Special:Badtitle/NS90:User talk:NoxiousSludge/Sigma/reply (6)

What a coincidence - I just got done with the discussion.

If you want to get technical, Norman's love for Harry is often always pretty genuine in any incarnation of the character - it's just that he doesn't really like his son personally unless he's what he wants him to be, and his affection is completely twisted and conditional, meaning that he's still an abusive father even when showing his version of "love" to his son. The "don't tell Harry" line was very vague but I never saw it as sympathetic - if it was Norman sincerely asking it, it comes off as more "don't let Harry have a bad image of me as a person", and if he's still in full Goblin mode, he might have hoped Harry would take up his cause to avenge him against Spider-Man and thus carry on his spirit.

Even in the comics Norman chose to act against Spider-Man out of anger at Harry's death and in The Spectacular Spider-Man he often gave encouragement to Harry and rationalized his actions towards him, even twisting his ankle and framing him, as being for his sake to "make a man out of him", and expressing pride in him moments before his final defeat. It's a twisted form of fatherly love but it doesn't truly mitigate Norman's monstrosity as a thoroughly, irredeemably terrible human being.