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Pound the Table | An X-Men Self-Insert

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Osborne depo, is a calculated escalation if handled right.

"You told me to cover all other pathways before trying to get Harry's medical records. His dad was there for the incident and can tell me what he witnessed in regards to the state of his son."

Drag it out six hours and cause a Goblin episode on tape in front of witnesses
 
October Daye said:
It's clam chowder."

Oh, ew.

I must've made a more visceral look of disgust than I'd intended, because Sam's laugh filled our booth the instant I cringed at the thought of that utterly disgusting mess that tried to call itself a soup.
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To be fair, there are multiple types of clam chowder and, while New England clam chowder is pretty blend, Manhattan and Rhode Island clam chowder are both quite good.

Doesn't help with the allergy, though.

bookwyrm said:
I really like how your Norman Osborn just drips "80s high power CEO about to eat a couple hundred thousand hushing up harassment and abuse and then just kill themselves with a heart attack at 45"

God, I bet he golfs with the Trumps on the weekend.
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Nah. Osborn has actual money and taste and the Trumps were never really part of that crowd.

Always Late said:
... maybe the Pentagon Papers skew my expectations a bit, but that doesn't quite register to me as that bad. Annoying, time-consuming, but not a big deal.
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Keep in mind that this is all paper and being handled by a very small team that can't put everything else on hold to deal with it. Also, you'd generally expect an interpersonal dispute to function on a vastly different scale from anything that deals with a major federal agency.

Always Late said:
So yes, Osborn getting in front of a judge and on the stand is an automatic game over, he can't keep himself together under pressure and Sam can help push to get everything on record and to the people who put screws to supervillains and executives. On the other, unless Cap is sitting in the audience geared up, that's a not-quite-so-metaphorical atomic bomb going off in a packed courtroom.
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Eh. Osborn is scary on his own, but he's unlikely to have much of his goblin gear on hand, which severely limits how much damage he can do if he flips while on the stand.

I'd expect an unarmed Cap or Spider to be able take him handily, if not easily. I think the worst likely possibilities, and one of the more interesting ones, is Peter having to unmask himself to save someone from Osborn. Bonus points if it's JJ.

Sengachi said:
Yeah I'm worried that the Green fucking Goblin is going to firebomb her house. Might be good to keep Erik nearby for this one, if possible.
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Personally, I'd rather try getting Strange to set up some wards, but that might just be my personal bias towards magic talking.
 
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Always Late said:
Guess we're working with the William Defoe Norman. But, speaking of Sam Rami's seminal classic, besides already laying the groundwork for the Goblin Formula in the aggression it's the ousting that really makes me see the Big Bad Harv in the scene.

It's one thing for the board to have management relieved because of a buyout, that's within the rules of the game and morality won't come up in American executive suites and board rooms until at least the 2010s. Norman's description, however, on the surface or plumbed to the depths just doesn't add up though. There has to be alternative reasons, like a merger or some other leadership shuffle that happened around the same time. I'd even go so far as to say that the board can't even breath a word of this stuff to anyone, because it's a liability and PR disaster.

Let's pretend Norman's account of events is accurate. To outright fire a well-known, popular, media darling CEO for being the victim of assault is throwing away the credibility with the partner. Domestic disputes don't matter yet in a boardroom, so who's going to want to do business with directors who'll fire you for what goes on with your family? Not to mention Norman can walk right out of a courtroom, spin his loss to the media, and the company he built is going to get savaged once it gets to a jury.

Yeah it's a bunch of political bunk, but that's why Norman's so well portrayed as being in a bad headspace. His entire train of logic is predicated on his executives being petty assholes who don't know why the legal department exists.
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Given that he can't get through even a single meeting without freaking the fuck out and destroying chairs I think the reason they're trying to remove him probably has less to do with his face being messed up and a lot more to do with the fact he's acting increasingly unstable. At most, the "well you're not a good advertisement anymore" thing is probably an excuse.
 
BiopunkOtrera said:
Given that he can't get through even a single meeting without freaking the fuck out and destroying chairs I think the reason they're trying to remove him probably has less to do with his face being messed up and a lot more to do with the fact he's acting increasingly unstable. At most, the "well you're not a good advertisement anymore" thing is probably an excuse.
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It's also an excuse they can give him that's less likely to get their own faces broken, since it points his anger in a different direction.
 
Epsilon Rose said:
It's also an excuse they can give him that's less likely to get their own faces broken, since it points his anger in a different direction.
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Yeah. It's way less likely to set him off.

Like, even if they have no idea about him being actually dangerous, the CEO losing his shit and beating up a board member or something is not going to do the share price any good.
 
BiopunkOtrera said:
Given that he can't get through even a single meeting without freaking the fuck out and destroying chairs I think the reason they're trying to remove him probably has less to do with his face being messed up and a lot more to do with the fact he's acting increasingly unstable. At most, the "well you're not a good advertisement anymore" thing is probably an excuse.
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I absolutely concur. HR can only cover up things for so long, this whole thing would have provoked a "last warning" ultimatum. If there is a big deal in the pipeline then the CEO being erratic and hyper-aggressive, looking at you Musk, would be very strong grounds to break off the deal, wrestle a renegotiation, or secure a contractual resignation.
 
plus this is 80s corporate culture, superpowers or no superpowers this is hardly the first rich guy who dealt with his issues mainly by being a physically intimidating asshole getting up in people's shit. Osborn's subordinates know good and well he could both hype himself up into actually laying into them and even get away with it too, with nothing but internal finger wagging at his bullying tantrums.
 
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Always Late said:
Let's pretend Norman's account of events is accurate. To outright fire a well-known, popular, media darling CEO for being the victim of assault is throwing away the credibility with the partner. Domestic disputes don't matter yet in a boardroom, so who's going to want to do business with directors who'll fire you for what goes on with your family? Not to mention Norman can walk right out of a courtroom, spin his loss to the media, and the company he built is going to get savaged once it gets to a jury.
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I don't think it's an accurate recollection, and what I think the actual events were depends on whether the board know Norman has super strength (i.e. if he officially volunteered on record as test-subject for an experimental Oscorp serum), and if his treatment of Harry is just the latest in an established pattern of behaviour.

Threatening to fire your CEO for getting hit in the face? Unlikely. Telling your CEO the only reason you're not firing him right now is because someone hit and stopped him before he could beat his son half–or–completely to death? More reasonable; the bad publicity from that level of child abuse could sink the entire company. "Oscorp CEO Deranged Child–Murdering Super–Villain" is not the sort of headline that shareholders want to read in the morning.
 
So... what are the odds that Osborn did that to himself to justify raking the Parkers over the coals? I mean he's definitely batshit enough to do temporary damage to himself to give himself an excuse, and he can probably talk himself into blaming them for him having to go that far.
 
Ancalador said:
So... what are the odds that Osborn did that to himself to justify raking the Parkers over the coals? I mean he's definitely batshit enough to do temporary damage to himself to give himself an excuse, and he can probably talk himself into blaming them for him having to go that far.
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Hell, the Goblin could potentially do it for those very reasons, and lock the memory of doing so away so he genuinely thinks it was Ben's fault.
 
jwolfe_beta said:
To me the Green Goblin has always been 'just' Norman Osborn with certain mental breaks relaxed/taken off. Less an alternate personality and more Norman Osborn unchained with super strength as a bonus.
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So in Freudian terms, unchecked id with above-average punchening.

Or flat-out a Mr Hyde situation - iirc in the book, he's less an alter ego than Jekyll minus social mores and plus a minor disguise.
 
Blinktwice13 said:
So in Freudian terms, unchecked id with above-average punchening.

Or flat-out a Mr Hyde situation - iirc in the book, he's less an alter ego than Jekyll minus social mores and plus a minor disguise.
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While Willem Dafoe's utterly fucking timeless and absolutely masterful performance does inform a lot of how I'm writing Norman and Gobbie, the alter-ego thing isn't at play here. It's much closer to, as @Blinktwice13 suggests, the actual way the Jekyll & Hyde thing worked in the books.
 
Project 501D13R said:
Calling it now, this is going to end with Spider man vs Green Goblin!
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I feel like there's decent odds that's how this began. My guess for the sequence of events: No, the shoe didn't do a thing to harm him, but Norman did quite a lot to hurt his boy afterwards. And Spider-Man stopped him, with retina-detaching spider-punch action.

Norman knows--via beating his kid senseless--that Spider-Man is Ben's boy. So, he's taking his revenge the proper way. From his perspective, everything so far has been him showing admirable restraint, keeping his natural impulses in check, and fighting back the Goblin.

I'll be surprised if this doesn't end with every single man involved lying to Noa, and it blowing up in her face when the truth comes out. I guess Uncle Ben is mostly telling the truth, except for quietly omitting any role Spider-Man might have to play. If he knows, he might even decide to lie and take credit for the damage himself; better him destitute from a thrown shoe than his nephew imprisoned from a thrown punch.
 
Worldsoul15 said:
Can't say how legal it would be, but it'd certainly be foolish, since that's a white cardboard box, and finding the false bottom would be easier than putting it in in the first place, from weight if nothing else
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It's also a game that judges would not appreciate. Basically, even if they don't find the compartment, the answer is "They didn't give us all the deposition papers", the judge tells them to provide them, another copy if necessary, and if the panel is discovered or such and that is discovered, bringing that up to the judge will make them very unhappy.
 
Ik it got sidelined cause important things be happening, and BOY DO IT BE SPICY THO

Charles is approaching Noa.

I'm guessing for assistance in a Law suit, because Charles has had alot more reason to approach Noa before, such as when Magneto stole Allerdyce, or when Noa got revealed.

I can't imagine this is an X-Men pitch, not yet anyway, or perhaps its to try to get Noa attached the the Institute by getting her as his first choice Lawyer? Idk what the Lawyer version of a Primary Care Physician is, but that.

...Is it to help Charles persecute William Stryker.

I just thought that, but OH MAH GOODNESS, would that be a fuckin slam dunk of a trial!!! Pulling a gun on a minor, and shoving a woman off stage to her DEATH! Let alone all the human rights and laws Stryker broke!

That'd be so fucking hype to read, jesus christ.
 
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If this case doesn't end with a GG V Peter in the middle of the courtroom with everyone's life on the line I'm gonna feel something. Or an after court three way brawl with Noa and Peter vs GG.
 
October Daye said:
"Before we go any further, I would make a request," I said, leading off with what was probably the weakest arrow in my quiver, but it was worth a shot anyway. "Your client," I addressed Jason Babbage, "is asking for compensatory damages far exceeding what my client is capable of paying. More than my client will ever own, most likely. Our justice system frequently slashes awards down to an amount that a person could realistically pay, and going off of that metric, it is unlikely that Mr. Osborn would receive more than… I want to say one hundred thousand dollars. At maximum.
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So question for the legal experts here; considering that Osborn's demand seems to be on the order of 'Parker sells everything he owns, takes out multiple loans he can never pay back etc and still doesn't have the needed cash' I have two questions:

1. How likely would it be for a Judge presiding over the case to reduce the pay-out amount per Noa's mention,
and
2. What in theory (conventional/legal actions not Goblin shenanigans) could Osborn do at said point?
 
jwolfe_beta said:
So question for the legal experts here
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...you do know the author is writing what they know, right? i.e. legal expertise


jwolfe_beta said:
1. How likely would it be for a Judge presiding over the case to reduce the pay-out amount per Noa's mention,
and
2. What in theory (conventional/legal actions not Goblin shenanigans) could Osborn do at said point?
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From what I understand from Legal Eagle, 1) absolutely certain, and 2) ... cry?
 
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Great chapter and ending! Cliff-hanger-esque because I want to see what comes next, rather than suspense. Great to see the big legal fella giving some support
 
Martin Rudat said:
...you do know the author is writing what they know, right? i.e. legal expertise
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I know that.
But it wasn't really outlined what would happen, just what might happen if this went to court. Also since this is apparently a sticking point for Norman what his options were in response to getting slapped down.
 
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