Warning: spoilers ahead for Amazing Spider-Man #50!
In Amazing Spider-Man #50, Norman Osborn has just revealed to Dr. Kafka of the Ravencroft Institute that the villain Kindred (who has been working in the shadows against Spider-Man for the better part of two years) is none other than... Norman's son, Harry Osborn. This is a pretty crazy reveal, and while there were signs in comics past that this was indeed Kindred's true identity, the mystery still exists as to how Harry got this way in the first place.
To put things into perspective for Spider-Man fans, it's important to know what Kindred has been up to these last couple of years. Kindred's first appearance was in Nick Spencer and Ryan Ottley's Amazing Spider-Man #1 back in 2018. Since that time, he's resurrected Mysterio and brought him into his service, using him to send Mary Jane away from New York and Peter. He's also gained power over Wilson Fisk, the criminal Mayor of New York, and resurrected the Sin-Eater, using him to absorb the powers of various super criminals so that Kindred can then take them for himself. Sin Eater was also able to "cleanse the sins" of his victims, taking away their apparent criminal, violent, and evil natures. This was the case when Sin-Eater cleansed Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin. After this happened, Norman instantly became remorseful for his deeds, trying to find and help Kindred, who he reveals to be Harry, his son.
However, when fans look at what has happened to Harry Osborn over the last few years, there's really nothing to provide any insight as to how or why he's become this powerful, demonic entity. As far as readers currently know, Harry's been living with his wife Liz Allen and their son Normie, helping to run the company Alchemax as their head of acquisitions. Furthermore, he and Peter Parker are on good terms, and Harry had helped Peter run his company Parker Industries before it went under. For all intents and purposes, Harry seems to have been living a good life with little to no lasting problems. He even stood up to his father during the Absolute Carnage event, which was a big step for him. So how did he become Kindred?
The biggest clues along the way were most definitely Kindred's intimate knowledge of Spider-Man and Peter Parker, as well as the fact Kindred continually called him "Pete," just like Harry has done for years. Not only that, but when Kindred interacted with Norman Osborn in his cell in prior issues, Kindred showed fear in the presence of Norman, which makes sense given Norman's abusive relationship with his son. However, there's been no insights as to how or when Harry became this demon. Writer Nick Spencer has confirmed that the upcoming arc Last Remains will start to answer these question and mysteries in detail, as well as acknowledging that the mere reveal of Kindred's identity as Harry is not the biggest or best part of this dynamic, as several fans had already pegged Harry as Kindred long ago:
It's not that Harry wasn't on the list of suspects. He was. It's the can of worms he opens. How did he become this? When did the turn happen? What is he after? Last Remains is where all that starts to unravel and there are plenty of twists and turns to this part of the story that I feel confident no one will see coming.
Some fans seem confident that Harry's demonic transformation could be part of a deal he made with Mephisto in the aftermath and changes created by the infamous One More Day. Harry had been dead before One More Day and was subsequently brought back with the explanation that he never really died and Norman faked his death, taking him to a rehab clinic in Europe. However, what if Harry did actually die and made some sort of deal with the demon lord Mephisto? In any case, Spider-Man fans will just have to wait to learn the specifics when Last Remains comes to comic book store shelves, and Kindred's plans for the wall-crawler come to fruition.