Avengers and Philosophy: Earth's Mightiest Thinkers, The (11 page)

10.
Sensational She-Hulk
#40 (June 1992).

11.
She-Hulk
, vol. 1, #2 (April 2004), reprinted in
She-Hulk Vol. 1: Single Green Female
(2004).

12.
The alternate cover to
She-Hulk
, vol. 2, #8 (May, 2006), reprinted in
She-Hulk Vol. 4: Laws of Attraction
(2007).

13.
For example, see
Damage Control
, vol. 2, #3 (January 1990).

14.
She-Hulk
, vol. 2, #21 (September 2007), reprinted in
She-Hulk Vol. 5: Planet Without a Hulk
(2007).

15.
Thing and She-Hulk: The Long Night
one-shot (May 2002), reprinted in
The Thing: Freakshow
(2005).

16.
Thanks go to Rob Callahan, Alice Leber-Cook, Stephen Nelson, and an audience at the University of Minnesota–Morris for helpful feedback on this material.

Chapter 6

THE SELF-CORRUPTION OF NORMAN OSBORN: A CAUTIONARY TALE

Robert Powell

It was arguably the gravest existential threat in the Marvel Universe: the Skrulls had launched one of the most sophisticated campaigns to fulfill their religious prophecy of conquering Earth. Using their shape-shifting abilities, they infiltrated our heroes’ world by replacing iconic and trusted heroes in preparation for a full-scale invasion. The ensuing battle for Earth would shape the status quo of the Marvel Universe for years to come.

One of the many crippling effects of the Skrull invasion—aside from the broken bonds of trust and solidarity among the world’s heroes—was the complete failure and corruption of Earth’s protective institutions. In the aftermath of the Skrull invasion, S.H.I.E.L.D. was dismantled and Norman Osborn, the former Green Goblin, was given “the keys to the kingdom”: directorship over national security. He immediately transformed S.H.I.E.L.D. into H.A.M.M.E.R., consolidated an evil cabal of Machiavellian villains, and assembled his own Avengers team—the Dark Avengers—made up of replacements for real heroes like Wolverine and Spider-Man. As we’ll see in this chapter, Osborn’s “Dark Reign” is a cautionary tale with a philosophical lesson.

Osborn’s Oratory and the Dark Reign

Osborn’s rise to power mirrors some specific themes in Plato’s (429–347 BCE) dialogues featuring Socrates (469–399 BCE), his teacher, and Gorgias (485–380 BCE), an Athenian orator. Gorgias was one of the earliest
Sophists
, who developed a school of rhetoric concerned with persuasion, and whom Socrates criticized for neglecting the intrinsic value of truth in favor of the pursuit of self-interest.

Socrates makes a critical distinction between
craft
(or art) and
knack.
The former is a genuine endeavor designed to produce something of value, whereas the latter is a mere simulation of a craft. Acts of sophistry, such as Gorgias’s rhetoric, corrupt the individual by limiting their capabilities to reach for the truth, and corrupt society by substituting a flimsy substitute for a true endeavor. Gorgias’s protégé Polus vehemently defends the sophistic enterprise, claiming that anyone would envy and admire Sophists with the power of persuasion that enabled them to imprison whomever they please and confiscate property. In Polus’s eyes, such a character represents the ideal Sophist and proves the value of this “art.” Socrates holds firm, however, noting that such Sophists are to be pitied rather than admired since they have no control over themselves and ultimately no power at all.

Norman Osborn has much in common with Polus’s ideal Sophist. He not only uses his newfound position to further his own well-being at the cost of society at large, but he does so by subverting established heroic institutions like S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, substituting a facsimile for the “real thing.” Furthermore, both during and after the Skrull invasion, Osborn proves himself to be quite media savvy, favoring strategic use of rhetoric to disguise truth. His defense of the national capital is well timed and documented, and his shot that takes out the Skrull Queen is captured on camera minutes after Tony Stark has been observed leaving the battle scene to repair his suit—both of which secure Osborn’s rise to the head of H.A.M.M.E.R.
¹
It is noteworthy that, in keeping with the sophistic paradigm, it is never revealed throughout the entire Dark Reign what H.A.M.M.E.R. actually means. Nevertheless it carries the image of an organization responding to widespread anxiety and insecurity, and one that will stop at nothing in the name of security.

Osborn’s first recruit to H.A.M.M.E.R. is Victoria Hand, a woman known in the highest ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D. for her criticism of Nick Fury’s “soft” policies. Hand is offered the position of deputy director and is given her first assignment by Osborn:

I want to weed out the malcontents. I want an army of men and women ready to take back the world. And those who are not ready will be replaced. I want a full report on the fifty state initiative . . . I want you to take this Starktech Golden Goose of a Helicarrier and I want it scrapped . . . You use my designs. You put them into full production. I want this red and gold out of sight.
²

Osborn plans to make his mark on the world in a territorial manner, vigilantly and jealously safeguarding his “kingdom” against any who dare to oppose him. To this end, he also assembles his Dark Avengers, including many villains placed in the roles of Avengers (such as Bullseye posing as Hawkeye) and some particularly volatile and unbalanced Avengers (such as Ares and the Sentry, respectively). Last and true to form, Osborn adapts some leftover Stark armor in a red, white, and blue motif, and christens himself the Iron Patriot.

The Split Osborn Identity

Osborn’s heavy reliance and perhaps dependence on the media creates a hollow simulacrum that he has trapped himself into maintaining while forgoing any form of self-cultivation. It is important to recall that his rise to power involved the theft of information or equipment from other heroes. In fact, much of his strategy in rising to power involved manipulating or corrupting structures that were already in place. In this regard, Osborn’s intentions and behavior mirror those of Alcibiades in Plato’s dialogue
Alcibiades
, which focuses on the importance of authenticity.

Alcibiades is a young and arrogant Athenian noble who is shocked to discover, after his discussions with Socrates, that he knows very little about justice. With a well-crafted series of questions, Socrates reveals Alcibiades’s complete ignorance of the root concepts of things he wishes to speak authoritatively on in public. Socrates attempts to nudge Alcibiades in a more virtuous direction, warning that his greed and thirst for fame are misplaced and result from his lack of self-awareness. Alcibiades compares himself to and competes with his fellow officials in Athens. In response, Socrates points out that Alcibiades is actually harming himself and neglecting the problems facing the city. He tells him that one can only grow through critical self-reflection, typically with a friend who looks out for one’s best interest and will not fall prey to flattery.
³

Osborn lacks the insight Socrates imparts to Alcibiades, and serves as a cautionary tale. Like Alcibiades, Osborn seeks to impose his influence anywhere he can, at the expense of more socially beneficial and cooperative options. He approaches his new role with all of his personal vendettas at the fore and yet masked under cover of national security. For instance, in the aftermath of the Utopia event, Osborn seeks personal revenge on Namor by slaughtering Atlanteans in the name of national security.
⁴
Unfortunately, no one cautions him as Socrates cautioned Alcibiades. Rather than cultivate the company of true friends who will keep him in line, Osborn surrounds himself mostly with fellow villains, who will not criticize his goals and actions and are poised to take advantage of his impending failure.

On the surface, Osborn appears to be a sane and stalwart civil servant, but beneath he is just as monstrous as his alternate persona, the Green Goblin. In this way he is like Robert Reynolds, the Sentry, who has a second personality called the Void. For Reynolds (as in physics), for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction; any act of good performed by the Sentry results in a commensurate act of malfeasance by the Void.
⁵
An amplified version of the super-soldier serum that created Captain America gave Reynolds the “power of one million exploding suns” but also created the persona of the Void, with whom he struggled for years to maintain control over his powers. It is revealed late in the Dark Avengers series that Osborn offered to “help” Reynolds by giving him a new formula, one that actually gave the Void control of the Sentry.
⁶
It is appropriate that Osborn chooses to corrupt the Sentry, a man whose affliction mirrors his own. Osborn often struggles with the Green Goblin for control of his mind, particularly during times of stress.

During their early missions, Osborn assured Reynolds that there is no Void, but when Reynolds expresses hesitation at slaughtering Atlantean terrorists, Norman tells him, “You don’t have to do anything, Bob . . . We need him for this. We need the hand of God to smite these bastards to hell.”
⁷
It is no accident that Osborn plays with Reynolds’s mind while absolving him of responsibility for the Void’s actions. After learning that the heroic Noh-Varr, his Captain Marvel, has left his Avengers team, Osborn retreats to his private quarters, where he does battle with his Goblin persona: “N-n-no . . . I’m in charge. Me. Not you. Me. I’m in charge,” to which the Goblin answers, “Oh Norman . . . Norman, Norman, stop kidding yourself. I’m here, I’m always here.”
⁸
By releasing the Sentry’s evil side, Osborn may be clearing the way to let the Goblin take over as well, absolving himself of any responsibility for what he does afterward.

Wag the Goblin

You pull this off . . . you are bulletproof. Untouchable. It will take the leaders of the free world decades to come to grips with what you’ve accomplished.

—Loki
⁹

With his Avengers team, and an image of himself as a stalwart hero protecting his country, the only thing missing from the Osborn equation is an inauthentic war. Everything has come full circle when Loki—disguising himself as the Green Goblin persona—goads a mentally weak Osborn into launching an attack on Asgard without presidential sanction.

The Siege of Asgard is the ultimate monument to Norman Osborn’s sophistry, because he purposefully puts the country in danger in the name of national security. In order to appear successful in his duty of securing the nation, he chooses to actively endanger it, creating the problem to which he can provide the solution. Significantly, there are no institutional safeguards in place to prevent him from doing so, a fact driven home when we see the White House crafting its response to the Siege. Fully aware of Osborn’s insubordination, the president questions his staff regarding their options.
¹⁰
One of his staffers laments that ordinarily they would call the Avengers in such an event, but ironically they are under Osborn’s command.

Before the Siege begins, the Sentry’s wife, Lindy, reveals how her husband was a narcotics addict before the serum made him into the Sentry:

Instead of drugs . . . it became about power. He was addicted to the Sentry. And he had just as much control over that as he did the other. So that answers the question right? Who is the Sentry? Who is the Void? It’s what happens when someone who doesn’t deserve power gets power.
¹¹

Lindy’s analysis and judgment of Reynolds holds for Osborn and the rest of his Avengers as well, putting the Siege of Asgard into perspective and highlighting why things go as disastrously as they do. After interrogating the Void, Osborn learns that Lindy is the last remaining source of Reynolds’s conscious control. In order to protect his most prized weapon, Osborn has Bullseye (his fake Hawkeye) indulge his murderous instincts by killing Lindy.
¹²
With all of his weapons primed, Osborn proceeds with his Siege, ultimately destroying the city of Asgard with a raging Void-controlled Sentry.

During the Siege, Ares learns that Osborn has manipulated him into leading the assault against his fellow gods. He is shocked and angered when Heimdall, the Asgardian who sees all in the nine realms, informs him that he was not saving Asgard from Loki’s madness, but rather aiding him.
¹³
In response to his mutiny, the Void literally rips Ares in two, which is broadcast live on television and seen by Ares’s son Phobos (one of Nick Fury’s Secret Warriors). In retaliation, the young god attacks the White House. Unable to confront the president personally, Phobos leaves a note chastising him for the choices he made that led to the current situation with Osborn:

Dear Mortal head of state, I came here today to explain to you the true and total consequences of your actions over the last several months. . . . Surely, fortune favors you and the men I spared enjoy it. But before you wash your hands of my father’s blood I would encourage you to reflect on what brought us to this point. You sacrificed honor for expediency. You traded intent for quick action. You were wrong and we all suffered for it.
¹⁴

Phobos’s letter speaks not only to the president of the United States but also to the wider system that allowed individuals who did not deserve power and were unfit for it to acquire it. It is also fitting that the Siege provides an opportunity for the heroes of the old guard to put aside their past differences and work together at a critical moment, ending the Dark Reign and ushering in a Heroic Age.