Norman Osborn

**Norman Osborn** is a character in the *Marvel's Spider-Man* series. He is the owner and CEO of Oscorp Industries, widower of late Emily Osborn and father of Harry Osborn, and once served as mayor of New York City. Though his success in business and as mayor awarded him power and influence, his dubious ethics eventually earned him many enemies.

During Osborn's tenure as mayor, he was initially praised for revitalizing the city's economy and security, but made underhanded dealings with crime boss Wilson Fisk and conducted illegal experiments around GR-27, hoping to cure the genetic disease affecting Emily and his son Harry. These actions spurred Martin Li and the Inner Demons to launch terror attacks, forcing Osborn to hire Sable International to protect the city. Osborn's former friend Otto Octavius later assembled Sinister Six and unleashed GR-27 as a plague on the city, plunging it into crisis. Though Spider-Man helped save the city and secure a cure, Osborn was forced to resign.

Following his resignation, Osborn persisted in seeking a cure for Harry's illness, collaborating with Curt Connors to do so. When Harry was temporarily healthy thanks to Venom, Osborn funded Harry's Emily-May Foundation startup.

## History

### Early history

Norman Osborn was born around 1960 in Hartford, Connecticut, within one of the most powerful and oldest families in the country. At the age of 16, he lost both his parents, scientists Amberson and Martha Osborn, to a car accident, leaving him an orphan.

As an adult, Norman became friends with Otto Octavius after being assigned as lab partners in college. Known as "the O's" in grad school, the two went onto found Oscorp, hoping to change the world. Oscorp then became the world's biggest tech company, which over time became involved in New York City's power, communication, and public safety, becoming an essential business. In the 1980s, Norman met and married an environmental attorney named Emily Lyman,[*citation needed*] who went onto lead an Oscorp project for research stations that benefited the public.

Emily was diagnosed with Oshtoran Syndrome in 1984, though she and Norman gave both to a son, Harry, around the mid-90s. The family were close growing up and Norman got to know Harry's best friend, Peter Parker. Because of Emily's diagnosis, Osborn became more and more obsessed with genetics. He eventually began development of GR-27, an experimental genetic therapy that could cure any disease, in the hope of saving Emily. It eventually became clear that Harry had inherited the disease.

To keep the facility for GR-27's research secret, Osborn approached Wilson Fisk, who agreed to build it but later learned about its nature, keeping a file of his discoveries and invoices from Osborn's personal account to Fisk Construction presumably as blackmail material. Osborn and Octavius both worked together on GR-27, including experimenting on Martin Li; on November 17, 1986, the third of these trials killed Li's parents and gave Li a dangerous condition. Octavius found the GR-27 project unethical; though lawyers were involved, Octavius left in exchange for a settlement.

At some point, having earned Norman Osborn was elected as Mayor of New York City. Mayor Osborn's tenure saw an improved economy and safer city. For public safety, Oscorp's own surveillance technology was installed around the city, and Spider-Man's crime stopping contributed to the city's safety. However, corruption ran deep, as many officers were on Wilson Fisk's payroll. J. Jonah Jameson published coverage of Osborn in the *Daily Bugle*, which Osborn later described as "tough, but fair". Osborn publicly claimed that he was stepping back from running Oscorp while he was mayor, a claim that was later brought into question. As mayor, Osborn also excused some of the safety violations that Octavius Industries made that could have threatened the city's funding for Octavius' prosthetics research.

Emily eventually passed away from her illness before Norman could finish GR-27, and his failure to save her motivated him more strongly to use GR-27 to save Harry. Harry's condition deteriorated as he entered adulthood. Norman and Curt Connors discovered the existence of Venom after a meteorite containing the symbiote crash landed at the forest park on the same night Connors sacrificed his right arm before the alien turned him into a host body.[*citation needed*] On July 18, 2017, Norman had Harry placed into a coma with a Venom "suit" in order to buy time for Devil's Breath, and kept his son and the symbiote in a medical tank. To explain Harry's absence to the world, Norman claimed that Harry had instead gone to Europe to handle Oscorp's international holdings.

### *Marvel's Spider-Man*

Norman Osborn campaigned for reelection, but saw very high poll numbers and job satisfaction, to the point where the *Daily Bugle* questioned if there was a race at all. In "Day to Remember", while Peter Parker and Otto Octavius tested a prosthetic arm for a veteran, Norman interrupted. He informed Octavius he would no longer excuse Octavius' safety violations and pulled funding, urged the veteran to instead seek treatment at Oscorp Robotics, and unsuccessfully tried to convince Octavius to return to Oscorp, infuriating him.

For his election campaign, Norman attempted to capitalize on the heroism of police officer Jefferson Davis by awarding him at his campaign rally at City Hall, a move seen as politically cynical. In "And the Award Goes to...", part through the rally, Norman received a threatening phone call which he responded to defiantly, before Martin Li and the Inner Demons bombed the rally. The bombing killed 27 (including Davis) and injuring 58. Norman was unharmed, having fled the scene just before the attack started, but faked hospitalization. He was present at Davis's funeral a week later.

Norman hired Sable International thereafter, paid for by Osborn himself, ostensibly to bolster New York's police (understaffed as a number of officers being caught working for Fisk), but also serving as his pet army. Osborn announced this on J. Jonah Jameson's podcast *Just the Facts*. Meanwhile, the Inner Demons planned further attacks on Osborn's political campaign offices, and later attacked individuals at Oscorp associated with GR-27 (dubbed "Devil's Breath"), including CFO Charles Standish and Dr. Morgan Michaels. As a result, Osborn had Sable International protect said individuals and secure GR-27, not trusting anyone else to do so.

Osborn's poll numbers plunged at first due to Sable's brutality and inability to stop the Demons, but rose sharply again after Martin Li was arrested, Osborn celebrating on TV and bragging about his ability to keep promises. Not long after, Otto Octavius formed the Sinister Six, broke out inmates at the Raft and Ryker's Island, and unleashed Devil's Breath as a plague. Osborn blamed both incidents on Spider-Man, declaring him a fugitive and making him an enemy of Sable, while working with the NDC on an antiserum.

Osborn enacted martial law, as Sable International quarantined Manhattan to contain sickness. leading to scorn from the media with the *Daily Bugle* dubbing him ineffective. Sable International violated civil liberties, locking them up without due process and performing asset seizures, until Spider-Man shut them down and Yuriko Watanabe convinced Osborn that Sable's actions would hurt his polling further. Around this time, J. Jonah Jameson turned also, describing Sable as an "occupying army", and questioning if Osborn really had distanced himself from Oscorp.

In "Step Into My Parlor...", while Osborn was working on a cure and guarded by Silver Sable, Mary Jane Watson infiltrated his penthouse and found the secret facility where GR-27, and the antiserum, were developed. Martin Li also found it and captured Osborn and Dr. Morgan Michaels there. In "The Heart of the Matter", Osborn pleaded with Martin Li and tried to apologize for the accident as Li hurt him, until Spider-Man defeated Li. Otto Octavius then kidnapped Osbornand took antiserum. In "Pax in Bello", Octavius filmed himself demanding truth from Osborn about his corruption and role in Devil's Breath, but Osborn defiantly used the moment to call Otto a failure who depended on him for success. Otto dropped Octavius to his potential death before Spider-Man rescued him and defeated Otto, then securing the antiserum for the city. Norman Osborn resigned as mayor in disgrace, and promised Harry he would continue looking for a cure.

### *Miles Morales*

After the events of *Miles Morales*, Osborn appears with Curt Connors in his lab. He demands Curt Connors remove Harry Osborn from the container.

### *Marvel's Spider-Man 2*

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Norman privately recalls the day he placed Harry inside the container containing the alien symbiote he and Dr. Curt Connors harvested from the meteorite in the hopes it could heal his son. In the present day, Norman meets with Harry and agrees to fund and create his son's Emily-May Foundation, to honor the deceased Emily's wishes to "heal the world". He ensures trees are planted in Emily's memory and has one similarly planted for Peter's Aunt May.

After the foundation is fully completed, Norman hires Dr. Connors to work for the foundation. Harry remarks his hiring of Connors reveals his belief in giving even wrongdoers a second chance. While visiting the building, Norman sees Harry arriving with Peter, whom Harry intends to invite to help run the foundation as a co-founder. Upon seeing him, Norman remarks how great it would be for Peter to accept Harry's offer, remarking he misses the pair's friendship they shared in high-school. He later celebrates when Harry announces that Peter accepted the offer.

A few days later, when the foundation is attacked by Kraven's hunters, Norman flies in on his helicopter. He lands and has his security team enter the burning building to salvage what they can. He finds Harry, who laments about the foundation. Norman declares he doesn't care about it right now, only that Harry is okay. The following day, Norman learns that Harry lost the symbiote and as such his illness has returned and is quickly deteriorating him physically. Distraught, Norman works tirelessly to find an alternative cure. After several days, he makes a breakthrough with a G-serum solution, but struggles to stabilize it. Peter enters after hearing Norman screaming in a fit of rage. Tired, Norman confides in Peter about his struggles and hugs him, remarking he is happy that Peter is back in Harry's life. Unknown to him, Harry witnesses their discussion outside the room.

The following night, Norman arrives to the lab to discover Harry has reclaimed the symbiote from Spider-Man, but it corrupts him and turns him into a ravenous monster-life creature, calling itself Venom. Norman runs between the pair, screaming at Spider-Man not to harm Harry. However, Harry attacks anyway, knocking out Spider-Man and attacking Norman's guards. Norman flees as Harry rampages through the building and out into the city.

After the two Spider-Men defeat Harry, Norman arrives at the remains of the Emily-May foundation building. Seeing Harry is now comatose after the fight with the Spider-Men, he blames the pair, accusing them of causing Harry to be left in his current state. Later that day, by Harry's bed side with Peter and Mary Jane, Norman has an emotional outburst, using Harry's cane to smash up the room in a fit of rage. His outburst frightens Peter and MJ into leaving the room. Norman then pulls out his phone and calls his scientists, ordering them to begin processing the G-serum even though it is still not stabilized.

Sometime later, Norman goes to the RAFT to visit Dr. Otto Octavius. He asks the man to tell him who the Spider-Men are, knowing he knows the older one per his fight from the year prior with the super-hero. Octavius turns to Norman and refuses to say. Norman then notice what Otto is reading, as the latter reply the book he read is "the final chapter".

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Artist illustration
Norman is an older man with graying red-brown hair. He appears to have a fairly athletic physique. Norman is typically dressed in a suit with a green, pinstripe jacket, orange vest, and black pants with black shoes. During Officer Jefferson Davis' funeral, he wears an all-black suit with a knee length coat.

### Personality

Norman Osborn is charming and crafty at political manuevers, but also ruthless, arrogant, and dishonest. His political gamesmanship earned him influence to become mayor of New York, and he had aspirations set on even higher offices. However, his politically cynical moves were often obvious. Though he was respected by most of the public, Norman was also known as a liar, still heavily involved in his own business despite holding political office and making corrupt deals. Osborn had visions of changing the world, presumably driving his work at Oscorp and his political career.

Beyond his political aspirations, Norman is first and foremost driven by a love of his family. The GR-27 project was an attempt to cure his wife and son from their terminal conditions. Doing so led him to make deals with crime boss Wilson Fisk, conduct extremely dangerous experiments that had Martin Li's parents killed and corrupted Li for life, and ignore risks of a potential plague. Though this demonstrates lack of morality, it also demonstrates how far he was willing to take his desire to save his loved ones from death, and that he risked his political aspirations for their sake.

Osborn puts on a charming display for the public otherwise, with light hearted friendly jokes and a warm demeanor, as seen around Peter Parker and his campaign rally. Osborn was at one point close to Octavius, and even after he left protected his business from being shut down until later doing so hoping to force Octavius back to Oscorp; Osborn later looked down on Octavius and called him a failure who accomplished nothing without him. Osborn is also cutthroat in his professional relationships, showing short temper toward Sable and Wilson Fisk when they failed him.

### Abilities

Norman Osborn's immense wealth and political gamesmanship prove to be his greatest strength, granting him enormous influence. At the height of his popularity, Norman was unstoppable and his reelection considered inevitable. His wealth allowed him to control a private army in the form of Sable International, which were initially welcomed by the city. Norman's charisma and wealth inherited from his parents may have helped him propel Oscorp to become the world's biggest tech company. With Oscorp's role in the city's power, communication, and public safety, Norman made the company essential to the city.

Norman is also a skilled scientist, whose work with lab partner Otto Octavius helped him find success at Oscorp. Projects at Oscorp have lofty but revolutionary goals, including a battery recharging on soundwaves, and GR-27 as a cure for almost any disease. Outside of GR-27, it is unclear how many Norman was personally involved with.

## Original appearance

For more background of Norman Osborn throughout comic book history, see **all appearances of Norman Osborn** and the **original appearance of Norman Osborn** on the **Marvel Database**
Norman Osborn is most notable for his alias as the supervillain Green Goblin. The character made his first appearance in *Amazing Spider-Man* #14 (July 1964). His son Harry has also followed in his footsteps and become the second Green Goblin.

## Notes

### Annotations

1. ↑ Norman was 58 in *Marvel's Spider-Man*, which took place in 2018, giving him a birth year of roughly19601995.
2. ↑ Harry Osborn went to school with Peter Parker, who was 23 at the time of *Marvel's Spider-Man* in 2018, meaning Harry was likely born around 1995.
3. ↑ In real life, the mayor of New York City is elected every four years, with a maximum of two consecutive terms per mayor. Assuming this functions the same, Norman would have been elected mayor in 2014 and took office in 2015.
4. ↑ Love of his family and a desire for higher office appeared to be Norman's main motivator, as he at times showed little interest in the people of New York beyond how doing so could benefit him. Norman was willing to allow Harry and Emily's research stations that benefited public health and environment to be shut down until Peter showed their worth, at which point he fully funded them. Similarly, Sable International violated several civil liberties and constitutional rights, presumably under Osborn's orders or indifference, until Osborn was convinced it would hurt his polling numbers.

### Citations

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 *Marvel's Spider-Man* menu § "Norman Osborn"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Hidden Agenda"
3. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Hidden Agenda"
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Step Into My Parlor..."
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "A Fresh Start"
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Picking up the Trail"
7. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Harry's Passion Project"
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Research Stations"
9. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* menu § "Peter Parker / Spider-Man"
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Day to Remember"
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Spider-Hack"
12. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Don't Touch the Art"
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Keep Osborn Honest"
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Keeping the Peace"
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man* menu § "Silver Sablinova / Silver Sable"
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Very Special Guest"
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Stepping Back?"
18. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man*, Kingpin Knocked Down
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man*, What Campaign?
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Couch Surfing"
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "And the Award Goes to..."
22. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man*, Cowards
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Dual Purpose"
24. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Up the Water Spout..."
25. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Uninvited"
26. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man*, Security vs. Freedom
27. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man*, Urban Warfare
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "He's a Shoe in!"
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Breakthrough"
30. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Out of the Frying Pan..."
31. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man*, Quarantine
32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Sable Outposts"
33. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Occupiers"
34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "The Heart of the Matter"
35. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Pax in Bello"
36. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Mulligan?"
37. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Post-Credit"
38. ↑ *Miles Morales* script § "Post-Credit"
39. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "What Can We Do?"
40. ↑ *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "The One That Got Away"

## References

* Insomniac Games (2018). *Marvel's Spider-Man* [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 4.
* Insomniac Games (2020). *Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales* [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 5.
* Insomniac Games (2023). *Marvel's Spider-Man 2* [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 5.