By Brian Reed & Philippe Briones with Patrick Olliffe, Chad Hardin, Wayne Faucher, Stephen Segovia, Hector Olazaba, Joe Caramagna & Todd Nauck (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-1-7851-4687-2
When the Spider-Man continuity was drastically dialled-back and controversially revised for the ‘Brand New Day’ publishing event, a refreshed, now single-and-never-been-married Peter Parker was parachuted into a new life, so if this is your first Web-spinning yarn in a while – or you’ve drawn your cues from the movies – be prepared for a little confusion.
That being said, in any continuity the Wall-Crawler’s greatest and most implacable foe will always be Norman Osborn, whether in his guise as the grotesque Green Goblin or as an insidious billionaire inventor/industrialist turned politician.
The psychotic Osborn has dogged Spider-Man/Peter Parker for years even though his abused son Harry was the maligned hero’s greatest friend and the stress and strain has, over time, turned the Osborn heir into a drug addict, a costumed carbon copy of his old man and latterly, a certifiable basket case.
Callously oblivious, Norman, through various machinations became America’s Security Czar: the “top-cop†in sole charge of the beleaguered nation’s defence and freedom, especially in regard to the USA’s costumed community.
Under his draconian tenure the Superhuman Registration Act led to the Civil War, Captain America was arrested, murdered and resurrected and numerous horrific assaults on mankind occurred: including the Secret Invasion and the oppressive Dark Reign as Osborn drove the World’s Mightiest Heroes underground and formed his own team of deadly Dark Avengers.
Not content with commanding all the covert and military resources of the USA, Osborn personally led the team, wearing his own formidable suit of Iron Man armour and calling himself the Iron Patriot, even while conspiring with a coalition of major super-villains to divvy up the world between them.
He finally overreached himself and led an unsanctioned assault on Asgard (see Siege: the Cabal) and when the fugitive Avengers reunited to stop him, Osborn’s fall from grace and subsequent incarceration led to a new Heroic Age.
During that period of ascendancy however, Osborn had again attempted to dominate, subjugate and manipulate his disgustingly disappointing heir Harry by dosing him with a mind-and-body bending blend of Goblin potions and Super-Soldier serum and forcing him to don a genetically triggered cybernetic super-suit, so that his unwilling boy could join the Dark Avengers as the crushingly conflicted American Son…
Thanks to Spider-Man however, Harry finally overcame his deadly daddy’s diabolical influence and violently turned on his sire. In the aftermath the shocked and traumatised junior Osborn retired to a life of anonymity and therapy…
This slight but engaging sequel – containing the 4-part mini-series Amazing Spider-Man Presents: American Son and supplemental material from Age of Heroes #2 – opens with a prologue tale from that latter anthology as ‘Heroic Rage’ by Brian Reed, Chad Hardin & Hector Olazaba, finds scoop-starved reporter Norah Winters on the scene when the American Son spectacularly slaughters a rampaging monster. She jumps to the same conclusion as the late-arriving Spider-Man that the certifiably unstable Harry Osborn is back inside the high-tech armour…
The saga proper – by Reed and artists Philippe Briones, Hardin, Patrick Olliffe, Wayne Faucher & Stephen Segovia – commences with ‘A Patriot Act’ as the recovering Harry, now running a coffee shop on the campus of Empire State University, is increasingly harassed by news-teams and paparazzi as American Son continues to appear in steadily escalating and high profile emergencies and in clashes with street thugs.
As the troubled vendor’s flatmate Mary Jane Watson asks Peter Parker to have a word with his former friend, both Norah and the FBI separately confront Harry, unwilling to believe that somebody else can be using the full-body weapons-system specifically geared to Osborn genes…
Harry is already at breaking point when Spider-Man also challenges him, but explodes in violent rage when the web-spinner also refuses to believe in his innocence…
Returning to the Coffee Bean, Harry serves one last customer who awkwardly introduces himself as Gabriel Stacy before abruptly claiming to Norman Osborn’s other child, pulling a gun and shooting the astounded barista…
In ‘The Other Son’ the enigmatic armoured object of media-frenzy then smashes through the wall and frantically rushes Harry to medical aid, categorically proving that the suit is being used by somebody else and leading to a swift change of priorities for the FBI, if not Norah.
Despite a credible threat, the merely wounded and incensed Harry checks himself out of hospital and teams up with the penitent yet determinedly suspicious Winters to track down the impossible truth.
First stop is a terrifying prison visit with Osborn Senior which culminates in the enraged madman claiming Gabriel is his true son…
With all she needs and Harry for corroboration, Norah goes straight to her editor with the story of a lifetime, but Stacy’s secret is far more crazy and convoluted than any of them could possibly suspect…
‘Side Effects’ further ramps up the psychological tension as good old police work determines how, if not why, American Son saved Harry from Gabriel’s murderous assault, but not before the other Osborn child kidnaps Norah and takes her to one of the Green Goblin’s old hideouts, leading to a spectacular and cataclysmic three (or is it four?) way showdown between Harry, Spider-Man and the terrifyingly twisted possessor of the sinister super-suit in ‘American Slayed’…
With the shocking suspense ended and order temporarily restored, there’s even room for a charming human interest yarn from Joe Caramagna & Todd Nauck as cash-strapped Harry battles a corporate incursion that threatens to undercut and close the Coffee Bean.
Luckily old friends, the outré tastes of ESU students, a handy drop-in by Spider-Man and a video-blogging super-villain eventually prove more than a match for the big-business blandishments of ‘Bargain Donuts!’ and Harry happily lives to brew another day…
Despite feeling a little rushed in places, this is a solid, engaging old-fashioned Fights ‘n’ Tights drama refreshingly focusing on the rich supporting cast and perfectly capturing the familial feel that made Spider-Man sagas such a compelling experience.
© 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.