(Disclaimer: All characters are property of Marvel Comics.)

Hey Pete.

I'm sure a genius like you knows what this document means. I'm either dead, or have been missing so long I may as well be dead. Now, don't you and MJ worry about me, this is by no means a suicide note. What it is, well, I guess you'd call it a confessional. Telling my big secret to the person I trust most now that Dad's gone.

It's funny, you know. For the longest time I couldn't stand being around him, mostly because he was spending so much time at the company he'd practically abandoned me to be raised by servants, and then trying too little too late. You remember, when you first met him, seeing I got a ride to that University Science field trip. He was trying hard to make up for lost time, but he was still treating me like I was one of his lab assistants. That's one of the reasons I envy you Pete. Your Uncle was a pretty nice guy, and he was the father to you mine wasn't able to be. But still, Dad was trying. Makes me wish that I could just go back and try to thank him for caring, even when it was almost too late.

Reminds me of the last time he and I spoke. It was a few hours after MJ and I had that fight outside the apartment, and I was still trying to sort out my feelings. So, I went back to Dad's place to think, and maybe even get some advice on women. Yeah, who'd have thought it, Harry Osborn getting advice on women from his lab rat father. I found him upstairs, coming out from one of those dizzy spells he'd been having lately due to all the stress at the company (I'll explain that in a bit). We talked, and for once he was hanging on my every word, treating me like an adult, and then he promised he'd do everything in his power to be the father I wanted.

That's when Spider-Man took him from me.

I still don't know what happened that night, although lately some of the pieces have been coming together. All I knew was that my father had died on his bed, with that red-and-blue Mutie freak over him. I tell you Pete; I never wanted to kill anyone more than at that moment. But before I could act that coward crawled off like the bug he is.

Like I told you at the funeral, I didn't rest. My father had been stolen from me, and the man who did it was being called a hero. But I couldn't act. Not yet. With Dad gone, I had to take the company reins, to keep Oscorp from going under. But here's the kicker: While at Oscorp, I found out more about my father's murder than I would if I'd paid Jameson everything I had.

Do you remember The Green Goblin? Hell, of course you would, with your taking all of those photos how couldn't you? Well, anyway, I was going over some of Dad's more recent projects, and I found that an unknown employee had stolen the Goblin's entire arsenal, lock stock and glider, from us months ago. The security and police reports hadn't found a suspect, but considering that the Goblin murdered almost the entire Board of Directors he was definitely someone with an axe to grind. Dad's autopsy report said he'd been run through by something, and I'm presuming it was The Goblin coming back to finish what he started with the others. No wonder Dad was having those blackouts, worrying about that lunatic and the damage he could do if word got out where his weapons came from must have given him an ulcer. And that's not even counting Spider-Man's involvement. Looking through other files I find references to some sort of super-soldier program involving genetic enhancement was under Dad's personal attention. Wish I could have asked you to help me on this, I was barely staying awake trying to read exactly what they were looking for. What I do know though is that the basic gist of the program was that it would make someone much stronger or faster, but it would make them insane. This is how I figure spider-man ties in. Dad was in financial trouble, and had to speed up the project to reach human testing. Whoever they used for the test was left unhinged, and felt they'd turned him into a freak. He attacked dad and killed Doctor Stromm, then, trying to get out ran into the Man who'd become the Green Goblin. They then joined forces and set about trying to ruin us with the Goblin posing the direct threat, while Spider-Man sneaks in, earns our trust and kills anyone who survives the Goblin. Like my father.

You know how well I ran the company after I took over though: straight into the ground. Turns out I'm not half the man my father was after all. I was desperate, and the one weapon I had was crumbling down around me. That's when I decided to take a risk. I had the most trusted engineers I could find work from blueprints, and rebuild the equipment and weapons the Goblin stole. I underwent rigorous training in hand to hand combat and how to use the glider and weapons. My father's killers will be brought to justice, even if I had to drag them to court with my bare hands.

That's right Pete: I'm the Hobgoblin.

There, that's it, the secret's out. You can give this to the cops if you want, show them what they missed, but there's one other person I want you to talk to about this: Liz Allen. She's one of the new managers from Quest who took over the company from me. I know it was the last thing dad would ever want, but what could I do? Anyway, I want you to talk to her, and tell her why I had to leave her hanging all the time.

Well, that's it, my entire confession. I know you'll do the right thing Pete; you're my best friend, after all. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta fly: there's a spider to catch.

Signed

Harry Osborn

Otherwise known as

The Hobgoblin.