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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #581

MIND ON FIRE - PART ONE - THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY

Click on the picture to view at full size. Scroll to the bottom of the page to view the variant cover.


WRITER: DAN SLOTT
PENCILLER: MIKE MCKONE
INKER: ANDY LANNING
COLORS: JEROMY COX
LETTERS: VC'S CORY PETIT
COVER: BARRY KITSON AND MARK FARMER
VARIANT COVER: MIKE MCKONE AND ANDY LANNING (UNCONFIRMED)
ASSISTANT EDITOR: TOM BRENNAN
EDITOR: STEPHEN WACKER
EXECUTIVE EDITOR: TOM BREVOORT
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: JOE QUESADA
PUBLISHER: DAN BUCKLEY

PREVIOUSLY: Harry Osborn. Best friend of a super hero, son of a super-villain and all-around troubled guy. Years ago, in a fit of madness, Harry Osborn became the second Green Goblin and terrorized his family and friends. He seemingly died from his Goblin Serum abuse, but surfaced in the recent past, after a stint getting cleaned up in Europe. Where did Harry really go? And how did he survive his brush with death? And what of his former family – his wife Liz Allan, his son Normie, and his brother-in-law, Mark Raxton, a.k.a. the Molten Man – where are they now? And how do they feel about Harry's much publicized relationship with Lily Hollister, daughter of mayoral candidate Bill Hollister?
REVIEW: In a dark alley, a man is in the process of dumping a body into a large metal garbage bin. Whoever this individual is, he has in his possession a spider-tracer, which he plants on the deceased. He then walks out of the alley, just as Spider-Man is shown web-slinging overhead. The murderer assumingly calls the area’s police precinct to inform them that Spider-Man has been spotted dumping one of his victims.

We catch up to the wall-crawler, as he swings above the alley where the body was just dumped. At that precise moment, his spider-sense kicks in, and the frequency is that of one of his spider-tracers. He swings down into the alley and makes the gruesome discovery of the dead body in the garbage bin (he realizes this is the first time the spider-tracer is actually turned on, as opposed to the previous times). Just as he drops from his web and goes to check for clues about the real spider-tracer killer, a police car arrives and Spidey is ordered to surrender. Spidey quickly swings away, bullets zipping by him (the Bookie is spotted in a car driving by – coincidence or not?). As he makes his way back to his apartment, he cannot believe how stupid he was to have fallen into such a trap. His self-deprecating is interrupted by a phone call from Harry Osborn, who invites him to join him for a road trip to New Jersey to visit Liz Allan, his ex-wife, and his son Normie. In great need of a break from the big-city, Peter accepts the invitation. They are to meet outside the Hollister's dwelling.

The next morning, Peter arrives at the Hollister's house, where Harry, Lily Hollister, whom he recently kissed, Carlie Cooper, and Bill Hollister are already gathered. Also there, but on duty, are cops Alan O'Neil and Peter's roommate Vin Gonzales. Harry is glad that Bill is out of the hospital (after a recent attack by the super-villain known as Menace). Bill asks Harry to speak with him in private. Nearby, Vin is annoyed that Peter is back in the picture, as Vin has a crush on Carlie, and Carlie seems to be enamored with Peter. O'Neil tells Vin to stay focused on protecting Bill Hollister. Carlie asks Peter if he's been trying to avoid them, as they haven't seen him in quite a while. Peter responds that he hasn't. Lily then suggests that they all get together on Friday. Peter is somewhat okay with that but he ends up asking Carlie out, just the two of them, for a change. Both Carlie and Lily are stunned. Carlie takes Peter aside and rejects him rather coolly, telling him that she would rather be alone than be his consolation prize (this begs the question – has Lily told Carlie about her kissing Peter?). Having witnessed the exchange, Gonzales seems pleased with what happened. O'Neil reminds him that Carlie has said she would rather be alone, meaning his chances are as slim as Peter's. Nearby, Bill Hollister tells Harry that, according to his sources, the recent Oscorp scandal is about to be laid at Harry's feet. With the election so close, if that happens, Hollister (and Lily by association) will need to distance themselves from Harry. Harry promises to take care of the scandal and tells Hollister that the two of them will have another talk, a serious talk when he gets back. Hollister understands and wishes Harry good luck. Harry bids goodbye to Lily – receiving a bit of a chilly response – and he and Peter head off toward New Jersey. On their way there, Harry reveals that their visit is strictly business, and not a social call, as Peter had assumed it would be. Apparently, Liz has been having trouble with some legal issues – pertaining to Harry's "death" – and other problems related to her stepbrother, Mark Raxton, a.k.a. the Molten Man. At first, Peter thinks Harry is joking but he isn't.

At the Allan residence, Liz Allan is on the phone with someone about getting special assistance for her stepbrother Mark. It so happens that the last nurse that was sent over to look after him went running out the door, upon seeing him. Liz wants another nurse now, as she feels she pays good money for such service. As she talks on the phone, Normie keeps asking her to play soldiers with him but she shoos him away, telling him to go play by himself. Normie ends up walking into a large lab-like room and proceeds to put some of his plastic toy soldiers atop a orange-ish surface. Within second of being in contact with said surface, the plastic soldiers are completely melted. Just then, Mark Raxton awakens, wondering what is going on. He calls out to Liz. Liz comes running in the room, asking Mark what is wrong. When she realizes Normie was in the room, playing with his toy soldiers, she freaks out, grabs Normie and tells him to get away from his uncle. It is then revealed that Mark Raxton is strapped to some kind of special table and his vitals are being monitored by various equipment and devices. It appears he can no longer control his melting powers.

Harry and Peter stop at a gas station to fill the car up. While Harry gases up the car, Peter calls Aunt May to let her know what he's up to. She is somewhat worried about him and hopes he'll be careful and have a safe trip. After hanging up with her, Peter accosts Harry and asks to know what the intent of their trip is. Harry responds that Liz needs his help with some paperwork with regard to his life insurance policy. Peter realizes that it has something to do with Harry's "return from the dead". He goes on asking Harry to explain what really happened to him (or as much as he's willing to share, as you'll see in a few seconds). Harry cryptically replies that there is something Peter should know about him – he was the Green Goblin. Peter plainly answers that he already knew that, having been told by Spider-Man. Harry continues explaining that the goblin serum was what brought him back to life – mystery solved. Peter retorts that his explanation doesn't make sense, as Spider-Man told him that Harry said, with his dying words, that the Goblin serum was poisoning him. Harry argues that he was high, on Goblin serum, when he said those words. Peter maintains that Harry died but Harry raises a valid point – his father took Goblin serum as well, and was thought to have died. Now, we all know he is not dead anymore. Peter asks Harry to explain what really happened then. Harry replies that someone else took care of everything. That someone else, was none other than Norman Osborn! It turns out that Norman paid the ambulance crew to look the other way, while he took his son's body. Norman was then paid a visit by Mysterio, of all people, and it was revealed that Norman hired him to switch autopsy reports and get a genetic duplicate for the coffin. Mysterio agreed to do this, in exchange for a large sum of money. All that Norman had left to do was making sure to perform dour graveside visits and drop moving references to his dear departed son. For all this to work, however, Norman had to take Harry as far away from New York – in short, making him disappear. Harry explains that, for the next couple of years, Norman had him in clinics all over Europe, where he and his "therapists" had him convinced he'd had a drug relapse, needed detox, and that it had to be kept out of the American press...for his own good. Harry actually ended up believing them – that his days as the Green Goblin were drug-induced hallucinations. The whole thing came back to him recently, when he saw his father in the Goblin suit again. Afraid that Harry might remember that he's Spider-Man, Peter asks how much of it he recollects. Harry responds that it doesn't really matter, as he's tried to live a better life, since coming back, and he’s been trying to do right by his friends and loved ones. Peter knows that first hand as it was Harry that rebuilt their home in Forest Hills, Queens, which had been destroyed by Charlie Weiderman in (Amazing Spider-Man #518). Peter tells Harry he will never be able to repay him for that. Harry replies that it was nothing and tells Peter he has a huge surprise in store for Liz, just as they pull into her driveway.

Peter and Harry exit the vehicle. Liz (who is in the driveway with Normie) is surprised to see Peter, as it's been a long time since she's last seen him, but Normie, whom she's holding in her arms, begs her to take him inside the house. Harry steps forward and tells Liz he'll take Normie in but Liz won't let him, as Normie is scared of his own father, and not Peter. She asks Peter if he would mind looking after him; Peter agrees. As Peter and Normie make their way inside, Harry and Liz go right at it, trading blows (verbal ones that is).

Peter takes Normie into his room (upstairs). As they make their way up the stairs, Harry makes his anger toward his dad known. He is tired of seeing his dad come and go away all the time – he hates him for coming home again. Raxton (Mark), who is still strapped to a steel table, overhears their conversation and starts freaking out upon hearing that Harry is back.

Outside, Liz points out that if Harry would come over more often, Normie wouldn't get that way. Harry argues that she has made it perfectly clear that she wants nothing to do with him and then asks Liz if they can continue their conversation inside. She reluctantly agrees.

Sitting on the floor in Normie's room, Peter tells the little guy that he had an uncle once, who was just like his father, and – one day – he too went away. If he ever came back the way Harry did...before Peter can finish his sentence, Normie asks Peter if his uncle went away because he did something bad. Before Peter can answer, Normie throws a ball to the ground, which bounces underneath his bed. Peter bends over to grab the ball and tells Normie that he hasn't done anything wrong...not a single thing. As Peter searches for the ball under the bed, he finds a plastic container with dozens of severed Spider-Man heads – Peter realizes Normie has very deep issues.

In the living room downstairs, Harry tries to explain to Liz that he's figured out a way to fix everything. In his chamber, not far from the living room, Raxton recognizes Harry's voice and he becomes agitated. The system he is hooked into overloads, allowing him to break free from his restrains. Upstairs, Peter's spider-sense kicks in, warning him of danger. Bursting through some walls, Raxton calls out to Harry, telling him he's had enough. By so doing, the floor in Normie’s room starts caving in. Thanks to his amazing spider-like abilities, Peter grabs hold of Normie and manages to twist and turn his body, avoiding the falling debris, and he lands safely on the ground of the living room below. Peter checks up on Normie, who is amazingly unhurt, and he tells the little guy that he's going to get him to somewhere safe. Just then, Normie tells Peter to look out, as the floor is on fire. Peter takes a look and realizes that the fire is actually a set of footprints, made by Mark Raxton, the Molten Man! Raxton is infuriated and he is out for blood...that of Harry Osborn!

To be continued.


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