The Osborn Journal

Then[1]

Norman Osborn thinks back to the day of his greatest victory when he murdered Spider-Man's beloved Gwen Stacy. Delighting in the wall-crawler's grief and suffering his victory soon became ashes as his own Goblin Glider slammed into his chest, killing him instantly... or so he thought.[2] He remembers waking up in utter darkness. However, this was not the advertisement but the inside of a body bag. Freeing himself, Norman Osborn found himself on a slab in the New York City morgue. It was then he discovered that the Goblin Formula that gave him his powers endowed him with enhanced healing and he recovered from his brush with death.

Now:

It has been years since that day, and now Norman Osborn thinks about how far his plans have come in that time.[3] After feeding a spider to his pet chameleon, he sits down and begins writing in his journal to document the steps that will lead to his eventual victory: The utter destruction of Spider-Man.

Then

After waking up in the morgue, Norman discovered that an autopsy has not been performed on him yet. Looking out the window into the hall, he is surprised to see his son, Harry, paying off the coroner.[4] Wishing to remain dead, Norman sneaks outside and finds a homeless man and murders him, leaving that body in his place. A few days later, Norman watched his own funeral from afar, noting that Peter Parker was nowhere to be found to support Harry, his alleged friend. That's when it dawned on Norman: With everyone thinking he was dead, he could now launch a surprise attack on Peter Parker and destroy him once and for all. That evening, as he arrived at one of his warehouses, Norman was surprised to see his son Harry there. Watching from the shadows, Norman witnessed as Harry takes out a spare Goblin costume and begins learning how to use his equipment. Apparently, Harry covered up his father's secret life to protect his reputation and was now planning on taking up the mantle of the Green Goblin and getting revenge against Spider-Man. Norman was impressed to see his son taking charge of his life, after seeing the boy as a spineless wimp his entire life. As the boy now wants to take up his father's legacy, Norman decided to allow his son a chance to live up to Norman's expectations. Still, Norman believed that Harry could fail and decides to make some long term goals to go after the wall-crawler just in case.

With everyone thinking him to be dead, Norman Osborn then left the country in order to start a new criminal empire in Europe where he could move more freely. Upon his arrival in Europe, Norman set up an information network that could keep him appraised of what was happening back in New York City, and monitor the activities of his son and Spider-Man.[5] It was during this time that Norman learned of the Cabal of the Scrier, a centuries-old criminal organization that worshipped an immortal being of immense power. Their goal was to acquire unlimited wealth, power, and control. Drawn to this organization, Norman Osborn soon joined and then made move to take control of it. Not long after joining the Cabal, Norman murdered their leader and took control of the organization and began using its resources for his own ends. While he was doing so, Harry attempted to go after Spider-Man as the new Green Goblin, only to be defeated and institutionalized.[6] Learning this, Norman decided to renew his plans to utterly destroy Spider-Man.

Five Years Ago[7]

To this end, he sent one of his Scriers to make contact with scientist Miles Warren.[8] Miles Warren had an obsession with his student Gwen Stacy and after her death had been trying to create cloning technology to recreate her. The Scrier offered Warren the resources he needed to succeed in his task and get revenge on the person who Warren blamed for her death, Spider-Man. One of Miles Warren's assistants was a man named Seward Trainer, and Norman had another one of his Scriers keep a close eye on him.[9] Sure enough, this Scrier caught Trainer trying to steal all of Miles Warren's data on his cloning technology. Seward begs the Scrier not to tell Warren about this theft, telling him that Warren had murdered his last partner, Anthony Serba and gone insane, fashioning himself as a criminal called the Jackal.[10] In order to keep his secret, the Scrier has Seward Trainer promise to carry out the requests of the Cabal of the Scrier in the future.

A Scrier was present on the day that Miles Warren created his first clone of Peter Parker. This clone later developed a cellular degeneration and was abandoned. This first clone later went on to become the assassin-for-hire known as Kaine.[11] This instilled doubts in Warren who feared creating a clone of Gwen Stacy with the same condition. However, the Scrier's remained at his side, funding his research allowing him to create the first Gwen Stacy clone. It's then that they moved on to create another clone of Peter Parker.[12] With his mission complete, the Scrier told Warren that his work was done and that he would return one day. Warren, as the Jackal, later used both the Gwen Stacy and Spider-Clones to manipulate the real Spider-Man. This ultimately ended in a battle at a baseball stadium. This resulted in an explosion that seemingly killed Warren and the Spider-Clone.[13] However, the Mile Warren who sacrificed himself, in the end, was actually a clone. The real Jackal then emerged and determined which unconscious wall-crawler was the original and which one was the clone. Intending to switch the clone with the original, he injected one of the Spider-Man with a serum that would put him temporarily in a death-like state. The Jackal thought that this was the real Peter Parker, unaware that earlier the Scrier's put a hitch in the Jackal's plans. They had called in their marker on Seward Trainer and forced him to tamper with the Jackal's equipment so it would falsely identify the real Peter Parker as a clone, and his clone as the real Parker.[14]

Later, the real Spider-Man -- thinking his clone was dead -- tossed the body into a Brooklyn smokestack in order to destroy all evidence of its existence.[15] To further create confusion between Parker and his clone, the Jackal then recovered the body from the smokestack and left the corpse of a failed Spider-Clone in its place.[16] When the clone later revived and went on the road, taking on the identity of Ben Reilly, the Jackal thought that this was the real Peter Parker, making this an ideal revenge against his foe.[17] Although the Jackal figured he had the final jest, it was actually Norman Osborn who had power over the situation and continued to control things from the shadows.

Deciding to keep tabs on the Spider-Clone, Osborn had his Scrier contact Seward Trainer again and order him to keep track of the clone. Ultimately, Seward orchestrated events so that Ben Reilly would come to work with him and the two bonded as friends, with Seward eventually coming to care for Ben as though he were a son.[18]

The Years Go On...

It's about that time that Norman began hearing word the Green Goblin being active again in New York City. He had hoped that it was his son Harry, resuming the role, however, Spider-Man later exposed this Goblin as Doctor Bart Hamilton, Harry's psychologist.[19] It was a year after this that Norman Osborn learned that Mendell Stromm was still alive. Osborn recalls how Stromm was his business partner until Norman caught him embezzling money from their company, allowing him to seize total control. After a prison sentence Stromm tried to get revenge against Norman but suffered a heart attack.[20] Investigating the rumors of Stromm's survive, he discovered an instance where Spider-Man battled a robot duplicate of his old partner who guarded the tomb of his master.[21] Osborn then enlisted his Scriers to investigate the matter and discovered that Stromm had tested an early version of the Goblin formula on himself. Fearing that it may have allowed Mendel to cheat death as he had, Osborn then ordered his minions to search his tomb thoroughly. What they discovered that Stromm was still alive, although his body was withering away in a death-like state. Intrigued, Osborn then used cyborg technology to revive Mendel Stromm and succeeded.

Revived, Stromm quickly found himself indentured to Norman Osborn in the hopes that his former partner could develop a means of restoring his body to normal. As Gaunt, Stromm then used his technology to create a new layer of deception: Making it appear that the Cabal was one single individual of great power. With this new development, Norman Osborn contemplated returning, but events back home convinced him to remain in the shadows for a while longer...

Four Years Ago:

That's when news of the Hobgoblin's appearances in New York City came to the surface. Norman was furious to learn that someone had discovered an old cache of Goblin weaponry and fashioned it for their own use.[22] Worse, this impostor also found a way to duplicate the Goblin formula that gave Norman Osborn his powers and used it on himself.[23] Osborn was ready to deal with this impostor personally when he suddenly learned about the psychologist known as Judas Traveller who was studying the nature of good and evil who had recently gone into seclusion. Curious to learn why he sent one of his Scriers to investigate. They returned to report that Traveller suffered a nervous breakdown because of work obsessions.[24] Not only that, but the breakdown had triggered latent mutant powers in Traveller, allowing him to alter the perceptions of others around him. This Scrier was then sent to play into Traveller's delusions, convincing him that he was a centuries-old being of great power whose interests in good and evil were of a much grander scope. In order to better manipulate the work of Judas Traveller, Scrier then set up a team of operatives that would later become Judas Traveller's Host.

Time Marches On...

Resuming his observations of Parker, Norman Osborn was angry to learn that he had recently gotten married to Mary Jane Watson.[25] This is because the Watson woman used to date his son Harry, and Osborn holds a grudge believing that Mary Jane abandoned his son after his drug addiction and the death of his father.[26] By this time, Harry has undergone treatment for his mental health and married Liz Allan.[27]

Although he was very tempted, Norman Osborn decided against interrupting the Parker wedding, deciding that it would be richer to put the couple through prolonged suffering instead. However, Osborn soon learned that he didn't have to do anything at all as his son Harry suffered another breakdown and became the Green Goblin again, regularly causing misery for the Parkers.[28] Eventually, Harry exposed himself to a new version of the Goblin Formula and it was the apparent cause of his death shortly thereafter during his final battle with Spider-Man.[29] As it was the formula that killed Harry, there was no way of reviving him.[30] Even though he was thoroughly disappointed in Harry, Norman still blamed Spider-Man for his death and vowed to get revenge and began pulling together his master scheme that he had been cultivating for years.

Earlier This Year...

The time was ripe for Norman Osborn, as Peter Parker's beloved Aunt May fell ill after suffering a stroke.[31] Also around this time, Mary Jane revealed that she was pregnant with Peter's child.[32] It was also at this time that Parker's clone returned, drawn back to New York City after hearing of May Parker's frail health.[33] Norman was pleased by this as he didn't have to come up with a scheme to bring the clone back. Not long after this, May Parker died and Osborn's only regret was that he wasn't the cause.[34] Still, by this time the clone had reappeared in Peter Parker's life, turning it upside down.[35] Eventually, the Spider-Clone took on the identity of the Scarlet Spider and became a crime fighter as well.[36] His plans became complicated when the Jackal resurfaced alive and well and began enacting his own revenge scheme, forcing Norman to take a more active role in affairs.[37]

Norman secretly returned to New York intending to sew doubt between Peter Parker and Ben Reilly in order to make them less confident. This was partially facilitated by the Jackal's belief that Peter Parker was a clone and Ben Reilly was the real Spider-Man.[38] In order to take control of the situation, Osborn sent Gaunt to blackmail Seward Trainer into assisting them by threatening to reveal his past associations with the Jackal. With no other choice, Trainer agreed to doctor any lab tests conducted by Peter Parker and Ben Reilly so that Peter Parker would be identified as a clone and Ben Reilly as the original. Also around this time, a computer program created by Harry became active and attempted to expose his son, Normie Osborn, to the Goblin Formula. Since this was Harry's version of the formula, it would have eventually killed Normie. Ironically the boy was saved from this fate by Spider-Man.[39] However, someone else continued the Goblin legacy, taking equipment created by Harry Osborn to become the new Green Goblin, and used the identity to become a hero.[40] In an attempt to learn what this Goblin knew about the Osborns, Norman had Gaunt hire the assassin known as Arcade to try and eliminate the hero.[41] Although they failed to kill the novice hero, Gaunt deemed him no threat to Norman's goals. However, Osborn still intents to kill the usurper in order to make a point.[42]

Refocusing on Peter Parker, Norman learned that Seward followed their orders, convincing Peter Parker that he was the clone and Ben Reilly was the original Spider-Man. As expected, this caused Peter to completely lose it, convincing Osborn that he would hit rock bottom soon.[43] However, by this point, the Jackal was launching his own insane scheme. He was plotting to wipe out all human life on Earth and replacing them with clones. As this worked counter to Osborn's plans, he mobilized his Scriers to prevent this from happening, ultimately leading to the Jackal's demise.[44] With the Jackal dead, Peter Parker came to accept his "condition" and even retired as Spider-Man so he could live happily ever after with his wife, much to Osborn's chagrin.[45] With Peter's blessing, Ben Reilly then took up the role of Spider-Man.[46] Still, Osborn was more determined than ever to ruin Parker's life and began altering his plans. Having secretly set up a Oscorp subsidiary called Multivex, he purchased the smokestack in Brooklyn and ordered it torn town immediately, leading to the discovery of the skeleton of the Spider-Clone that was planted there years ago.[47]

As expected, this draw Peter and Mary Jane back to New York as they attempted to learn the truth about this skeleton. However, their attempts to get Seward Trainer were blocked because Gaunt was pressuring Trainer into developing a cure for his condition. Since the Parkers and Reilly were getting too close to uncovering his connection to Multivex. This prompting Osborn to hire Cell-12 to beat Peter Parker into unconsciousness.[48] When Reilly went after the group as Spider-Man, he was almost killed by their leader the current Hobgoblin.[49] Although Osborn managed to deflect the Parkers investigation, it cost the destruction of Multivex.[50]

Most recently, Judas Traveller somehow discovered the connection between Gaunt and Multivex and became a threat to Norman's plans. Although the Host was hired to eliminate him, thanks to Spider-Man and Peter Parker, Traveller managed to escape. However, all Traveller was able to reveal was that there was a great danger coming to Spider-Man.[51]

Epilogue[52]

As Norman Osborn ends this entry in his diary, he is interrupted by Gaunt who informs Norman that Seward Trainer is ready to begin the process to restore Gaunt back to normal.[53] For a brief moment, Osborn considers killing Gaunt and Trainer and being done with them, but decides to focus on his final plans for Peter Parker. He thinks about every time he tried to tear down Peter Parker. He killed his girlfriend, but she fell in love with another. Stripped him of his humanity, but the hero happily gave up his costumed identity to start a new life. He tried to create a rift between Peter and Ben Reilly with the recently uncovered skeleton, but it only served to bring them closer together -- almost like brothers. Osborn's concludes that the only way to totally destroy Spider-Man is to take everything away from him. With Mary Jane about to give birth, the time is becoming ripe to strike.[54] Picking up his Goblin mask, Norman Osborn prepares for his triumphant return tomorrow which is Halloween, a night that is also appropriately known as the Goblin's Night.[55]

Recurring Characters

Norman Osborn, Green Goblin (Harry Osborn), Jackal, Brotherhood of the Scriers (Charles Bates, Samuel Fox, Gaunt), Seward Trainer, Judas Traveller, Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider, Mary Jane Watson, Kaine, Gwen Stacy clone, Joe Robertson, J. Jonah Jameson, Liz Osborn, The Host (Chakra, Boone, Mister Nacht, Medea)

Continuity Notes

1. Preface: Although this story claims to reveal everything that Norman Osborn had been up to behind the scenes following his "death" to his return, this is not a complete list of his schemes. There are two other schemes that are kept secret in this story. First, the fact that Norman Osborn had an affair with Gwen Stacy (revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #509-514), and keeping Harry's survival following his "death" a secret (as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #581). Yet another deception is that Norman switched Peter's Aunt May with an impostor (as detailed in Spider-Man #98). Amazing Spider-Man #251 provides a general explanation: Osborn created multiple journals and kept his secrets spread out so that they weren't all contained in a single source. In addition to this, Amazing Spider-Man #581 demonstrates Norman's willingness to support a commonly believed misconception in order to keep his schemes a secret.

2. The Green Goblin murdered Gwen Stacy in Amazing Spider-Man #121 and he seemingly perished in the following issue. Although Norman states that it was simply revenge, it was also to cover up the fact that Norman has previously had an affair with Gwen that produced twin children that Osborn was secreting away. This will not be revealed until Amazing Spider-Man #510-512.

3. This story states that Norman Osborn's "death" happened seven years prior to this story. This is at odds with the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, which suggests that it was roughly six years prior. This difference in time is a matter of interpretation. One could figure Osborn, who is mentally disturbed here, might be mistaken.

4. Norman refers to his son as "drug-addled" here. At the time of this flashback, Harry had just suffered from a drug overdose in Amazing Spider-Man #96-98. The reason why Harry is here is that he had discovered his father's double-identity in Amazing Spider-Man #123 and was attempting to cover up that Norman was secretly the Green Goblin.

5. On Norman's television screens are a number of specific events that happened to Spider-Man around the time shortly after the "death" of Norman Osborn.

   • Spider-Man battling the Vulture which happened in Amazing Spider-Man #127-128.

   • Another screen has the Jackal and the Punisher together. The Jackal tricked the Punisher into attacking Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #129.

   • The last monitor shows the wedding between Doctor Octopus and May Parker, which was stopped by Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #131.

6. Harry became the Green Goblin and was defeated by Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #136-137.

7. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616 this would measure the length of time between the stories around Amazing Spider-Man #149 and the 1996 publication year. This assessment of time should be considered accurate.

8. The identity of this Scrier is unspecified here. He is later identified as Samuel Fox in All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update #2.

9. Again, which Scrier is unspecified here, however All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update #2 identifies this Scrier as Charles Bates.

10. The murder of Anthony Serba was revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #149. It was one of the events that caused Miles Warren to become the Jackal.

11. Kaine's origins were first told, minus the involvement of the Scriers, in Spider-Man #61.

12. What happened after the birth of the Ben Reilly Spider-Clone was chronicled in the Double story arc.

13. The Jackal's first clone scheme ran from Amazing Spider-Man #142-149. The baseball stadium here is identified as Shea Stadium. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616 as Shea Stadium was torn down and replaced in 2008.

14. This would go on to explain why the Jackal would insist that Peter Parker was the clone and Ben Reilly was the real Peter Parker in the Players and Pawns story arc.

15. Spider-Man disposed of his clone's body in Amazing Spider-Man #151.

16. This body was the Spider-Skeleton that was later found in The Spectacular Spider-Man #231.

17. What happened to the clone after being recovered from the smokestack was covered in the Parker Legacy story arc.

18. Ben Reilly's early meetings with Seward Trainer were explored in the Exiled story arc.

19. Bart Hamilton's brief occupation of the Goblin role lasted from Amazing Spider-Man #176-180. As per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616 places it about four years prior to this story.

20. Mendel Stromm's embezzlement scheme was detailed in Amazing Spider-Man #40. His failed revenge scheme and apparent death happened in Amazing Spider-Man #37. Norman states that Stromm's revenge scheme happened nine years prior to this story. This is again at odds with the Timescale, being off by a year by its measurement.

21. Spider-Man battled the robot of Mendel Stromm in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #68.

22. Roderick Kingsley discovered the Green Goblin's hidden cache of weapons in Amazing Spider-Man #238 in order to become the Green Goblin.

23. Kingsley used the Goblin formula to enhance his abilities in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #85. The events depicted here was when the Hogbolin and Spider-Man fought at a meeting of wealthy New York businessmen in Amazing Spider-Man #249.

24. All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update #2 confirms this Scrier as Charles Bates.

25. Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here. Amazing Spider-Man #638-639 states that while they never got married, Peter and Mary Jane remained engaged. One could assume that in the new timeline Osborn is upset over their long-term engagement.

26. Peter and Mary Jane occasionally dated starting in Amazing Spider-Man #42. However, she gravitated toward Harry Osborn when things between Peter and Gwen Stacy became serious circa Amazing Spider-Man #59. Another reason Osborn disliked the Watson woman is that she confronted him about his treatment of Harry and about his secret affair with Gwen Stacy, as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #512.

27. Harry was under the care of mental health professionals from Amazing Spider-Man #136 to 151. He started seeing Liz Allan around that time and eventually, the pair eloped as revealed in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #63.

28. Harry first became the Goblin again in Amazing Spider-Man #312 to stop the Hobgoblin from threatening his family. Harry then tried to be a heroic Goblin until he was dissuaded by Spider-Man in Web of Spider-Man #67. Harry later suffered a nervous breakdown in The Spectacular Spider-Man #179-180.

29. Harry's exposure to the Goblin Formula happened in The Spectacular Spider-Man #188 and his apparent demise happened in The Spectacular Spider-Man #200.

30. This is a deception, like Harry before him, Norman kept Harry's survival a secret, replacing his body with a bio-duplicate created by Mysterio. Harry was later shipped overseas for rehabilitation. Norman only pretends that his son is dead in order to maintain the deception. This was all revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #581.

31. May Parker suffered a stroke in Amazing Spider-Man #391. Although Osborn doesn't hint at any involvement in the proceeding, Spider-Man #97 reveals that he swapped May (in secret during the events of Amazing Spider-Man #392) with an ailing actress made to look like May.

32. Mary Jane revealed she was pregnant in The Spectacular Spider-Man #220.

33. It was revealed in Web of Spider-Man #114 that Ben Reilly had been keeping tabs on May Parker.

34. Again, this was an impostor hired by Norman to pose as Aunt May. The impostor died in Amazing Spider-Man #400.

35. Spider-Man first learned that his clone was still alive in Web of Spider-Man #117.

36. Norman muses that the Scarlet Spider's name was a terrible choice, musing that all the good names must have already been taken. Ben Reilly was dubbed the Scarlet Spider by Daily Bugle reporter Ken Ellis in Spider-Man Unlimited #7. Although Reilly did not like the name, it stuck.

37. The Jackal resurfaced during the Smoke and Mirrors story arc.

38. The scene here, where the Jackal says neither Spider-Men are real and that they are both clones is from Spider-Man #56.

39. This occurred in Spider-Man: Legacy of Evil #1. Since the formula didn't actually kill Harry, it likely would not have harmed Normie. Osborn's assertions here are all part of his obfuscation regarding the "death" of Harry, as explained in Amazing Spider-Man #581.

40. Unknown to Norman at this time, this new Goblin was Phil Urich who became the Green Goblin in Green Goblin #1.

41.  Arcade's attempt on the Goblin's life happened in Green Goblin #10.

42. Norman Osborn never got the chance as, shortly after this, Phil's Goblin equipment was damaged beyond repair, forcing him to retire as seen in Green Goblin #12-13.

43. The "revelation" that Peter was a clone happened in The Spectacular Spider-Man #226.

44.  This is a brief rundown of the Maximum Cloneage story arc. All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update #4 clarifies, stating that Samuel Fox was the Scrier who confronted the Jackal and tried to convince him to stop his scheme. As a back-up plan, Charles Bates manipulated Spidercide into seeming killing the Jackal in Spider-Man: Maximum Clonage  Omega. This was later revealed to be yet another clone of Miles Warren in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 4) #22.

45. Peter decided to retire as Spider-Man in The Spectacular Spider-Man #299. He and Mary Jane then left New York for Portland in Spider-Man: The Final Adventure #1.

46. This is not entirely accurate, Ben attempted to continue his new career as the Scarlet Spider until his reputation was ruined in Web of Scarlet Spider #2. He then decided to take up the identity of Spider-Man in Sensational Spider-Man #0.

47. The discovery of this skeleton happened in The Spectacular Spider-Man #231.

48. These events all occurred in the Blood Brothers story arc.

49. This happened in Spider-Man #68-69 and The Spectacular Spider-Man #234. Osborn mentions that this is the second Hobgoblin in passing, briefly glossing over how he took the identity from the original. Convinced that Ned Leeds was the original Hobgoblin, Jason Macendale has Leeds murdered and usurped the Hobgoblin identity in Amazing Spider-Man #258. Although everyone thought Leeds was the Hobgoblin, he was brainwashed into the role by Roderick Kingsley as revealed in Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives #1-3.

50. The destruction of Multivex happened in Amazing Spider-Man #412.

51. The attempt on Judas Traveller's life met with failure in Amazing Spider-Man #417.

52. This epilogue happens during the Revelations story arc.

53. Gaunt undergoes this process in The Spectacular Spider-Man #240.

54. Thanks to Norman Osborn's machinations, Mary Jane goes into induced labor in Sensational Spider-Man #11. This will cause stillbirth in Amazing Spider-Man #418.

55. This will lead to the Green Goblin's return in Spider-Man #75.