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The Brand New Day era ended when Spider-Man saved Harry Osborn’s forgotten newborn son, Stanley, from a cabal of sinister villains.
Peter Parker has a rather complicated experience with the Osborn family. Despite their tense history, Spider-Man typically has made an effort to protect Harry Osborn and his family. One of Peter’s biggest sacrifices for Harry was protecting his newborn son, Stanley, from a horde of supervillains in 2010’s “Origin of the Species,” in Amazing Spider-Man #642-646, by Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta. On an ordinary day, Peter and Harry were hanging out at the Coffee Bean with their friends. Suddenly, Harry’s ex-girlfriend, Lily Hollister, came crashing through the window on a goblin glider, in the middle of childbirth. Lily was the supervillain known as Menace, and she was also pregnant with Norman Osborn’s child. The circumstances of Lily’s delivery were bad enough. To make matters worse, the gang was attacked by several other supervillains.
The Shocker and Tombstone led Doctor Octopus into the Coffee Bean, where Otto Octavius delivered the baby himself, needing the baby’s potentially superhuman blood. Since the Green Goblin and Menace had conceived the child, Doctor Octopus believed that the baby would have strange healing properties for his dying body. Although Octavius managed to deliver the baby, Spider-Man quickly took off with the newborn. Yet Doctor Octopus was prepared since he’d hired every available supervillain to catch the baby for him. Swinging across the streets of New York, Spider-Man was pursued by enemies like Sandman and Electro, not to mention the police. After a long chase, Harry eventually appeared and took the baby from Spider-Man. This gave the wall-crawler room to fight off more of his enemies. Yet when Spider-Man returned, Harry claimed that the baby had died.
An enraged web-slinger fled the scene, before “Harry” was revealed as the Chameleon, who had faked the baby’s death. Spider-Man went on a rampage across the criminal underworld, searching for Doctor Octopus. Eventually, the web-head found the Chameleon, who told him that the baby was still alive. Unfortunately, the newborn was stolen by the Lizard. Both Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus pursued the Lizard, fighting over the baby. Peter used the Lizard’s power against Octavius, as Curt Connors’ alter ego brought out Octavius’ more primitive mindset. Snatching the baby, Spider-Man left Doctor Octopus and the Lizard to fight it out. When the web-slinger returned to Harry, he revealed that not only was the baby untainted by goblin serum, he was also Harry’s biological son. With this news, Harry and his son, Stanley, left town.
“Origin of the Species” marked the end of an era for both Spider-Man and Harry Osborn. Specifically, the “Brand New Day” era of Spider-Man came to a close. Harry, who had returned to life at the beginning of “Brand New Day,” got a sense of closure. The young Osborn had been a major player throughout “Brand New Day,” so his exit symbolized a true end of this period in Amazing Spider-Man. For at least a little while, Harry was given a happy ending away from his father and the drama of his life.
For Spider-Man, several aspects of “Brand New Day” also came to a close. A few of Spider-Man’s “Brand New Day” villains made their last major appearances during “Origin of the Species.” Lily Hollister had been a big part of “Brand New Day” since its beginning, making her final big appearance in “Origin of the Species.” Menace would later be featured in Superior Spider-Man #16, by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos, as part of the Green Goblin’s “Goblin Nation.” Hollister also made a brief comeback in AXIS: Hobgoblin #2, by Kevin Shinick and Javier Rodriguez, becoming the hero known as Queen Cat.
It’s important to note that “Origin of the Species” was the last incident where Spider-Man was treated like an outlaw, at least for a while. A big staple of “Brand New Day” was Spider-Man returning to his outlaw-vigilante roots. “Origin of the Species” capitalized on this trope, as the police and all of New York turned on Peter. When “Big Time” began in Amazing Spider-Man #648, by Slott and Ramos, the web-slinger was treated more like a legitimate hero. The final big payoff of “Origin of the Species” came from the seeds planted during “the Gauntlet.” During this period, Spider-Man’s villains received upgrades or underwent some form of change. “Origin of the Species” took all of these enhanced foes and threw them at Spider-Man simultaneously. Enemies like Mysterio, the Rhino, and the Lizard all challenged Spider-Man, pushing him to his limits. With “Origin of the Species” the saga of “the Gauntlet” truly paid off. As a whole, “Brand New Day” reached its ending with “Origin of the Species,” for both Peter and Harry.
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