Spider-Man’s New Threat is Making an X-Men Villain Even Weirder

Warning: contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #89

Though she might remind Marvel fans of a classic X-Men villain, Spider-Man’s new threat, Queen Goblinhas shown that she is not to be taken lightly. Brandishing a goblin glider and a flaming pumpkin scepter, she’s already laid waste to the Daily Bugle building and threatened the life of Mary Jane Watson. But she’s not the first royal goblin to hit the Marvel scene – X-Men foe Madelyn Pryor, a.k.a. the Goblin Queen, was causing havoc long before. From powers to origins, however, both goblins seem to pull from a similar bag of tricks.

Those familiar with Spider-Man’s history already know to fear villains bearing the ‘goblin’ moniker. Out of all the Goblins Spider-Man has fought, from arch-enemy Green Goblin to the murderous Hobgoblin, each has exhibited a ruthless nature, terrifying cunning, and the ability to strike at those closest to Spider-Man. There’s even a ‘goblin’ uniform of sorts – scaly skin, a hovering glider, and pumpkin-themed weaponry. By contrast, the X-Men’s Goblin Queen is a much more tragic figure. Originally a friend of the X-Men and married to Scott Summers, a deal with a demon granted Madelyn infernal powers. Later, when the villain Mr. Sinister revealed that he had in fact created Madelyn as a clone of powerful telepath Jean Grey, Madelyn’s sanity snapped and she fully embraced her identity as the Goblin Queen in Uncanny X-Men #241.

The new threat of Queen Goblin is even weirder when one compares her powers and origins to Madelyn Pryor’s. As part of the ongoing Beyond storyline, it’s revealed that therapist Ashley Kafka was captured by the Beyond Corporation for interfering with their plans. A clone like Pryor before her (as revealed in Ravencroft #5), Kafka was injected with the metaphysical substance of Norman Osborn’s sins as Beyond’s attempt at manufacturing a supervillain. Newly empowered as Queen Goblin, Kafka holds nothing back when Black Cat arrives to stop her assault on the Daily Bugle building. During the fight in Amazing Spider-Man #89 by Patrick Gleason and Mark Bagley, Queen Goblin strikes Black Cat with a newly revealed power: a ‘Goblin Gaze’ that bombards Black Cat with her own worst emotions and renders her susceptible to the Queen Goblin’s control.

Madelyn Pryor already shares her origin as a clone with this new Queen Goblin. However, as the clone of Omega-level telepath Jean Grey, Pryor also possessed latent mental abilities. Upon fully embracing her villainous identity, Pryor used her telepathy and demonic powers in conjunction with each other to horrifying effect, transforming her enemies into demons and even putting the X-Men under her thrall. She died when the X-Men thwarted her attempt at opening a portal to hell but has resurfaced many times since as one of Marvel’s greatest sorcerers, often in the form of a psychic spirit or another clone.

Two different clones, both injected with ‘goblin’ essence, and each capable of terrifying mind control: it’s fascinating how these two characters mimic each other so closely yet come from completely different eras of comics. During her reign of terror, Madelyn Pryor became known for her blend of necromancy and psychic power. While this new Queen Goblin follows in the footsteps of Norman Osborn and not the Goblin Queen of old, we are only just now seeing the extent of her abilities. As Spider-Man’s newest threat, there’s plenty of time for Queen Goblin to make a name for herself as more than just a reflection of one of the X-Men’s weirder villains.