Why Norman?
By Ang D.

I. Getting Some Things Out Of The Way, aka "Yeah, I Guess You Could Call This A FAQ"

Okay ... I want this to be short and sweet, but it probably won't be, knowing my tendency to ramble. ... Nope. Not gonna be short at all.

First, let's clear up some questions visitors to the Osborn mansion are probably gonna have.

Whyyyyyy in heaven's name would anyone make a site totally dedicated to Norman Osborn?
Easy ... I like him. We'll get to why later.

Why the movie Norman? What about comic book Norman? And what's with your fanfics? You're totally messing with comic book canon....
I'm not trying to be totally awful about canon. Let's put it this way ... I adore Normy, but my access to Spiderman comics - especially the ones I want - is limited, since the closest *real* comic store to me is two hours away. I have some friends who are well versed in Spidey knowhow (Hiiii Jen and Sean!) and they help to keep me on the right track with the details I need.
However, you have to remember, dear viewers, that this is fanfiction ... not a rewrite of the comics. I can't stick to every little detail - that wouldn't be any fun. And since the Spiderman movie - which is what this page is grounded in - was not 100% loyal to the books (what movie is?), the fanfiction isn't necessarily going to be, either. I'm going to take my beginnings, and a few other ideas I see fit, from the comics, and just run with things as my mind sees fit.

This does not mean that I am going to make Norman grossly out of character!!!!!! I am a firm believer of Keeping In Character. I may take my own tangents with the plot, but Norman will stay Norman. He's not going to go falling head over heels in love with a Mary Sue (if he does, you have my permission to come track me down and shoot me), and he's not going to suddenly give up being the Green Goblin and take up gardening ... as funny a mental image as that may be.

Now that that's out of the way.... About me and Norman.

II. A Girl, Her Comic-Book-Geek Friend, and Willem Dafoe

If anyone has a problem with my slightly unhealthy Norman obsession, take it up with Jen. Jen is the one who dragged me to see Spiderman. ... Yes, dragged. I wasn't too keen on the idea - then she offered to pay for tickets. So, reluctantly, on May 7th, at 7:20 PM, I was dragged into the Hoyts Cinema 8 in Concord and plunked down with a medium Sierra Mist, a small bag of popcorn (with Spidey on the bag, no less), and a few inhibitions. I think the main reason she convinced me to go was that Danny Elfman composed the score. I'm a biiiig Tender Lumpling (That's Danny Elfman/Oingo Boingo fan to you), so ... yeah. Suffice it to say Elfman rocks my world - you'll see a lot of Boingo lyrics in my fics.

Anyway. The movie.

I was sitting there going along with it for a while. Then we get introduced to this guy Norman Osborn.... hmm. Looks slightly villainy to me. Neat. I usually end up liking the villains more - this is the girl who went to Batman Forever to see Jim Carrey's Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face, not Chris O'Donnell's Robin like the rest of her teenaged colleagues. ... So yeah ... Norman Osborn. Interesting. Military, bla bla bla, grant funding ... ooh. Wait. This could get interesting.

I pretty much dealt with the whole "experimental testing" thing for a while. Ok, so this Osborn guy was the villain, and he had problems being much of a father to his son. M'kay, typical.

Then that Goblin dude showed up. We're all pretty damn sure even without being told that it's Osborn. ... Me, I'm sitting there wonderin' why. Ok, so he tries to off MJ .... goes after Spidey ... oh, hey, wait - he just killed the Oscorp board members that axed Norman. Okay. We're gettin' somewhere.

Now, we get to the point in the movie where Ang LOSES it. .... Yeah, I bet you guessed it ... that little scene in Norman's bedroom.

"Where are you?"
"Follow the cold shiver running down your spine."

SQUEAL. When Norman ever turns and sees himself in the mirror ...that whole first "conversation" with him and the Green Goblin was about the best piece of villain acting I have ever seen. Willem Dafoe rocks my socks cuz of that moment. That whole speech, about the demon within motivating all your successes ... it really hit me. Hard. I loved it. Adored it. From that moment on, I was fixated on Norman Osborn. Yessiree, I was.

I wasn't exactly to the Fan stage yet though. I just thought he was the most kick-ass thing ever. It took a few days for the virus to take root. Actually, about a week. But the roots were there, growin'. I'd seen, I'd been enlightened, Jen was consistently reveling in saying "I told you so", and I was hooked.

III. "Helplessly falling" into fanfiction

If you look in Norman's Room, the first piece of fanfiction is a little piece of uncrappe called "Distortions", and it features - big surprise - an Oingo Boingo song called "Helpless". Why?

This song is what spurred me to get into the fanfiction mode, folks.

I bought Oingo's farewell concert CD the same day I bought a little Norman figure to set on my desk. I was in the stage of fandom where I at least wanted just a little something, because I thought he was cool beans. On the way home, one particular song on that new CD stuck out at me like a sore thumb, and I couldn't figure out why. But the more I listened to it, the more I began to figure it out: That Damn Song Sounded A Hell Of A Lot Like Norman & Gobby. After a few more critical listens, a scene began to form in my mind - something in the course of the movie where Norman was surrounded by funhouse mirrors and that song was playing around him, somewhat of a decisive moment in his sanity loss. I loved it, I wrote it, you folks got "Distorted" as a result.

And I really couldn't stop there.

And that's basically why you get "The Osborns".

IV. Wrapping It Up - Identifying

So. We get to the nitty-gritty of Why Norman. Why the hell do I like him so much?

There's just something about insanity, especially in the case of Norman and the Green Goblin. It's so appealing to me - the thought of being able to lose control, to do whatever your inner demons have always wanted to do - kick the old lady in the street, tell that person just what the hell you really do think, get that money you need your own way ... just wreak a little havoc, have some fun, really vent those frustrations and get back at the people who give you neverending crap. ... We've all got Goblins, folks. Norman just gets to let his out to play. And he still manages to keep his cool in between - moreso in the comic book, where we see him still at Oscorp, manipulating people and being just as villainous - but in an acceptable way, as a businesssman.

The charisma's a big thing, too. I mean, come on. The guy has loads of it. And everyone loves charisma.

Add into that the fact that I've always had a thing for the bad guy, and there you have it.

THAT'S Why Norman.

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