Elizabeth Allan - Osborn, who usually goes by the name Liz Allan (commonly misspelled, even in the published comics themselves, as Liz Allen^[1]), is a fictional character that appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. In the character's earliest appearances, she was an attractive, popular girl at the high school of the nerdy Peter Parker, who is secretly Spider-Man. She was an early love interest of Peter but differences in their levels of social acceptance kept them apart. Since then, she has been seen semi-frequently in various Spider-Man series and has ties to his adversaries the Green Goblin and Molten Man.

Fictional character biography[link]

Liz Allen was a high school classmate of Peter Parker when they attended Midtown High School together, and a minor love interest of Parker and Flash Thompson.

An unnamed blonde female high school student in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962) appears to be Liz Allan. Liz Allan is first named in The Amazing Spider-Man #4 (September 1963), the same issue in which Betty Brant first appears. Initially, Peter likes Liz. However, she is Flash Thompson's girlfriend and initially considers Peter Parker something of a loser, even taking part in the general ridicule that Peter endures on a daily basis. Her earliest appearances depict her as flighty and rather thoughtless - not outright cruel, but lacking the empathy necessary to perceive Peter's attractive qualities.

Over time, however, she begins to admire Peter's intelligence, and develops some degree of affection for the former "bookworm" (specifically, after issue 12: "Unmasked by Doctor Octopus"). By this time, however, Peter's interest has waned considerably, as he notes that Liz never showed any real interest in him until he began dating Betty Brant, and assumes that Liz's feeling are little more than a schoolgirl crush. Betty and Liz clash several times over Peter, as Betty thinks of Liz as a blonde tramp.

In Amazing Spider-Man #28 (September 1965), Peter and Liz graduate from high school. At the graduation ceremony, Liz admits her feelings to Peter, but tells him that they cannot be together and leaves shortly afterwards. In the same issue, Spider-Man battles the Molten Man, who in later issues is revealed to be Liz's stepbrother Mark Raxton.

She does not reappear for a few years, during which time Peter developed relationships with Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson. When Liz returns, she dates then marries Harry Osborn, whom she meets at Betty Brant's wedding to Ned Leeds, becoming Liz Allan Osborn. The couple have a son, Normie Osborn. Their family history turns tragic, however, after Harry Osborn becomes the Green Goblin and later dies.

In the graphic novel Spider-Man: Legacy of Evil, Harry attempts to pass the legacy of the Green Goblin down to Normie Osborn but fails due to the efforts of Spider-Man, Mark Raxton and Ben Urich.

Later, Liz Allan dates lawyer Foggy Nelson, the legal partner of Matt Murdock (the superhero Daredevil). The couple breaks up after Mysterio manipulates Foggy into having an affair in a plot to drive Daredevil insane. Liz feels like Foggy has let her down and ends their relationship.

After Spider-Man publicly revealed his real identity in the "Civil War" storyline, Liz becomes resentful of him, blaming Peter for bringing so much death into their lives. However, after the events of the "One More Day" storyline, the public revelation of Peter's identity has been forgotten and Harry is still alive but he and Liz are no longer married.

Other versions[link]

MC2[link]

In the MC2 continuity, Liz Allan married Foggy Nelson after the death of Harry Osborn. She developed a fatal illness (of a non-specified nature), which contributed to her son Normie's breakdown and finally choosing to adopt the mantle of the Green Goblin.

[edit] Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane

In Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Liz Allan is portrayed as Mary Jane Watson's ditzy and feisty best friend. Liz is a cheerleader and has recently reconciled with her boyfriend Flash Thompson after breaking up with him because he declared that he loved Mary Jane at homecoming.

Ultimate Marvel[link]

In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Liz Allan goes to the same high school with Spider-Man and Mary Jane. She is close friends with Mary Jane. In Ultimate Spider-Man #4 (February 2001), a drunk Liz attempts to make out with Peter, who refuses her advances when Mary Jane sees them.^[2] They later have a very personal moment when both students are called to talk about the Green Goblin's attack on the school, which affected her greatly. Otherwise, there is no instance of any relationship between Peter and Liz. Liz claims to have had an uncle who was a mutant, who died, though she never explained what exactly happened. As a result of this, Liz has a phobia of mutants (in particular) and super-powered beings (in general), and it has been suggested by other characters that she worries that she herself is a mutant. When Johnny Storm joined her school briefly, she became extremely attracted to him and they shared a happy date - until he accidentally lit himself on fire, revealing himself as the Human Torch. Mary Jane reveals to Johnny that Liz believes that she lit him on fire. Due to her phobia, she refused to see him ever again, and he leaves the school. ^[3]

With the arrival of Kitty Pryde, a publicly known mutant and former X-Man, at Midtown High, Liz has been complaining to anyone that will listen that Kitty should be with her "own kind" and even accused Kitty of thinking she was better than everyone else due to her being a former X-Man, at which point Kitty rebutted Liz' accusations. Liz' best friend, Mary Jane, has also told Liz to keep her mutant phobia to herself when she's around MJ, and that she'd prefer it if Liz kept those thoughts to herself in general. ^[4]

It is subsequently revealed that Liz is a mutant herself, and the Ultimate version of Firestar. Her powers manifest and are witnessed by her friends during a beach party. At first, she accuses her date, Johnny Storm (the Human Torch), of making her super-powered. After a talk with the X-Men's Iceman and Spider-Man, and upon recalling that her 'uncle' was a mutant, she accepts that she may be a mutant herself. ^[5]

Magneto appears after detecting the manifestation of her powers and reveals that years ago, her father asked Magneto to reach her after the manifestation of her mutant powers. Magneto promised to him, whether Liz is a mutant or not, he will tell Liz of what her father has sacrificed. Magneto revealed to Liz that her father is a mutant and one of the Brotherhood of Mutants.^[6]

Magneto, intending to keep his promise of reaching Liz, is delayed by the combined efforts of Iceman and Spider-Man. However, they are no match for Magneto, though they are able to buy Liz the time she needs to get away. Liz returns home, and demands her mother tell her the identity of her father. Her mother reveals that her Uncle Frank, otherwise known as the Blob is actually her father and not her uncle after all. This conversation is interrupted by Magneto, who tells Liz that she must go with him to see her father. This is prevented when the X-Men arrive at her doorstep. Liz is pressured to decide between the Brotherhood or the X-Men. After asking Spider-Man's advice, she decides she doesn't want to follow either group, and that she is angry at her mother for lying to her all these years, and flies away. Spider-Man figures out that she's going to Mary Jane's house, and follows.^[7]

After Liz arrives at Mary Jane's home, MJ suggests that she should talk to Kitty Pryde about being a mutant. Spider-Man arrives, and to gain Liz' trust, unmasks himself revealing that he is Peter Parker, one of her friends. Liz promises not to tell his secret just as Iceman arrives, offering Liz a place at Xavier's School so she may learn to control her newfound powers. Liz, unwilling to return to her mother's house, decides to be with the X-Men until she can figure out what to do next. She promises to call Peter and MJ soon.^[8]

In Ultimate X-Men #94 it is shown that Liz has taken the codename Firestar and is now seemingly getting along with the X-Men and has better control of her powers. In the Ultimate X-Men/Fantastic Four Annual, she is revealed to be the "Human Torch member" of the future Fantastic Four team. The modern version helps the X-Men and FF battle various threats raised by the future team.^[9]

It is shown that she will be in the fourth installment of Ultimate Comics: X, and she is a part of the Tomorrow People (Runaways), a government-funded mutant team with Jimmy Hudson, "Karen Grant", Derek Morgan aka the Guardian, and The Hulk ^{[10] [11]}

In other media[link]

Television[link]

• Liz Allan appears in the 1990s Spider-Man: The Animated Series, voiced by Marla Rubinoff. She appears as a friend and confidant of Mary Jane Watson. She is attracted to Harry Osborn, even after his brief stint as the second Green Goblin. Eventually, Liz attended Peter Parker and Mary Jane's wedding, which was attacked by Harry, who'd returned to his role as the second Green Goblin and threatened to blow up the church and everyone in it if the minister didn't perform a wedding between himself and MJ. Liz then appealed to Harry that his friends do love him, and told him finally that she desired to be more than friends. Shocked by the revelation that somebody loved him, Harry relented, and passively returned to the hospital where he'd been receiving treatment.

• Liz Allan appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by Alanna Ubach.^[12] She is friends with Sally Avril and dates Flash Thompson in the start of the series, but shows interest in Peter Parker after he begins tutoring her. She even expresses slight regret after Flash and the popular clique reject him. After spending some time with Peter at Coney Island in "Reaction", she broke up with Flash and has become openly complimentary towards Pete. This seems to match the portion of the comics where Liz developed a crush on Peter. In the episode, "Shear Strength", she revealed her feelings to Peter and kissed him on the lips. In the following episode, Peter and Liz begin dating, but Peter's extracurricular activities often complicated their relationship, as do his feelings for Gwen Stacy. In "Final Curtain" he breaks up with her to be with Gwen, leaving her angry and heartbroken; but to save face in front of her peers, she makes it seems that she was the one who broke up with him. In this incarnation Liz is Hispanic and she and Mark are biological siblings. Also, unlike most modern versions she is not close to Mary Jane Watson at first, as Mary Jane is depicted as preferring Peter date Gwen.

• Liz Allan appears in Ultimate Spider-Man, voiced by Vivian Pam.

Novels[link]

• According to the novelization, Liz Allan appears in a small scene in Spider-Man, played by Sally Livingstone. At the beginning of the movie, Peter Parker attempts to share a seat on a bus with a girl with thick glasses, to which the girl (Liz) responds, "Don't even think about it."

Bibliography[link]

• Amazing Fantasy Vol. 1 #15
• Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #1-15, 17-20, 22, 24-26, 28, 30 132-135, 139, 143, 156-157, 160, 163 166-167, 169-17, 180-181, 188, 192, 199, 244, 249, 260-262, 263,,265, 326, 343, 365, 369, 379-380, 581, 622, Annual #1, 6
• Daredevil Vol. 2 #8
• Marvel Saga #1-2, 9-10
• Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1 #24, 29, 60, 189-190. 199-200, 240, 250, 255, Annual #3
• Sensational Spider-Man Vol 2 30
• Shadows and Light #2
• Spider-Man Unlimited Vol. 1 #1-2
• Spider-Man Vol. 1 #35, 37, 75
• Spider-Man: Chapter One #3-5, 10, 12
• Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives #2
• Spider-Man: Legacy of Evil' #1
• Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1
• Untold Tales of Spider-Man #21, 25
• Web of Spider-Man Vol. 1 #61, 65, 60, 77, 101, 103, 105

References[link]

External links[link]

• Liz Osborn at the Marvel Universe
• Liz Allan at Spiderfan.org
• Liz Allan at the Internet Movie Database

Weisman at San Diego Comic-Con International in 2007.

Greg Weisman (born September 28, 1963 in Los Angeles, California) is an American comic book and animation writer and producer, best known as the creator of Gargoyles and as the Supervising Producer of The Spectacular Spider-Man. Weisman is currently a producer on the Young Justice animated series. In addition, Weisman wrote the script for DC Showcase: Green Arrow, an animated short feature that is included on the DVD for the film, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.

Career[link]

Weisman is a former English composition and writing teacher and received degrees at Stanford University and USC. During an interview done during Comic-Con International 2010, Weisman revealed that while 22 years old, he wrote a four issue mini-series for DC Comics starring the superheroine Black Canary. The first issue of the series was pencilled, but the project was ultimately shelved due to the character being used in writer/artist Mike Grell's high profile Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters series. Elements from the ill-fated project were used for his DC Showcase: Green Arrow short film.^[1][2]

In addition to developing and showrunning the popular series Gargoyles, the second season of W.I.T.C.H. and The Spectacular Spider-Man, Weisman has written for numerous animated series, including Men in Black: The Series, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, and Kim Possible. Weisman wrote the series bible for Max Steel and produced the show's first season. Weisman voice directs and voice acts on occasion; he played the role of Donald Menken on The Spectacular Spider-Man and Lucas Snapper Carr on Young Justice.

Weisman is notable for the question and answer forum he participates in with Gargoyles fans online, often revealing his intended plans for the show.

Weisman has also written for comics, including Gargoyles, a continuation of the storyline from the television series. Weisman was not new to comics, having spent time at DC as an editor and co-writing Captain Atom with Cary Bates. A parody of Gargoyles later appeared in a Weisman-penned story in JLA Showcase #1.

In addition to his work on Young Justice, Greg Weisman, along with Kevin Hopps, became full-time writers of the tie-in comic as of issue #7 (as well as issue #0).^[3]

Influences and style[link]

Mr. Weisman has been a great lover of the works of William Shakespeare. Many of his works has been influenced by Shakespeare by not only using Shakespeare character names but often similar storytelling. This includes:

Macbeth, The Weird Sisters, Oberon, Titania and Puck --- all characters from the Gargoyles (TV series) based loosely on characters from Shakespeare's work.

There has also been an affinity for casting actors involved with the Star Trek franchise in his series. Some have included Nichelle Nichols, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner and even Bruce Greenwood from the latest Star Trek film.

Recurring collaborators[link]

Actor	Gargoyles (TV series)	W.I.T.C.H. (TV series)	Spectacular Spider-Man (TV series)	Young Justice (TV series)
Thom Adcox-Hernandez	N	N	N	N
James Arnold Taylor			N	N
Ed Asner	N	N	N	N
Dee Bradley Baker		N	N	N
Jeff Bennett	N		N	N
Xander Berkeley	N		N
Steve Blum		N	N	N
Clancy Brown	N		N	N
Lacey Chabert			N	N
Tim Curry	N			N
Grey DeLisle		N	N	N
Keith David	N		N
Benjamin Diskin			N	N
Bill Fagerbakke	N	N	N	N
Miguel Ferrer			N	N
Crispin Freeman		N	N	N
Dorian Harewood	N	N	N
Kelly Hu			N	N
Josh Keaton			N	N
Kittie		N		N
Peter MacNicol			N	N
Vanessa Marshall		N	N	N
Masasa Moyo		N		N
James Remar			N	N
Kevin Michael Richardson			N	N
Marina Sirtis	N			N
Kath Soucie	N	N	N	N
Brent Spiner	N			N
Alyson Stoner		N		N
Cree Summer	N	N	N	N
Danny Trejo			N	N
Thomas F. Wilson	N		N

Other work[link]

Weisman has written episodes for the following TV shows:

• Jem
  • "Video Wars"
• Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
  • "Star Crossed"
  • "The Clone Rangers"
• The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot
  • "Out of Whack"
• Max Steel
  • "Shadows"
• Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles
  • "Funeral for a Friend"
  • "Liquid Dreams"
• Atlantis: Milo's Return
  • "The Last" (He also voice directed Atlantis 2)
• Kim Possible
  • "Queen Bebe"
  • "Big Bother"
• Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!
  • "The Circus of Ooze"
  • "The Hunt for The Citadel of Bone"
• The Batman
  • "The Big Chill"
  • "The Rubber Face of Comedy Part 1"
  • "The Clayface of Tragedy Part 2"
  • "Meltdown"
  • "Strange Minds"
  • "The Everywhere Man"
  • "Artifacts"
• Men in Black: The Series
  • "The Elle of My Dreams Syndrome" (A.K.A. The Big Sleep Syndrome)
  • "The Black Guard Syndrome" (co-written with his brother, Jon Weisman)
  • "The Big Bad Bug Syndrome"
  • "The Star System Syndrome"
• Ben 10
  • "Ben 10,000"
  • "Under Wraps"
  • "Ken 10"
• Legion of Super Heroes
  • "Man From the Edge of Tomorrow, Part 2"
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold
  • "Death Race to Oblivion!"
  • "Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster!"
  • "Powerless!" (story idea only)^[4]
• Young Justice
  • "Independence Day"
  • "Fireworks"
  • "Terrors"
  • "Humanity"
  • "Misplaced"
  • "Auld Acquaintance"
  • "Happy New Year"
  • "Salvage"

References[link]

External links[link]

• Greg Weisman at the Internet Movie Database
• Greg Weisman's interview on BAD GUYS & GARGOYLES comic books
• Greg Weisman discusses the new Gargoyles comic series
• Comic Historian Alan Kistler interviews Greg Weisman about Spectacular Spider-Man
• Ask Greg - A Gargoyles forum