Norman Osborn was born to a respected and rich family of Osborns. When he was a child, his abusive father Amberson ruined the business and became bankrupt. As an adult, Norman worked to regain the family's power and money, vowing never to become the failure his father was. He married, but a year after his son Harry was born his wife Emily died, leaving Norman a widower and single father. He soon proved to be a neglectful parent, ignoring Harry in favor of his main goal: getting more power and money. Eventually, he gained full control of Oscorp Industries by framing his business partner Mendel Stromm. In Stromm's papers were notes on a serum he had discovered, which Norman tried to replicate for his use. He failed. The formula altered Norman's body. He became a superhuman: stronger, faster, more intelligent. Yet the serum also turned Osborn, who had never been entirely stable, into an insane psychopath. Norman took on a double life: by day, a respected businessman; by night, a grotesque super-villain mastermind. In his new persona as The Green Goblin, Osborn terrorized New York City with a bat-shaped jet glider, pumpkin bombs, razor bats, and insane laughter, thwarted from taking over the New York underworld only by repeated interference from Spider-Man. Soon, Osborn's interest in becoming the crime-lord of New York diminished; he had become obsessed with Spider-Man and his desire to get revenge upon him.