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  1. #1
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    Default Norman Being More Sympathetic In Other Media

    Something I've noticed is how in most adaptations Norman tends to be more sympathetic than his comic incarnation, at least when it comes to his relationship with Harry. In the comics, Norman is depicted as being verbally and physically abusive towards Harry, seeing him as a weakling and blaming him for the death of Norman's wife. In the 90s cartoon and the Raimi film, it's emphasized that Norman's actions are the result of the Goblin formula messing with his mind and his exposure to it is a result of dangerous experiments to save his company from going under. While I liked Norman in the comics, I do like it when writers do give some humanity to him and show that he does care for his son. Also, it seems odd that no one brings up the fact that Harry brought about Norman's fall to madness by tampering with the serum.

    So what are you guys' thoughts? Do you like more sympathetic versions of Norman?

  2. #2
    Fantastic Member jgprime's Avatar
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    I always thought of Osborn as someone that was already borderline-insane before becoming the Goblin. The Goblin formula simply took out all the rage and desire for control that Osborn already had.

  3. #3
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    I prefer Norman being close to if not the very incarnation of evil. I like diversity in my villains and the go to angle these days seems to be to make the villain more sympathetic to give them depth I like for Osbourne to be a more classic and black hearted kind of antagonist.
    Rules are for lesser men, Charlie - Grand Pa Joe ~ Willy Wonka & Chocolate Factory

  4. #4
    Mighty Member Webhead's Avatar
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    616 Osborn has crossed the line completely and that's fun in a way but I do enjoy a less nutjob version every now and then. One thing I miss from the 616 version is the love he has towards Harry, twisted and perverted like himself, giving him a "crutch" of sorts while retaining the sense of danger and madness.
    Last edited by Webhead; 12-18-2014 at 02:07 PM.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by The World View Post
    I prefer Norman being close to if not the very incarnation of evil. I like diversity in my villains and the go to angle these days seems to be to make the villain more sympathetic to give them depth I like for Osbourne to be a more classic and black hearted kind of antagonist.
    I'm pretty sure there are more unsympathetic villains than sympathetic ones these days even in Marvel.

  6. #6
    Really Feeling It! Kevinroc's Avatar
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    It's sort of how Norman was portrayed back in the Romita, Sr. days. Norman wasn't the nicest guy, but he clearly cared about his son and wanted to do right by him. The Green Goblin was this whole other persona that took over. After the Goblin killed Gwen, he had crossed a line and was "killed." A lot of the adaptations mentioned (such as the 1990s Spidey cartoon) were being made before Norman came back in the comics. There really were no other takes on him. When they brought Norman back, he became a complete monster all the time. He even retroactively always was a complete monster. (Hence why he was a complete monster in the "Spectacular" cartoon.)

  7. #7
    Ultimate Member Tendrin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevinroc View Post
    It's sort of how Norman was portrayed back in the Romita, Sr. days. Norman wasn't the nicest guy, but he clearly cared about his son and wanted to do right by him. The Green Goblin was this whole other persona that took over. After the Goblin killed Gwen, he had crossed a line and was "killed." A lot of the adaptations mentioned (such as the 1990s Spidey cartoon) were being made before Norman came back in the comics. There really were no other takes on him. When they brought Norman back, he became a complete monster all the time. He even retroactively always was a complete monster. (Hence why he was a complete monster in the "Spectacular" cartoon.)
    The thought was that for Norman to become the Green Goblin and that sort of unhinged monster, he always had to be kind of a bad guy to start with. Honestly, I'm not sure I like it. Norman becoming more and more degraded and fallen over time seems more interesting to me. The potential for monstrosity always existed in him, we c an say, but he went down that road and after a point stopped looking back.

    To me, Spider-Man always ought to be about the choices they make, and how their lives lead them to make them.

  8. #8
    Ultimate Member Mister Mets's Avatar
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    The Norman Osborn of the Lee/ Romita comics wasn't a terrible guy. However, any comics published after he murdered Gwen Stacy are going to emphasize that he's a villain.

    Other universes don't need to do that, since Osborn hasn't crossed that line yet.
    Sincerely,
    Thomas Mets

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