Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics, Spider-Man | Tagged: amazing spider-man, marvel, Queen Goblin
Marvel Spills Identity Of Spider-Man's Queen Goblin On Variant Cover
Marvel Comics has been advertising the appearance of a new villain in the Spider-Man Beyond comic books, the red-skinned Queen Goblin. But in Marvel Comics' solicitations for February 2022, a design variant cover shows off Patrick Gleason's notes for the creation of the character – including her secret identity. Secret identities have been unfashionable, but it looks like they are back! Spoilers ahead, obviously.
The note reads "Queen Goblin AKA Ashley Kafka". Introduced in Spectacular Spider-Man #178 in 1991, she was created by writer J. M. DeMatteis , artist Sal Buscema and inspired by therapeutic hypnotist Frayda Kafka.
In the comics, Dr. Kafka is a psychiatrist at the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane, and an occasional ally of Spider-Man. The character was also genderflipped in the Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie played by Marton Csokas. A professional psychologist specializing in the criminally insane, she founds a maximum security sanitarium called the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane, where she treats super-criminals and where she was killed in Superior Spider-Man #4 in 2013 by Massacre during a breakout attempt. During the "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" storyline, the Jackal created a clone of Ashley Kafka, something that Norman Osborn would also go on to do in order to get John Jameson to regain his ability to transform into Man-Wolf. During the "Sins Rising" arc, the revived Sin-Eater uses Mister Negative's powers to corrupt the later clone of Ashley Kafka and use her to free Juggernaut from his cell so that he can steal his powers. She was also active with Osborn in the recent Last Remains storyline. In Amazing Spider-Man #75, it was revealed that the Beyond Corporation hired her over her relationship with Ben Reilly. A clone looking after a clone?
Either way, it has been enough for the aftermarket to respond. There has been a flurry of sales of Spectacular Spider-Man issue 178 for up to $15 a pop…