Marvel Tales #274

In "The Challenge of Hobgoblin!" from Marvel Tales #274, Spider-Man wages a relentless hunt through New York’s underworld, tracking the elusive Hobgoblin with a black alien costume that subtly urges young Franklin Richards to free it—though its plea goes unheeded. When Hobgoblin targets Harry Osborn for his father’s hidden journals, Spidey steps in, leading to a chaotic clash that spills into a women’s bathroom, where a pumpkin bomb traps the villain in a toilet. As the fight escalates, Hobgoblin escapes only to be caught by Spidey’s webbing, but not before he sends Spider-Man crashing into a passing train. With Liz and Mary Jane taken by the Rose’s men and Harry helpless, the stakes rise sharply—just as the webbed menace begins to unravel. Written by Tom DeFalco and illustrated by Ron Frenz, with inks by Josef Rubinstein and Brett Breeding, colors by Bob Sharen, and letters by Joe Rosen, the cover by Ron Lim and Terry Austin captures the tension in full.