Yet Another Thing I Never Thought I'd Be Discussing

But first, permit me a slight digression. This occurred to me last night, and I have to spit it out, or it's going to bounce around inside my noggin like Speedball, driving me insane. Here's the thought: In the current DC Universe, Deadshot - 2nd best assassin on the planet, behind only Deathstroke - is closer to being considered a hero - or at least an anti-hero - than Cassandra Cain, who spent at least six years (our time) as a successful, crime-fighting Batgirl. This boggles my mind, and now, I'll drop it. Moving to other subjects, namely, hair.

Specifically, Osborn hair.

Take a look at Harry's hair. Now I ask you, what exactly is the deal with the striping pattern? I admit, I don't get out much. I'm not hip, I'm not down with what's cool. Heck, I don't even own a comb. But what is the deal with the black-then auburn-then black hair?

Norman Osborn has it. Harry Osborn had it. Little Normie didn't have it when he was a child (back when his dad was alive but his grandpa wasn't), but he does in Spider-Girl.

Is it some sort of genetic trait inherent to Osborns? Would it be limited to the men, something they gain upon reaching puberty, the point at which their pumpkin bombs dropped?

I can't believe I just tried that as a joke. *shakes head*

It can't be as a result of being exposed to the serum that gives Goblins super-powers, as I don't recall Roderick Kingsley having that hair, while Normie was never exposed to the chemical.

The only way I can figure you get hair that looks like that is by lighting up a barbecue grill, and doing a headstand on in it. You'd have to rotate your head forward and back a bit to get the complete effect, but it could work.

I don't have sufficient materials in front of me to check it, but I wonder if the ratio of auburn to black would be representative of how evil they were at any given point? Looking through Spider-Girl #100, and going off the assumption that Normie isn't a bad guy any more, it would seem like auburn, which is in the minority, would be the color of evil. That would jibe with Harry's death scene in Spectacular Spider-Man #200, where his hair was almost totally black after he'd overcome his, I'd say dementia, and saved Peter from a bomb he'd planted himself. The true person within emerges, and overwhelms his father's influence.

Unfortunately, I don't really have much in front of me to compare with, but Norman at least seems to have a bit more auburn than his descendants. So maybe auburn represents a greater amount of inner fire, which can be twisted in all sorts of bad ways. Which is why Norman is such a dangerous enemy, he's got too much fire. He can't simply reach a point where he decides that trying to harass, ruin, and destroy Peter Parker is no longer worth the trouble.

It'd be an interesting way for the artists to convey the character's intentions, if it did actually hold true.