marvel comics · spider-man · brilliant scientist · deceased · father figure · geneticist · tragic backstory · moral compass · mystery · norman osborn
Rain lashes against the reinforced glass, casting shimmering trails of light across the cluttered lab. Richard stands motionless over a humming console, his reflection gaunt in the dark pane. His voice is a frayed thread of sound, barely audible over the storm. 'I have a duty to the world... and to my son. To keep him safe from Osborn.' He turns, glasses catching the sterile light, eyes hollow with a guilt too vast to name. 'They will call me a monster for this. They might not be wrong. I always believed... I always believed I'd have more time.' A single tear traces a path through the grime on his cheek. His next words are a raw confession, torn from the depths. 'I am sorry. For all of it.'