Every Spider-Man fan knows of Spider-Man’s original archnemesis, Green Goblin. A quick review of the lore will also tell you that Norman Osborn is Green Goblin’s real identity. Now, players encounter this character multiple times throughout Spider-Man 2’s gameplay, but there’s a particular post-credit scene pertaining to him that we’re going to talk about today.
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What Is Norman Osborn’s Fate in Spider-Man 2?
At the very end of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, when Peter Parker and Miles Morales have defeated Venom and take Peter’s childhood friend, Harry Osborn, to the hospital, players will see Norman Osborn break the windows of Harry’s hospital room out of frustration and hatred for Spider-Man. This proceeds to him making a call to an unknown identity, telling them to “Ready the G-serum”.
The contrasting scenes in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 are actually really interesting since they show two different scenarios in the post-credit scenes. On one side, we can see Peter Parker and Miles Morales celebrating with their family as they’ve finally overcome the main antagonist and can go about their day. Peter tells Miles about how he’s thinking about retiring, and Miles reassures him he’s got it all down.
This scene then flips to Norman Osborn in a grim undersetting. We see Norman Osborn walking inside some sort of holding cell enclosure. Later on, it is revealed that he is visiting his old business partner, Otto Octavius, also known as Dr. Octopus. He then asks Otto about the identities of the Spider-Men, to which Otto replies that he’s been writing about the “Final Chapter”, probably a way to get back at Spider-Man once he’s released. Wishful thinking could lead us to think that Norman Osborn will probably bring the Green Goblin suit into future titles.
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Why Does Norman Osborn Visit Otto Octavius?
Norman Osborn’s son, Harry Osborn, was the person being controlled by the Venom symbiote. This meant that when Spider-Man eventually confronted and defeated Venom, it sent an almost fatal blow to Harry Osborn. While Miles Morales temporarily revives Harry in the post-fight scene, he is then rushed to a hospital by both Peter Parker and Miles Morales.
When Norman Osborn comes to learn of his son’s condition, he holds the Spider-Men responsible for his condition. This motivates him to seek out revenge against the Spider-Men, and the best way he knows how is through Otto Octavius since Otto knows their true identities.
This is all that we have been able to gather until now from the post-credit scenes in Spider-Man 2’s ending. However, this does indicate that Norman Osborn and Otto Octavius will have a part to play in Spider-Man 3, alongside the new character Silk, if Insomniac Games decides to include her in the title.
What Was Norman Osborn’s Role in Marvel’s Spider-Man?
We’ve talked quite extensively about the screen time Norman Osborn gets and what we speculate he will be doing in the next title. However, it’s now time to talk about who Norman Osborn is and the role he plays throughout the series.
Norman Osborn is kind of like the secondary antagonist in the Spider-Verse since he’s Green Goblin himself. He is also Otto Octavius’ childhood friend, CEO of Oscorp, the former mayor of New York, and Harry Osborn’s father. He’s had consistent appearances in all the Spider-Man games, including Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018) and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (2023) and a minor role in Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020).
During the game’s plot progression, we find out that Norman Osborn developed an experimental drug serum called GR-27. The aim of this drug was to cure his ill wife and son; However, due to its experimental nature, it was also nicknamed “Devil’s Breath”. Later on, Norman Osborn also tried to administer his son Harry with the Venom symbiote, which eventually led to the events that we see in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Neither of the medicinal regimens was successful and only fueled his failure further.
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Will We See Norman Osborn as Green Goblin in the Next Spider-Man Title?
While there have been indications of this being true, there has been no news on it just yet. We have yet to have confirmation of Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 even being in production, so debating who’s going to be in it is futile. However, we’ll keep you guys updated as soon as we have any news.
The Bottom Line
Norman Osborn has always been the rich and powerful businessman who’s gotten his way. With Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 storyline taking a turn for the worst for him, we’re excited to see what Insomniac Games has in store for him next. Are we expecting a Dr. Octopus collaboration, or maybe just a solo villain arc? All of this will be revealed soon enough, so till then, just keep your fingers crossed.