Chapter Sixty-Three: The Spider

The Green Goblin, in Spider-Man, is primarily portrayed by two individuals. The first is Norman Osborn, the actual owner of Oscorp, and the second is his son, Harry Osborn. However, in most versions, whether in the comics or the films, Harry Osborn is depicted as Peter’s peer.

Therefore, the Green Goblin Peter saw was most likely Norman Osborn.

Norman Osborn was originally an ordinary man, gifted with extraordinary business acumen, but physically frail from birth. Later, at Oscorp, he developed a serum designed to enhance the human body’s capabilities.

It’s said the inspiration came from Captain America’s super-soldier serum.

However, the serum Norman used had flaws—or perhaps peculiarities—much like the one used on Captain America. The super-soldier serum amplifies the inherent qualities of a person: it makes the wicked more wicked, the kind-hearted even kinder.

Norman’s serum, on the other hand, gave rise to an evil persona within his mind.

That persona was the Green Goblin.

With the help of Stark Industries, Oscorp managed to develop a single prototype of a small flying glider, courtesy of the Green Goblin.

This allowed him to soar above the city, armed with a variety of bombs and high-tech weapons. The Green Goblin ranks among the more formidable supervillains in Spider-Man’s world.

So, his presence at Oscorp isn’t surprising, since he is Norman Osborn himself.

“So?” Zhong Shenxiu pondered for a moment before asking Peter, “What about that green-skinned guy on the glider? What was he doing?”

Peter shook his head and replied, “He was too far away, and with just that one hole to look through, I couldn’t see clearly. I just saw him flying back and forth, throwing a lot of bombs from his hands.”

“There were so many explosions—boom, boom, boom! The sky above the ecological simulator turned black in several places.”

Flying around and throwing bombs.

The Green Goblin was fighting someone!

Zhong Shenxiu came to this conclusion in his mind, but then a new question arose: Who would go to Oscorp, the Green Goblin’s lair, to fight him? Just what sort of character would do such a thing?

“And then? You’ve said all this, but you still haven’t explained how you got your superpowers.”

Peter chuckled awkwardly and said, “Don’t be impatient. I have to lay out all the causes and effects; otherwise, I’m afraid it might affect your judgment.”

“Then, amid the continuous explosions, there was one particularly massive blast that blew a hole through one of the simulator’s walls!”

“A huge number of animals escaped through the breach—giant lizards, pythons, and an incredible amount of insects. There were so many spiders alone.”

“Gwen and I were completely stunned at the time. We just ran for our lives, because those animals didn’t look friendly at all. Their eyes were red, as if they wanted to eat us. It was terrifying…”

“And then?” Zhong Shenxiu prompted at just the right moment.

Peter closed his eyes again, shuddered all over, and continued, “Seeing that we couldn’t escape, Gwen suggested we climb up a big tree to avoid the stampede of wild animals.”

“We were both focused on watching the ground below, not noticing that a spider had crawled up right beside us.”

“Suddenly, with a snap, that spider bit me!”

As he spoke, Peter stretched out his right hand. Zhong Shenxiu looked and saw a bite mark about half a centimeter wide between his thumb and forefinger.

“What did that spider look like? Was there anything unusual about it?” Zhong Shenxiu asked.

It was likely that spider—in the original story, it was a genetically altered and irradiated spider bred by Oscorp that bit Peter Parker, resulting in his transformation into Spider-Man.

“It was quite beautiful. Its abdomen had a red and black pattern. I’ve never seen a spider like that before. I asked Gwen, and she hadn’t either.”

Of course you haven’t, Zhong Shenxiu thought to himself. Those spiders were specially bred by Oscorp; how could you know what species they are?

“And then? What happened to the spider?”

“Gwen killed it,” Peter replied honestly.

“Gwen? Was she bitten?” Zhong Shenxiu pressed. In some alternate universes, Gwen also became Spider-Woman. Now that the butterfly had flapped its wings and Peter had mutated earlier than in the original timeline, could it be that Gwen, who only gains powers in other universes, might become Spider-Woman here as well?

“No… I don’t think so…” Peter hesitated, stammering.

“Oh? ‘Don’t think so’—what does that mean?”

Peter neither denied nor confirmed it outright, which meant there was something more to the story.

“I wasn’t sure at the time. I didn’t… I didn’t look closely…” Peter seemed uneasy under Zhong Shenxiu’s gaze. After a brief silence, he waved his hand in defeat and said, “There was nothing I could do. A spider with such bright markings appeared out of nowhere, and I thought it was highly venomous. After it bit me, I thought I was going to die… so I wasn’t in the mood to pay attention to anything else…”

So that was all—Zhong Shenxiu had expected something more dramatic. Classic Peter, as dull as ever… Zhong Shenxiu suddenly pointed at a gray spider crawling on the wall to his right and said with a smile, “See that spider over there?”

“Yes,” Peter followed his finger and nodded.

“Peter, you said one of your powers is wall-crawling, right? Could you show me?” Zhong Shenxiu then pointed at another blank section of wall.

Peter hesitated slightly, then placed his right palm against the wall.

And then… his feet slowly left the ground, and his whole body ended up suspended horizontally in the air.

His entire weight was supported by just one arm.

That slightly chubby arm, still with a hint of baby fat, showed no sign of strain—it was clearly effortless.

Those street workout enthusiasts would probably be in tears if they saw this—

Peter then lifted his chin with a touch of pride, blinking at Zhong Shenxiu as if to say: See? Impressive, right?

Zhong Shenxiu didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he grinned mischievously and said, “Do you know why I asked you to look at that spider just now?”

“Why?” Peter looked puzzled.

“Because… don’t you see how much you resemble a spider now?”

“Ah!”

With a thud, Peter fell to the ground. He didn’t hesitate for a moment, flipping back onto his feet with ease, though his face was full of distress.

“Shenxiu, you think so too? Actually, I’ve been thinking a lot these past couple of days. I really do feel like my powers are just like a spider’s…”

“But you don’t want to admit it?” Zhong Shenxiu asked.

“Yeah… Actually, last night I had a nightmare. I dreamed I turned into a giant spider with six arms, devouring human corpses…”

“Shenxiu, I really don’t want to become a monster like that!” Peter’s eyes were brimming with tears.

So that’s why Peter didn’t want to admit his powers came from a spider bite…

In the comics and some older cartoons, there is indeed a storyline where Spider-Man mutates into a giant spider, only to be restored by Madame Web in the end.

But none of the film versions have ever depicted this.

Zhong Shenxiu guessed it was just a matter of time.

Peter’s spider genes would destabilize, turning him into a spider, but that typically happened much later—after he’d had his powers for a long while.