The newest issue of W.E.B. of Spider-Man brings Peter Parker and his young W.E.B. compatriots face to face with Mendel Stromm, who has assumed the supervillain persona of his former business partner, Norman Osborn.
The evil genius has gone by many names over the years, including Gaunt and Robot-Master. This time, Stromm appears to have used his cybernetics expertise to create a Goblin skin for his robotic skeleton. Now calling himself Cy-Gob, Stromm seems to stand little chance against the likes of Squirrel Girl and Amadeus Cho, indicating that this upgrade is mostly cosmetic.
Mendel Stromm made his comic book debut in The Amazing Spider-Man #37 all the way back in 1966, where he was introduced as the disgruntled co-founder of OsCorp, having been ousted from the company after his friend and apprentice Norman Osborn realized he was embezzling funds.
The robotics specialist plotted his revenge from jail, although these plans to murder Osborn were eventually foiled by Spider-Man. After dying of a heart attack, Stromm's consciousness was transferred into one of his robots. The criminal mastermind then became a recurring foe in Spider-Man's rogues' gallery.
This issue follows on from the previous one, which saw Spider-Man lead the group of superhero prodigies into a Tron-like digital realm. This series sees Peter Parker struggle with the pressure of leadership arguably for the first time. The book also brings MCU character Harley Keener into the comics for the first time after previously appearing in Iron Man 3 and Avengers: Endgame.
W.E.B. of Spider-Man #5 is written by Kevin Shinick, with art by Alberto Alburquerque, colors by Rachelle Rosenberg and letters by Joe Sabino. It swings into comic book stores and digital platforms on Sept. 13.