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Ashley Kafka

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This article is about the Queen Goblin. For the Goblin Queen, see Madelyne Pryor.
Ashley Kafka
Ashley Kafka
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearance
Created byJ. M. DeMatteis (writer)
Sal Buscema (artist)
In-story information
Full nameAshley Kafka
Notable aliasesQueen Goblin
AbilitiesExpert at psychology
As Queen Goblin:
Super-strength
Enhanced durability
Goblin Gaze

Dr. Ashley Kafka is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted in stories revolving around the superhero Spider-Man. Introduced in The Spectacular Spider-Man #178 (July 1991), she was created by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Sal Buscema. The character was inspired by therapeutic hypnotist Frayda Kafka.[1] In the comics, Kafka is a psychiatrist at the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane, and an occasional ally of Spider-Man. After having been killed by Massacre, Kafka was twice "reanimated" with her soul intact in a cloned body by Ben Reilly and Norman Osborn, dying again in the former body to the Carrion Virus before going on to become the Queen Goblin in the latter body after being magically corrupted by Osborn's "sins" (the Green Goblin persona) by the Beyond Corporation.

The character has appeared in several forms of media outside of comics, including animated series and video games. A male version of the character appeared in the 2014 film The Amazing Spider-Man 2, portrayed by Marton Csokas.

Publication history

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Ashley Kafka first appeared in The Spectacular Spider-Man #178 (July 1991), and was created by J.M. DeMatteis and Sal Buscema. She was killed in The Superior Spider-Man #4 (April 2013) before being twice revived in Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy #2 (November 2016) and Ravencroft #5 (September 2020), becoming the Queen Goblin in The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #88 (February 2022)

Fictional character biography

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Ashley Kafka grew up in New York with her mother and her sister, Norma, who had been born with severe facial birth defects and was mentally challenged. Kafka looked after Norma while growing up. Their mother died when Kafka was nineteen years old and Norma was left at a psychiatric hospital, where she died a short time later. Kafka went to college at Empire State University, where she studied psychology and earned a degree.[2] Kafka goes on to become a professional psychologist specializing in the criminally insane and founds the maximum security sanitarium Ravencroft, where she treats its inmates.

Kafka is later killed by Massacre during a breakout attempt.[3] It is revealed in the mini-series Ben Reilly: Spider-Man that, prior to her death, Kafka had knowledge of Peter Parker's true identity. Peter reached out to Kakfa for help in dealing with the belief that he was a clone of Spider-Man and not the original.[4]

In "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy", Ben Reilly resurrects Kafka in a clone body, but she dies after undergoing cellular degeneration.[5][6]

The Sins of Norman Osborn

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In the series Ravencroft, Norman Osborn uses Ben Reilly's cloning method to revive Ashley Kafka in a new clone body as part of a plan to get John Jameson to regain his ability to transform into Man-Wolf.[7]

During the "Sins Rising" storyline, the Sin-Eater uses Mister Negative's powers to corrupt Kafka and use her to free Juggernaut from his cell so that he can steal his powers.[8] The Sin-Eater later attacks Norman Osborn and purges him of his sins.[9] Not wanting to give him to the police, Kafka brings Norman to her office where he confessed every bad thing that he has done in his life. Norman still claims that his son Harry is Kindred and that he must find a way to stop him before he goes further down the path to vengeance.[10]

Spider-Man Beyond

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During the "Beyond" storyline, Kafka begins working for the Beyond Corporation's Superhero Development division. She is also assigned to be Ben Reilly's therapist.[11] In her latest therapy with Ben, Kafka learns that he has lost faith in the Beyond Corporation following a fight with Doctor Octopus. This leads to Kafka learning that the Beyond Corporation is tampering with Ben's memories.[12]

After obtaining the extracted sins of Norman Osborn, the Beyond Corporation captures Kafka to prevent her from interfering with their plans and infuses her with Norman's sins, transforming her into "Queen Goblin". Queen Goblin breaks her restraints and kills the technicians present. She is given Goblin tech and sent to target Janine Godbe, who has escaped from the Beyond Corporation with vital information about the company's true agenda. The effects of Norman's sins have made it impossible for Kafka to remember who she was before her transformation, prompting her to make plans to go after Norman.[13]

Dark Web

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During the "Dark Web" storyline, Norman Osborn learns of Ashley Kafka's transformation when he encounters her on the rooftop of Alchemax. Norman goes on the defense and manages to evade her. When Queen Goblin nearly kills Spider-Man, Norman kills her in self-defense.[14] Shortly afterward, Kafka is resuscitated by the Goblin formula still present in her bloodstream.[15]

Queen Goblin and Kraven the Hunter perform a ritual that drains Norman Osborn's sins from Queen Goblin's body and into Kraven's spear while allowing Queen Goblin to retain her powers. The two plan to reunite the sins with Norman Osborn, but this is thwarted when Spider-Man throws himself in front of Norman to protect him and is infused with the sins in his place.[16] After Norman and Kraven purge Norman's sins from Spider-Man, Queen Goblin escapes.[17]

Powers and abilities

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Ashley Kafka is an expert at psychology.

On her second "reanimation" (with a slightly degraded soul) in a cloned body, Ashley was exposed to the sins of Norman Osborn and was mutated into the "Queen Goblin", which gave her a red-skinned goblin-like appearance and granted her goblin serum-like abilities like enhanced strength, speed, durability, and a healing factor. She also possesses a Goblin Gaze that causes anyone hit by it to relive their trauma.

Equipment

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As Queen Goblin, Ashley Kafka rides a Goblin Glider and wields a high-tech Pumpkin Scepter that has two features. The first feature can be used in a rigid state. The second feature is a chain retractable state. In addition, the Pumpkin Scepter can fire explosive blasts through the Pumpkin Scepters extremities.

Reception

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In 2022, Screen Rant included Queen Goblin in their "10 Spider-Man Villains That Are Smarter Than They Seem" list.[18]

Other versions

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DC crossover

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Ashley Kafka appears in the Marvel/DC crossover Spider-Man & Batman.[19]

Earth-71290

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An alternate universe version of Ashley Kafka from Earth-71290 appears in the series Spider-Society.[20]

MC2

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An alternate universe version of Ashley Kafka from Earth-982 appears in the MC2 imprint. This version married John Jameson, with whom she had a son named Jack. Jack becomes the superhero Buzz without his parents knowing.[volume & issue needed]

In other media

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Television

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Film

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Dr. Ashley Kafka as he appears in The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Video games

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Ashley Kafka appears in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 film tie-in game.

References

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  1. ^ a b Hoffman, Jordan (May 5, 2014). "The Real-Life Inspiration for a Spider-Man Character Reacts to Being Turned Evil...and into a Man". Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  2. ^ The Spectacular Spider-Man #178 (July 1991)
  3. ^ The Superior Spider-Man #4 (April 2013)
  4. ^ Ben Reilly: Spider-Man #1 (March 2022)
  5. ^ Clone Conspiracy #2 (January 2017)
  6. ^ Clone Conspiracy #5 (April 2017)
  7. ^ Ravencroft #5 (November 2020)
  8. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man: The Sins of Norman Osborn one-shot (November 2020)
  9. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #50 (December 2020)
  10. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #50.LR (December 2020)
  11. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #77 (December 2021)
  12. ^ Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5 #81-84
  13. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #92.BEY (May 2022)
  14. ^ Gold Goblin #5 (May 2023)
  15. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #27 (August 2023)
  16. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #32 (October 2023)
  17. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #35 (November 2023)
  18. ^ Chrysostomou, George (October 3, 2022). "10 Spider-Man Villains That Are Smarter Than They Seem". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  19. ^ Spider-Man & Batman one-shot (September 1995)
  20. ^ Spider-Society #2 (November 2024)
  21. ^ a b "Ashley Kafka Voices (Spider-Man)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 29, 2025. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  22. ^ "Sci-Fi - David Goyer's 1997 Venom Film". 12 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Interview: Talking Sociopaths, Stanislavski and Sandler with the Equalizer's Marton Csokas". 26 September 2014.
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