Normie Osborn

Normie Osborn is the grandson of Norman Osborn and the son of Harry Osborn, the first and second Green Goblin, respectively. As Harry Osborn and Peter Parker were best friends, he is also Spider-Man's godson.

Publication history

Normie Osborn first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #263 (April 1985), and was created by Bill Mantlo and Al Milgrom. He appeared in Green Goblin stories throughout the 1990s, generally portrayed as hating Spider-Man for fighting his father.

Fictional character biography

Normie Osborn was born to Liz Osborn and Harry Osborn.^[1]

Harry Osborn recovers his sanity shortly before a modified version of the Goblin Formula claims his life. He saves Spider-Man and says to him, "You're my best friend". Normie is shown as overhearing this, possibly changing his view of Spider-Man.^[2] While still recovering from his father's death, Normie is befriended by Peter Parker, Spider-Man's alter ego, who becomes a sort of surrogate uncle to him.^[3] A trio of robotic "Goblin women" (one of a number of failsafes prepared by Harry before his death) kidnap Normie, intending to turn him into the new Green Goblin. Spider-Man and the Molten Man (Normie's uncle) defeat them before he can be exposed to the Goblin Formula.^[4]

When Norman Osborn Sr. returns from the dead, he also uses a robot Goblin to kidnap his heir. This version appears as the standard Green Goblin, causing Normie to believe his father has returned. This was part of a complex ploy to increase Norman's visibility by playing the unfortunate grandfather.

Norman has dismissed the possibility of his grandson being the new Goblin, saying he has the same weaknesses as Harry.

Normie was seen in a Sensational Spider-Man issue playing baseball, being watched in the stands by the Molten Man and the Chameleon, while Electro was in the shadows. No harm came to Normie, but the Chameleon used his safety as a bargaining chip to bring the Molten Man into his plan to attack Spider-Man after the recent unmasking.

Normie reappeared after the One More Day storyline. Now Normie hates his father for supposedly abandoning him when he was mistaken to be dead while being high on the Goblin Serum. His hatred for Spider-Man has also been reignited.^[5]

During Osborn's recent attempt to re-establish himself as a major crime lord, he reveals that he has undergone plastic surgery so that he could also establish himself as a businessman to provide a suitable inheritance for his grandson, with Liz apparently helping Norman in this endeavor.^[6]

Other versions

MC2

Normie kidnaps May.

In the MC2 alternate future, little Normie Osborn is all grown up. A sensitive boy, he took his mother's remarrying hard, never getting along with his stepfather, Foggy Nelson (until after her death when the two finally bonded), and he held Peter Parker responsible for the death of his father and grandfather. When his mother became ill and died, Normie broke down, accepting his father's and grandfather's mantle as the Green Goblin as his destiny. His appearance as the Green Goblin forced May Parker to adopt the mantle of Spider-Girl. His first few appearances met with failure as he was continually defeated by Spider-Girl, Phil Urich (as the "Golden Goblin"), and even in one instance by Mary Jane Parker. Then one day, when May had temporarily lost her powers, Normie kidnapped her. He unmasked her, tied her up and taunted her with a knife. May realized that Normie was hoping she would break free and kill him. At this time, May was able to convince him to go get help and to forsake the Goblin legacy.

Normie reformed, and even helped May continue on as Spider-Girl during her temporary power loss by lending her his goblin equipment (Normie also confided in her that he was actually acrophobic). He later also helped Phil Urich return to costume as the good Green Goblin. For a time, Normie converted one of his grandfather's old Goblin hideouts into a kind of "batcave" from which May and Phil could use as a base of operations, which he christened "the Website." However, the Website was later located and destroyed by Canis' people.

While in group therapy (for former supervillains), he began dating Brenda Drago (the daughter of Blackie Drago, the second Vulture), much to the chagrin of May who had developed a crush on him. During the events of the Season of the Serpent storyline, May confessed her feelings to Normie, but Normie did not think it would be appropriate. However, after he is shot in the chest by Mr. Nobody in the Marked For Death arc (who shot him to mess with May's head), Normie's true feelings are revealed in a coma vision where his grandfather taunts him, "All you had to do was kill the girl. But no you had to fall in love with her, and how's that working out for you, Normie?" The vision of Norman also taunts him that "you will never truly be rid of me."

His relationship with Brenda became rocky for a time when Élan DeJunae appeared to inform him of their betrothal which had been arranged by her father and Norman Osborn when Normie and Élan had just been children. Normie was not thrilled with the news, and Élan decided it was up to her to make sure that Normie was true to the family legacy. First, she attempted to expose him to the Goblin chemicals, but she was foiled by Spider-Girl. Normie was submerged in the chemicals for a long time, but he said the doctors gave him a clean bill of health. Next Élan objected to his wedding to Brenda by literally crashing it. She forcibly bonded the Venom symbiote to him as a "wedding gift." The new Venom went on a rampage until Normie with the help of Spider-Girl was able to gain control of the symbiote. May told him to cast it into the fire, but Normie could not bring himself to kill it. "I overcame the Goblin legacy, I should be able to control a simple alien symbiote." It looks as if Normie wishes to use the symbiote to be a hero. However, he is apparently afraid of a repeat of what happened on what was supposed to be his wedding day. He told his secretary Kristy Watson (Normie's nanny growing up, cousin of MJ), that if the alien ever takes control of him again, to have Spider-Girl destroy him.

His superhero persona does not have a name yet. They object to being referred to as Venom (because Venom was the symbiote with Eddie Brock) or as Normie (he would like to keep his identity secret) while out patrolling but "all the good ones [names] are already taken." For a time he considered using the name Dusk. When in control of the symbiote, Normie resembles Spider-Man's black costume.

When the Avengers came to arrest him for harboring the Venom symbiote, the cyborgized-Jim Rhodes short-circuited (claiming that Tony Stark murdered him) and went on a rampage in New York City. In the end, Normie with the Venom symbiote saved the day because he was the only one who did not hold back—he snared Rhodes with the symbiote and then grabbed onto a live wire from inside a streetlight, electrocuting both himself and Rhodes, with the short-circuiting Rhodes falling first. Afterwards, he informed them that Raptor is a government agent and so "surrendered" to her custody. He voluntarily joined Kaine's team of reformed supervillains on the condition that Raptor (who does not get along with Whedon, its director) may be allowed to quit.

When Brenda is viciously wounded in an attack by the Hobgoblin, he joins Spider-Girl in the hunt for the Hobgoblin. They discover that the Hobgoblin's entire purpose is to lure Spider-Girl to a group of assassins known as the Scriers, and Spider-Girl is impaled by one of their swords. Osborn and the symbiote lash out, killing several of the Scriers with symbiote-constructed blades, causing the Scriers to momentarily retreat (this momentarily lapse would become his and Kaine's little secret). Then, Normie with the symbiote saves Spider-Girl when Osborn transfers the symbiote to her. It heals her wounds and removed the blade's poison from her system. While Spider-Girl with the symbiote go on to hunt down Hobgoblin, Kaine and Normie are besieged by more Scriers. They are later joined by Spider-Girl and Peter Parker (back in costume). The battle is halted however when the Scriers are called off by the Black Tarantula, who had just assumed control of their organization.

The symbiote had been vulnerable when Peter Parker rejected it, and it was corrupted by the hate and anger of the second host (Eddie Brock). When it bonded to Normie Osborn, it was changed by his loving nature. When the symbiote gives its life to protect Spider-Girl and her father from the Hobgoblin, Normie felt it die.

Normie and Brenda return, and Normie agrees to fund an operation to restore most of the hearing of May's baby brother, Benjamin Parker.^[7]

Normie summons Peter to an old Oscorp warehouse, and reveals a girl in a tank, discovered during his travels abroad, and says that SHE may be the real May Parker. In the next issue, Normie shows Peter his grandfather's journal, which states that he kidnapped May and arranged to have a clone of her returned to the Parkers. With the veracity of the journal in question, Normie and Peter attempt to discover the truth without informing May of their discovery and its possible implications. Normie visits Élan DeJunae and questions her without success; although her body language at the mention of "Project: Changeling" implies that she knows something, she is unwilling to talk. Later on at the warehouse, Peter (with Normie present) draws some fluid from the tank in order to run some tests on it. Peter realizes too late that the fluid has become unstable from exposure to air—it explodes in his face to Normie's distress.^[8]

The girl is later awoken by a recently escaped Fury, and assaults Normie before making her escape.

Appearance/tattoos

While he was the Green Goblin, Normie got several tattoos. The tattoo on his back read "Honor Thy Father/Kill the Spider." The tattoo on his chest read "Revenge" and has a spider impaled with a knife. He also had scars on his wrists from his suicide attempt. The Venom symbiote removed all of his tattoos and scars as it died, as a parting gift.

References

External links

• Normie's profile 616