Reader Question - Who Will Take Down Norman Osborn?

Ever since the end of Secret Invasion and the beginning of Dark Reign, when Norman Osborn made his meteoric rise to power, people have been knowingly waiting for someone to take him down. Predictions have been very varied of when that will happen and who will be the one to topple Osborn, but with the announcement of the upcoming Siege, which we saw in the January solicits, we are starting to get a better of idea of how it will happen. Hit the jump for some more thoughts about the fall of Norman Osborn.

Self-Implosion

Like I said, since the beginning of Dark Reign, people knew it wouldn't last very long, and the reason is this: Norman Osborn is crazy. Remember how he killed Swordsman the same day he took control of H.A.M.M.E.R.? Or how he was recently shown, as seen in the Moments of the Week, beating the crap out of a mentally handicapped Tony Stark in front of TV cameras?

And that's without mentioning his little Goblin episode back in Thunderbolt Mountain, where he suited up as the Green Goblin and killed a bunch of people. So far Osborn has managed to play the media game in his favor, brushing away the concern over his mental health, but surely it will one day all come back to bite him in the ass, in a very public way.

Shady Associations

When Norman Osborn assembled The Cabal, he might as well have stabbed himself in the back. Put Emma Frost, Loki, Namor, and Doctor Doom in the same room, tell them to play nice, and they are going to do the exact opposite. Since the beginning, Namor and Doom have been plotting together, Namor and Emma as well, and Loki always has at least three plots to take over the world. Upcoming Siege covers seem to show that Doom is going to fight back against Osborn's rule, possibly Loki as well.

And let's not forget that Osborn has on his "side" the Dark Avengers, all former criminals, the Thunderbolts, a black ops assassin team, and The Hood's gang, all under his employ. Not exactly the most loyal allies you could find.

Everyone Hates Him

Sure, Osborn has plenty of allies, but he has made more enemies than anyone else in the Marvel Universe these days. It seems that just about every hero is aiming to bring him down in one way or the other: Nick Fury and his Secret Warriors, the New Avengers, Daredevil, the Punisher, the X-Men, and many, many others. If anything, one of their plans to bring him down will eventually work just by probability alone.

As an aside, many people seem to think that the return of Steve Rogers will be one of the pivotal events in bringing down Osborn, as his death at the end of Civil War was a pretty big part of the current status quo of the Marvel Universe. Others seem to think that Osborn is in power as a result of Spider-Man's deal with the devil during the events of One More Day. Both of them are interesting theories, and both have enough proof behind them to be seriously considered.

The Sum of All Elements

In the end, Osborn has so many balls in the air, that they are bound to all come down at the same time. The solicits of Siege point to the fact that Osborn is going to try to take over Asgard, in the process biting off more than he can possibly chew. But there surely has to be one key and main element that will bring his downfall. Will it be one of his psychotic events coming to light? Or Doom finally saying enough and kicking Osborn's ass? Or Spider-Man taking down his most intimate and personal enemy once and for all? So I ask you, dear readers, who or what do you think will finally take down Norman Osborn?

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