WARNING: The following contains spoilers for "The World of No Return" by Jason Aaron, Aaron Kuder, Dean White, and VC's Cory Petit, in Heroes Reborn #7, on sale now.
Heroes Reborn hasn't just replaced the Avengers with the Squadron Supreme as Earth's Mightiest Heroes, it has also twisted almost every other hero and villain in the Marvel Universe into new and different versions of themselves. Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin, has embraced the changes to the timeline, proudly proclaiming this reality as one that he is genuinely happy to inhabit.
As Heroes Reborn #7 even got that helping hand by way of the Dark Squadron, a team that's more terrifying than Osborn's Dark Avengers could have ever hoped to be.
While the Squadron Supreme are looking for clues about Avengers' whereabouts, Power Princess and Blur take a trip to Ravencroft Asylum to visit Norman Osborn. Unfortunately, Norman doesn't have anything useful to say, and after dispatching him Power Princess wonders why he was allowed to live as long as he did. As one of Nighthawk's primary antagonists, there is the possibility of the hero not wishing to kill the members of his rogues' gallery. Then again, the fact that they were both politicians might have something to do with it too, since the Green Goblin had his own personal army to back his political aspirations, not unlike his Marvel Universe counterpart.
Following the events of Secret Invasion, the mainstream Norman Osborn found himself in charge of several major government operations, including S.H.I.E.L.D. which he reshaped into a new organization known as H.A.M.M.E.R. These too were rearranged to his liking after many of the original members of his team resigned due to his appointment. With so many roles to fill, Osborn began recruiting various villains to take on the names and appearances of their predecessors. While Sentry and Ares had remained from the previous Mighty Avengers lineup, Moonstone, Mac Gargan, Bullseye, and Daken were all recruited to take on the roles of Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Hawkeye, and Wolverine respectively. Not long after this the Kree super-soldier Noh-Varr was inducted as Captain Marvel, and with Norman himself standing front and center as Iron Patriot the lineup was complete as they were revealed to the public in 2009's Dark Avengers #4 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato Jr.
Norman's team from the world of Heroes Reborn may not have all of the star power of the Dark Avengers, but they are no longer hiding their sheer brutality. After escaping Ravencroft Asylum, the Green Goblin's first course of action was to find a suit and tie and call for a press conference, much to the confusion of both those invited to report on the event as well as the Squadron Supreme members who arrived on the scene. As Norman explains to the heroes and gathered journalists, he is tired of killing people one at a time, and as such is launching his own presidential bid on a campaign of absolute annihilation at the hands of both his administration and the Dark Squadron. While it seems that the Sentry is still very much himself in this reality save for a shorter haircut, the rest of Norman's team has been completely replaced. Where former villains stood are now the Ghost Runner and Valkyrie alongside wicked versions of Moon Knight and Nova. Even if the crowd isn't particularly receptive to the Green Goblin's campaign announcement, he has at least covered his bases by putting together his own super team.
While it doesn't look like Norman's team in this timeline helped him win any elections, it is still a fun callback to yet another iconic moment from Marvel history. Removing Osborn from his former success may have helped keep him underfoot of the Squadron Supreme in this reality, although it hasn't stopped him from aspiring to the greatness that he surely remembers at least somewhat.
As Heroes Reborn nears its inevitable conclusion, the latest issue provides one more look into the history of this dark new world, and highlights another way that it parallels the better known mainstream Marvel universe.