Amazing Spider-Man #598
American Son Part 4
In an office in Avengers Tower, Harry Osborn thinks about how he betrayed Spider-Man to his father, getting the web-slinger shot in the process. Norman tells his son that he is proud of him for turning on the wall-crawler, admitting that he didn’t think his son had it in him to sign Spider-Man’s death warrant. Harry then admits to his father that he was in a secured area because he was looking to see if he was lying about having Lily Hollister in the building. Impressed, Osborn decides to reveal the real intention of bringing his son into his new operation, revealing the specs for the American Son armor that he wants Harry to wear as a member of his Avengers team. He then leaves his son to go over the details, assuring him that Spider-Man isn’t going to survive what he has in store for the web-spinner.
In another lab, Spider-Man is being tortured by Bullseye who is trying to get off the symmetric Venom costume that the wall-crawler was using to infiltrate the Dark Avengers. Although the process has been painful, Bullseye has not been successful in getting the costume off. As he explains this to Norman Osborn, Spider-Man thinks back to how he enlisted the aid of the Fantastic Four whose Mister Fantastic created the disguise out of Unstable Molecules and specially designed so the mask cannot be removed in any capacity.[1] While the could simply cut Spider-Man’s head off, Norman is more interested in knowing why the hero is so interested in his son. When Spider-Man makes a joke, Norman punches the web-slinger and offers Bullseye a bonus if he can get some answers before dinner time.
Elsewhere in the building, Norah Winters is using her position as a tour guide to charm one of the security guards. While the guard is busy hitting on her, he doesn’t notice that the reporter is swiping his security pass in the hopes of uncovering some of Norman Osborn’s dirty secrets for the Front Line.
By this point, Spider-Man has regained consciousness to discover that Bullseye has doffed his Hawkeye costume for his usual one so he can more comfortably get down to work. While Spider-Man tries to distract Bullseye with jokes, Norman Osborn is showing Harry the American Son armor that he has built in his lab. That’s when Harry brings up how part of this project involves injecting him with an enhanced version of the super-soldier serum. Harry expresses his misgivings, but Norman explains that this is all so his son can share his life with him. Harry goes along with all of this because he’s attempting to get access to Norman’s private lab so he can find the cure for Lily’s transformations into Menace.[2]
Later, Spider-Man wakes up after hours of torture at the hands of Bullseye just as Norman Osborn arrives. He altered his Iron Patriot gauntlet with some modifications designed by Tony Stark that makes his repulsors stabilize Unstable Molecules. This gives Spider-Man ten minutes before his mask falls apart, revealing his identity to Osborn. Norman tells Spider-Man that he might as well fess up and explain why he is so interested in his son Harry. To try and loosen Spider-Man’s tongue, Norman reveals that Harry sold him out for Lily Hollister, which he admits was what he used to lure Harry to his side. As he is explaining this, Harry is meeting with Lily and when the moment is right, he knocks out the security guard that has been assigned to watch them during their meeting. As Norah Winters watches from cover, Harry learns that Lily didn’t bring her glider and decides to inject her with the Goblin Formula cure that he swiped from his father’s lab. At the same time, Norman is telling Spider-Man that he intends to make Harry a national hero as American Son as long as it suits his plans, pointing out that he has come up with a means of turning Harry into a martyr, reminding Spider-Man that he does have more than one son to work with.[3] At the same time, Lily suddenly refuses to allow Harry to inject her with the cure for the Goblin formula. Transforming into her new Menace form — a more feminine form due to her pregnancy — Lily reveals that she was playing the wounded puppy in order to manipulate Harry. She explains that she no longer loves him and reveals that the baby is not his son, but his brother.[4]
It’s then, thanks to a hate-fueled adrenaline boost, that Spider-Man is able to break free from his bonds before Norman can completely disintegrate his mask. He uses his surface clinging abilities to rip off parts of Norman’s face but begins to feel tired after knocking out Bullseye. At the same time, Harry is fleeing from Menace, who is furious that Harry chose now to have a spine spoiling Norman’s plans. As he flees into Avengers Tower, Harry realizes he’s botched the whole situation and fear that he sacrificed Spider-Man in vain. That’s when he enters Norman’s lab and sees that his father has beaten Spider-Man into submission and is about to unmask him. In order to save Spider-Man’s life, Harry puts on the American Son armor and blasts his father, telling Norman that he finally got the superhero he wanted.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Norman Osborn, Bullseye, Menace, Harry Osborn, Norah Winters, Invisible Woman (flashback), Gabriel Stacy (unidentified)
Continuity Notes
This exposition is facilitated with a flashback that took place behind the scenes of Amazing Spider-Man #596. The Invisible Woman says that they designed the costume for Spider-Man out of thanks for him giving up two months of his life during their last adventure together. This is a reference to Amazing Spider-Man #590-591.
One of the test subjects in the room is labeled as “G. Stacy”. This is Gabriel Stacy, the bastard son of Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy last seen in Amazing Spider-Man #509-514. How Gabriel got into this situation and his subsequent fate is detailed in Amazing Spider-Man Presents: American Son #1-4.
There is some Osborn history that is dropped here these are:
Harry’s sobriety: Harry suffered a drug overdose in Amazing Spider-Man #96-98, since then he has struggled with drug addiction and has been completely sober since Amazing Spider-Man #545.
Osborn raises the question on if Harry is his only son as though Spider-Man doesn’t know about Gabriel Stacy. There’s a reason for this: In the past, Norman Osborn had known Spider-Man’s secret identity since Amazing Spider-Man #39. In fact, he was grooming Gabriel Stacy and his sister Sarah to attack Spider-Man both in an out of costume as we’ve seen in Amazing Spider-Man #509-514. However, since then, Norman Osborn’s memory of Spider-Man’s secret identity had been erased when Mephisto altered reality in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such, Osborn wouldn’t be aware of the fact that Spider-Man knows about Gabriel Stacy here.
The revelation that Lily’s baby is Norman Osborn’s son and not Harry’s proves to be a lie after a DNA proves that the baby is Harry’s in Amazing Spider-Man #646.
