“Where is Norman Osborn?” asks the headline on the most recent posting at the viral Daily Bugle website for Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The latest story, posted by “Joy Mercado,” (herself a minor character from the comics), reads as follows, ending with a tease regarding Dane DeHaan’s Harry Osborn and his super-powered alter ego:
Norman Osborn, CEO of OsCorp Industries, not seen in public or heard from in months, remains in seclusion amidst growing speculation about the severity of his condition.
The mounting concern for Osborn’s health, combined with OsCorp Industries’ recent problems with Dr. Curt Connors, has generated increased focus on the readiness of the company’s heir apparent, Harry Osborn, to assume control of the multinational conglomerate.
When asked for an official statement about Harry’s role with the company, the standard company PR line is “Harry is currently studying in Europe.”
After being shown photographic evidence of Harry partying on the Riviera with a bevy of barely-clad supermodels, OsCorp’s spokesman Donald Menken said, “A snapshot cannot capture a life. Harry is a brilliant young man with a very bright future. He may be a little green, but the future is bright.”
Opening in theaters on May 2, 2014, the Marc Webb-directed sequel also stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper, B.J. Novak and Sarah Gadon.
