171-765: George Stacy is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics , primarily in association with Spider-Man . He is Gwen Stacy 's father and the police captain from the New York City Police Department . Stacy is a strong supporter of Spider-Man, often defending the superhero when others accuse Spider-Man of criminal acts, and thus serves as a foil personality to another Spider-Man related character, J. Jonah Jameson . Stacy's death in The Amazing Spider-Man #90 (November 1970) has been described as
342-487: A naturalistic style of superheroes with human failings, fears, and inner demons - heroes who squabbled and worried about the likes of paying the rent. In contrast to the super-heroic do-gooder archetypes of established superheroes at the time, this ushered in a revolution. With dynamic artwork by Kirby, Steve Ditko , Don Heck , and others, complementing Lee's colorful, catchy prose, the new style became very popular among teenagers and college students who could identify with
513-498: A tabloid -sized, 10-by-15-inch (250 mm × 380 mm), 36-page magazine with a card-stock, non-glossy cover. An anthology , it mixed humor features such as the funny animal comic "Pelion and Ossa" and the college-set "Jigger and Ginger" with such dramatic fare as the Western strip "Jack Woods" and the " yellow-peril " adventure "Barry O'Neill", featuring a Fu Manchu -styled villain, Fang Gow. Issue #6 (Oct. 1935) brought
684-498: A Siegel/Shuster creation from the slush pile and used it as the cover feature (but only as a backup story) in Action Comics #1 (June 1938). The duo's alien hero, Superman , was dressed in a cape and colorful tights. The costume, influenced by Flash Gordon 's attire from 1934, evoked circus aerial performers and circus strongmen, and Superman became the archetype of the " superheroes " that would follow. In early 1939,
855-466: A behind-the-scenes role in Spider-Man's adventures since then. During the "Clone Saga", the Spider-Man writers were met with a massive outcry from many readers after the decision to replace Peter Parker with his clone Ben Reilly as the true Spider-Man. Eventually, the writers decided to reveal that one of Spider-Man's arch-enemies had been manipulating events from behind the scenes. The initial plan
1026-629: A botched attempt to finish this formula results in an explosion that douses Norman with the imperfect formula. The accident greatly increases his intelligence and physical abilities as intended, but also has the side-effect of driving him into self-destructive insanity, just like his father from years ago. Norman adopts the Green Goblin identity with the goal of being the leader of organized crime in New York City, and intends to cement his position by defeating Spider-Man . Acting on his own as
1197-484: A character he drew in the background of two panels in issue #23 was intended to be Osborn, seeded in advance of the reveal. Lending credence to Ditko's claim, this then-nameless character—a member of a businessmen's club and a friend of J. Jonah Jameson—reappeared in a scene in The Amazing Spider-Man #25, visiting Jameson at his office, then again in the businessman's club in #26 and #27, and when Norman
1368-735: A collection of English-language newspaper inserts originally published in Europe as the 1837 book Histoire de Mr. Vieux Bois by Rodolphe Töpffer . The G. W. Dillingham Company published the first known proto-comic-book magazine in the US, The Yellow Kid in McFadden's Flats , in 1897. A hardcover book, it reprinted material—primarily the October 18, 1896, to January 10, 1897, sequence titled "McFadden's Row of Flats"—from cartoonist Richard F. Outcault 's newspaper comic strip Hogan's Alley , starring
1539-536: A flashback showed that Kindred had visited Norman Osborn in Ravencroft. He quoted that Norman looked down on the citizens of New York from his tower and states that he could have his centipedes rip him apart if he wanted them to. Kindred even made a reference to how he appeared in Mary Jane's nightmares and how he would not be able to kill Spider-Man as Kindred states that he "already won a long time ago." Back in
1710-427: A gas that nullifies his spider-sense. This allows Osborn to stalk Spider-Man until he learns that his nemesis is Peter Parker , a college student and his son's classmate and best friend. While Parker is going about civilian life, Osborn surprises and knocks Parker out with an asphyxiation grenade, taking the youth to his waterfront base. After unmasking himself to Parker, the latter goads him into recounting how he became
1881-555: A house being attacked by Doctor Octopus while finding out that Gwen caused trouble by bringing a knife to school. He has been contacted by Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich about his investigations. Stacy was also critical of Urich removing the Kingpin from control of New York as it led to a disorganized and chaotic scramble to gain the Kingpin's territory. His marital problems reach a conclusion when his wife abandons their family, leading Stacy to ask May Parker to watch over Gwen while he
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#17327802477622052-463: A machine that can extract the codex from former hosts, as the Maker is uncertain of potential side-effects. However, Dark Carnage attacks Ravencroft as they attempt to retrieve Osborn, transforming most of the patients into his drone soldiers and turning Osborn into another version of Carnage due to him still believing himself to be Kasady. As Spider-Man works to keep Normie Osborn and Dylan Brock safe,
2223-481: A means of relieving the stress of his father's abuse. In college, where he studied chemistry , business administration , and electrical engineering , Norman meets his college sweetheart , who eventually marries him and has their son Harold "Harry" Osborn . In his adulthood, with the help of his ESU/Empire State University college professor Mendel Stromm , he co-founds the chemical company Oscorp Industries and establishes himself as CEO and President. The company
2394-485: A mental breakdown. Part of this manifests as diary filled with morbid imaginings. George Stacy reads an account of his Earth-616 death, along with the fate of his daughter. In Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Gwen Stacy mentions George Stacy in Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #9 as being the reason she moves to Queens. In this version he is not a fan of Spider-Man and views him as a vigilante getting in
2565-603: A million copies a month each; comics provided very popular cheap entertainment during World War II especially among soldiers, but with erratic quality in stories, art, and printing. In the early 1940s, over 90 percent of girls and boys from seven to seventeen read comic books. In 1941, H. G. Peter and William Moulton Marston , created the female superhero character Wonder Woman , who debuted in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941) and Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman in 1942. MLJ 's Pep Comics debuted as
2736-637: A number of media . He has been adapted to serve as Spider-Man's adversary in live-action, animated, and video game incarnations. Willem Dafoe played the character in Sam Raimi 's Spider-Man film trilogy and reprised the role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), while Chris Cooper played the character in the film The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). Marvel Comics editor and head writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko are credited with creating
2907-473: A pitched battle with several superheroes, Sentry causes Thor 's world to fall to Earth. Osborn fights with the recently resurrected Steve Rogers, however, Stark removes Osborn's Iron Patriot armor remotely, revealing Osborn used green facepaint to create a goblin-like look. Osborn screams that the Avengers do not know what they have done, only for Spider-Man to knock him down. He tells them they are all dead as
3078-510: A profound impact upon the American comic-book industry. Their popularity, along with mainstream media attention and critical acclaim, combined with changing social tastes, led to a considerably darker tone in comic books during the 1990s nicknamed by fans as the "grim-and-gritty" era. The growing popularity of antiheroes such as Wolverine and the Punisher exemplified this change, as did
3249-442: A promotional item to consumers who mailed in coupons clipped from Procter & Gamble soap and toiletries products. The company printed 10,000 copies. The promotion proved a success, and Eastern Color that year produced similar periodicals for Canada Dry soft drinks , Kinney Shoes , Wheatena cereal and others, with print runs of from 100,000 to 250,000. Also in 1933, Gaines and Wildenberg collaborated with Dell to publish
3420-484: A scandal, and to take their children to raise by himself, thus being his ideal heirs. Mary Jane was the only person who knew of their encounter and their children's existence prior to Gwen's death, despising Osborn for his immoral behaviors long before discovering he's the villainous Goblin. Gabriel and Sarah (who rapidly aged to adulthood years because of the Goblin formula in their genes) return to attack Peter as Osborn has
3591-520: A superhero, science-fiction and adventure anthology, but after the title introduced the teen-humor feature "Archie" in 1942, the feature's popularity would soon eclipse all other MLJ properties, leading the publisher to rename itself Archie Comics . Following the end of World War II, the popularity of superheroes greatly diminished, while the comic-book industry itself expanded. A few well-established characters such as Superman , Batman and Wonder Woman continued to sell, but DC canceled series starring
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#17327802477623762-536: A switch which activates the Carrion Virus in all of the clones and causes them to start rapidly decaying, including George and Gwen, George starts to deteriorate in Gwen's arms. He tells his daughter to keep Spider-Man safe while she can before dying once more. During the " Last Remains " arc, Kindred visited the cemetery where George Stacy and Gwen Stacy were buried. He exhumed their bodies and placed them around
3933-494: A ten-cent pricetag [ sic ] on the comic books". When Delacorte declined to continue with Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , Eastern Color on its own published Famous Funnies #1 (cover-dated July 1934), a 68-page giant selling for 10¢. Distributed to newsstands by the mammoth American News Company , it proved a hit with readers during the cash-strapped Great Depression , selling 90 percent of its 200,000 print, although putting Eastern Color more than $ 4,000 in
4104-402: A third of all North American sales in the early 1950s. Its 90 titles averaged a circulation of 800,000 copies per title for every issue, with Walt Disney's Comics and Stories peaking at a circulation of three million a month in 1953. Eleven of the top 25 bestselling comic books at the time were Dell titles. Out of 40 publishers active in 1954, Dell, Atlas (i.e. Marvel), DC, and Archie were
4275-453: A truck into Midtown High School, resulting in an accident that causes Thompson brain damage. This successfully enrages Parker into what Osborn anticipates will be a climactic battle. During this confrontation, the emotionally weary Parker tells Osborn of being tired of their constant battle, and declares a truce. Osborn's Goblin identity is revealed to the public once again through an investigation by Jessica Jones , after Osborn murders one of
4446-508: A true comic book. But it did offer all original material and was sold on newsstands ". The Funnies ran for 36 issues, published Saturdays through October 16, 1930. In 1933, salesperson Maxwell Gaines , sales manager Harry I. Wildenberg , and owner George Janosik of the Waterbury, Connecticut , company Eastern Color Printing —which printed, among other things, Sunday-paper comic-strip sections – produced Funnies on Parade as
4617-643: A turning point in the Spider-Man saga, signaling to readers that permanent changes could happen in the story, and that the supporting cast was not safe. Stacy was resurrected in a cloned body by Ben Reilly in Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy (2016–2017), with the embodiment of Death herself confirming in Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider (2017–2018) that all clones Ben created of deceased people had their souls intact on being brought back, before Stacy
4788-512: A vast network of criminals, spies, dupes and co-conspirators to help engineer what would be an almost impossibly complex and meticulously planned plot to destroy Spider-Man's life. To achieve this, he becomes the leader of the Scrier cabal, taking as his pawns Seward Trainer , Judas Traveller , the Jackal and the cyborg Gaunt/Stromm, all of whom he utilizes to carry out revenge against Parker. It
4959-419: A villain turns out to be somebody that you never knew. And I felt that that would be wrong. I felt, in a sense, it would be like cheating the reader. ... if it's somebody you didn't know and had never seen, then what was the point of following all the clues? I think that frustrates the reader". However, Lee prefaced this statement by admitting that, due to his self-professed poor memory, he may have been confusing
5130-777: A way to keep their presses running. Like The Funnies , but only eight pages, this appeared as a newsprint magazine. Rather than using original material, however, it reprinted in color several comic strips licensed from the McNaught Syndicate , the Ledger Syndicate , and the Bell-McClure Syndicate . These included such popular strips as cartoonist Al Smith 's Mutt and Jeff , Ham Fisher 's Joe Palooka , and Percy Crosby 's Skippy . Eastern Color neither sold this periodical nor made it available on newsstands , but rather sent it out free as
5301-461: A year. In 1929, Dell Publishing (founded by George T. Delacorte, Jr. ) published The Funnies , described by the Library of Congress as "a short-lived newspaper tabloid insert" and not to be confused with Dell's 1936 comic-book series of the same name. Historian Ron Goulart describes the 16-page, four-color periodical as "more a Sunday comic section without the rest of the newspaper than
George Stacy - Misplaced Pages Continue
5472-573: Is Osborn while he himself is Kasady, with the latter's consciousness seemingly having overridden Osborn's own. When an undead resurrected Kasady starts hunting all former symbiote hosts to extract the samples of the symbiote codex left in them with the goal of awakening a symbiote god via the Grendel Symbiote (one of the aforementioned deity's many symbiotic-draconian vanguards) as seen in the " Absolute Carnage " storyline, Spider-Man and Venom attempt to retrieve Osborn from Ravencroft to test
5643-533: Is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko , he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964) as the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin . He has since endured as one of the superhero Spider-Man 's most prominent villains and is regarded as one of his three archenemies , alongside Doctor Octopus and Venom . In his comic book appearances, Norman Osborn
5814-559: Is apprehended by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in Paris. Following the Civil War story arc, Warren Ellis began writing Thunderbolts , and Osborn was brought into this title as the director of the eponymous team. He was one of several characters offered to Ellis, who picked him because, according to Thunderbolts editor Molly Lazer, "[t]here was something about Norman, his instability, and his fixation with Spider-Man that Warren liked, so he's in
5985-440: Is away at a conference. During the "Public Scrutiny" story arc, he is killed by a bank robber posing as Spider-Man, as the criminal robs an armored truck and throws a bag with a bomb in it onto a nearby child. Stacy sacrifices his life to save the child. Stacy's death causes Gwen to develop a grief-stricken hatred for Spider-Man, which continues even after her father's killer confessed. May Parker eventually invites Gwen to live with
6156-522: Is blown up at the end of the issue. It is shown in The Spectacular Spider-Man #250 that he has recovered, and he returns to his civilian life. Without the Green Goblin identity, Osborn would then go on to attack Spider-Man indirectly, through minions and via smear campaigns designed to portray him as a monster. However, Norman would still wear his Green Goblin costume when needed. When Spider-Man revealed his public identity, Osborn
6327-602: Is disbanded. After the Hobgoblin returns to New York, a nurse and doctor are called to Norman's hospital room, only to find him gone. When the children that work for the Vulture are discussing what to do after Superior Spider-Man (Otto Octavius's mind in Spider-Man's body) brutally defeats the Vulture, the Green Goblin approaches and tells the group that he will be the one that crushes Superior Spider-Man. The Green Goblin
6498-461: Is distracted, Osborn resolves to find a means of restoring his powers and resume his mantle of the Green Goblin, concluding that he has only ever held the edge against the webhead when allowing himself to draw on his inner demons. The apparent first step in this plan occurs with Osborn managing to steal the Carnage symbiote from an abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. storehouse while Spider-Man is occupied with
6669-557: Is exposed to an experimental formula that enhances his physical abilities and intellect at the cost of his sanity. As the Goblin, he becomes a criminal mastermind who uses an arsenal of advanced, Halloween -themed equipment, including grenade-like Pumpkin Bombs, razor sharp bats, and a flying Goblin Glider, to terrorize New York City . Osborn has been part of many of Spider-Man's defining stories, most notably " The Night Gwen Stacy Died " and
6840-437: Is later shown having gathered a new gang of followers together in the sewers formed from discarded members of other villains' gangs like Vulture, Owl , and the third White Dragon 's gangs. These henchmen escaped their organizations unharmed because Superior Spider-Man is more focused on the larger threats (where the original Spider-Man would focus on individuals). As he builds this army to attack Superior Spider-Man, he takes on
7011-413: Is rescued from custody thereafter by his cabal of henchmen. A few months later, the highly unstable Osborn has partially regained his sanity with the help of anti-psychotic drugs. He comes to see Parker as the son he had always wanted and attempts to have Parker take on the Green Goblin mantle using physiological torture, but ultimately fails. Osborn's next plan involves using Flash Thompson drive drunk
George Stacy - Misplaced Pages Continue
7182-464: Is taken symbolically as the beginning of a new era, although his success was not immediate. It took two years for the Flash to receive his own title, and Showcase itself was only a bimonthly book, though one which was to introduce a large number of enduring characters. By 1959, the slowly building superhero revival had become clear to DC's competitors. Archie jumped on board that year, and Charlton joined
7353-454: Is the amoral industrialist head of science conglomerate Oscorp and the father of Harry Osborn , the best friend of Spider-Man's alter ego Peter Parker. Osborn, in part as a reaction to the death of his wife, maintains a cold disposition and is obsessed with attaining as much power as possible. As a result, he treats his son harshly and openly favors Peter for his intellect, leading Harry to often try to compensate. In his origin story , Osborn
7524-414: Is this group of individuals who are crucial in duping Parker into believing that the youth is actually a clone of himself created by Jackal, while claiming that the clone – who comes to be known as Ben Reilly – is actually the original. Frustrated by Parker's perseverance despite everything that's been inflicted, Osborn publicly reveals that he's alive on Halloween . During the battle that ensues between
7695-497: Is too publicly known as a supervillain during his stint as Director of H.A.M.M.E.R. and the Iron Patriot. Spider-Man defeats and strips the villain's powers with Octavius' nanite serum, but Norman manages to escape through Liz Allan 's discreet aid. In hiding once again, he reflects that the various heroes will be unprepared for him when he returns with a new identity and approach as a businessman, seemingly no longer afflicted by
7866-575: The American Son . When Harry finds a cure for Lily Hollister's Goblin condition for their baby's safety, Lily reveals that it is a ruse to coerce Harry into taking the American Son armor, whom Norman had plotted would die in a tragedy to increase sympathy for Norman and his Dark Avengers. When Lily also reveals that the baby is not Harry's but in fact Norman's, Harry dons his American Son armor, and fights Norman in his Iron Patriot armor. During
8037-667: The Flash and Green Lantern and converted All-American Comics and All Star Comics to Western titles, and Star Spangled Comics to a war title. The publisher also launched such science-fiction titles as Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space . Martin Goodman 's Timely Comics , also known as Atlas, canceled its three formerly high-selling superhero titles starring Captain America (created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby ),
8208-575: The Hobgoblin and is sighted by some of the Spiderlings. Upon Carlie Cooper being brought to his lair by Menace, he receives Carlie's journal from Menace which reveals to him that Otto's mind is in Spider-Man's body. Osborn douses Carlie with the Goblin formula, causing the woman to mutate into the new superhuman villain Monster. He demands to know Spider-Man's identity, but Monster first asks
8379-613: The Human Torch , and the Sub-Mariner , briefly reviving the characters in 1954 only to cancel them again shortly thereafter to focus on horror, science fiction, teen humor, romance and Western genres. Romance comics became strongly established, with Prize Comics ' Young Romance and with Young Love , the latter written and drawn by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; those two titles' popularity led to an explosion of romance comics from many publishers. Dell 's comic books accounted for
8550-757: The Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency held hearings on comic book indecency from April to June 1954. In the wake of these troubles, a group of comics publishers, led by National and Archie, founded the Comics Code Authority in 1954 and drafted the Comics Code, intended as "the most stringent code in existence for any communications media". A Comic Code Seal of Approval soon appeared on virtually every comic book carried on newsstands. EC, after experimenting with less controversial comic books, dropped its comics line to focus on
8721-670: The Sentry into helping to further his cause. Osborn himself leads the Dark Avengers as the Iron Patriot, a suit of armor fashioned by himself after Iron Man's armor with Captain America's colors. Osborn simultaneously forms the Cabal alliance with Doctor Doom , Emma Frost , Namor , Loki and the Hood , but this 'alliance' quickly falls apart when Namor and Frost betray the Cabal to aid
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#17327802477628892-474: The Trapster to frame Spider-Man for murder, results in Spider-Man being a fugitive again. To get around this, Peter adopts four new identities , using two of these identities to convince Trapster to expose Osborn's scheme, and provide fake evidence that the individual that beat up Osborn was an impostor. For a time, Osborn retires his costumed persona and uses a stand-in so as not to be suspected of being
9063-531: The X-Men . Norman's attempts to exert his authority are increasingly jeopardized by various superheroes. After the Superhuman Registration Act records are deleted so that Osborn has no access to the information recorded about heroes after it was implemented, Osborn attacked the brain-damaged Tony Stark, thus showing Osborn brutally assaulting a physically and mentally incapable individual that
9234-663: The Yellow Kid . The 196-page, square-bound, black-and-white publication, which also includes introductory text by E. W. Townsend , measured 5 by 7 inches (130 mm × 180 mm) and sold for 50 cents. The neologism "comic book" appears on the back cover. Despite the publication of a series of related Hearst comics soon afterward, the first monthly proto-comic book, Embee Distributing Company's Comic Monthly , did not appear until 1922. Produced in an 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 -by-9-inch (220 mm × 230 mm) format, it reprinted black-and-white newspaper comic strips and lasted
9405-647: The " Civil War " over the Superhuman Registration Act , Osborn is appointed director of the Thunderbolts superhero team, now tasked to apprehend anyone who resists registering. While in this capacity, he directs the Thunderbolts to apprehend or kill Spider-Man, but after Mephisto changes reality , Harry Osborn is alive once more, and, with the exception of Mary Jane, no one (including Norman) knows Spider-Man's secret identity. In
9576-632: The " Clone Saga ". While his primary foe is Spider-Man, Osborn has often come into conflict with Iron Man , Captain America and other superheroes in the Marvel Universe . Although Osborn sometimes works with other supervillains such as Doctor Doom and Loki and groups like the Sinister Six and the Dark Avengers , these relationships often collapse due to his desire for unbridled power. Osborn's largest overarching story came during
9747-551: The 'Gathering of Five', which will grant the participants Power, Knowledge, Immortality, Madness or Death, but while he believes that he will receive Power, he is instead given Madness, which worsens his already mental instability, and threatens the world with genetic bombs. It is during this time that Peter learns May is alive and Osborn's actress died in May's place. Osborn's complete madness is evident, as he hallucinates unmasking and killing Peter; yet in reality Peter easily defeats him. He
9918-426: The 1938 publication of Action Comics , which included the debut of the superhero Superman . This was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II . After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the comic book industry rapidly expanded and genres such as horror, crime, science fiction and romance became popular. The 1950s saw a gradual decline, due to a shift away from print media in
10089-535: The 1960s, DC, and then Marvel, began to include writer and artist credits on the comics that they published. Other notable companies publishing comics during the Silver Age included the American Comics Group (ACG), Charlton , Dell , Gold Key , Harvey Comics , and Tower . Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll were featured, as the anti-authoritarian underground comix made waves in 1968, following
10260-457: The 1970s coincided with the appearance of comic-book specialty stores across North America. These specialty stores were a haven for more distinct voices and stories, but they also marginalized comics in the public eye. Serialized comic stories became longer and more complex, requiring readers to buy more issues to finish a story. In the mid-to-late 1980s, two series published by DC Comics , Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen , had
10431-542: The 1990s changing the format and distribution of their comic books to more closely resemble non-comics publishing. The " minicomics " form, an extremely informal version of self-publishing , arose in the 1980s and became increasingly popular among artists in the 1990s, despite reaching an even more limited audience than the small presses. The development of the modern American comic book happened in stages. Publishers had collected comic strips in hardcover book form as early as 1842, with The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck ,
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#173278024776210602-520: The 36-page Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , which historians consider the first true American comic book; Goulart, for example, calls it "the cornerstone for one of the most lucrative branches of magazine publishing". Distribution took place through the Woolworth's department-store chain, though it remains unclear whether it was sold or given away; the cover displays no price, but Goulart refers, either metaphorically or literally, to "sticking
10773-649: The A.I.M.-rebuilt Ragnarok for Thor. In the team's first fight with the New Avengers , Osborn reveals himself as the Super-Adaptoid , declares himself the head of world security, and orders that the Avengers be arrested for war crimes. However, double agent Skaar betrays Osborn, allowing the Avengers to dogpile Osborn's body, overloading him with superpowers and sending him into a coma. A.I.M. and HYDRA pick up Osborn's leftover resources, and H.A.M.M.E.R.
10944-598: The American comic book has been adapted periodically outside the United States, especially in Canada and the United Kingdom . While comics can be the work of a single creator, the labor of creating them is frequently divided between a number of specialists. There may be a separate writer and artist , or there may be separate artists for the characters and backgrounds. Particularly in superhero comic books,
11115-678: The CCA) stopped publishing crime and horror titles, which was their entire business, and were forced out of the market altogether, turning to magazine publishing instead. By 1960, output had stabilized at about 1,500 releases per year (representing a greater than fifty percent decline since 1952). The dominant comic book genres of the post-CCA 1950s were funny animals, humor, romance , television properties, and Westerns . Detective, fantasy , teen, and war comics were also popular, but adventure, superheroes, and comic strip reprints were in decline, with Famous Funnies seeing its last issue in 1955. In
11286-531: The Goblin King directly confronts Superior Spider-Man, angry that he was cheated out of the opportunity to defeat his enemy, but offering Otto the chance to join him and Otto rejects the offer. When Otto finds being unable to win against Goblin's resources, having had various allies abandoned, and with faith in his own abilities gone, Otto sacrifices himself to restore the original Spider-Man's mind in order to save Anna Maria Marconi . When Spider-Man arrives for
11457-515: The Goblin being fatally impaled by its spikes. Since his presumed death, Osborn had been retroactively established as an unseen character . While he lies in the morgue, it is revealed that the Goblin formula gave him a previously unknown healing factor which restores him to life; he also murders a homeless man and plants the disfigured body in his costume to feign his death. No longer suffering from bouts of amnesia, Norman escapes to Europe, where he can move freely and unnoticed (as later revealed, he
11628-423: The Goblin formula to turn the whole country into Goblin-powered soldiers programmed to be loyal to him. However, in his final confrontation with Spider-Man, despite exposing his foe to a series of gases to temporarily neutralize all of his powers, and triggering an EMP to shut down all the gadgetry within his new Spider-armor, Spider-Man is still able to defeat Osborn as the two clash. Managing to escape while Peter
11799-572: The Goblin killing the Spider, but rather Carnage and Cletus Kasady , a vestige of whose consciousness still resides within his symbiote. The villain is enraged by this and when Peter removes the Venom symbiote and to challenge him, Norman takes off the Carnage symbiote to reveal his old Green Goblin persona. Spider-Man manages to take his foe down and when the villain begs the Carnage symbiote to help him,
11970-512: The Goblin to reveal his own identity. He assures Monster that he is Norman, but refuses to remove his Goblin mask until Carlie has proven a loyal follower and dispatches Monster and Menace on a mission. Osborn battles and kills Hobgoblin, although it is revealed to be a servant with Kingsley still in hiding abroad which Goblin Knight discovers. Having staged a coup of New York after spreading his resources by exploiting Otto's reliance on technology,
12141-585: The Goblin's identity would have been revealed in Amazing #39 if Ditko had stayed on. In the landmark story " The Night Gwen Stacy Died " ( The Amazing Spider-Man #121-122), the Green Goblin kills Gwen Stacy and later dies in a fight against Spider-Man. However, the story's writer, Gerry Conway , had Harry Osborn adopt the Green Goblin identity in the aftermath of "The Night Gwen Stacy Died", later remarking that "I never had any intention of getting rid of
12312-494: The Goblin, and uses the time to break free. In the ensuing battle, Spider-Man accidentally knocks Osborn into a mass of electrical wires, wiping out his memory . Feeling sorry for his nemesis, and wishing to avoid the shame that would befall the Osborn family (especially Parker's best friend Harry), Spider-Man destroys the Goblin costume in the resulting fire and tells the authorities that Osborn lost his memory while helping to defeat
12483-485: The Goblin, or through his employment of other super-criminals such as the Headsman , he would harass Spider-Man many times, but fail to achieve his goal. Soon, Stromm returns from prison, and attempts to exact revenge on Osborn using an army of robots, but Norman is saved by Spider-Man, and Stromm apparently dies of a heart attack. In order to discover his nemesis's secret identity, Osborn secretly exposes Spider-Man to
12654-557: The Goblin. Soon, Osborn is troubled by repressed memories of the Goblin and Spider-Man. After a presentation on supervillains by NYPD Captain George Stacy restores Osborn's memory, he experiences a brief return to his Goblin persona. While abducting Parker's friends and threatening Parker's elderly aunt , he is exposed to one of his own "psychedelic bombs", causing a relapse of amnesia . Later, Osborn stumbles upon an old Goblin hideout which, again, restores his memory. However,
12825-452: The Green Goblin as a concept". Harry Osborn's becoming the Green Goblin was mostly well received, with fans remarking that Harry was more menacing than his father had ever been. Writer Roger Stern later introduced the Hobgoblin to replace the Green Goblin as Spider-Man's archenemy . During the " Clone Saga ", a retcon was made, which determined that Norman Osborn survived the events of The Amazing Spider-Man #122 and had been playing
12996-414: The Green Goblin with a different character, and in an earlier essay he had said that he could not remember whether Norman Osborn being the Green Goblin was his idea or Ditko's. Ditko has maintained that it was his idea, even claiming that he had decided on it before the first Green Goblin story was finished. Though Osborn would not be introduced by name until The Amazing Spider-Man #37, Ditko has said that
13167-494: The Green Goblin, Jameson mentioned how he could not stop Spider-Man since even throwing Gwen off the bridge could not break his indomitable resolve. This statement allow Norman to remember that Spider-Man's true identity as Peter Parker, which in the past had always been the edge he held against the hero, as he now knew to target his loved ones and friends. Attacking the Daily Bugle in his familiar Goblin attire, Osborn gives
13338-462: The Green Goblin, had arranged for Harry's death to be faked, with help from Mysterio . In his final appearance in the storyline, Norman attempts to convince Harry to become a super-hero so that Norman can kill his son off and exploit said demise. It is also revealed that he was sleeping with the supervillain Menace (Harry's ex-girlfriend), with Norman believing that the villain's child she was carrying
13509-406: The Green Goblin. This fifth Goblin kidnaps Norman's grandson and clashes with the wanted and injured Spider-Man. Norman also crosses paths with Roderick Kingsley and initiates a hostile takeover of Kingsley's corporate empire, in retaliation for raiding the Goblin's arsenal and identity . While his stand-in is masquerading as the Goblin, Osborn joins a cult, hoping to receive great power from
13680-493: The Kingpin of Crime). Stacy was compelled into a backroom where he underwent additional brainwashing by the camera's inventor, Dr. Winkler. Despite Spider-Man's efforts, George returned programmed to follow the Kingpin's directions. As such, Captain Stacy later stole police records for the Kingpin while Spider-Man's automatic camera captured the theft. Peter gave the photos to J. Jonah Jameson , hopeful that this apparent betrayal of
13851-541: The Kingpin's henchmen holding the Stacys at gunpoint. Though the Kingpin fled, and Winkler was apparently killed, the Stacys were rescued. Osborn's testimony to the police exonerated Captain Stacy. Captain Stacy started to suspect Peter and Spider-Man were the same person. After a feverish Peter admitted to being Spider-Man before his friends including Captain Stacy, Parker asked the Prowler to imitate Spider-Man so Peter and
14022-471: The Marvel Universe and going on to restore the wider Multiverse piecemeal) and still planning on getting revenge on Spider-Man and his peers/allies. He is revealed to have played a part in the recent coup of Symkaria . He restores a semblance of his original features via a twisted form of plastic surgery but which also resembles the Green Goblin's facets, and intends to release a modified version of
14193-609: The Modern Horror age. But as of 2009 historians and fans use " Bronze Age " to describe the period of American mainstream comics history that began with the period of concentrated changes to comic books in 1970. Unlike the Golden/Silver Age transition, the Silver/Bronze transition involves many continuing books, making the transition less sharp. The development of the " direct market " distribution system in
14364-498: The Navy. When he and his crew set sail for England, they allow Peter Parquagh to come on as a powder monkey. Though his crew turns on Peter when they discover his powers, they accept Peter when he rescues them from pirates Wilson Fiske and The Bull's Eye. In the timeline of the " House of M " storyline, George Stacy is a former police chief, and a personal friend of the rich and successful Peter Parker. This goes sour when Peter experiences
14535-521: The Osborns and proves immune to Carnage's traditional weaknesses of Human Torch's fire and Clash's sound devices, Peter is forced to step back into action despite the injured leg, with Agent Anti-Venom sacrificing a chance to get back into action himself to heal Spider-Man's injury as Osborn merges a part of the Carnage symbiote with his grandson Normie turning into a miniature version of Red Goblin. Normie goes after May but she gets some unexpected help in
14706-524: The Parkers, though Gwen's animosity towards Spider-Man eventually subsides and comes to learn of Peter's secret identity. In the Spider-Verse storyline, Earth-65's version of George Stacy ends up in the pursuit of Spider-Woman 's arrest following the death of Peter Parker unaware that his daughter Gwen Stacy is Spider-Woman. When George is alone with Spider-Woman following the assassin's defeat with
14877-592: The Spider-Verse (TBA). George Stacy first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #56 (January 1968), created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita Sr. Little did Peter Parker know, after falling in love with Empire State University classmate Gwen Stacy that her father was Captain George Stacy, one of the most respected former police members in the NYPD . He is also the husband of Helen Stacy and
15048-417: The Stacy family would actually help expedite a discovery of the captain's innocence. While George and Gwen attempted to flee, they were kidnapped by the Kingpin's men and held captive at one of Norman Osborn 's labs where Dr. Winkler worked. The Kingpin intended to eliminate the Stacys once they were used to lure Spider-Man into his crushing hands. While Spider-Man battled the Kingpin, Osborn arrived and tackled
15219-559: The Void is released. Osborn knocks out Rogers and tries to escape, but is captured by Volstagg. Incarcerated in the Raft penitentiary, he blames his Goblin alter-ego for ruining his chance to protect the world. When transferred to a secret underwater government base, Osborn takes steps to ensure his release from prison. He uses a group of followers known as the "Green Goblin Cult" to break out with
15390-480: The Vulture would be caught, later arresting Matt Murdock 's patsy Kingpin, Wilson Fisk . The Spider-Geddon storyline features different versions of George Stacy: American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States , on average 32 pages, containing comics . While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after
15561-586: The aid of corrupt senators; he plans to turn himself in after killing his fellow escapees, setting him up as a 'champion' of the judicial system. After the breakout, he awaits his trial in a new prison, this one controlled by his cult members. Using his staged persona as a voice for the 'disenfranchised', Osborn plans to regain the Iron Patriot armor and creates a new team of Dark Avengers, this time substituting June Covington for Scarlet Witch , Ai Apaec for Spider-Man, Barney Barton for Hawkeye, Skaar for Hulk , Superia for Ms. Marvel, Gorgon for Wolverine and
15732-407: The angsty and irreverent nature of characters like Spider-Man , Hulk , X-Men and Fantastic Four . This was a time of social upheaval, giving birth to a new generation of hip and more counter-cultural youngsters, who found a voice in these books. Because Marvel's books were distributed by its rival, National, from 1957 until 1968 Marvel were restricted to publishing only eight titles a month. This
15903-556: The arrival of Punisher who reveals that since he cannot take them with him, he has to put his large supply of bullets somewhere; the Punisher then kills them all. A mysterious man with a bandaged face is soon shown to be selling Goblin-based weaponry globally to attack Parker Industries . This man reveals himself to be Norman alive again post- Secret Wars (following the Fantastic Four 's and Molecule Man 's restoration of
16074-408: The art may be divided between: The process begins with the writer (often in collaboration with one or more others, who may include the editor and/or the penciller) coming up with a story idea or concept, then working it up into a plot and storyline , finalizing it with a script . After the art is prepared, the dialogue and captions are lettered onto the page from the script, and an editor may have
16245-415: The bandwagon in 1960. In 1961, at the demand of publisher Martin Goodman (who was reacting to a surge in sales of National's newest superhero title The Justice League of America ), writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four for Atlas, which now re-named itself Marvel Comics . With an innovation that changed the comic-book industry, Fantastic Four #1 initiated
16416-461: The battle, Norman declares that Harry is no longer his son, and that he has bred a better child to replace the 'failure' of Harry. After further taunts from Norman, Harry lashes out and defeats his father, declaring "I was never your son!". When Harry has the option of killing Norman, Spider-Man says to decapitate him, since Norman's healing factor may repair a blow to the head. Spider-Man also cautions Harry that killing Norman will cause Harry to "become
16587-664: The bombastic mental illness associated with the Goblin Serum that he surmises wasted time on theatrics at the cost of practicality and thus less effective villainy. However, Osborn's Goblin King position was quickly usurped by Phil Urich. During the 2015 " Secret Wars " storyline, the Kingpin hosts a viewing party for the incursion between Earth-616 and Earth-1610 where his guests include Absorbing Man , Bullseye , Norman Osborn, Sandman , and Scorpion. Festivities are interrupted by
16758-539: The book while I was still laughing". Lazer confirmed that the new team was answerable to the Commission on Superhuman Activities , giving him the opportunity to do what he wanted: "He's a free man with a lot of power .... And his agenda, well, it's not that secret. He wants to get Spider-Man". Writer Christos Gage took over for the Secret Invasion tie-in stories, which end with Osborn taking credit for
16929-510: The book!" Ellis admitted not being very familiar with the character, saying: "All I remember of the Norman Osborn character was from the Spider-Man reprints my parents used to buy me when I was very young, and Norman Osborn was this guy with a weird rippled crewcut who was always sweating and his eyes were always bulging out of his head. That guy as a Donald Rumsfeld -like public governmental figure... [ Joe Quesada ] talked me into writing
17100-520: The brother of Arthur Stacy. But even in retirement, Captain Stacy kept up with the happenings at the department - and had taken a keen interest in Spider-Man. It was not long before John Jameson called Captain Stacy out of retirement to assist in the return of a device called the Nullifier - which could render any electrical or mechanical apparatus inoperative - that Doctor Octopus had tricked an amnesiac Spider-Man into stealing. After safely securing
17271-436: The character is named John Stacy . Much younger than his mainstream counterpart and with brown hair, he is more athletic and carries his own gun, and is not a fan of Spider-Man but admires the young hero's vigilante work. He has trouble handling his teenage daughter Gwen Stacy and has a troubled marriage. He is first seen arriving at the warehouse where a criminal is hiding out when Spider-Man catches up, and then investigates
17442-459: The character; they collaborated on how the character would be portrayed. According to Ditko: "Stan's synopsis for the Green Goblin had a movie crew, on location, finding an Egyptian -like sarcophagus . Inside was an ancient, mythological demon , the Green Goblin . He naturally came to life. On my own, I changed Stan's mythological demon into a human villain". The Green Goblin debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #14. At this time his identity
17613-501: The comic books. An American comic book is also known as a floppy comic . It is typically thin and stapled, unlike traditional books . American comic books are one of the three major comic book industries globally, along with Japanese manga and the Franco-Belgian comic books . The typical size and page count of comics have varied over the decades, generally tending toward smaller formats and fewer pages. Historically,
17784-534: The comic-book debut of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , the future creators of Superman . The two began their careers with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval", doing the first two installments before turning it over to others and, under the pseudonyms "Leger and Reuths", they created the supernatural -crimefighter adventure Doctor Occult . In 1938, after Wheeler-Nicholson's partner Harry Donenfeld had ousted him, National Allied editor Vin Sullivan pulled
17955-432: The countercultural era. Legal issues and paper shortages led to a decline in underground comix output from its 1972 peak. In 1974 the passage of anti-paraphernalia laws in the US led to the closing of most head shops, which throttled underground comix distribution. Its readership also dried up as the hippie movement itself petered out in the mid-1970s. Wizard originally used the phrase "Bronze Age", in 1995, to denote
18126-464: The country. Some cities passed laws banning comic books entirely. In 1954, psychiatrist Fredric Wertham published his book Seduction of the Innocent , where he discussed what he perceived as sadistic and homosexual undertones in horror comics and superhero comics respectively, and singled out EC Comics due to its success as a publisher of these genres. In response to growing public anxiety,
18297-575: The darker tone of some independent publishers such as First Comics , Dark Horse Comics , and (founded in the 1990s) Image Comics . This tendency towards darkness and nihilism was manifested in DC's production of heavily promoted comic book stories such as " A Death in the Family " in the Batman series (in which The Joker brutally murdered Batman's sidekick Robin ), while at Marvel the continuing popularity of
18468-547: The defeat of the Skrulls after he kills the Skrull queen Veranke . This allowed the character to be placed into an influential position in the aftermath of Dark Reign . Although the dark turn at the end was always part of the plan for the storyline, Brian Michael Bendis , Secret Invasion 's writer, says that Osborn was picked for the leading role because of the changes implemented by Ellis. Meanwhile, Andy Diggle took over
18639-471: The early days of comic books, this practice had all but vanished during the 1940s and 1950s. Comic books were produced by comic book companies rather than by individual creators (EC being a notable exception, a company that not only credited its creative teams but also featured creators' biographies). Even comic books by revered and collectible artists like Carl Barks were not known by their creator's name— Disney comics by Barks were signed " Walt Disney ". In
18810-683: The end, Spider-Man manages to evade this coordinated attack and escape. During the " Secret Invasion " by shape-shifting extraterrestrials, the Skrulls , Osborn shoots and kills the Skrull queen Veranke . He leverages this widely publicized success, positioning himself as the new director of the S.H.I.E.L.D.-like paramilitary force H.A.M.M.E.R. to advance his agenda, while using his public image to start his own Dark Avengers , substituting Moonstone for Ms. Marvel , Bullseye for Hawkeye , Gargan for Spider-Man, Daken for Wolverine and Noh-Varr for Captain Marvel , as well as manipulating Ares and
18981-480: The events of the Civil War storyline. The first was "Brand New Ways To Die" which featured Norman and the Thunderbolts versus Spider-Man and the original Venom. His second appearance explained that following Mephisto 's alteration of Spider-Man's past, Norman's return was significantly altered. He had returned earlier than he had originally, and, due to concern for his son's mental wellbeing after once again being
19152-438: The falling masonry, Captain Stacy leapt to shield the boy - and paid for his act of heroism with his own life. Abandoning the assault, Spider-Man swung down in time to hear Captain Stacy's final words, " Be good to her, son! Be good to her. She loves you so very much ", referring to Gwen. During the " Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy " storyline, Ben Reilly (a clone of Peter) resurrected George Stacy along with Gwen to convince
19323-459: The fight to Norman and while it appears as if he's gaining the upper hand, it turns out that Norman still has some Green Goblin tech beneath the Carnage symbiote and he uses that to electrocute Flash. Flash's injuries prove to be fatal and he dies in Peter's arms. Spider-Man confronts Norman at Times Square as Red Goblin gains the upper hand. Peter manages to hold him off by pointing out that it's not
19494-408: The final confrontation, the Goblin King quickly realizes that Parker is back in control when Spider-Man responds to his nemesis' taunts with his own wisecracks . In the duel that follows, Spider-Man unmasks Osborn, learning that he has undergone plastic surgery to change his appearance, acting as Alchemax's CEO and intending to re-establish himself as businessman Mason Banks, now that his true likeness
19665-444: The final say (but, once ready for printing, it is difficult and expensive to make any major changes), before the comic is sent to the printer. The creative team, the writer and artist(s), may work for a comic book publisher who handles the marketing, advertising, and other logistics. A wholesale distributor, such as Diamond Comic Distributors , the largest in the US, distributes the printed product to retailers. Another aspect of
19836-546: The flashback is shown, Kindred states to Norman that he will leave now and will return when Norman is himself again so that they can confront the truth together. As Kindred starts to leave, Norman's Kasady persona states to Kindred that he has a message for him from Norman who states that he is "so proud of him". Kindred takes his leave as Norman's Kasady breaks out in maniacal laughter. After the Grendel symbiote left Norman Osborn's body, Norman regained conscious and escaped during
20007-606: The form of Superior Octopus and J. Jonah Jameson who uses an old Spider-Slayer , however, both are defeated by Norman. Soon afterward, Normie watches as his grandfather throws Liz through a window only to be rescued by Spider-Man which causes Normie to turn on Norman. Norman reveals to Spider-Man he infected some of Peter's friends and family with slivers of the Carnage symbiote which he could send to their brain to kill them. However, it turns out that Flash has figured out Spider-Man's secret identity too and went to May and Mary Jane in order to remove those ticking time bombs. Flash then takes
20178-522: The fracas, the Goblin manages to escape and kidnap Mary Jane, taking Peter's love interest to the George Washington Bridge in order to replay the murder of the last love interest. However, Doctor Octopus intervenes, attacking the Goblin. Spider-Man is able to save Mary Jane after a bolt of lightning sends the two villains into the river. Following some verbal clues from the Goblin, Peter also discovers where he had hidden May, and rescues
20349-460: The help of the Black Cat proceeded to break Osborn out, only to have twelve of his greatest enemies waiting on the outside. Osborn had assembled a team of supervillains . However, Mary Jane Watson had contacted S.H.I.E.L.D. , and the villains were faced not only by Spider-Man, but the combined might of Captain America , Iron Man , Yellowjacket , Daredevil and the Fantastic Four . During
20520-528: The intent to arrest Spider-Woman. Gwen ends up unmasking which surprises her father. A shocked George tells Gwen to run before he changes his mind. After the attack, Stacy was relieved from the command of the NYPD's Special Crimes Task Force by Mayor J. Jonah Jameson who feared Stacy would undercut him. George remained in an advisory capacity helping Foggy Nelson and the District Attorney's office until
20691-483: The introduction of the Comics Code Authority in the wake of Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency , which, ignoring the social problems caused by the wars of 1939–45 and 1950–52, sought to blame those problems solely on comics. While there was only a 9% drop in the number of releases between 1952 and 1953, circulation plummeted by an estimated 30–40%. The cause of the decrease is not entirely clear. Television had begun to provide competition with comic books, but there
20862-628: The late 1940s and early 1950s horror and true-crime comics flourished, many containing graphic violence and gore. Due to such content, moral crusaders became concerned with the impact of comics on the youth, and were blaming comic books for everything from poor grades to juvenile delinquency to drug abuse. This perceived indecency resulted in the collection and public burning of comic books in Spencer, West Virginia and Binghamton, New York in 1948, which received national attention and triggered other public burnings by schools and parent groups across
21033-510: The latter as well. It is revealed that Osborn sent Peter a letter before the fight, thanking Peter for giving his life meaning and purpose, but Peter never received the letter due to moving to a different residence. Years after Gwen's death, it is revealed that Osborn had a one-night stand with Gwen, which led to Gwen's pregnancy with his illegitimate twin children . Osborn thus has three motives for killing Gwen; revenge against Spider-Man, to prevent Gwen from talking of their affair and creating
21204-417: The latter to work with him as his business partner at New U Technologies, with the embodiment of Death herself confirming to Ben in Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider that all clones he created of deceased people he had brought back (including George and Gwen) had their souls intact on being brought back, while clones of living people (like Ben himself) had unique souls of their own. When Doctor Octopus pulls
21375-489: The line-wide " Dark Reign " and Siege comic book events, in which he served as the main antagonist; during this time, he became the original iteration of Iron Patriot . The character has been in various top villain lists as one of Spider-Man's greatest enemies and one of the greatest comic book villains of all time. The character's popularity has seen him appear on a variety of merchandise, inspire real-world structures (such as theme park attractions) and be referenced in
21546-433: The major players in volume of sales. By this point, former big-time players Fawcett and Fiction House had ceased publishing. Circulation peaked in 1952 when 3,161 issues of various comics were published with a total circulation of about one billion copies. After 1952, the number of individual releases dropped every year for the rest of the decade, with the biggest falls occurring in 1955–56. The rapid decline followed
21717-828: The new alias of the Goblin King . The Hand ninjas who evaded capture arrive at the sewers and join up with the Goblin Nation . The group reveals in the news that, thanks to Superior Spider-Man's assault, Osborn now owns over half of New York's organized crime. He claims he now owns New York City as the Goblin Kingpin of Crime. With Menace 's help, Osborn later releases Phil Urich from a prison transport and upgrades Urich's Goblin armor and weapons, asking in return only that Urich's only identity from here on shall be Goblin Knight. Osborn trains Goblin Knight, anxious to confront Superior Spider-Man. Osborn later poses as
21888-416: The present, Norman has defeated Spider-Man. In the rest of the flashback, Kindred sent one of his centipedes into Osborn's head in order to save him from himself. Back in the present, Osborn's Carnage form feels a scratching in his head as he tells Kindred to let him be the one to kill Spider-Man. He then turns his target towards Dylan Brock and Normie. Spider-Man gets to his feet and defeats Norman. As more of
22059-559: The process involved in successful comics is the interaction between the readers/fans and the creator(s). Fan art and letters to the editor were commonly printed in the back of the book, until, in the early 21st century, various Internet forums started to replace this tradition. The growth of comic specialty stores helped permit several waves of independently-produced comics, beginning in the mid-1970s. Some early examples of these – generally referred to as "independent" or "alternative" comics – such as Big Apple Comix , continued somewhat in
22230-505: The publication of Robert Crumb 's irregularly published Zap Comix . Frank Stack had published The Adventures of Jesus as far back as 1962, and there had been a trickle of such publications until Crumb's success. What had started as a self-publishing scene soon grew into a minor industry, with Print Mint , Kitchen Sink , Last Gasp and Apex Novelties among the more well-known publishers. These comix were often extremely graphic, and largely distributed in head shops that flourished in
22401-650: The red. That quickly changed, with the book turning a $ 30,000 profit each issue starting with #12. Famous Funnies would eventually run 218 issues, inspire imitators, and largely launch a new mass medium . When the supply of available existing comic strips began to dwindle, early comic books began to include a small amount of new, original material in comic-strip format. Inevitably, a comic book of all-original material, with no comic-strip reprints, debuted. Fledgling publisher Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications, which would evolve into DC Comics , to release New Fun #1 (Feb. 1935). This came out as
22572-448: The reporters from the Daily Bugle . After a battle with Spider-Man and Luke Cage , Osborn is arrested and sent to prison for the first time. However, things were far from over. From behind bars, Osborn again masterminded a plan against Spider-Man. This time, he has MacDonald "Mac" Gargan as Scorpion kidnap May. The plan was for Spider-Man to break Osborn out of prison in exchange for Parker's aunt's life. Peter reluctantly agreed and with
22743-508: The rest of the staff time to evacuate as he fights Peter before revealing his new bond with Carnage, proclaiming himself to be the Red Goblin , driving Spider-Man away with 'Carnage bombs' that injure his leg. Discovering a sound-transmitting spider-tracer planted on him, Osborn uses this to deliver a 'devil's bargain' to Peter; if Peter abandons the Spider-Man identity and never performs any further heroics, Osborn will leave Parker alone, but
22914-400: The return of Zodiac. Osborn's efforts to control the Carnage symbiote initially backfire when he merges with it and finds himself overwhelmed by the urge to kill rather than his own prior plan to direct its power against Spider-Man specifically, but he is able to convince it to let him have control in favor of trying something other than its usual mindless slaughter. As a starting favor, he has
23085-629: The satirical Mad —a former comic book which was now converted to a magazine format in order to circumvent the Code. DC started a revival in superhero comics in 1956 with the October 1956 revival of its former golden age top-seller The Flash in Showcase #4. Many comics historians peg this as the beginning of the Silver Age of American comic books, although Marvel (at this point still known variously as both Timely and Atlas ) had started reviving some of its old superheroes as early as 1954. The new Flash
23256-432: The second he sees any sign of Spider-Man's return, he will kill everyone in Peter's life. Peter places the Spider-Man top on a flagpole so that Osborn can see it burn but privately vows that he will find a way to defeat Osborn as Peter rather than Spider-Man. Peter is able to contact various allies like Human Torch , Clash , Silk , Miles Morales , and Agent Anti-Venom to watch over his loved ones. When Norman moves against
23427-495: The shock of seeing Harry hospitalized after overdosing on drugs causes Osborn's amnesia to return once more. After the final restoration of his memories, the Goblin kidnaps and takes Gwen Stacy to a bridge. During Spider-Man's rescue attempt, Osborn knocks Gwen off the bridge , resulting in the girl's death. Spider-Man, traumatised and obsessed with revenge, confronts the villain at his lair and beats him near to death. A last-ditch attempt to ram Spider-Man with his glider ends with
23598-408: The size was derived from folding one sheet of Quarter Imperial paper (15 in × 11 in or 380 mm × 280 mm), to print 4 pages which were each 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 by 11 inches (190 mm × 280 mm). This also meant that the page count had to be some multiple of 4. In recent decades, standard comics have been trimmed at about 6.625 x 10.25 inches. The format of
23769-518: The son Norman always wanted". Harry instead backs down, and turns away from his father forever. At Loki's suggestion, Osborn creates a rationale to invade Asgard , claiming the world (which was, at the time, positioned at the outskirts of Broxton, Oklahoma ) poses a national security threat, by sending the U-Foes to attack Volstagg in Chicago, leading to the destruction of Soldier Field . During
23940-459: The stillbirth of the baby. Returning to his former seat of power, Osborn regains control of his business and also buys out the Daily Bugle , humiliating former friend and societal peer J. Jonah Jameson as the latter no longer has control over the newspaper. He also torments Ben Urich and demands a retraction over an exposé of his time as the Goblin, providing faked evidence that he never
24111-415: The story and didn't reveal that the Green Goblin was Norman Osborn. I didn't know there was any doubt about Osborn being the Goblin. I didn't know that Ditko had just been setting Osborn up as a straw dog. I just accepted the fact that it was going to be Norman Osborn when we plotted it. I had been following the last couple of issues and didn't think there was really much mystery about it. Looking back, I doubt
24282-701: The success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at National Comics Publications (the future DC Comics) to request more superheroes for its titles. In response, Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman , who debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). The period from the late 1930s through roughly the end of the 1940s is referred to by comic book experts as the Golden Age of comic books . It featured extremely large print-runs, with Action Comics and Captain Marvel selling over half
24453-439: The symbiote eject the nanites in his bloodstream and re-injects himself with a vial of the Goblin Serum to combine it's augmentation with the symbiote's own wide array of abilities to ramp up his effectiveness. While interrogating a captive Jameson for information on Spider-Man, Osborn takes a brief interval from the torture to kill the self-proclaimed Goblin King who tried to raid one of his old storehouses. After Osborn appeared as
24624-463: The table at his hideout while awaiting for Spider-Man to find him. When Spider-Man finally confronts Kindred, Gwen and George's corpses were sat around a dinner table alongside the exhumed bodies of Ben Parker , Flash Thompson , J. Jonah Jameson Sr., Jean DeWolff , and Marla Jameson. In Spider-Man: 1602 , Captain Stacy is the leader of the merchant vessel the May Flower and a former member of
24795-417: The tradition of the earlier underground comics , while others, such as Star Reach , resembled the output of mainstream publishers in format and genre but were published by smaller artist-owned ventures or by a single artist. This so-called " small press " scene (a term derived from the limited quantity of comics printed in each press-run) continued to grow and diversify, with a number of small publishers in
24966-480: The truth of his relation to Osborn after watching a video message at one of the Goblin lairs, aligning with his father to stabilize his own condition using a variation of the Goblin formula at the cost of sanity. All of this was retconned during the Sinister War story-arc, when AI version of Harry Osborn's mind reveals that he masterminded a plan to get revenge of both his father and Peter Parker : he created
25137-459: The twins believe that Peter is the twins' father who abandoned the two and responsible for Gwen's death to which Peter learned the details of Gwen's past with Osborn and the twins from Mary Jane. Peter is able to convince Sarah of Osborn's villainy, the truth of Sarah's paternity and circumstances of Gwen's death, and stabilized the Goblin physiology with a blood transfusion due to Peter's blood type matching Sarah's. Meanwhile, Gabriel personally learns
25308-565: The twins in a lab with the help of Mendel Stromm and he brainwashed Norman and Mary Jane Watson (thanks to Mysterio) into believing Gwen cheated on Peter with Osborn. The twins aged rapidly because of clonation issues (and not because of Osborn's Goblin Serum), but eventually got better just as Harry started to use them as soldiers for his war against Norman and Spider-Man. Osborn attempts to distance himself from his Green Goblin persona after being prescribed medication for his mental state. During
25479-501: The two, Osborn attempts to kill Parker by impaling his nemesis with his goblin glider. When Reilly sacrifices himself to save Parker from Osborn (and immediately deteriorates upon death as all of the Jackal's clones do), Parker makes his discovery of actually being the original. During this same period, Osborn was also responsible for the murder or abduction of Peter & Mary Jane's newborn daughter, after one of his allies apparently caused
25650-465: The various X-Men books led to storylines involving the genocide of superpowered "mutants" in allegorical stories about religious and ethnic persecution. In addition, published formats like the graphic novel and the related trade paperback enabled the comic book to gain some respectability as literature. As a result, these formats are now common in book retail and the collections of US public libraries . Norman Osborn Norman Virgil Osborn
25821-404: The villain. He thinks he's the hero. He truly believes that he deserves public adulation, and it bugs the hell out of him that so-called 'superheroes' are getting it instead of him. He appeared as a regular character in the Dark Avengers series from issue #1 (March 2009) through issue #16 (June 2010), as well as the mini-series "Siege", which saw Norman being arrested for his crimes, following
25992-468: The wake of television and the impact of the Comics Code Authority . The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a superhero revival and superheroes remained the dominant character archetype throughout the late 20th century into the 21st century. Some fans collect comic books, helping drive up their value. Some have sold for more than US$ 1 million. Comic shops cater to fans, selling comic books, plastic sleeves ("bags") and cardboard backing ("boards") to protect
26163-412: The wall-crawler redeemed in the public eye. He also took an instant liking to Peter, and openly encouraged the growing bond between the youngster and his daughter Gwen. Shortly thereafter at a dance club which employed Mary Jane Watson , Captain Stacy was put under a hypnotic trance through a rigged camera operated by Mary Jane who took photos of him unaware that these actions were aiding Wilson Fisk (aka
26334-406: The wall-crawler seemingly destroys it by hitting it with an exploding gas tank. However, the Carnage symbiote was attached to Norman when Peter destroyed it, which causes a psychic backlash from the trauma of dying that devastates Osborn's own psyche and finally defeats him. Norman is last seen incarcerated at Ravencroft , where due to the mental trauma from his defeat, he now believes that Spider-Man
26505-643: The way of real police work. In Marvel Adventures Spider-Man , George Stacy is given a hint from Emma Frost in issue 53 by the arrival of his daughter Gwen, who is a new student of Midtown High. In issue 54, George makes his full debut as a slightly younger character with light brown hair. He recently discovered that Peter is Spider-Man when he accidentally yelled a quote that George knows. With his identity now known, George now calls him, requesting support on some of his cases. He later feels he should not use Peter, but Peter allows George to call him if he needs help, which pleases George. The Ultimate Marvel version of
26676-410: The weapon, Captain Stacy interviewed Peter, believed to have been held captive with Doc Ock and Spider-Man. After the interview, Captain Stacy revealed to Peter that he had spent time studying the career of Spider-Man, and that he was glad to have met Peter, known for photographing the wall-crawler on numerous occasions. Identifying himself as a strong supporter of Spider-Man, Captain Stacy wished to see
26847-403: The web-slinger could be seen together, however, Captain Stacy could not be fooled. Called into action one night, Captain Stacy watched Spider-Man battle Doctor Octopus on a rooftop high above the city. A crowd had gathered nearby to watch the confrontation. As the two fought fiercely, chunks of concrete began to dislodge from the roof and rain on the spectators below. Spotting a child standing under
27018-428: The writing of Thunderbolts . He introduced new characters to serve as Osborn's black ops team, explaining: To quote the movie Speed , he's 'crazy, not stupid'. He's clearly fiercely intelligent and a natural born leader, with the ego and competitive drive to succeed against all odds. He also just happens to be crazy as a shithouse rat. [...] I think the secret to understanding Norman is that he doesn't realize he's
27189-560: Was a clone, and assuming his father's Green Goblin identity. However, this narrative was rejected by newly promoted editor in chief Bob Harras , and eventually Norman was chosen to be the mastermind. Following the Clone Saga, Green Goblin re-established himself as a supervillain and Spider-Man's nemesis, serving as the main antagonist of several arcs thereafter. Osborn returns in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #75 and
27360-408: Was a cloud with a silver lining, and proved the making of Marvel, allowing the company to concentrate its brightest and best talent on a small number of titles, at a time when its rivals were spreading their creative talents very thin across a huge number of monthly titles. The quality of Marvel's product soared in consequence, and sales soared with it. While the creators of comics were given credit in
27531-464: Was also a rise in conservative values with the election in 1952 of Dwight Eisenhower . The Comics Code Authority, a self-censoring body founded to curb the juvenile delinquency alleged to be due to the crime and horror comics, has often been targeted as the culprit, but sales had begun to drop the year before it was founded. The major publishers were not seriously harmed by the drop in sales, but smaller publishers were killed off: EC (the prime target of
27702-486: Was born in New Haven, Connecticut as the son of wealthy industrialist Amberson Osborn. Amberson, a brilliant student in the fields of science, became an alcoholic after losing control of his manufacturing company and subsequently his entire fortune, and became physically abusive toward the family. Norman quickly came to despise his father, resolving to be a better breadwinner while developing early homicidal tendencies as
27873-422: Was formally introduced in issue #37, he too was stated to be a member of the club and friend of Jameson's. Ditko left the series with issue #38, just one issue after Norman Osborn was introduced as the father of Harry Osborn . The first issue without Ditko saw the Green Goblin unmasked. John Romita, Sr. , who replaced Ditko as the title's artist, recalled: Stan wouldn't have been able to stand it if Ditko did
28044-401: Was his. A five issue mini-series followed, written by writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Emma Rios . The mini-series would lead into a dual storyline running in the pages of The New Avengers #17–24 and The Avengers vol. 4 #18–24, in which the character formed a new version of the Dark Avengers and ultimately garnered new powers, having turned himself into a Super-Adaptoid . Norman
28215-556: Was hugely successful, and Norman re-gained the wealth that he had lost during his childhood. However, his wife becomes ill and dies when Harry is barely a year old, the stress of which pushes Norman to work harder, leading him to emotionally neglect Harry. Hoping to gain more control of Oscorp Industries, Osborn accused Stromm of embezzlement and has his partner arrested and shares in his company sold to him. Searching his former mentor's possessions, Norman discovers incomplete notes for an experimental strength/intelligence enhancement formula;
28386-479: Was in France for some time). During this time abroad, believed dead by the general public, he orchestrates several plots, including replacing May Parker with a genetically altered actress, and faking his own son's death (after Mephisto 's manipulations of the timeline); prior to the timeline change, Harry's corpse, at one point, was exhumed and tested. Most significantly, however, he utilizes his fortune to build
28557-566: Was killed again by the Carrion Virus. The character has been adapted from the comics into several forms of media, including animated series and feature films. In live-action, the character was played by James Cromwell in the film Spider-Man 3 (2007), by Denis Leary in Marc Webb 's The Amazing Spider-Man film duology (2012–2014), and by Shea Whigham in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) and Spider-Man: Beyond
28728-492: Was not even attempting to strike back. After the New Avengers are forced to allow Osborn to capture Cage when needing medical treatment, the team uses a tracking device Osborn had planted in Luke to trick him into blowing up his own house after rescuing Cage from Osborn's custody. Harry is approached by Norman with the offer of a job within the Dark Avengers. Norman welcomes Harry into Avengers Tower, wanting to make his son into
28899-457: Was the supervillain, despite Urich's extensive research. However, he saves his most sadistic treatment for Peter, acting not only as a constant reminder of all the pain he's inflicted on his nemesis over the years, but a looming threat that could strike at any time. This build-up of pressure eventually makes Spider-Man snap by savagely beating the civilian and non-resistant Osborn in front of the latter's CCTV , which, combined with Osborn convincing
29070-542: Was to use Mephisto , but they felt a more down-to-earth character was needed. It was then suggested that the semi- zombified cyborg " Gaunt " be revealed as Harry Osborn (who was killed in The Spectacular Spider-Man #200). Gaunt was a late entry to the controversial storyline, created mainly as a plot device to return Harry to life; the plan for the character included Harry regaining his humanity, taking credit for tricking Peter into thinking he
29241-509: Was unknown, but he proved popular and reappeared in later issues, which made a point of his secret identity. According to both Stan Lee and John Romita, Sr. , who replaced Ditko as the title's artist, Lee always wanted the Green Goblin to be someone Peter Parker knew, while Ditko wanted his civilian identity to be someone who had not yet been introduced. Lee elaborated: "Steve wanted him to turn out to be just some character that we had never seen before. Because, he said, in real life, very often
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