What drives Norman Osborn experiment on himself is the withdrawal of funds from the U.S. Government if he does not deliver the super-soldier serum on time. Norman Osborn is a defense contractor for the U.S. Army. Oscorp, his company, rises and falls on the whims of the various budget officers of the services of the Department of Defense (AKA the Pentagon). (The combination of his company and others like it and the U.S. military is called the ‘giant military industrial complex.’)
Why is Oscorp vulnerable to General Solcum’s threat to cease funding the super-soldier project? Any inventions and scientific breakthrough that Norman and his scientists make are not their own. Since they used U.S. government money, they must turn over all information and patents to the Army and NASA, Oscorp’s major customers.
This is unfortunate in the case of the glider and cybernetic flight suit that Norman Osborn developed for the U.S. Army. Oscorp could have sold those to ordinary people. Various police departments can use the glider in their work. Local beach authorities also would want the suit and glider for search and rescue. Demand for these two inventions is much greater than the U.S. Army’s interest. But Oscorp is forbidden from selling these items to anyone else but the U.S. Army.
The Oscorp Glider
Norman Osborn maybe farsighted in his science but he was lousy in his business affairs. He forgot that if you have only one major customer, you are at their mercy. NASA’s contract is minuscule, thereby making the U.S. Army his only customer. What the Army gives, the U.S. Army can take away. If you do not please the contracting officer, in Osborn’s case, General Slocum, than you lose the money.
General Slocum, who preferred doing business with Oscorp’s rival, Quest Aerospace, caught Oscorp and Osborn short. The General’s personal dislike of Norman Osborn spurred him to disparage the Oscorp glider in favor of Quest’s military exoskeleton called the B.A.D.G.E.R. He also pushed Osborn to produce the super-soldier serum on time, knowing that Norman cannot.
Unfortunately for Osborn and Slocum, less than complete knowledge of human DNA dooms them both. The Green Goblin emerges from Norman’s desperate experiment. After stealing the glider and the suit, the Goblin blows up Quest’s test lab, the company’s B.A.D.G.E.R., and General Slocum. By the time the Green Goblin is firmly entrenched as Norman’s Alter, he has committed a number of federal crimes; the least of which is keeping the glider and flight suit. If Spider-Man had not killed the Goblin, the FBI would have placed Norman Osborn under arrest for his part in the Oscorp fiascoes.
Goblin with Glider Accessory
After the Green Goblin blew up Quest Corp., Norman Osborn continued to rely on government contracts. Instead of branching out into the private sector, Norman reasoned that since he was the only one who could fill Quest’s orders, he could get more contracts. It never occurred to him that his principal competitor could rebuild and want to buy him out. Norman thought that his way of keeping the shareholders happy was all there was to good business. Oscorp’s Board of Directors blindsided him when they accepted Quest’s offer to buy them out.
Enraged at being kicked out as the CEO of the company he founded, Norman transformed into the Goblin who proceeded to murder the Board. But the Board was correct in their assessment; Norman Osborn was a liability to Oscorp. He simply did not expand his vision to include non-government entities. They believed that their solution was better than his for keeping Oscorp afloat.
Norman Osborn, CEO
After the Goblin killed the Board, Norman had free rein to run the company as he saw fit. What did he do about the Quest offer? Was he so preoccupied with killing Spider-man that he neglected his company? Did the Green Goblin’s obsession with Spider-Man doom Oscorp? The Goblin’s obsession spelled Norman’s death.What happens to Oscorp, now that Norman Oscorp, the founder is dead?
What happens to a company founded on a single man’s knowledge and drive? Who will run the company now? The members of Board of Directors of Oscorp are all dead. Norman’s son and heir, Harry has neither the knowledge nor the training to keep Oscorp running.
In the Spiderverse, a single general can pull a contract and plot to put a company out of business. In the real world, of course, the U.S. Government would honor the contract and keep both competitors viable. Military careers rise and fall on particular projects, so great care is taken to keep things going.
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Va. Carper
September 19, 2006