Harry Osborn

Peter Parker's best friend and the tragic heir to the Goblin curse.

Harry Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965). Harry is the best friend of Peter Parker (Spider-Man's alter ego) and Flash Thompson, one of the ex-boyfriends of Mary Jane Watson, the son of Norman Osborn, the husband of Liz Allan and the father of Normie Osborn and Stanley Osborn. He is the second character to assume the Green Goblin alias while one of his clones was amongst the many users of the Iron Patriot armor as the superhero American Son. An artificial intelligence (A.I.) copy, known as the A.I. Harry Osborn, is also the creator of the clones Gabriel and Sarah who are both later revealed to be operating as his demonic revenant Kindred under the Harry A.I.'s command.

Quick Facts

Full name

Harold Theopolis Osborn

Publisher

Marvel Comics

Species

Human mutate

Homeworld

New York City

Creators

Stan Lee (writer); Steve Ditko (artist)

Supports

Spider-Man

Alliances

Oscorp
Parker Industries
Alchemax

Lore & Background

Harry is the only son of Norman Osborn and Emily Lyman. The circumstances of Harry's birth weaken Emily, and she dies after a long illness. Heartbroken, Norman becomes a cold and unloving father; Norman either contemptuously dismisses Harry or lashes out at him in fury. As a result, Harry spends much of his life trying desperately to earn his father's approval.

Unbeknownst to him, Norman traded his son's soul to the demon Mephisto in exchange for wealth and power, and Harry would be cursed for the rest of his life while Norman forgot the deal. Upon graduating from high school, Harry enrolls in Empire State University. Among the wealthiest students in the school, Harry soon becomes one of the most popular as well, despite his aloof manner. He has a clique of rich, popular students around him; one of these is Gwen Stacy.

Gwen is intrigued by a new student: Peter Parker. Harry takes a dislike to Peter as Peter's 'cold shoulder' towards everyone reminds him of his own father's behavior. After confronting Parker, Harry realizes that Peter is merely shy and is also worried about his ailing aunt May Parker. Despite this rocky start, Harry and Peter became best friends, eventually sharing an apartment.

Reader's Guide

Harry Osborn first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965), created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. In The Amazing Spider-Man #122 (July 1973), Harry's father Norman is killed off, and a subplot leading to Harry inheriting his father's identity as the Green Goblin is introduced. This subplot culminates in The Amazing Spider-Man #136 (September 1974). Writer Gerry Conway said the idea of Harry becoming the Green Goblin stemmed in part from a desire to deal with the consequences of the psychedelic drugs Harry began using in The Amazing Spider-Man #96 (May 1971).

Harry dies in The Spectacular Spider-Man #200 (May 1993). Artist Sal Buscema said drawing the final two pages was deeply emotional due to how long he had drawn the character. Harry was eventually revived in The Amazing Spider-Man #545 (December 2007), later revealed to be a clone. After manipulations of the timeline, a 'genetic duplicate' maintains a life on Earth.

Harry legally changed his name to Harry Lyman based on his mother's maiden name as he now works at Parker Industries. During the fight against Kindred, Harry learns that he's a clone before he aids Spider-Man and saves Norman to which he ends up fatally wounded, collapsing into Peter's arms and dies.