The Amazing Spider-Man has gone in a new direction in the last two issues. Norman Osborn has taken over the mantle of Spider-Man for Peter Parker, using his Goblin formula-enhanced physique and various technologies to replicate Spider-Man’s powers. The Amazing Spider-Man #12 follows Osborn through his day as Spider-Man, watching Roderick Kingsley, the Hobgoblin, get acquitted, and then having a confrontation with the Spider-Family of New York City — Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Boy, Arachne, and Silk. What follows is a battle that shows that Norman Osborn’s past sins against Gwen Stacy still affect him. Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy have quite a history with each other, and it’s one that still informs Norman Osborn’s life.
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The Amazing Spider-Man #12 is an impressive issue, doing a lot to sell Norman Osborn as Spider-Man. This is an idea that has been quite controversial since it was introduced. Seeing Norman Osborn as Spider-Man is a big deal, and it could very easily backfire for readers. Norman’s reaction to Gwen Stacy is a huge step forward in this arc, as it shows Norman how his past as the Green Goblin affects his present as Spider-Man. Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy’s relationship has been cataclysmic, including the dark shadow cast by Sins Past, but Osborn has finally put the final nail in that particular coffin.
Norman Osborn’s Relationship with Gwen Stacy Has Always Been Complicated
There are very few relationships in the Spider-Man comics more important than the one between Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy. Norman Osborn is integral to the Spider-Man mythos, and his actions with Gwen Stacy changed the Spider-Man comics forever. Bringing Spider-Gwen into the 616 universe and having Spider-Man and Norman Osborn working as closely as they have over the last few years meant that at some point, we were definitely going to get Norman and Spider-Gwen in the same room. The Amazing Spider-Man #12 feels like something that’s been a long time coming.
Osborn is confronted by Miles, Gwen, Spider-Boy, Arachne, and Silk, and proceeds to trounce them in battle. That’s not surprising: Norman has been battling Spiders for years, so he’s very good at fighting them, especially those of the group who aren’t as experienced as Peter. Norman is basically giving the Spiders a pretty flawless beating until Gwen gets involved. At first, he reacts with anger, as part of the fight scene sees him thinking about his father’s abuse towards him. However, Gwen’s voice abruptly ends this line of thinking.
Norman Osborn met Gwen Stacy while she was friends with Harry and Peter, and there was obviously a spark there between them. Now, at one low point in Spider-Man history “Sins Past” revealed that Norman had blackmailed Gwen for sex. Infamously, this was later retconned, and Norman merely believed it had happened, as part of a torturous scheme by Harry Osborn, Mephisto, and Mysterio. This new step in their relationship feels less like narrative contrivance, as the retcon did, but more like a cathartic reclamation for Norman. Because what’s really interesting about this comic is that what stops Norman from attacking Gwen is thinking about the way his father showed love — with violence — and not wanting to act that way towards her again.
Norman Osborn killed Gwen Stacy, yes, but there was a time before this action that he definitely loved Gwen in some way. Since losing the Goblin side of him, Norman Osborn has seen the toxic way he treated the people he loved. Gwen’s death is the perfect example of him acting like his own father acted towards him, taking any slight as an excuse for violence. The moment he realizes what he’s doing with Spiders — fighting them for questioning him rather than explaining himself — comes because he’s about to hurt someone he loves in the person of Spider-Gwen. He chooses love at that point, ending the fight between himself and the Spiders.
Norman Osborn’s Love for Gwen Stacy Shows Him the Error of His Ways
Norman Osborn as Spider-Man is an idea that I never would have thought worked in any way. It almost seems like a bad joke, like when Spider-Man took on the sins of Green Goblin and became the Spider Who Gobbles. However, this is actually a fascinating idea, and The Amazing Spider-Man #12 shows why. Norman Osborn is a character with so much baggage to explore, especially related to the history of Spider-Man, and Spider-Gwen to show that is an amazing idea.
Norman Osborn, like many other characters in the Spider-Man mythos (and the editorial office at Marvel), sees Gwen Stacy as a virginal symbol of love. She was there for his family when she didn’t have to be, and her rejection of the Osborns for Peter saw Norman destroy her. He became his own father. So, in The Amazing Spider-Man #12, he decides to go in an entirely different direction. He chooses love and mercy for Gwen, something that he didn’t do before. This plot isn’t going to last forever, but if it keeps giving us moments like this, it’s more than worth it.
The Amazing Spider-Man #12 is on sale now.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
