Norman Osborn

The Green Goblin
File:Green goblin2.jpg Green Goblin drawn by Luke Ross.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	(As Green Goblin) The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964); (As Norman Osborn, unnamed) Amazing Spider-Man #23 (April 1965); (named) The Amazing Spider-Man #37 (June 1966); (As Iron Patriot) Dark Avengers #1 (March 2009)
Created by	Stan Lee Steve Ditko
In-story information
Alter ego	Norman Virgil Osborn
Team affiliations	Dark Avengers H.A.M.M.E.R. The Cabal Oscorp Thunderbolts Sinister Twelve Commission on Superhuman Activities Daily Bugle Hellfire Club
Notable aliases	Goblin Lord, Overlord, Scrier, Iron Patriot
Abilities	Superhuman strength, intellect, stamina, durability, agility and reflexes due to ingesting the "Goblin Serum" Regenerative healing factor Uses goblin-themed weapons and a "Goblin Glider" which has a variety of offensive weapons as paraphernalia

The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in stories published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964) and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko.

Although many characters have taken up this mantle, the most well-known is the original Green Goblin, Norman Osborn. A serum enhanced industrialist Norman Osborn's physical abilities and intellect but also drove him insane. He adopted a Halloween-themed appearance, dressing in a goblin costume, riding on a bat-shaped "Goblin Glider", and using an arsenal of high-tech weapons, notably grenade-like "Pumpkin Bombs", to terrorize New York City. He is one of Spider-Man's most persistent foes, and is considered one of the archenemies of Spider-Man, directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Spider-Man's life, such as the death of Gwen Stacy and the Clone Saga. He is also the lead protagonist of the company-wide "Dark Reign" storyline.

The character was ranked number 19 on Wizard Magazine's Top 100 Greatest Villains Ever list and 27th on its Top 200 Comic Book Characters list. In 2009, Norman Osborn was also ranked as IGN's 13th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time. He also placed #11 on GuysNation's Top Villains of All Time. Comics journalist and historian Mike Conroy writes of the character: "Of all the costumed villains who've plagued Spider-Man over the years, the most flat-out unhinged and terrifying of them all is the Green Goblin."

Publication history

According to Steve Ditko, the Green Goblin, as we know him, was entirely his creation. He claims:

Stan's synopsis for the Green Goblin had a movie crew, on location, finding an Egyptian-like sarcophagus. Inside was an ancient, mythological demon, the Green Goblin. He naturally came to life. On my own, I changed Stan's mythological demon into a human villain.

The Green Goblin debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #14. At this time his identity was unknown, but he proved popular and reappeared in later issues, which made a point of his secret identity. Apparently, Lee and Ditko disagreed on who he should be. According to one theory, Lee always wanted him to be someone Peter Parker knew, while Ditko wanted him to be a stranger, feeling this was closer to real life. Ditko has refuted this rumor, however, claiming:

So I had to have some definite ideas: who he was, his profession and how he fit into the Spider-Man story world. I was even going to use an earlier, planted character associated with J. Jonah Jameson: he [was to] be [revealed as] the Green Goblin. It was like a subplot working its way until it was ready to play an active role.

Ditko left the series before he could reveal the Goblin's identity, and Lee subsequently unmasked him in issue #39 as Norman Osborn, a character who had been introduced two issues earlier as the father of Harry Osborn. John Romita, Sr., who replaced Ditko as the title's artist, recalls:

Stan wouldn’t have been able to stand it if Ditko did the story and didn't reveal that the Green Goblin was Norman Osborn. I didn't know there was any doubt about Osborn being the Goblin. I didn't know that Ditko had just been setting Osborn up as a straw dog. I just accepted the fact that it was going to be Norman Osborn when we plotted it. I had been following the last couple of issues and didn't think there was really much mystery about it. Looking back, I doubt the Goblin's identity would have been revealed in Amazing #39 if Ditko had stayed on.

The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964), the Green Goblin's first appearance; the character originally used a turbo-fan-powered "flying broomstick." Cover art by Steve Ditko.

After the Green Goblin killed Peter Parker's girlfriend Gwen Stacy, writer Gerry Conway decided that the Goblin had to pay a heavy price. Osborn accidentally caused his own death in the course of a fight against Spider-Man. Others, such as Harry Osborn, later adopted the Green Goblin identity, and writer Roger Stern later introduced the Hobgoblin to replace the Green Goblin as Spider-Man's archenemy.

Return

During the Clone Saga storyline, the Spider-Man writers were met with a massive outcry from many readers after the decision to replace Peter with his clone Ben Reilly as the true Spider-Man. Eventually, the writers decided to reveal that one of Spider-Man's arch-enemies had been manipulating events from behind the scenes. The initial plan was to use Mephisto, but they felt a more down-to-earth character was needed. It was then suggested that the semi-zombified cyborg known as "Gaunt" be revealed as Harry Osborn, who had been killed in Spectacular Spider-Man #200. Gaunt was a late entry to the controversial storyline, created mainly as a plot device to return Harry to life; the plan for the character included Harry regaining his humanity, taking credit for tricking Peter Parker into thinking he was a clone, and resuming his identity as the Green Goblin full-time. However, the plotline was nixed by newly promoted editor in chief Bob Harras, who disliked the Harry Osborn character and instead chose Norman be the mastermind, revealing Gaunt as Mendel Stromm.

The decision to resurrect the original Green Goblin was controversial; his death was part of "The Death of Gwen Stacy" storyline, widely considered a classic. Harras deemed it necessary, however, and Osborn briefly reprised his original evil businessman role, minimizing his Goblin identity, in the lead-up to "The Final Chapter," which closed out the first volume of Amazing Spider-Man.

Rise to Power

Following Civil War, Warren Ellis took over writing duties on Thunderbolts, and Osborn was brought into the title as the director of the team. He was one of several characters offered to Ellis, who picked him because, according to Thunderbolts editor Molly Lazer, "[t]here was something about Norman, his instability, and his fixation with Spider-Man that Warren liked, so he’s in the book!" Ellis admitted not being very familiar with the character, saying, "all I remember of the Norman Osborn character was from the Spider-Man reprints my parents used to buy me when I was very young, and Norman Osborn was this guy with a weird rippled crewcut who was always sweating and his eyes were always bulging out of his head. That guy as a Donald Rumsfeld-like public governmental figure... [Joe Quesada] talked me into writing the book while I was still laughing." Lazer confirmed that the new team was answerable to the Commission on Superhuman Activities, giving him the opportunity to do what he wanted: "He's a free man with a lot of power .... And his agenda, well, it's not that secret. He wants to get Spider-Man."

Writer Christos Gage took over for the Secret Invasion tie-in stories, which ended with Osborn taking credit for the defeat of the Skrulls, after he killed the Skrull queen Veranke. This allowed the character to be placed into an influential position in the aftermath, Dark Reign. Although the dark turn at the end was always part of the plan for the storyline, Brian Michael Bendis, Secret Invasion's writer, says that Osborn was picked for the leading role because of the changes implemented by Ellis: "While I was putting it together, Warren [Ellis]'s Thunderbolts run made it very clear that if one would choose to do so, Norman was on track to head toward this kind of storyline, very organically, very in-character, and very much within the realm of what was going on." Bendis stated, "Norman's team is made up of people who are outstanding at what they do. These are bad-ass, hardcore get-it-done types. They'll close the door and take care of business, and he's dressing them up to make them something that the people want."

Meanwhile, Andy Diggle, writer of The Losers, took over the writing of Thunderbolts. He introduced new characters to serve as Osborn's black ops team, saying that "Norman selected agents with stealth, infiltration and assassination skills rather than overt flying-and-fighting type powers" and "now that he's reached a higher level, he's reconfiguring the Thunderbolts into something much more covert and much more lethal: his own personal hit squad." Diggle's Osborn is still mad: "To quote the movie Speed, he's 'crazy, not stupid.' He's clearly fiercely intelligent and a natural born leader, with the ego and competitive drive to succeed against all odds. He also just happens to be crazy as a shithouse rat." He describes his take on Osborn: "I think the secret to understanding Norman is that he doesn't realize he's the villain. He thinks he's the hero. He truly believes that he deserves public adulation, and it bugs the hell out of him that so-called 'superheroes' are getting it instead of him."

Fictional character biography

Main article: Fictional history of Green Goblin

Powers, abilities, and weaknesses

Norman Osborn was turned into the Green Goblin by a chemical solution he had devised based upon a formula originally conceived by Professor Mendel Stromm. The process granted Osborn superhuman agility, strength, speed, stamina, and dexterity, as well as a "healing factor" that allows him to quickly heal even from such lethal bodily damage as being stabbed through the chest by large blades. In addition to these physical advantages, the serum also greatly enhanced Norman's already-above average intellect, making him a bona fide genius capable of making breakthroughs in advanced areas of genetics, robotics, engineering, physics and applied chemistry. The Goblin formula is also said to have driven Osborn mentally insane – defects in his personality were strongly augmented by the serum, resulting in dangerous mood-swings and hallucinations.

Weapons as the Green Goblin

The Green Goblin is armed with a variety of bizarre devices. He travels on his bat-shaped "Goblin Glider", an incredibly fast and maneuverable rocket glider equipped with various armaments. Other weapons the Goblin uses include incendiary Pumpkin Bombs, smoke- and gas-emitting bombs crafted to resemble ghosts, razor-edged bat-shaped boomerangs, and gloves woven with micro-circuited filaments which channel pulsed discharges of electricity at nearly 1,000 volts. He wears a green costume underneath bulletproof chainmail with an overlapping purple tunic. His mask has a built-in gas filter to keep him safe from his own gasses.

Goblin Glider

The Goblin Glider's controls and microprocessor are located behind the head of the glider. The pilot is attached to the glider via electromagnetic clasps on the wings of the glider. It has great maneuverability and is steered mostly by leaning, but manual controls are available behind the head of the glider. The Green Goblin later added radio-linked voice controls to his mask. Its top speed is 90 miles per hour (140 km/h), and it can support about 400 lb (180 kg), though it could lift far more for brief periods. Flying at top speed with a full load and a full fuel tank would deplete its fuel supply in about an hour.

The glider possesses a wide array of armaments, including heat-seeking and smart missiles, machine guns, extending blades, a gun that shoots instantaneously crystallizing goo (only in The Spectacular Spider-Man) and a pumpkin bomb dispenser/launcher.

Pumpkin Bomb

A grenade used by the Green Goblin, the Pumpkin Bomb resembles a miniature Jack-o'-lantern and, when thrown ignites almost soundlessly and produces enough heat to melt through a 3-inch (76 mm) thick sheet of steel. The Goblin carries these and a variety of other weapons in a shoulder bag he calls his "Bag Of Tricks". The Green Goblin has a range of other "Pumpkin Bombs" at his disposal, including smoke- and gas-emitting bombs. Some release hallucinogenic gases, while others emit a specially created mixture that neutralizes Spider-Man's spider-sense for a limited period of time. All of these are covered in a light plastic mantle that flutters like a ghost when thrown.

Weapons as the Iron Patriot

During the events of the "Dark Reign", Osborn created a new identity, the Iron Patriot (an amalgam of Captain America and Iron Man), to cement his standing as a hero. As the Iron Patriot, he utilized a version of Iron Man's armor. The armor featured superhuman strength, enhanced durability via a pliable crystalline material with a molecular structure that can collimate into super-hard planes upon the application of an electrical field, flight, magnetic impact blasts, heat seeking missiles, miniaturized lasers, flamethrowers, and a communications system housed in his helmet which allowed him to interface with any U.S.-controlled satellite or computer network. While the original Iron Man armor utilized repulsor technology, Osborn's design does not; Stark destroyed all but one repulsor, and stated that "Oz is too stupid" to make his own repulsor-based weapons system. The star shaped Uni Beam projector on his chest also, because of its shape, has a less powerful output than that of the original Iron Man model.

Mental illness and other weaknesses

Norman Osborn has consistently been depicted with several unusual weaknesses related to his psychosis and to his personality. He suffers from manic depression. He has a pronounced superiority complex and, in some depictions, multiple-personality disorder. Finally, he is highly sadistic, showing disregard for the lives of innocent people who stand between him and his objectives. These weaknesses have often been referenced in stories featuring him and exploited by his enemies.

In Thunderbolts Norman Osborn is shown to be severely manic depressive. This has been referenced several times in a myriad of Spider-Man stories. When he is not under the direction of a psychiatrist and taking medication, he has dangerous mood swings. At the apex of his mania, he is paranoid, delusional, and suffers from visual and auditory hallucinations, including hearing the voice of his Green Goblin persona and seeing its face in the mirror rather than his own. Previously, Osborn's arrogance caused him to refuse to submit to psychiatric treatment unless forced to; he viewed mental illness as an imperfection and therefore would not admit that he is mentally ill. In later conversations with the Sentry, Osborn revealed that he had come to accept his own mental illness.

There are many examples of Osborn's pronounced superiority complex. He generally views other people as dim-witted pests, lacking in creative vision, unworthy to be graced by his presence. He goes out of his way to remind others of their personal failures and shortcomings and to remind those in close relationships with him, such as his son, that they are incapable of measuring up to his achievements. For example, when he first learned Spider-Man's identity, he claimed that when Spider-Man previously had defeated him, it did not count because Spider-Man had only beaten his lackeys or been rescued by the intervention of other super powered beings such as the Human Torch, despite the fact that he always departed the battles after Spider-Man's victories rather than trying to defeat his foe himself. He also missed the opportunity to lead the original Sinister Six because he felt that joining the group would mean admitting he needed the help of others to rid himself of Spider-Man. When he participated in the mystical ritual known as the Gathering of Five, he appeared convinced that he would automatically receive the gift of power from the ritual – which would bestow upon the participants power, immortality, knowledge, madness and death, respectively – only to receive the gift of madness instead. Subsequently he required an elaborate cocktail of drugs to restore himself to a semblance of sanity.

Osborn has demonstrated that he is highly sadistic. While he was in prison, a guard once asked him for his advice in helping his critically ill wife; Osborn's advice led her to a quicker and more agonizing death. As director of the Avengers, he allowed Bullseye to continue to function as an Avenger, even after Bullseye allowed over 30 innocent bystanders to be killed during a skirmish with a supervillain. As director of H.A.M.M.E.R. he directed his officers to shoot down an airplane full of innocent people just to see whether his enemy, Pepper Potts, was powerful enough to rescue the passengers with her variant of the Iron Man armor. Such actions threatened the hero persona he had carefully crafted; some reporters started to see him for what he really is, and many of his highly-credible former enemies spoke out against him. His Goblin persona is vying for control of his body, as depicted in the January 2010 issue of Dark Avengers, where he is shown writhing on the floor and imploring, apparently to himself, "Why won't this face come off...?".

Other Goblins

Main article: Green Goblin (set index)

While Norman was presumed dead, several other villains and one hero took up the mantle of the Green Goblin.

Other versions

Main article: Alternate versions of the Green Goblin

As a fictional character, the Green Goblin has appeared in a number of media, from comic books to films and television series. Each version of the character is typically established within its own continuity within parallel universes, to the point where distinct differences in the portrayal of the character can be identified. Various versions of the Goblin are depicted in works such as Marvel's Ultimate line and Earth X.

In other media

Television

Spider-Man (1967)

The Green Goblin appears in the 1960s Spider-Man animated television series, voiced by Len Carlson, where he is depicted as a dimwitted robber who is obsessed with magic and the supernatural. He appears in the episodes "The Witching Hour", "Magic Malice", and "To Catch a Spider".

Spider-Man (1981)

Norman Osborn appears in the 1980s Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon, voiced by Neil Ross. Norman Osborn is depicted as uncontrollably physically changing into the Green Goblin, voiced by Dennis Marks. This version of the character has a niece by the name of Mona Osborn, who has no knowledge of her uncle's double identity. He appears in the episode "The Triumph of the Green Goblin".

The episode "Revenge of the Green Goblin" of the solo Spider-Man series features Osborn escaping from prison. Having lost his memory of being the Green Goblin three years earlier, his memory returns when the train he was riding in crashes. The Green Gobin returns to attempt to reveal Spider-Man's true identity to the world using his "Memory Amplifier".

Spider-Man: The Animated Series

File:Spider-Man (1996) ep31.jpg

The Green Goblin as he appears in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

The Green Goblin appears in the 1990s Spider-Man: The Animated Series, again voiced by Neil Ross. The actor used a high, giggling voice for the Goblin, and his normal, gruff voice for Osborn. In this incarnation, Norman Osborn has developed a multiple personality disorder. His other personality is the Green Goblin, who acts to destroy everyone who has hurt Osborn throughout his life. Osborn is a responsible father and inventor, though a ruthless businessman, who gets caught up in the Kingpin's affairs. While in the comics' Osborn considers his son weak, the animated series' Osborn cares deeply for Harry.

File:GoblinWar.jpg

The Green Goblin faces Norman Osborn in the Spider-Man animated series.

For the first two seasons of the show, Osborn appears as a corrupt industrialist, pressured into supplying the Kingpin with weapons and chemicals against his will. In the Goblin's debut episode, "Enter the Green Goblin", Norman Osborn is exposed to a gas that greatly increases his physical strength but also drives him insane and awakens the demon inside him. The gas also alters the Hobgoblin's costume to a green color, and Norman dons it, becoming the Green Goblin. He kidnaps various OsCorp stockholders, including Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) and Felicia Hardy's mother, who had tormented Norman. After battling Spider-Man, Norman Osborn loses his memory.

In "Goblin War!", once again tormented by Kingpin, Norman becomes the Green Goblin. He defeats the Hobgoblin and steals a Time Dilation Accelerator, a machine capable of generating portals. In the following episode "Turning Point", the Green Goblin finds out Spider-Man's secret identity, kidnaps Mary Jane, and fights Spider-Man atop the George Washington Bridge. In the end, the Goblin is trapped in another dimension after his glider pushes him through a portal.

In "The Return of the Green Goblin", the Green Goblin appears in nightmare to Harry Osborn and lures him into becoming the new Green Goblin. He promises to reveal what happened to Harry's father if Harry kills Spider-Man. In "The Wedding", Harry is again tempted to become the Green Goblin when he hears that Peter Parker and Mary Jane are going to get married, but Liz Allan convinces Harry that his real friends are Mary Jane and Peter, not the Green Goblin. With his connection to Harry broken, Norman Osborn remains trapped in limbo. The Green Goblin and Hobgoblin make their final appearance in "I Really, Really Hate Clones", the first part of the two-part series finale, in which they are working for Spider-Carnage and the Kingpin in an alternate reality.

Spider-Man Unlimited

A Counter Earth version of the Green Goblin appears in the Spider-Man Unlimited animated series voiced by Rino Romano. This version is a hero rather than a villain, and he mistakes Spider-Man for a villain during their first encounter. Instead of flying on a glider, he wears a backpack that sprouts wings. He and Spider-Man rescue Naoko and Shayne Yamada-Jones from Venom and Carnage. In the following episode, he is revealed to be Naoko's ex-husband, and he suspects that Naoko and Peter Parker, who rents rooms at Naoko's home, are having an affair.

The Goblin's next appears after he discovers that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. He helps Spider-Man and the Rejects, a group of Beastials that the High Evolutionary considered useless, retrieve Solaris II, a ship that had once belonged to Spider-Man. Spider-Man crashes the ship into one of the High Evolutionary's towers, and the Goblin is presumed dead in the explosion. However, the series finale reveals that he survived the explosion and joined the Rejects. He leaves them to help Spider-Man and the rebels in their fight against the High Evolutionary.

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series

Harry Osborn is a main character in this series, which supposedly follows the same canon as the Spider-Man films. While the Green Goblin does not appear in the series, Norman Osborn is mentioned on a number of occasions.

The Spectacular Spider-Man

File:Green Goblin 05.jpg

The Green Goblin in The Spectacular Spider-Man.

Green Goblin appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man voiced by Alan Rachins as Norman Osborn and by Steven Blum as the Green Goblin. He is the charismatic yet pompous CEO of OsCorp. He expresses disapproval that his son Harry was not offered the ESU lab internship that was instead given to Harry's friend Peter Parker and constantly tells him to man up to get what he wants.

Bent on being the number one in weapons tech, Osborn steals the flight technology designs of Adrian Toomes. Later he tips off the crime boss known as the Big Man about a TRI-CORP technology shipment. As a result, the Big Man offers Osborn a deal: he will supply Osborn with human guinea pigs for his illegal experiments in creating super mercenaries in return for using the created supervillains to distract Spider-Man from Big Man's operations. In addition to being paid by the Big Man to create the villains, Osborn is paid by the authorities to build cells to contain them once they are captured. Osborn creates the Sandman and the Rhino, then suggests that they should take a break before someone learns of their activities, but the Big Man insists they continue.

In the 7th episode, "Catalysts", the Green Goblin appears when the Big Man, in his guise as upstanding citizen L. Thompson Lincoln, hosts a charity ball. The Goblin takes all in attendance captive in an attempt to reveal Lincoln's true identity to the crowd and take over his empire. Spider-Man intervenes and manages to save the partygoers, though the Goblin escapes and the Big Man's secret remains safe. Not long after, the Goblin causes a lab accident that warps the mind of OsCorp's chief scientist Otto Octavius turning him into the meglomanical Dr. Octopus. While discussing the Goblin's identity, the Big Man's associate Hammerhead suggests that Osborn is a prime suspect because all of the Goblin's actions had been beneficial to him: overthrowing the Big Man would mean Osborn would not have to conduct more experiments, and creating Dr. Octopus would silence of the timid scientist, who was a witness to Osborn's illegal acts. However, Osborn persuades Hammerhead that the Goblin is a thief who has stolen an experimental OsCorp performance-enhancing chemical called "Globulin Green" and that he is determined to unmask the Goblin at any cost.

Spider-Man soon spots the Goblin out on his glider and follows him back to Osborn's penthouse where, witnessing him exit a secret room, Spider-Man becomes convinced that he is indeed the Green Goblin. Later the Goblin appears at OsCorp to steal a prototype inhibitor weapon, coming face to face with a surprised Norman and a group of stunned employees before making his escape. Following a battle, Spider-Man returns to Osborn's penthouse, arriving just in time to see the Goblin remove his mask and reveal himself as Harry Osborn. Harry explains that he has been taking Globulin Green to join his high school football team and improve his studies in an attempt to take his father's advice and man up, but as a side effect he has been suffering blackouts and has no idea how he ended up in the costume. Norman assumes that Harry must have overheard his conversations with the Big Man and subconsciously created a second identity out of concern for his father's well-being. He explains the dangerous side effects of the formula to Spider-Man and pleads with Spider-Man not to take Harry to the authorities.

In the second season, Harry and the Green Goblin return. At the end of the episode "Probable Cause", Harry is seen removing a floor board in his room to reveal four vials of Globulin Green. In the following episode, "Gangland", the Green Goblin reveals to Tombstone that he instigated the gang war between Tombstone, Silvermane, and Doctor Octopus and declares himself the new Big Man while laughing hysterically. The Green Goblin later appears in a three-episode story arc at the season finale. He blackmails Mark Allen into becoming Molten Man in order to use him against Spider-Man, and later takes control of the Vault, trapping Spider-Man inside with a number of his enemies. In the "Final Curtain" episode, it is revealed that Norman Osborn was actually the Green Goblin throughout the series, having framed his own son with the assistance of the Chameleon. Norman is defeated by Spider-Man, and he subsequently crashes into a water tower full of pumpkin bombs and supposedly dies. However, he is shown to survive the crash and assumes the guise of Mr. Roman, boarding an airplane to the Cayman Islands.

The show's version of Norman has the mainstream version's hairstyle and appearance but the personality of the Ultimate version. The Green Goblin wears a costume similar to his comic-book counterpart, but with some differences, including the lack of gloves, thick battle boots, a flying cap, and a pumpkin that connects a tunic to his costume. He also lacks a bag; his weapons are stored in his glider. The Goblin is portrayed as extremely psychopathic — even more so than in other media adaptions, hearkening back to his original appearance from the Ditko era. He is always prepared in battle, usually rigging a fight with hidden pumpkin bombs and automatic grenade launchers.

Parody/homage

Green Goblin appears in the Robot Chicken episode "In a DVD Factory". He is shown exercising on an exercise machine that resembles his glider.

In the Marvel/DC YouTube videos by ItsJustSomeRandomGuy, the Green Goblin is shown wearing the armor-like costume he wore in the first Spider-Man film. He is loud and sarcastic, and enjoys alcoholic beverages. In story arcs in the videos, Goblin (or "Gobby") became an anti-hero, and fell in love with Harley Quinn. He also got a spin-off series called Goblin Bloggin' in which he answers fan mail and talks about his fictional life in the continuity of the videos, his obsession with Willem Dafoe, and other topics. His son Harry Osborn makes off-screen cameos.

Films

In the Stephen King movie Maximum Overdrive, the face of the Green Goblin is prominently displayed on the front of the movie's main villain, a murderous "Happy Toyz Co." truck.

He is briefly mentioned in the comedy film Spider-Plant Man.

He is the primary villain in the fanfilm bearing his name, The Green Goblin's Last Stand, which is based on the comics' "Death of Gwen Stacy" story arc.

Spider-Man

The Green Goblin's first live action appearance (beyond a 1982 television commercial for the Atari video game) was as the main antagonist in the blockbuster feature film Spider-Man (2002), which starred Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn.

File:Green Goblin Spider-Man (2002).png

The Green Goblin, redesigned for the movie Spider-Man, played by Willem Dafoe.

Dr. Norman Osborn is a brilliant scientist and businessman/industrialist who is known for his contributions to nanotechnology. As in the comics, he has a distant relationship with his son, Harry (James Franco), who resents his father's apparent favoritism toward his friend Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire). Norman takes an immediate liking to Peter when he is informed that Parker can understand his work, and later admires Parker's desire to make his own way in the world, rather than accepting Osborn's help.

He is the head of OsCorp, a company contracted by the United States military to create a new supersoldier. Osborn's colleague, Dr. Mendel Stromm, feels it important to reveal to the military official overseeing the project that some of the test subjects have gone insane. Threatened with a tight deadline and needing to prove his formula can succeed, Osborn experiments on himself and becomes the Green Goblin. The process drives him insane, and he kills Stromm. The military decides to give the supersoldier contract to another company, Quest Aerospace, and in revenge the Green Goblin kills several high-ranking military officers and Quest scientists who were present at the test. Although Quest Aerospace's prototype was destroyed, the company decides to expand and, in doing so, assumes control of OsCorp on the condition that Norman Osborn step down as CEO. In retaliation, the Goblin kills the board of directors during a festival in Times Square, thus removing the threat to his leadership of OsCorp. In the process, he almost inadvertently kills Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). His appearance at the festival also marks the beginning of his animosity towards Spider-Man. Instead of hating his new enemy, however, Norman views Spider-Man as the son that he always wanted, and attempts to recruit him to his side.

The Goblin next leads an attack at the Daily Bugle to question J. Jonah Jameson (J. K. Simmons) for the identity of the photographer who takes pictures of Spider-Man. Peter is at the office during the attack and soon shows up as Spider-Man. The Goblin gasses him and takes him to a rooftop, where he offers Spider-Man a partnership and belittles his choice to become a hero, warning that eventually the city will turn against him. This starts to become true when the Bugle, in response to the attack, prints a story claiming the Goblin and Spider-Man are allies.

A few days later the Goblin baits Spider-Man into a burning building and asks whether he's decided to join him. When Spider-Man refuses, the Goblin attempts to kill him with razor bats and eventually slips away. Norman finds out Spider-Man's identity when, while visiting his son Harry (who is Peter's roommate) for Thanksgiving, he discovers that Peter has an identical wound to one he had inflicted on Spider-Man in the earlier fight. After deducing Spider-Man's identity, he decides to leave, though Harry tries to stop him. Norman tells Harry to do what he wants with Mary Jane and then dump her fast, believing she is only interested in his money, as his own wife was. After hallucinating that his other persona informs him to attack Spider-Man's heart, he attacks and seriously injures Aunt May. He then kidnaps Mary Jane and tells Spider-Man that he must choose either to save her or to save a group of children in a cable car. Both are thrown off the Queensboro Bridge, yet Spider-Man saves both the children and Mary Jane.

After saving the children and Mary Jane, the Goblin lures Spider-Man into an abandoned building, where he ambushes and brutally beats him. When he threatens Mary Jane, an enraged Spider-Man attacks him and gains the upper hand. After being defeated in their final battle, Norman removes his Goblin helmet to reveal himself to Spider-Man, begging the hero to forgive him and protect him from the Goblin persona. At the same time, he secretly directs his glider to impale Spider-Man from behind. Spider-Man senses the attack with his spider-sense and dodges, and the machine kills the Green Goblin by impaling him. Just before dying, Norman begs Spider-Man not to tell his son about his second identity. When Spider-Man takes Norman's corpse back to his mansion, Harry sees him placing his father’s dead body on a bed. Not knowing that his father was the Green Goblin, Harry holds Spider Man responsible for his death. At the funeral, Harry swears revenge on Spider-Man.

In the film, the Green Goblin pilots a high-tech Goblin Glider, armed with seeking missiles and machine guns. He also wears green armor that cybernetically connects him to his glider and weapons. He is seen using three varieties of his signature "pumpkin bombs": one which is a simple explosive; one that releases a bright, radioactive flash which reduces people to skeletons; and one that splits into flying, razor-bat blades. Rather than carrying a shoulder "bag of tricks", the weapons are contained in the glider and are ejected individually out of their storage compartment when desired. His suit is armed with knockout gas that is released from the wrists and is linked to the Goblin Glider, allowing him to control it remotely.

Spider-Man 2

Willem Dafoe reprised his role of the Green Goblin briefly in Spider-Man 2. In the movie, Harry Osborn, obsessed with defeating Spider-Man, forms a brief alliance with Doctor Octopus, which leads Harry to the discovery of Peter's secret identity. A vision of Norman, in his Goblin persona, subsequently speaks to Harry from inside of a mirror, demanding that Harry avenge his death. When Harry shatters the mirror, he discovers his father's hidden Goblin lair.

Spider-Man 3

In Spider-Man 3, Harry Osborn, still obsessed with taking revenge on Spider-Man, has taken up the mantle of the New Goblin. When Harry suffers from amnesia and briefly forgets his vendetta, the vision of the Green Goblin returns in a successful attempt to sway him back to destroying Peter/Spider-Man by one method: "Attack his heart." Following a confrontation with Spider-Man, Harry's butler Bernard reveals to him the true circumstances of Norman's death, which convinces him to help Peter rescue Mary Jane from the Sandman and Venom. Mary Jane is saved at the cost of Harry's life.

Video games

The first video game appearance of the Green Goblin was the 1982 Atari 2600 Spider-Man game. The Goblin was originally meant to appear in The Amazing Spider-Man for the Game Boy, but he was replaced by the Hobgoblin. The change was presumably a last minute one, since the Green Goblin appears in the game's printed manual. The Green Goblin, though not the final boss, is generally acknowledged as the hardest boss in the Spider-Man arcade game. He also appears as a boss in the video game adaptation of Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

Though he does not appear in 2000's PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Dreamcast game Spider-Man, Spider-Man can discover one of the Goblin's numerous hideouts. It contains pumpkin bombs, a Goblin Glider, and a Green Goblin poster. Similarly, he does not appear in the Spider-Man 3 game, but he is mentioned many times.

The Goblin appears in the 2002 Spider-Man video game based on the film. Dafoe reprised his role of Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in this game. The Goblin's genesis in the game parallels that of the film: Osborn and his scientists attempt to capture Spider-Man in order to study his genetics and perfect their contracted super-soldier serum. After a number of failed attempts to capture Spider-Man using OsCorp robots, Osborn subjects himself to the serum and becomes the Green Goblin. In this guise, he offers Spider-Man a partnership but is refused. In the Xbox version of the game, he subsequently hires Kraven the Hunter to go after Spider-Man. Later, upon seeing a picture of Mary Jane kissing Spider-Man, he abducts her as bait for a final battle with Spider-Man, which ends, as in the comics and film, with Osborn impaled on his glider.

Ultimate Green Goblin briefly appears in the 2005 Ultimate Spider-Man video game, where he is voiced by Peter Lurie. He is held captive by S.H.I.E.L.D. since he is such a dangerous threat, but the villain Beetle sneaks into the headquarters and frees the Goblin to go on a rampage throughout New York. Spider-Man confronts the Goblin, and the two battle across the city until Spider-Man knocks him unconscious. Shortly after the villain's defeat, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents led by Sharon Carter arrive at the warehouse and take Osborn back into custody without thanking Spider-Man, which upsets the hero. Unlike the original Ultimate Green Goblin, who is in control of his Goblin form, this version is portrayed as an out-of-control monster. Ultimate Green Goblin also makes a major appearance in the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance exclusive Spider-Man: Battle for New York, released in 2006. He is one of the two playable characters (the other being Spider-Man), and the game is a retelling of his origin.

Green Goblin as he appears in Spider-Man: Friend or Foe

Green Goblin appears in the game Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, voiced by Roger L. Jackson. Outside of the opening cinematics, he is among the supervillains brainwashed by Mysterio's Control Amulet. Spider-Man fights him on the helipad at OsCorp's Japanese branch. After being defeated, and to stay out of prison, he joins Spider-Man's quest to obtain the meteor shards.

Green Goblin appears in the Nintendo DS version of Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. Black Cat informs Spider-Man that Green Goblin is setting up bombs as part of a plot to defeat the symbiotes. In the PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii versions, Spider-Man mercilessly mocks the glider-bound armored enemies called Tech Flyers for their lack of originality when they first appear.

Green Goblin appears as a playable character in the game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, voiced by Armin Shimerman. His Thunderbolts costume is his default and the Hobgoblin from Secret War is his alternate costume. He is among the supervillains controlled by the S.H.I.E.L.D. Control Nanites. During a fight at a chemical factory owned by Stark Industries, he, along with Bullseye, Lady Deathstrike, and Venom III end up going rogue when the Nanites take on a mind of their own. The heroes fight the Goblin and Venom III while Nick Fury disarms the bombs, and later they battle the pair a second time in Wakanda. When they are defeated there, Green Goblin and Venom III are freed from the nanites' control and become playable. In the PSP, PS2, and Wii versions, Green Goblin fights the heroes in Prison 42 alongside Scorpion.

The Noir version of the Green Goblin will appear in the Noir sections of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. There, Osborn is a crime lord operating from an abandoned carnival, and a fragment of the Tablet of Order and Chaos turns him into a powerful, goblin-like monster.

Toys

The Green Goblin is the eighth figurine in the Classic Marvel Figurine Collection.

Bibliography

• Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #14,17–18, 23, 26–27,37–40,47, 61–66, 94, 96–98, 100, 105, 117, 119, 121–123, 136, 145,177,181,365, 418, 429–430, 434, 441, 510, 512–514, 568–573, 581, 595–599, Annual #1, 4, 7, 9 (reprint)
• Thunderbolts Vol 1 #110–126
• The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1 #68, 248, 250, 253, 257, 261–263
• The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 2 #27
• Deadpool Vol. 4 #3
• Mighty Avengers #20
• Penance Relentless Vol 1 #1–5
• Peter Parker, Spider-Man Vol. 2 #18, 25, 44–47
• Dark Reign
  • Agents of Atlas Vol. 2 #1, 3, 4, 8
  • Avengers: The Initiative Vol 1 23–35
  • Dark Avengers #1–16
  • Dark Avengers Annual
  • Deadpool Vol. 4 #7
  • Invicible Iron Man #8-present
  • Thor Vol. 1 #600
  • Thunderbolts Vol 1 #128–129
  • Mighty Avengers #21–23
  • New Avengers #48-present
  • Secret Invasion: Dark Reign
  • Uncanny X-men Annual #2 (2009)
  • War Machine Vol. 2 #1–2
  • Dark Reign Files
  • Dark Reign: New Nation
  • Dark Reign: The List – Amazing Spider-Man #1
  • Dark Reign: The List – Avengers #1
  • Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil #1
  • Dark Reign: The List – Hulk #1
  • Dark Reign: The List – Punisher #1
  • Dark Reign: The List – Secret Warriors #1
  • Dark Reign: The List – Wolverine #1
  • Dark Reign: The List – X-Men #1
  • Dark Avengers / Uncanny X-Men: Exodus #1
  • Dark Avengers / Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1
  • Dark Reign: Elektra #1–5
  • Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #1–5
  • Dark Reign: Hawkeye #1–5
  • Dark Reign: Lethal Legion #1–3
  • Dark Reign: Mister Negative #2–3
  • Dark Reign: Sinister Spider-Man Vol 1 #1–4
  • Dark Reign: The Cabal #1
  • Dark Reign: The Goblin Legacy #1
  • Dark Reign: The Hood #1–4
  • Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1–5
  • Dark Reign: Zodiac #1–3
  • Dark Wolverine Vol. 1 #75–77
  • Dark X-Men: The Beginning #1–3
  • Dark X-Men: The Confession #1
  • Dark X-Men: The Beginning #1–5

External links

• Green Goblin at Marvel.com
• The Green Goblin on Spider-Man Wiki
• The Green Goblins Hideout for a complete Norman Osborn biography