| “ | The truth... okay... The truth is, you were only ever worth a damn when you worked for me. The truth is you could never accept that I'm better than you. You're a failure, Otto. And you always will be. | „ |
| ~ Norman choosing to mock Otto Octavius instead of confessing to his crimes. |
Norman Osborn is the main antagonist of Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man video game series. He is the founding CEO of Oscorp, the former childhood friend turned arch-rival of Dr. Otto Octavius, the father of Harry Osborn, and the former mayor of New York City.
In an effort to cure his ill wife and son, Osborn developed GR-27, an imperfect experimental medical serum that gained the nickname "Devil's Breath", which unwittingly led to the rise of Mister Negative and his own eventual downfall. In another desperate attempt, Osborn administered the Venom Symbiote to his son to cure his illness. Although it appeared to be successful at first, it would pave the way to a Symbiote apocalypse that almost destroyed New York.
After the Spider-Men thwarted the apocalypse by destroying the Symbiote and unintentionally rendering Harry in a coma, a devastated Osborn plotted to gain his revenge on them by intending to know their identities.
He is voiced by Mark Rolston, who also played Bogs Diamond in The Shawshank Redemption, J. Scar in Eraser, Lex Luthor in Young Justice and Deathstroke in the Batman: Arkham franchise.
Biography[]
Past[]
Norman's family prior to Emily's illness.
Norman was born sometime during 1960 as a member of one of the most powerful and oldest families before his parents' death in a car accident according to a newspaper.
In his youth, Norman Osborn befriended Otto Octavius during his years in grad school, earning the nickname "the O's". Together, the two eventually started a business company known as "Oscorp;" derived from the combination of their names However, Norman became more and more obsessed with genetics, when his wife Emily started to succumb to Oshtoran Syndrome, a terminal illness. Oscorp would eventually develop an experimental “cure” called GR-27, nicknamed “Devil’s Breath” by the lab technicians due to its rather destructive nature and its potential to cause a deadly pandemic. In 1986, this treatment was used on a boy named Martin Li in an attempt to cure him, but instead resulted in an explosion that killed Martin's parents and gave him superpowers. Norman and Otto had a falling out after this and Otto left Oscorp to start his own company, Octavius Industries.
At some point, Norman Osborn discovers that Harry has inherited his mother's disease and begins producing GR-27 again. He receives help from notorious crime-lord Wilson Fisk to build a secret production facility to continue experimenting within Manhattan. Fisk discovers the true nature of GR-27 and uses it as blackmail against Norman. After the emergence of the superhero Spider-Man, Norman secretly began a project to replicate the abilities of the hero. The only known successes of the experiment was Michael Bingham/Blood Spider. Osborn uses Bingham to spy on Fisk and retrieve the blackmail. Likely during 2014, Norman Osborn was elected mayor of New York. During his mayoral tenure, Osborn was popular among businessmen but generally divisive and unpopular with ordinary citizens. Peter Parker also notes that he is noted for being dishonest and condescending.
Hostile Takeover[]
Shortly before his son Harry is set to begin his treatment under the guise of leaving for Europe, Norman interrupts a meeting between Harry and Peter Parker at a cafe. Norman tries to recruit Peter to Oscorp and away from his employer, Otto Octavius. An uncomfortable Harry leaves, and Norman reminds Peter that helping Harry is his own job.
Norman meets Wilson Fisk at an abandoned warehouse to discuss their partnership. Fisk attempts to convince Norman to embrace him and reinvigorate his popularity among the working class. Norman initially declines but presents Fisk a list of requirements before he accepts. Norman asks Fisk where he discovered the Spider-Man impostor, but Fisk angrily asserts that he is more powerful than the mayor. Norman attends a gala honoring Fisk for his charitable work, where he is also set to announce Fisk as the new commissioner of finance in exchange for GR-27 funding. However, the gala is crashed by Echo, Spider-Man, and Blood Spider, who are all fighting over the flash drive containing the blackmail. Echo destroys the flash drive, and Norman calmly watches as he tells Fisk that their partnership is over.
Marvel's Spider-Man[]
In 2018, Norman interrupts a research session at Octavius Industries to confiscate their lab equipment. Norman tells Otto that their lab is being shut down due to repeated safety violations and cuts their funding, reminding Otto that he excused them several times. Norman attempts to recruit Otto, but fails. Later, Norman honors Jefferson Davis at the city hall to boost his reelection odds. During the parade, he receives a call from Mister Negative, warning him of an incoming attack. He is immediately evacuated and the parade is bombed by the Inner Demons, resulting in the death of several civilians, including Officer Davis.
In the aftermath of the attack, Miles Morales, the son of Jefferson, meets Peter at his father's funeral, where he is convinced to join F.E.A.S.T. Due to the terror attack and several days of ongoing crimes by the Inner Demons, Osborn hires mercenary Silver Sable, the founder and owner of Sable International, a PMC. Mister Negative attempts to release Devil's Breath at Grand Central Station, but is stopped and apprehended by Spider-Man. On TV, Norman takes credit and encourages citizens to reelect him, enraging an increasingly unhinged Otto Octavius.
Otto Octavius becomes Doctor Octopus and releases hundreds of convicts from Ryker's Prison and the Raft, forming the Sinister Six. Otto successfully steals Devil's Breath and releases it in Times Square, causing a city-wide lockdown. Norman's role in the creation of Devil's Breath and the martial law imposed by him and enforced by Sable International causes his ratings to plummet. Additionally, he would name Spider-Man a fugitive and a target for Sable.
Mary Jane Watson infiltrates Norman's penthouse, discovering crates of spiders and evidence that Mister Negative was indirectly created by GR-27 experiments. Furthermore, she discovers that Harry is not actually in Europe, but is sick. As Mary Jane leaves, one of Osborn's spiders clings on her. Oscorp develops an antiserum for Devil's Breath at a secret research facility, which Osborn goes to. Otto discerns the location and sends Mister Negative to retrieve the cure. However, he is defeated by Spider-Man. Otto arrives and defeats Spider-Man, steals the cure, and kidnaps Norman.Otto takes Norman to the top of Oscorp and demands that he apologizes for his actions. However, Norman taunts Otto, enraging him and is thrown off the building. Spider-Man saves Norman and defeats Otto.
Due to the controversy, Norman is forced to resign as mayor. He goes to another secret facility where Harry is held for his treatment. He approaches a tank that a comatose Harry is held in, which contains a black, web-like substance which reacts and copies Norman when he places a hand on the tank. Elsewhere, one of the spiders which escaped Norman's penthouse facility bites Miles Morales, giving him powers identical to Spider-Man.
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales[]
More than a year after the defeat of Doctor Octopus and the Sinister Six, Norman is nowhere to be seen or heard from during The Underground's campaign against Simon Krieger led by Tinkerer. In this time, Miles Morales, Peter Parker's superhero apprentice has taken over his role as the sole Spider-Man in New York City while Peter goes to Symkaria with Mary Jane.
During her campaign, Tinkerer uses the now-abandoned Oscorp Science Center as a hideout, as the building has been temporarily closed down, most likely due to Oscorp's stocks crashing due to Norman's role in the Devil's Breath crisis. Norman, who has still kept Harry in the tank containing Venom, demands from Dr. Curt Connors to release Harry. Despite Connors' objections, Norman angrily orders him to do so.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2[]
Harry, now bonded to Venom, has been stable and healthy since being released from the tank. Norman helps create the Emily-May Foundation (EMF), a charitable subsidiary of Oscorp dedicated to "healing the world", a dream held by Harry and his mother. Norman helps Harry recruit Peter and expresses joy at seeing the two reunited.
Harry would become a superhero in his own right, helping Spider-Man defeat Kraven's Hunters and freeing Tombstone from their grasp. However, the Venom symbiote would bond to Peter Parker after being near-fatally stabbed by Kraven. Harry begins to suffer from his illness again and Norman begins work on finding another cure. The Hunters attack EMF and destroy the building, which Norman is indifferent to, only caring about Harry and Peter's safety.
Norman begins to overwork himself finding a cure as Harry's illness reaches the point where he uses a cane to walk again. Peter, having bonded to Venom even further, refuses to remove the symbiote. After being corrupted by the symbiote, Miles defeats Peter and helps him remove Venom, storing it in an Oscorp container. Peter brings Venom to Oscorp to be destroyed but is stopped by Harry. Venom rebonds to Harry and transforms him into a monstrous creature, much to the horror of Norman, who witnesses it. Norman begs Venom to let Harry go, but it refuses. He orders Oscorp guards to neutralize Venom non-lethally, but it escapes.
After Venom is killed by the Spider-Men and MJ, Harry is freed but left in a coma, in which his chances of survival are extremely low. Norman blames the Spider-Men for his condition and tells one of his lab technicians to get the G-serum ready. He then visits Doctor Octopus at the Raft, asking if he knows the Spider-Men's identities. Otto refuses to tell him, but offers to tell him the "final chapter".
Personality[]
Norman Osborn is charming and crafty at political maneuvers. However, he is also shown to be also ruthless, arrogant, and dishonest. His political gamesmanship earned him influence to become mayor of New York, and he had aspirations set on even higher offices. Although he was respected by most of the public, Norman was also known as a corrupt man as well as a liar, mainly by Otto Octavius as he accuses Norman of stealing his ideas. He was still heavily involved in his own business despite holding political office and making corrupt deals, such as hiring Wilson Fisk to create a GR-27 facility, using Sable International to violate citizen's rights, and ignoring the risks of GR-27.
Despite his Machiavellian nature, he is shown to care deeply for his family to a fault, indirectly causing 2 city-wide crises in an effort to cure Harry's inherited disease. Also, despite his dislike for Spider-Man, asks the heroes for help after Venom takes control of Harry. After Harry is left in a coma, he swears revenge against the Spider-Men, blaming them for his condition. Norman also shows deep care for Peter Parker, seeing him as another son and becoming emotional at the sight of him and Harry reunited. While he belittled and taunted Octavius even when he had him at his mercy and was ready to kill him, he apologized to Martin Li, when Li had him as his prisoner, indicating that he may feel remorse about what happened to him. Osborn also regularly tries to recruit Peter to Oscorp, to both boost his career and take his talents away from Otto Octavius.
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Emily Osborn † (wife)
- Harry Osborn (son)
Friends[]
- Silver Sable
- Peter Parker (unaware he's Spider-Man)
- Mary Jane Watson (one-sided)
- Dr. Curt Connors
Enemies[]
- Spider-Men (unaware of their true identities)
- Sinister Six
- Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus (former best friend, brother figure turned arch-rival and attempted killer)
- Martin Li / Mister Negative (attempted killer)
- MacDonald Gargan / Scorpion †
- Max Dillon / Electro †
- Aleksei Sytsevich / Rhino
- Adrian Toomes / Vulture †
- Kraven the Hunter †
- Venom
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Quotes[]
| “ | Peter Parker, how the hell are you? | „ |
| ~ Norman Osborn's first lines when shutting down Otto Octavius' Laboratory. |
| “ | Mister Negative: I've waited many years for this moment. Norman: Who is this? Mister Negative: Over the coming days, your company, your city and everything you care about will be destroyed. People will beg you for help but you don't be able to see them. Norman: Listen jackass, I get threats like this twice a week. Why don't you tell me what you want? Mister Negative: To watch you suffer. |
„ |
| ~ Mister Negative's threatening phone call to Norman Osborn. |
Spider-Man: Miles Morales[]
| “ | Curt: Vitals are good. Circulatory system healthy. Um. Brain activity normal-- Norman: He's been in there long enough. Curt: Mr. Osborn, I understand he's your son. But his disease could-- Norman: I want him out, Curt. Curt: But we may be underestimating the potential danger of-- Norman: I said, GET HIM OUT! NOW! |
„ |
| ~ Norman ordering Curt to release Harry from his stasis tank, despite of the dangers of the Venom symbiote. |
Marvel's Spider-Man 2[]
| “ | Why!? WHY!?! Get...the G-Serum ready... ASAP. | „ |
| ~ Norman's sad breakdown as he demands the G-Serum be brought to him, foreshadowing his likely transformation into the Green Goblin, as well as the beginning of his mental decline. |
Trivia[]
- According to his in-game bio, Norman Osborn is 58 years old, weighs 185 pounds, and is 5'11".
- The prototype hand grenades and combat mask in Norman’s penthouse foreshadow his potential transformation into the Green Goblin, although it is yet to happen. Furthermore, at the end of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 when Harry is rendered comatose, an emotionally destroyed Norman demands that the G-Serum be ready.
- On that note, Norman is seen wearing multiple outfits involving the color green throughout Marvel's Spider-Man 2.
External Links[]
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 Villains
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Oscorp Industries Kingpin's Criminal Empire Inner Demons Silver Sable International Sinister Six Hammerhead Crime Family Roxxon Energy Corporation Hunters Mysterium Darren Shipman's Gang Others See Also | ||