Norman Osborn in the MC2

With Spider-Man: No Way Home on everyone’s mind, I figured now is a great time to cover some of the MC2 counterparts of the villains confirmed to appear in the film. For what I believe is the last entry in this series, we are taking a look at Norman Osborn aka The Green Goblin in the MC2. This is gonna be a big one.

 

Norman Osborn first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #14 and made his MC2 debut in the pages of Spider-Girl’s own first appearance in What If #105 via a flashback to his final battle with Spider-Man. Despite being dead, Norman’s legacy of evil looms large over much of the MC2, extending from his family, his Goblin Cult through to his posthumous machinations.

 

Let’s start with some of the stuff I’ve covered before. Alison Mongrain is hired by Norman Osborn to carry out part of his plan to kidnap the newborn child of Peter and Mary Jane. Disguised as a member of the hospital staff, Alison swapped out baby May with a recent stillborn baby, leaving Mary Jane to believe her baby had died at birth. Shortly afterwards, Alison met with Norman Osborn who paid Alison a ‘sizeable bonus’ to take an ‘expensive vacation’ through Europe with the newborn May (Spider-Girl #48, Amazing Spider-Girl #25).

 

Immediately afterwards chronologically is a flashback to the conclusion of the Clone Saga, specifically Peter Parker: Spider-Man #75 where we see Ben Reilly impaled by Norman’s Goblin Glider (Spider-Girl #44).

 

The Brotherhood of Scriers arrive to collect the infant May for Norman Osborn. Alison asks if she can accompany them as she has grown attached to the child, but the Scriers remind her not to question Mr. Osborn. The Scriers leave Mongrain with Norman’s compliments and her ‘final payment’ which turns out to be counterfeit bills and knockout gas. Kaine, being familiar with Osborn and the Scriers methods, rescued Mongrain just as the yacht exploded, hoping to learn what role she had played for Norman Osborn. Upon learning that Alison had kidnapped May and helped convince Peter and Mary Jane she was dead, Kaine leaves Mongrain floundering in the bay with no care whether she lived or died (Spider-Girl #49).

 

Meanwhile, terrible months have passed by for Peter and Mary Jane until Mary Jane receives a phone call from the man called Kaine. Having located Mongrain’s yacht, Kaine begins by telling Mary Jane ‘Your baby’s alive!’ and then goes on to provide a longer explanation, but insists that Mary Jane not tell Peter until the child is safe in her arms. Mary Jane hated keeping secrets from Peter but did not wish for Peter to endanger their baby’s life by confronting Norman Osborn (Spider-Girl #48).

 

Next up we have a flashback to the events of ‘Goblin at the Gate’ story published in Spectacular Spider-Man #259-#261, wherein Norman came into conflict with Roderick Kingsley aka The Hobgoblin. This actually provides some nice context clues regarding what parts of the late-90’s Spider-Man comics we can confirm as having occurred in the History of the MC2, but my placement of this event is by no means definitive.

 

Shortly after this, we get a glimpse of a Scrier handing over baby May to Norman Osborn. Norman cloned the baby and ‘genetically tinkered’ with both to ensure they would eventually manifest spider-powers. Later, Norman placed one of the babies (May) into the care of his good friend Philippe DeJunae. Retaining the other baby (later known as April) himself, Norman ‘added a few more enhancements’ including using cells from Venom aka Eddie Brock’s alien symbiote which transformed the other infant into a unique hybrid. Also around this time, Norman also distilled all his thoughts, dreams and desires, his entire essence into his ‘brain-enhancer’ as part of his unfinished plan to make Peter his successor (Amazing Spider-Girl #29).

 

 Kaine’s months-long mission across the globe brings him into conflict with the Brotherhood of Scriers. After defeating the group of Scriers, Kaine makes short work of their leader before taking possession of baby May from Monsieur Philippe DeJunae. Unbeknownst to Kaine, Norman had orchestrated the encounter to ensure Kaine would return May to her parents and allow him to continue his Project: Changeling experiments with the second baby, which Osborn intended to put into effect within a year or two if his scheme proceeded as planned (Amazing Spider-Girl #25).

 

Kaine returns May to Mary Jane and assures her there are tests she can perform to confirm she’s not being tricked. Kaine states he is doing this as part of the debt he owes to Ben Reilly, indicating his intention to punish the man responsible: Norman Osborn. Kaine’s revenge ultimately does not come to pass (Spider-Girl #48-#49).

 

Norman seemingly splits his time between New York and Europe throughout all this, at least initially, as evidenced by his work on Project: Changeling in the Swiss Alps and his conflict with the Hobgoblin in New York, to name a few examples. Additionally, after their baby daughter May is returned, Peter and Mary Jane make no mention of Norman and his machinations in the Mr. and Mrs. Spider-Man stories (Amazing Spider-Man #1-#4). This may indicate that Osborn had left New York by this point, giving the Parkers a time of relative peace while he put his plans into action. This in turn perhaps better explains Norman’s movements: He was in New York until he had arranged for Kaine to retrieve May and moved to Europe while focused on Project: Changeling.

It’s unclear exactly how much time passes but at some point, Osborn returns to New York and recruits Mattie Franklin, Greg Herd, Cassandra Webb (aka Madame Web) and Morris Maxwell as willingly participants in the Gathering of Five ritual. As Spider-Man, Peter interrupts Norman Osborn’s Gathering of Five ritual and the pair have their final battle in which Peter loses his leg and Norman loses his life when the latter detonates a webbed pumpkin bomb in his hand. Deciding he has more important responsibilities as a father, Peter retires as Spider-Man (What If #105, Spider-Girl #7, Spider-Girl #49).

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While this would usually be the end for anyone else, Norman’s brain-waves survived within his ‘brain-enhancer’ device until Rene DeSantos dispatched Fury, the Goblin Queen to capture Peter Parker. Norman Osborn’s brain-waves were transferred into Peter’s body and the original Green Goblin was reborn once more. Norman revealed his ultimate goal when he used the hybrid symbiote-clone of May to combine with himself, becoming the ‘Goblin God’. Unfortunately for him, Spider-Girl also joined in this merging and in a combined effort, managed to defeat and drive Osborn from Peter’s body, seemingly ending his legacy for good (Amazing Spider-Girl #27-#30).

 

While this post only details the direct appearances of Norman Osborn in the MC2, there is still much left to discuss regarding his influence upon others. But that can wait for another day and another post. For now, let us leave Norman to his fate. If you feel I’ve forgotten anything or perhaps disagree with my placement of events, please reach out and let me know!

Until I find time to get to the cinema to see the Green Goblin’s theatrical return, I remain

frogoat

Electro in the MC2

 

With Spider-Man: No Way Home on everyone’s mind, I figured now is a great time to cover some of the MC2 counterparts of the villains confirmed to appear in the film. For the third entry in this little series, we are taking a look at Maxwell ‘Max’ Dillon aka Electro in the MC2.

 

Maxwell ‘Max’ Dillon first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #9 but makes his MC2 debut in the pages of Spider-Girl #81 where he once again dons his classic Electro costume for an expected reason. For those who might be interested, I’ve previously detailed the Dillon Family Tree, which can be found here.

 

But first, an unnamed female villain clad in an Electro-inspired costume makes an appearance in Spider-Girl #51. The aforementioned Electro-styled villainess who briefly appears goes unnamed, though Spider-Girl does point out the apparent connections to Electro and jokingly refers to her opponent as 'Electra', quipping that it's already taken.

 

We wouldn't learn anymore about this character until she was re-visited in Spider-Girl #81 in what has to be one of the best stand-alone issues of the series. Showing up at the Avengers front door and asking to speak to Spider-Man, Dillon eventually meets with the original webhead face to face and explains the situation.

 

We learn that years ago Max fell in love with a woman named Marilyn, though the two never married. They had a daughter together named Allison Dillon who was born with similar electrical powers. Sadly, Max and Allison were never able to make physical contact due to their 'electrical auras' causing one another extreme pain. Marilyn told Max to stay out of Allison's life and he obliged, later winding up in prison. While there, Marilyn died, leaving Allison to be shuffled between foster homes, eventually donning a costume and starting a life of crime like her father before her. Which is why, having only recently learning of Allison's situation, and apparently having served his time, Max reaches out to the Avengers to obtain help from his old enemy Spider-Man.

 With the assistance of the Avengers, Spider-Man and Spider-Girl, father and daughter are reunited after Max shows Allison he wouldn’t give up on her nor himself. The pair fight through the pain of their electrical auras, finally overcoming the barrier between them, with Max promising they will go through whatever happens next together.

 

It’s not known what happens for the two after this, though Peter does speculate that given Allison is a minor, she’ll either get a light sentence or be paroled into Max’s custody. Either way, Max Dillon has proven he’s grown and is perhaps ready for parenthood.

 

Until I figure out how to travel along power lines using electrical fields, I remain

 

frogoat

The Lizard in the MC2

 

With Spider-Man: No Way Home on everyone’s mind, I figured now is a great time to cover some of the MC2 counterparts of the villains confirmed to appear in the film. Today, we are taking a look at Dr Curtis ‘Curt’ Connors aka The Lizard in the MC2.

 

Dr Curt Connors first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #6 but makes his MC2 debut as both Connors and The Lizard in Amazing Spider-Man Family #1 within the first of the (sadly cut short) Mr. and Mrs. Spider-Man series of short stories. This story takes place at some point after the infant May Parker is rescued and returned to Peter and Mary Jane Parker by Kaine and prior to Peter’s final battle with the Green Goblin.

 

After having had a few ‘gloriously normal’ weeks as a family, Peter and Mary Jane leave May with Anna Watson to meet Dr Connors and his wife Martha for dinner. However, Curt hasn’t returned from Empire State University and isn’t answering calls. Martha reveals that she and their son Billy have been unwell with symptoms that led Curt to suspect their drinking water in Florida was compromised. With Billy appearing very unwell, Peter and Mary Jane head to Empire State University to check on Dr Connors.

 

Mary Jane and Peter discover Curt’s Empire State University laboratory has been smashed up and find his notes for a formula to purify the water in the Everglades, however the process could threaten the reptiles there. Believing this conflict between his family and the environment may have driven Curt over the edge, and with Mary Jane’s blessing Peter sets out to find Connor’s as Spider-Man.

 

Finding Connors has transformed into The Lizard, Spider-Man battles various reptiles to reach the doctor’s alter ego. The Lizard reveals he is trying to protect his reptilian family from Connor’s water treatment plan until Spider-Man tells him that Connors intentionally called forth the Lizard because he didn’t want to use a formula that would only save one of his families at the cost of the other. Apparently accepting Curt saw the reptiles as family too, the Lizard reverted back to Connors. Dr Connors returned to the drawing board, determined to find a mutually beneficial solution to the problem, once more hiring Peter as a lab assistant to help in this endeavour.

 

That’s it for The Lizard in the MC2, though it’s worth noting with this story taking place nearly 15 years in the past, we don’t know the ultimate fate of Dr Curt Connors and his scaly other half. Another odd note is Martha Connors acting as though she’s meeting Mary Jane for the first time, despite having met more than once prior to this occasion in the Main Marvel Universe. But we can give her a pass here as she states she and Billy haven’t been very well.

 

Until I figure out an explanation for the ever-young Billy Connors, I remain

 

frogoat