Marvel’s Spider-Man: Across the Multiverse

The main reason for calling Tobey-Spidey here today was to have him introduce them to Harry Osborn.

When it came to the relationship between this universe's Harry and Tobey-Spidey, it was far better than the one between their counterparts in the Amazing Universe.

In the Amazing Universe, Harry and Andrew-Spidey went from best friends to sworn enemies—or rather, calling them "best friends" might be a bit of an exaggeration.

Their friendship was as fragile as a paper boat—flipping over at the slightest wave.

But things were different for this universe's Harry and Tobey-Spidey.

Their dynamic could be best described as "frenemies" taken to the extreme.

Mutual betrayal – Mary Jane constantly wavered between the two, kissing Harry while dating Tobey-Spidey, then flirting with Tobey-Spidey while dating Harry. Others might have different opinions, but Peter had disliked this universe's Mary Jane for a long time.

Mutual backstabbing – When Tobey-Spidey fought the original Green Goblin, Norman Osborn, Norman ended up dying at the hands of his own glider. Tobey-Spidey returned his body to the Osborn mansion, only for Harry to witness the scene and turn against him. Harry even went as far as hiring Doctor Octopus to go after Tobey-Spidey.

Mutual attempts to kill each other – After a series of schemes and underhanded moves, their conflict finally escalated into an all-out battle between men. In the end, Harry suffered a crushing defeat, resulting in memory loss and disfigurement.

Yet still, mutual loyalty – Despite everything, when Tobey-Spidey was in danger, Harry still stepped forward to fight alongside him against Venom and Sandman. Not only that, but he also sacrificed himself to take a fatal blow for Tobey-Spidey, proving the depths of their brotherhood with his very life.

Peter didn't admire many villains, but Harry Osborn was definitely one of them.

At this point in the timeline, Peter had already pieced together most of the details from his conversation with Tobey-Spidey and other clues.

Harry and Tobey-Spidey had already fallen out and even fought each other, and Harry was likely already disfigured.

Meanwhile, since Peter had captured Venom, Eddie Brock had lost the chance to bond with the symbiote. This meant he also lost the ability to kidnap Mary Jane and use her to threaten Tobey-Spidey.

With that, the entire course of the original storyline had already begun to deviate drastically.

Now, if Sandman was the only remaining antagonist…

First of all, Sandman's reason for opposing Tobey-Spidey was because he needed money to save his daughter, but Spider-Man kept getting in his way.

To Sandman, stopping him from making money meant stopping him from saving his daughter. So naturally, he had to beat Spider-Man to ensure he wouldn't interfere anymore.

This meant that Sandman had no reason to kidnap Mary Jane.

And even if he was the only villain left, it was unlikely that he alone could pose a lethal threat to Tobey-Spidey.

Without Mary Jane—the woman both "brothers" loved—as a catalyst, and without Tobey-Spidey being in life-threatening danger, Peter couldn't guarantee that Harry would still follow the original plot and come to Tobey-Spidey's aid.

The odds were extremely low.

Because why would he?

Harry still had his pride, didn't he?

In the original timeline, Tobey-Spidey had to beg Harry for help before he agreed!

So even if Harry was going to help, he needed a proper reason and a way to save face first.

And if he didn't reconcile with Tobey-Spidey at this point, without the external pressure forcing them back together, Peter was genuinely worried that these two—who were supposed to be best friends—would end up like their Amazing Universe counterparts, becoming mortal enemies instead.

That would be too tragic!

As one of the few villainous characters Peter actually respected, he definitely didn't want Harry Osborn to walk down that same doomed path again.

Besides, Peter had plans to expand his interdimensional task force and a cross-universe company, and what better way to do that than to find a wealthy backer in each universe?

And in Tobey-Spidey's universe, who had the deepest pockets?

Of course—the Osborn family.

Although Tobey-Spidey provided the introduction—or perhaps precisely because Tobey-Spidey provided the introduction—meeting Harry Osborn turned out to be quite an ordeal.

Fortunately, they managed to meet in the end.

Peter, well-versed in negotiation, presented the same conditions he had once offered to the Amazing Universe's Norman Osborn, now pitching them to Harry Osborn in almost the same way.

At first, Harry Osborn was skeptical.

But then, Peter showed him his nanotech Vibranium Spider-Suit.

To reinforce the point, Tobey-Spidey also demonstrated his own nanotech Spider-Suit, showcasing its AI system and several other features.

After seeing everything, Harry Osborn immediately agreed to the partnership.

And the deal he offered was even better than the one Amazing Norman Osborn had proposed!

In truth, after Norman Osborn's death, Oscorp had been struggling without a strong leader at the helm.

A few months ago, Harry Osborn had gone against public opinion and invested in Doctor Octopus' controlled nuclear fusion research, hoping for a breakthrough.

However, Doctor Octopus' experiment failed, turning him into a bank-robbing mad scientist instead.

This incident only made Oscorp's situation even worse, pushing the already struggling company closer to collapse.

Harry had been desperately searching for a way out—he didn't want to see the company his father built crumble in his hands.

But small projects were insignificant, and big projects carried too much risk—another failure could bankrupt them completely.

As a result, Oscorp was stuck in a deadlock.

Then came Peter, along with his proposal, offering Harry Osborn a new path forward.

To secure this opportunity, Harry was willing to give up half of his shares, investing them into Peter's Interdimensional Task Force.

Of course, this investment only granted Peter profit-sharing rights, not decision-making power.

After all, Harry's goal was to save Oscorp, not hand it over. If he gave away control, he might as well just surrender the company entirely—which would defeat the whole purpose.

Peter had no objections.

He wasn't interested in managing companies anyway.

If he had to personally oversee every partner and investment company across every universe, he'd need to grow extra limbs like a real spider, each one handling a different business.

Even then, it wouldn't be enough.

Maybe he'd need extra brains and extra eyes just to keep up.

Who had the time for that?

As long as he had money and access to advanced technology from different universes and timelines to enhance himself, that was more than enough.

Everything else was secondary.

And so, the deal was sealed.

With this agreement, the Interdimensional Task Force secured its biggest investment yet in Tobey-Spidey's universe.

After finalizing the partnership, Peter had Harry prepare a supply of food to be sent into the Quantum Realm, where several hungry dinosaurs were waiting to be fed.

Harry found the whole concept fascinating.

So Peter took him inside for a quick tour.

The wonders of the Quantum Realm only further solidified Harry's confidence in investing in Peter and his Interdimensional Task Force.

With that settled, Peter began preparing for his next move—heading to the mutated version of the Amazing Universe, where he planned to hunt down Carnage and Andrew-Spidey!

(End of Chapter)

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