Man to kill Mary Jane’s new partner, Paul.

Spider-Man quickly recovered from being plagued by the sins of Osborn, but remnants of the villain’s essence have remained, which overtakes Peter in this issue after his exposure to the Goblin Gas along with an activation phrase the Green Goblin created while its essence briefly lived within Peter’s psyche. Once Gobby uttered that phrase in this issue, Spider-Man made the full metamorphosis into Spider-Goblin – and no one is safe.

Spider-Goblin Will Prove to be “The Most Dangerous Superhuman in the World”

Green Goblin is far from the deadliest supervillain in Marvel Comics, and Spider-Man himself (as great as he is) can’t compete with the more god-tier heroes of his universe. So, even by merging them, how is Spider-Goblin so dangerous? Unfortunately, that will remain a mystery for now, though there are some clues fans can draw on. Spider-Man is incredibly intelligent and has the trust of every Avenger and Fantastic Four member, and the Green Goblin is utterly ruthless. Perhaps Spider-Goblin will launch a surprise attack on the Avengers/Fantastic Four, and wipe out all of Earth’s heroes in one move?

Using the good name of Spider-Man to his advantage could cement a devastating victory for Spider-Goblin over the rest of the heroes of Earth, despite not being as powerful as a great number of them, which is a perfect way to prove how dangerous this new villain truly is. But, again, fans are just going to have to wait and see. Until then, Spider-Man fans can enjoy the origin of ‘the Spider-Man Who Laughs’ as detailed in this issue, as it marks the moment that gave rise to “the most dangerous superhuman in the world”.

The Amazing Spider-Man #50 by Marvel Comics is available now.