The Osborn Legacy

Peter Parker sits at home starting at the gift passed along to his him via his Aunt May. It's a jack-in-the-box, and as he gazes at it grimly, his wife, Mary Jane returns home from a shooting of an episode of "Secret Hospital".[1] When she sits down with him, Peter doesn't say a word and starts cranking the arm on the jack-in-the-box. Suddenly, a replica of the Green Goblin pops out with a sign reading "Gotcha!" written on it. While downstairs, Liz Osborn breaks down while trying to process the departure of her husband. She is comforted by her step-brother, Mark Raxton, aka the Molten Man.[2] As Mark suggests that she get help, Liz's son Normie enters the room. She is horrified that he is holding on the Goblin's pumpkin bombs in his hands. She demands to know where the boy got it, but before he can answer the bomb sprays gas that knocks them out. As soon as everyone is down on the ground, the Green Goblin enters the apartment.

Back upstairs, Peter tells Mary Jane where the goblin-in-a-box came from. Thinking the whole thing over gives Mary Jane a headache and she goes into the bedroom to get an aspirin. As Peter crushes the "gift" from Harry, Mary Jane calls for him to come into the bedroom. There they find a life-sized Spider-Man doll on the bed. Suddenly, Peter's spider-sense goes off and he pushes Mary Jane to the ground. Suddenly, the doll explodes spraying the room with nothing but harmless paper. Peter realizes that Harry is just playing him. Mary Jane suddenly thinks about Liz and little Normie and the couple rush downstairs to check on their neighbors. They find the apartment deserted. Searching for clues, they find an envelope addressed to "Peter Parker Arachnid". Opening it, all that Peter finds a letter with a single word "Gotcha!" written on it. The Parkers are speechless, and Peter drops the piece of paper on the ground. Meanwhile, Liz, Mark, and little Normie wake up and finds themselves at the old Osborn mansion dining room. There, the Green Goblin proposes a toast to the endurance of the Osborn family. Seeing that Normie is frowning, the Goblin picks the boy up and begins dancing around with him. He assures Normie that he is back, and this brings joy to the young child. When he reaches out for Liz to join them she cringes away. When the Goblin tries to convince his wife that they can be a family again. Liz panics and tries to flee, but when she opens the massive dining room doors, she discovers that Harry had bricked it over. That's when Mark tries to convince Harry that he needs help, but the Goblin turns on him when it is suggested that he might be mad. He strikes the Molten Man with a pumpkin bomb and then strikes him aside. The Green Goblin warns Mark about trying to split up his family, threatening to kill him if he tries.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man is searching for the Green Goblin and his family. He thinks about all of the tragedy the legacy of the Green Goblin has caused not only his own life but those of Harry and their loved ones. He thinks about how the death of Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn, and how this may have pushed Harry over the edge the first time.[3] He thinks about how Harry put his life back together after, only for it to fall apart and become the Green Goblin once more.[4] Fearing for the safety of his family, Peter sent Mary Jane to stay with Aunt May. When she arrives, May wonders why Mary Jane has come so late at night. When he excuse of a "girls night out" falls through, May wonders if Mary Jane and Peter had a fight. Mary Jane rolls with it, and May buys the excuse. Going into the kitchen, Mary Jane notices a bouquet of flowers on display. When she asks where it came from, May tells her that it came from Peter's friend, Harry Osborn.

Back at the Osborn Manor, the Green Goblin convinces Normie that his Uncle Mark is okay, and insists that the family sit down to dinner. Liz and Mark comply, but Harry notices that his wife still looks upset. Thinking it is just his goblin mask, Harry takes it off. At the table, Harry explains that he spent the past few days since his last battle with Spider-Man confused and trying to think about how to keep his family together. He now knows how to maintain the both the Osborn and Goblin legacies, saying that his father's biggest mistake was to not pay enough attention to the family. By this point, Spider-Man has realized that Harry would have taken his family to his father's old estate.[5] Searching the property, he is almost shot by a massive goblin-in-the-box armed with a machine gun. When the wall-crawler begins calling out for Harry to show himself, a wall suddenly rises from the floor revealing the hidden dining room. Harry is furious that Spider-Man has invaded his home and demands to know why the web-slinger found them. Spider-Man decides to keep that his secret, but Harry quickly changes his tone and invites the hero to sit and eat with them.

Deciding to see how things play out, Spider-Man sits down and begins to eat. Harry begins accusing the wall-crawler of intentionally trying to ruin the Osborn family, and theorizes that it is because his own parents felt him so long ago.[6] As Harry goes on his delusional rant about family, Mark Raxton has heard enough and leaps at Harry. Spider-Man's warnings come too late, as the Harry blasts the Molten Man and begins beating on him for his "betrayal" of the family. Spider-Man tells Harry that it is enough and tells him that it ends this evening, that he is leaving with Harry's family with-or-without him. Furious, Harry puts back on his Goblin mask and attacks the hero, telling him that he does not need help. That's when Liz tells him that he should get help for the sake of her and their son, telling him that she doesn't want to happen to Normie what Harry's father did to him. The Goblin becomes upset, that his own wife would accuse him of being mad. When he asks Normie if he thinks his father is insane, Normie tells his father that he isn't crazy and that he loves him. This gladdens the Goblin who takes the child out of Liz's hands. He then proclaims that Liz is not one of them. Hearing this causes Liz to collapse to the floor in tears.

Spider-Man approaches the Green Goblin, telling him to stop before things go to far. His spider-sense begins buzzing, warning him of danger from behind as Harry's goblin-glider rises up behind him. Harry accuses him by letting Gwen and his father die. As the goblin-glider speeds toward him, Spider-Man briefly remembers how a similar situation happened the day that Harry's father allegedly died. Spider-Man stands his ground and is struck in the back. However, since this glider doesn't have a spear on the end, the wall-crawler is only stunned. The Green Goblin lets Normie down, telling him to go to his mother, and gets onto his goblin-glider. The Green Goblin begins laying into the wall-crawler, intending to kill Spider-Man to restore the honor of the Goblin legacy, finally proving that he is worthy of the title of the Green Goblin. Spider-Man recovers from this barrage, and fights back, telling Harry that he is not the Goblin, but just as sick man. The Goblin gets him into a headlock and begins choking. He mocks Spider-Man for being too afraid to act because the Green Goblin knows who he really is, but can't bring himself to harm anyone he cares about. With his last ounce of strength, Spider-Man breaks free, telling Harry that he refuses to allow himself to be afraid anymore. With one final blow, the Green Goblin is knocked out. Spider-Man concludes by telling Harry to tel the whole world that he knows all about Spider-Man, he is no longer scared, as he has faced so much worse.

In the aftermath of the battle, Spider-Man has webbed up the Green Goblin and convinces Liz to call the police so Harry can get the help he needs. Spider-Man then checks on Mark and Normie. Although Mark is okay, young Norman can only look at Spider-Man with a look of utter hatred. Soon the police have come to take the Green Goblin away. Shackled in a high-tech straightjacket, Harry tells all gathered that he has a few things he wants to say. Although the officers don't care, Spider-Man tells them to let the Goblin say his piece. The Green Goblen tells everyone gathered that he knows who Spider-Man really is, but he won't reveal his true identity just yet. He then begins laughing like a lunatic.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, Molten Man, Liz Osborn, Normie Osborn, Green Goblin

Continuity Notes

1. Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by the demon Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.

2. Liz witnessed her husband as the Green Goblin in The Spectacular Spider-Man #184.

3. Norman Osborn killed Gwen Stacy in Amazing Spider-Man #121. As far as everyone knows, Norman was killed in the following issue. However, Norman survived as seen in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1, he will resurface again in Amazing Spider-Man #412.

4. Seeing his father seemingly killed pushed Harry over the edge, and he slowly learned that Peter Parker was Spider-Man and became the Green Goblin. This occurred between Amazing Spider-Man #123-137. He later got psychiatric help, but eventually got back into the Goblin identity again in Web of Spider-Man #47. Harry eventually remembered that Peter was Spider-Man in Web of Spider-Man #67. This ultimately led to Harry becoming unhinged again, becoming the Green Goblin in The Spectacular Spider-Man #179-184.

5. Peter remembers how Harry once tried to move their family back to the old Osborn home. That happened in The Spectacular Spider-Man #146. The Osborns moved out after the events of Amazing Spider-Man #312.

6. Peter's parents died while on a mission for the CIA as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5.

The Night the World Died

May Parker has had the same dream for years, reliving the moment that her beloved husband Ben was shot by a burglar who had broken into their house.[1] The dream always ends the same, she wakes up just as Ben's killer pulls the trigger. May knows that she won't be able to fall asleep again, May Parker notes that it is 4 am and climbs out of bed. As she goes downstairs, she makes herself a cup of tea to try and calm her nerves. Unfortunately, she continues to think about that tragic night. Remembering how Ben reaches up and touched her face as he bled out and died on the floor and how his hand dropped with a sickening thud. Remembering this, upsets May enough that she drops her cup on the floor, and it shatters. As she walks through the house, she thinks about how she had heard that Ben's killer had been cornered in the old Acme Warehouse in the hopes of confronting the monster who destroyed her world. As she reaches for a photo of Ben and her nephew Peter, she recalls that it was the first time she ever saw the masked vigilante calling himself Spider-Man.[2]

She remembers seeing Spider-Man's eyes and thinking that the eyes of death itself and that it was promising more death to follow and that it will be back. Since then she remembers all the other losses she endured over the years, and always Spider-Man was there.[3] Her mind then turns to how Spider-Man was involved when her nephew Peter was kidnapped by the Vulture recently. She recalls kissing Spider-Man for bringing Peter home safe and wonders why she did that. Finding herself able to go to bed. Part of her mind realizes that Spider-Man wasn't a monster signaling the end like she thought all those years ago, but the first step on the long road back.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Aunt May, Uncle Ben (flashback), Burglar (flashback)

Continuity Notes

1. Ben Parker was murdered by a burglar in Amazing Fantasy #15.

2. Among the photos on Aunt May's table is a photo of May with Peter and Mary Jane on their wedding day. Peter and Mary Jane were married in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21. However, after Mephisto altered reality in Amazing Spider-Man #545, one could assume that the wedding photo was replaced with a different picture of the trio.

3. The deaths mentioned are those of Gwen Stacy (Amazing Spider-Man #121), Nathan Lubenski (Amazing Spider-Man #336).