Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #646

Background

Spidey had caught up to Chameleon, who had tricked him into giving over the newborn Osborn baby. Unfortunately the child had been taken by the Lizard.

Meanwhile Tombstone had cornered MJ and Lily, demanding to know the whereabouts of the baby. He was defeated by a remote controlled Goblin glider.

Story 'Origin Of The Species: Part 5'

In an abandoned subway tunnel, the Lizard resentfully fed the baby with a bottle. It called the baby a disgusting little monkey and was stinking up its nest. Still, it would be good for bargaining if its grandfather caused trouble again. Then again, maybe the little monkey wasn’t necessary.

Dr. Octopus interrogated a homeless man outside the tunnel, wanting to know what he saw. He said that Lizard may have had a baby and Spider-Man showed up and said Lizard definitely had the newborn. Spidey offered to take Ock to the Lizard but Octavius refused, wanting no more interference. Ock wanted to know why Spider-Man would help him and was told ten arms are better than two. It was better to save Osborn’s baby now and fight over him later. Following Spider-Man down the tunnel Ock said he’d just kill both him and the Lizard. Spidey wished him luck, as Lizard was more animalistic than ever before. Ock was unimpressed, saying that the Lizard was still just meat. Spidey called that an interesting choice of words, then revealed that he knew the Lizard was near, since he was manipulating Octavius’s mind.

Octopus lashed out blindly and Spidey told him that he hadn’t done his research on his enemy. Lizard was different from before and could control the reptile part of human minds. While Ock acted impulsively, Spidey had used “reptile suppressing tonic” to stay clear minded. Spider-Man defeated Ock by tying his tentacles together and slammed him into a wall. The Lizard attacked at that moment but Spider-Man was prepared, trying to inject it with the same formula. Lizard refused to fight, telling him to take the useless baby.

It lead him to its makeshift laboratory and let him take the baby. Lizard said the baby didn’t smell right which made Spider-Man suspicious. He took a blood sample from the baby and looked for Norman’s unique Goblin “fingerprint” and didn’t find it. Norman wasn’t the baby’s father. Spidey webbed up the Lizard as Octopus arrived, furious at Spider-Man’s claim. Ock said he needed to get away from the Lizard to regain his intelligence and Spidey mocked him. If he was so smart, how did the Lizard defeat him? Lizard broke free and the two criminals fought as Spidey and the baby escaped.

At the apartments bunker, the police took away Tombstone. Carlie still worried about Peter and MJ received a text saying that he and the baby were safe. Lily stepped out from the shadows, glad that her son was safe and that the police were gone. Carlie again apologized to her for turning her back on her, and Lily said she would have done the same. Lily admitted to being a Menace and said Osborn would never give up looking for her or the baby, so she fled on her glider. Harry arrived just as she flew away, not wanting her to leave. MJ told him that someone else needed him.

Harry arrived at Avengers Tower and Spidey explained that the baby was his son, not brother. Harry had hoped that the baby was his and was thrilled by the news. He told Spidey that he would have done anything to get him back. (In a side note, Harry was seen standing over a table of Goblin serum vials.) Spidey told him that he wasn’t off the hook, as various bad guys might still be looking for them. As Harry left with the baby, Spidey hoped that this would be the kick in the pants that Harry needed to grow up.

General Comments

I remembered that Harry was the father instead of Norman but forgot that the baby wasn’t as special as everyone expected. Just an ordinary…Osborn.

“Origin of the Species” turned out to be a pretty consequential story, setting up Harry leaving with the baby (eventually named Stanley) for a long time. It also moved Ock into becoming the Superior Spider-Man. Lily Hollister also fled into obscurity until returning years later as Queen Cat, which is more significant as she competes with Liz Allen to be Stanley’s mother.

I don’t know how the police missed the woman with devil horns hiding in the shadows, or find the Goblin glider to be suspicious.

In more recent stories, we learned that this wasn’t really Harry Osborn but a clone. I guess the clone wasn’t exposed to Goblin formula but I have to wonder how having a parent be a clone would influence a child.

Overall Rating

I enjoyed it.