Amazing Spider-Man #597
American Son Part 3
Unaware that Spider-Man has infiltrated his ranks, Norman Osborn shows his Dark Avengers the secret lab where he is storing his latest project. A suit of armor his son, Harry Osborn, will wear under the identity of American Son. Osborn explains that this project is being used to sell the American people on his narrative of superheroes. Seeing all this comes as a shock to Spider-Man, who has been posing as the Dark Avenger’s Venom. Norman explains that the suit is only part of the equation of creating his own version of Captain America, as American Son will also be enhanced with a combination of the Super-Soldier Serum and his own Goblin Formula. He shows them his test subjects which have all been turned into hideous monsters because the two serums don’t work well together. When one of the mutated freaks tries to attack Osborn, Spider-Man — against his better judgment — leaps in to save him thinking it will help him maintain the illusion that he is Venom. When “Venom” raises the concerns about Osborn turning his own son into a monster, Norman reveals that these were only the failures and that they have mostly balanced out the formula. When “Venom” raises concerns about Harry not wanting to be injected with anything, Norman assures his Dark Avengers that Harry will comply given the right motivations.
Elsewhere in Avengers Tower, Harry Osborn has made his way into one of the higher security areas in an attempt to learn where his father is keeping Lily Hollister. Preparing to take out the guards standing out in front of Norman’s office, Harry is suddenly grabbed by someone lurking in the shadows. While in Forest Hills, Aunt May is spending the evening planning out her wedding when her fiance, Jay Jameson, suggests that they take a break. That’s when the power goes out, convincing May to take his advice. As the couple goes up to bed they are unaware that the power has gone out thanks to some tentacled drones working on the outside electrical box. These drones are working all over the island of Manhattan, working their way into every computer, electrical device, and business in the city, all under the command of Doctor Octopus.
Back at Avengers Tower, the person who grabbed Harry turns out to be Lily Hollister who saw Harry sneaking around and had to make sure he was real. After they kiss, he tells Lily that he is going to free her. Lily is afraid of Norman, but Harry knows that his father is only interested in her because she can turn into the Menace and if she can’t turn into the Menace he will lose interest. He points out that his father has certainly developed a cure in case Menace turns against him, they just need to find it and they can disappear.[1] That’s when Lily pulls back her hair to reveal horns sprouting out of her forehead, telling Harry that her pregnancy is causing the Goblin Formula in her system to cause more than the usual transformations caused by pregnancy. She then gives Harry a keycard that will give Harry access to the secured levels of the facility, telling Harry that he will likely find what he is looking for in one of the private labs.
While elsewhere, Norman concludes his briefing and assigns “Venom” to monitor duty. Spider-Man is impressed that he was able to trick Osborn and the other Dark Avengers into thinking that he was Mac Gargan.[2] He wonders what he’s going to do about Harry, particularly if Harry decides to go along with what his father has planned for him. His thoughts are interrupted when he is ambushed by Daken, whose enhanced senses have seen through Spider-Man’s disguise. Spider-Man quickly finds himself outmatched, not only because of Daken’s enhanced agility but also because of the pheromones he excretes that affect his opponent’s perceptions. Unable to trust his perceptions, Spider-Man closes his eyes and relies on his spider-sense and is able to turn the battle around, and defeats Daken.[3] That’s when Spider-Man runs into Harry who is upset that the wall-crawler is interfering in his plans. As Harry is telling off the web-slinger, Norman Osborn and the rest of the Dark Avengers enter the room. Quick thinking, Spider-Man pretends to be Venom again and tries to convince Osborn that Daken was attempting to kill his son. Unfortunately, Harry refuses to play along and at Osborn’s command, Bullseye fires two arrows through Spider-Man’s thighs.
That’s when Osborn reveals that he knew that “Venom” was an impostor the whole time and begins beating on the wall-crawler, reminding the web-slinger that Harry is his. When Bullseye asks if they should kill Spider-Man, Norman shoots the web-slinger and tells his minions that he has something else in mind for his foe.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Dark Avengers (Norman Osborn, “Ms. Marvel”, Ares, “Hawkeye”, Sentry, “Wolverine”), Harry Osborn, Aunt May, Jay Jameson, Lily Hollister, Doctor Octopus
Continuity Notes
Harry mentions how both he and his father have cheated death in the past because of the Goblin Formula in their bodies. This has caused them both to cheat death in the past. Specifically:
Norman Osborn seemingly died in Amazing Spider-Man #122 when he was impaled on his own Goblin Glider. As revealed in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1, Norman’s Goblin Formula allowed him to heal from this injury. He went into hiding for years leaving everyone to think he had died. Norman resurfaced in Amazing Spider-Man #412.
Harry, on the other hand, seemingly died because of his exposure to the Goblin Formula in Spectacular Spider-Man #200. As explained in Amazing Spider-Man #581-582, Harry was actually high as a kite at the time. His father came out of hiding briefly to cover it all up and make everyone think Harry was dead. Harry turned up alive again in Amazing Spider-Man #545.
In his internal monologue, Spider-Man makes a joke Oscar acceptance speech where he thanks actress Julia Roberts. This should be considered a topical reference.
Spider-Man states that he spoke with Daken’s father. He is referring to Wolverine. Daken’s parentage was revealed in Wolverine: Origins #5.
