A Patriot Act

Following the fall of Norman Osborn, his lab at Avengers Tower has been gutted and its equipment shipped off for storage.[1] As the latest truckload is about to be taken away, a man gets in and pays the driver off for its contents. Returning to his hideout in Crowne Heights, Brooklyn, this man opens the truck and welcomes home the item he sought, the American Son armor.[2]

The following morning at the Coffee Bean is just like every day since the downfall of Norman Osborn, with the press outside. They are interested in the gossip about Harry Osborn’s relationship with Lily Hollister who has gone into hiding after Osborn’s defeat and she is pregnant with a baby, which may be Harry’s or maybe his father’s.[3] Still, Harry is putting out a bold face to the public.

Later that day on 128th Street, an armed man is holding a bus full of passengers hostage. As the gunman makes his demands to the police, the American Son arrives and easily takes down the hostage-taker. The footage of the daring rescue is seen by Front Line reporter Norah Winters. She thinks that American Son is actually Harry Osborn, even though it doesn’t make much sense. However, her editor, Joe Robertson, tells her to look into it.[4]

When Norah arrives at the Coffee Bean, Harry tells her that he is not talking to the press, even if it is someone who is friends with Peter Parker. Norah insists that she has come just for coffee, a dubious claim since she went out of her way to come here instead of the other coffee shops closer to the newspaper she works for. As he makes her espresso, Norah gives him a once over she thinks Harry looks too sickly to be moonlighting as a super-hero. Once he is done brewing the drink, he tells Norah that it is free of charge and goes into the back room. There, Harry takes some pain killers and nods off.[5]

When Harry returns home it is late in the evening and his roommate Mary Jane is concerned about his well-being. Harry assures her that he’s just been tired recently and goes to bed. Mary Jane calls Peter Parker and expresses her concerns as she thinks he might have started using drugs again. Peter is reluctant to butt in, but agrees to talk to Harry in the morning. Seeing the frontpage story about American Son, Peter wonders what Harry is up to. In his room, Harry reminds himself that he helped people and takes two more pills, and goes to sleep thinking how tiring it is to be three places at once.

The following morning, Harry is moping the floor at the Coffee Bean when he is approached by FBI agent Owen who has questions to ask him about his father’s lab. Harry tells him that he has said everything he can about his father and his dealings. However, Agent Owen is interested because he is looking for leads on what happened to one of his colleagues, Frank Ryan. Ryan was transferred to Avengers Tower when it was controlled by Norman Osborn. When Ryan sneaked into the American Son lab he was never heard from again. More recently, American Son battled a mutated creature and killed it, and it turned out to be his former partner who had been experimented upon by Norman Osborn.[6] He is questioning Harry now because the American Son armor can only be operated by someone with Osborn DNA.

Harry gets defensive and says that if he is American Son, then he is a hero and saving lives. Owen then informs him that diamonds were stolen from the back of the truck where American Son fought his former partner, a theft that could only have been carried out by American Son. When Harry confirms that Agent Owen isn’t there to arrest him, he tells the FBI agent that he has nothing left to say and goes into the back room. Harry goes into the back alley where Spider-Man arrives to talk to him about American Son as well. When he asks Harry why he started wearing the armor again, Osborn tells Spider-Man to stay away and punches the web-slinger in the face. Harry is upset that everyone thinks that he is going to do something bad, just like his father. He then reminds Spider-Man that his father would never have become the Green Goblin if it wasn’t for Spider-Man and that every evil thing his father has done is all on the web-head. He then tells Spider-Man to leave him the fuck alone and goes back into the Coffee Bean.

When Harry returns to the cash register one of his new regulars has come in for his morning coffee. However, this time he asks Harry if he recognizes him. Harry doesn’t, and the man reveals that he knew Harry’s father. In fact, this man is Gabriel Stacy, Norman Osborn’s other son.[7] He has decided that the two of them finally meet and pulls out a gun and shoots Harry point-blank in the chest.

Recurring Characters

Harry Osborn, Gabriel Stacy, Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Iron Patriot (flashback)

Continuity Notes

1. Norman was made America’s top cop when he killed the Queen of a Skrull invasion of Earth in Secret Invasion #8. He was in charge of SHIELD (which he renamed HAMMER) and commanded his own team of Avengers. This all came crashing down after a failed coup of Asgard in Siege #1-4.

2. The American Son armor was developed by Norman Osborn to make his son Harry a super-hero. Harry flatly rejected this offer. See Amazing Spider-Man #595-599.

3. There is a lot of drama going on here, allow me to explain:

   • Harry Osborn had been dating Lily Hollister since Amazing Spider-Man #545.

   • Lily was exposed to a new strain of the Goblin Formula and became the criminal known as the Menace. She used these powers during a mayoral race in New York City in order to make people sympathetic for her father’s run for mayor. In the end, Spider-Man exposed Lily and she was taken into police custody. See Amazing Spider-Man #584-588.

   • It was later discovered in Amazing Spider-Man #595-599 that Lily was pregnant. Norman Osborn at this point had started his own romance with Lily and led Harry to believe that she was carrying Norman’s son.

   • However, we will learn that the baby is actually Harry’s when Lily gives birth to him. See Amazing Spider-Man #642-647.

4. Joe mentions how Norah found a story on the Rhino. He is referring to the events of Amazing Spider-Man #617 and 625 in which the Rhino was hunted by a would-be successor, ending in the death of Alexei’s newlywed wife and his return to villainy.

5. Harry has a long history of substance abuse dating back to Amazing Spider-Man #96-98.

6. American Son fought Frank Ryan’s mutated form in Age of Heroes #2.

7. Years ago Norman Osborn had an affair with Gwen Stacy that begat twin children, Gabriel and Sarah. For more information on the Stacy twins see Amazing Spider-Man #509-514.

Topical References

• Real-world businesses: Starbucks

• The painkiller that Harry is depicted as taking is identified as Oxycodone, which is better known under its commercial name OxyContin. It is a highly addictive opioid and, at the time of this story was published, OxyContin was the drug at the center of the opioid crisis. That said, this is a real-world pharmaceutical and its reference here should be considered topical.