Norman Osborn Jr.(AKA The Green Goblin)
History:
Norman Osborn in both his civilian life as an industrialist and in his persona of the Green Goblin has long been a thorn
in Spider-Man's side. As one of the few people who knows Spider-Man's secret identity, he is one of the few adversaries
able to attack Peter at home and threaten him with the revelation of his identity.
While experimenting with some odd formulas his former business partner developed, Norman Osborn was caught in the explosion
when the green mixture reacted violently and exploding. The formula gave him increased strength, death-defying healing abilities,
and increased his genius but with that Norman developed a monomania. In his madness, he took on the identity of the Green Goblin
with the intent of becoming the greatest criminal of all time.
Originally, Norman Osborn appeared just as a face appearing at Jonah Jameson's exclusive gentlemen club (ASM # 23). Eventually, he was
formally introduced as one of Peter's college classmates father when he was attacked by Prof. Strom, the robot master (ASM #37). Shortly after
that, he discovered Peter's secret identity and revealed himself to be the Green Goblin. However, during the resulting fight, he
developed amnesia and lost all memory of his activities as the Green Goblin including Spider-Man's identity (ASM #39-40).
For a time, Norman was a much better father to Harry and tended his business. He even interviewed Peter for a position
at Osborn Industries without any trouble. Eventually, the amnesia wore off. Norman again attacked Spider-Man but was shocked out of his madness when he was forced to confront
his son's hospitalization. The shock caused amnesia to set in once again (ASM #97-98).
Predictably, the amnesia wore off again. This time, Norman struck by kidnapping Peter's then-girlfriend Gwen Stacy. When confronted by
Spider-Man, he killed Gwen by knocking her off the Brooklyn Bridge. When Spider-Man caught up with him, Norman accidentally impaled himself
on his own glider (ASM #121-#122). He body was discovered by the authorities without the Green Goblin, and for a time Spider-Man and the Green
Goblin were wanted for his death.
However, Norman regenerated from his wounds and recovered in the morgue. Replacing his body with the body of a drifter, he went
into hiding in Europe choosing instead to manipulate some event behind the scenes. Eventually, his son's death caused Norman to return
from Europe. He made public the knowledge that he was still alive and continues to torment Peter to this day.
|
©2002 Samuel Smith
Spider-Man ™ and all images © 2002 Marvel Characters, Inc.
