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Background
Liz Allan was part of the popular crowd at Midtown High School when Peter was a
teenager. The daughter of a hotel owner, Liz came from a family of
priviledge. On her mother's side, she had an interesting step-brother by the
name of Mark Raxton, commonly known as the Molten Man. She was commonly
seen with boyfriend Flash Thompson by her side along with buddies Jason
Ionella, Tiny McKeever, and Sally Avril. Liz was often part of the pack
picking on poor Peter Parker (she graces the first page of Amazing Fantasty #15
with the infamous jab, "Peter Parker? He's Midtown High's only professional
wallflower!"). However, when everyone thought the unmasked Peter was
impersonating Spider-Man to rescue Betty Brant from the tentacles of Dr.
Octopus, Liz recognized Peter's bravery - and actually developed a crush on
him! When Peter asked Liz out, she accepted - but as usual, the date was
cancelled Spider-Man's clash with the Sandman caused Peter was not
interested in Liz, while his heart belonged to Betty Brant.This irked Flash
Thompson incredibly, and led to the historic boxing match between puny Parker
and the Big Man on Campus.
By graduation, Liz told Peter she was ready to move on from the old crowd,
tired of being perceived as a dizzy blonde, and tired of Flash Thompson
following her around. Liz split off from the group for selfless reasons as
well, as she tended to her infamous step-brother with a molten metal skin
condition.
Liz returned shortly after the death of Gwen Stacy. The Molten Man was out
of control again, and Liz was back in town to find Peter for some level-headed
advice from one she knew she could trust. Liz stuck around and joined Peter's
inner circle of friends. Harry had returned from his fling as the Green
Goblin, and was seeking psychiatric help. During this time, Harry saved Liz
from Mirage at the wedding of Betty Brant and Ned Leeds. They soon
began dating. Liz worked as a hospital nurse while
Harry prepared to take over his father's company. With the Molten Man again
losing control, Liz tried to help Raxxton. She was arrested for an attempted
robbery of needed chemicals and drugs from her job all for the sake of helping
her molten step brother deal with his fiery condition. Ashamed, and fearful of
damaging her boyfriends reputation, she left Harry.
After Harry and Spider-Man tackled the Green Goblin's third return (as Dr.
Barton
Hamilton, Harry's psychiatrist), Harry returned home to find Liz waiting for
him. With Harry's new responsibilities under management of Oscorp, the two
faded out of Peter Parker's life. They moved out to the Long Island suburbs,
and got married.
Liz and Harry returned to Peter's life when the Hobgoblin, Roderick
Kingsley began threatening the Osborn family. Soon afterwards Liz gave birth
to a son, Norman Osborn Jr.. When the Parker's were evicted from their
apartment,
Harry and Liz took them in as tenants in the same building. Harry began to
lose mental stability again, and returned to menacing Spider-Man reaware of his
secret identity. Liz drifted into a state of denial to cope with her husband's
madness. With her husband poisoned by an experimental Goblin formula, Liz
became a young widow. Following Harry's death, Liz took over Harry's
responsibilities within Osborn Industries. During this time, she endured the
kidnapping of Normie Jr. by robotic Goblinettes left over from her husband.
Normie was rescued thanks to Spider-Man and the Molten Man.
Upon Norman Osborn Sr.'s return from the "dead", Liz lost her control of
the company. She is currently unemployed, caring for Norman Jr. while
maintaining a strained relationship with her father-in-law. She dated Foggy
Nelson for a short time until Mysterio intervened in the relationship. Her main
responsibility now is caring for her young son, who is frequently the target of
attacks and kidnappings from the super criminal element.
Its not clear what the status of Liz's marriage to Harry is after he was
resurrected by Mephisto. Harry is dating the daughter of New York's
District Attourney, who is not too happy about his daughter being around one of
those crazy Osborns.
Thanks To:
Some of the above information is extracted from the various
versions of the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe and the more recent
Marvel Encyclopaedias.
The assistance of the
Marvel Chronology Project is gratefully acknowledged.
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