Oscorp (sometimes stylized asOsCorp), also known asOscorp Industries, is a fictional multibillion-dollarmultinational corporation appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics, predominantly in stories aboutSpider-Man. The company was founded byNorman Osborn and has appeared in numerous media adaptations. It first appeared inThe Amazing Spider-Man #37 (March, 1966) and was created byStan Lee and Steve Ditko.
The corporation is based out of the Oscorp Tower inNew York. It was created and run by itsCEONorman Osborn. Norman studiedchemistry andelectrical engineering in college. He also took a number of courses in business administration. Norman's teacher, ProfessorMendel Stromm, formed the business partnership.[1] Since Norman put up the bulk of the financing, they called their company the Osborn Corporation, or Oscorp.
Stromm's early research was on a chemical that would provide enhanced strength in its test subjects and would eventually turn Osborn into theGreen Goblin. Osborn, wanting the formula for himself, discovered that Stromm had been embezzling funds from Oscorp. Stromm explained that he was merely borrowing but Osborn turned him over to the police. After several years in prison, Stromm was released and tried to kill Osborn for revenge using evil robots. He was stopped by the superheroSpider-Man and seemingly died of a heart attack when he was nearly shot.[2]
Jay Allan's company "Allan Chemical" was merged withNormie Osborn's stocks from Oscorp and the last remaining properties ofHorizon Labs after its destruction, establishing it under the new name of "Alchemax".[3]
It was later revealed that Norman Osborn under the guise of "Mason Banks" created the corporation in order to leave a strong empire for his grandson and establish an empire for the Osborn legacy. Their headquarters Oscorp Tower was the former headquarters of Oscorp.[4]
By2099, Alchemax would eventually control most aspects of daily life in a possible future.
Arthur Stacy - The Chief of Security at Oscorp who is the brother ofGeorge Stacy and the uncle ofGwen Stacy.
Charles Standish - The Senior Vice-President of Oscorp. Charles Standish was kidnapped by the Flaming Sword, but he was eventually rescued by the Avengers.[5]
Donald Menken - The personal assistant of Norman Osborn.
Dr. David Patrick Lowell - A scientist who became Sundown upon being drenched in his chemicals that was similar to the Goblin Formula.[6]
Dr. Malek - A scientist who was part of the research team that was experimenting onFreak.[7]
Dr. Nels van Adder - A research scientist whose formula turned him into theProto-Goblin.[8]
Dr. David Lowell - He developed the Photogenesis Project for Oscorp, and discovered a way to give a human superpowers through photosynthesis.
Harry Osborn - Norman's son who for a time served as CEO.
In theUltimate Marvel universe, Oscorp is much the same as in the Earth-616 version. The company is owned and operated byNorman Osborn who developed the Oz super soldier serum and the spiders who were behind the abilities ofPeter Parker,[9] and laterMiles Morales.[10] After an incident in which Osborn injected himself with Oz serum and became theGreen Goblin, a big portion of the main building was left in ruins, and numerous scientists died or transitioned to other companies likeRoxxon in the case of Conrad Marcus.[11][12] Osborn Industries had been mentioned to still produce technologies.[13]
InEarth-6160, a world whose history was altered by theMaker, Oscorp is one of the largest companies of the North American Union, a regional power bloc which includes the former United States's territories after its central government dissolved in 1969. Norman Osborn operated as CEO before his death in afalse flag attack on Stark Tower orchestrated by theMaker's Council. After his deathHarry Osborn andGwen Stacy become the two members of its board while the company's control passes to them and their trust as the sole inheritors. AsStark/Stane's assets become a matter of question and political intrigue due to the fall of the Starks,Wilson Fisk, the new Shadow Governor of the New York territory and Kingpin of Manhattan, appoints Harry to help take care of them during a meeting. Two weeks later, with the assistance ofOtto Octavius, the Osborns covertly raid a hidden Stark location containingIron Man armors, as well as a valuable data repository of files of information regarding suit designs, financial accounts, and the Council's operations. Utilizing Stark technology, Octavius creates the Green Goblin suit as Harry decides to fight against the Kingpin and the Council's reign over New York and the rest of the world, in order to avenge his father's death.[14]
Oscorp appears inSpider-Man: The Animated Series. In the first season,Norman Osborn hiresSpencer Smythe to create theSpider-Slayer in exchange for building a hoverchair for Spencer's paralyzed son,Alistair. After the Spider-Slayer is destroyed by Spider-Man, the Oscorp building explodes and Spencer is seemingly killed. Spencer survives and is found by theKingpin, who works with theHobgoblin to kidnap Norman's sonHarry. When the Kingpin refuses to pay Hobgoblin immediately, they cease their partnership. Following this, Osborn sells 50% of his company to the Kingpin to repay his debt. After becoming the Green Goblin, Norman is defeated by Spider-Man and sustains amnesia that renders him unable to remember that he is the Green Goblin. The following day, Norman publicly announces that Oscorp will no longer produce chemical weapons and allows Harry to be brought into the company.
Oscorp appears inUltimate Spider-Man. Similar to the Ultimate Marvel reality, Norman allies withDoctor Octopus to capture Spider-Man, intending to create super soldiers from his DNA. AfterTaskmaster fails to capture Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus is enraged and destroys the Oscorp facility.
An Oscorp building appears in theAvengers Assemble episode "Dark Avengers".
Oscorp appears inSpider-Man (2017). This version of the company created the spider that gave Peter Parker his powers. Additionally, Norman Osborn founded the schoolOsborn Academy as a technological rival to Horizon High and a hi-tech security force called theOsborn Commandos made up of Osborn Academy's staff and students.
Oscorp Labs appears throughoutSpider-Man (2002). Depicted as a chemical corporation based in New York headed byNorman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) andMendel Stromm, it had a hand in military technology that produced a green metal flight-suit and purple flying glider, which Norman utilizes after becoming the Green Goblin.
InSpider-Man 2 (2004),Harry assumes control of Oscorp after Norman's death and fundsOtto Octavius' ambition for fusion power.
The Oscorp building fromThe Amazing Spider-Man was intended to appear in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) filmThe Avengers (2012). However, by the time the Oscorp building was fully designed forThe Amazing Spider-Man, the skyline forThe Avengers was rendered, so the idea was abandoned due to timing constraints.[16]
Oscorp appears in theSpider-Man tie-in game.[citation needed] The company in the game parallels that of the film, with Norman Osborn and his scientists attempting to capture Spider-Man in order to study his genetics to perfect a super-soldier serum that the company needs to develop for a military contract. After a number of failed attempts to capture Spider-Man using Oscorp robots, Norman subjects himself to the unfinished serum and becomes the Green Goblin.
Oscorp Industries appears in theMarvel's Spider-Man series developed byInsomniac Games.[19] This version of the company was co-founded by Norman Osborn and Otto Octavius, and its name derives from "the Os", Norman and Otto's college nickname. However, Otto eventually left the company due to Norman's corruption and the dangerous and unethical experiments Oscorp conducted. Thanks to Norman's position as mayor of New York, Oscorp technology has been implemented into many of the city's public services. Research stations were also set up throughout the city by Norman's sonHarry Osborn to carry out his late motherEmily's wishes of eradicating pollution and cleaning the environment and are part of a side-quest in the first game.
InMarvel's Spider-Man (2018), the company plays a central role, as it was responsible for the creation of the "Devil's Breath", a bio-weapon originally intended to be a treatment for genetic disorders, in particular the illness that killed Norman's wife Emily and later also affected Harry.[citation needed] After one of the test subjects for Devil's Breath,Martin Li, gained super powers from it and accidentally killed his parents, he becomes the crime boss Mister Negative to pursue revenge against Norman. Additionally, after Norman withdraws Otto's funding for his research into advanced prosthetic limbs in a thinly veiled attempt to get him to return to Oscorp, Otto becomes inspired by Li's actions to pursue his own vendetta. Seeking to ruin Norman's reputation, Otto forms theSinister Six and organizes several attacks against Oscorp while also releasing the Devil's Breath in an attempt to expose Norman's role in its creation. Oscorp's response is to hireSable International and allow them to put the city under martial law, resulting in further abuses and corruption. The former chief scientist of the Devil's Breath project,Morgan Michaels, eventually betrays his employer by helpingSpider-Man devise a cure for the virus. Once the Devil's Breath outbreak is stopped and the Sinister Six are defeated, Oscorp is able to avoid any major lawsuits, though Norman resigns as mayor in disgrace.
InMarvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the Underground use Oscorp's abandoned science center as a hideout.[citation needed] The science center prior to being abandoned appears in a flashback in whichMiles Morales andPhin Mason win a contest held there by presenting the energy converter they created before entering their respective high schools. The science center is also the place where Miles indirectly met Peter Parker and Otto, when the latter two visited the center for an idea of their prosthetic limbs project.
InMarvel's Spider-Man 2, it is revealed that Oscorp retrieved theVenomsymbiote after it crash-landed outside New York, which was later experimented on by Dr.Curt Connors, turning it into an organic suit that can heal whoever it is bonded to.[citation needed] After discovering that the symbiote is sentient and can influence the behavior of its host, however, Connors advised to destroy it, but Norman attempted to use it to cure Harry's illness. This eventually results in Harry becoming Venom and starting a symbiote invasion in New York, which is thwarted by the Spider-Men (Peter Parker and Miles Morales) andMary Jane Watson, while Venom is destroyed, leaving Harry in a comatose state. This prompts Norman to order his scientists to use the "G-serum" on his son and vow revenge against the Spider-Men, whom he blames for Harry's condition.
