Norman Osborn
| Green Goblin | |
|---|---|
| File:Green goblin2.jpg Art by Luke Ross. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | (As Green Goblin) Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964) (As Norman Osborn) Amazing Spider-Man #37 |
| Created by | Stan Lee Steve Ditko |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Norman Osborn |
| Team affiliations | Thunderbolts Sinister Twelve Commission on Superhuman Activities |
| Notable aliases | Goblin Lord |
| Abilities | High-level intellect Goblin-themed weapons and paraphernalia Superhuman strength, speed, durability, stamina, agility and reflexes Regenerative healing factor |
The Green Goblin is a Marvel Comics supervillain and an archenemy of Spider-Man. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appears in Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964). Wizard Magazine rated him the 19th greatest villain of all time.[1]
The first, current, and best-known Green Goblin is the alter ego of industrialist Norman Osborn. A serum that grants Osborn superhuman strength also drives him insane. Osborn adopts a Halloween themed appearance, dressing in a goblin costume and using an arsenal of high-tech weapons, notably grenade-like "Pumpkin Bombs" and a bat-shaped "goblin glider" to terrorize New York City. Ironically, his troubled son Harry is a close friend of Peter Parker, who is secretly Spider-Man. Having much impact in Spider-Man's life, the Green Goblin becomes his greatest enemy.
In a landmark 1973 storyline, the Green Goblin murders Peter’s girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, and is killed in the ensuing battle after his glider malfunctions. Osborn is believed dead for several years during which two other characters assume the title, most notably his son Harry, who dies in the role. The Hobgoblin is another character who imitates the Green Goblin and uses his equipment. Norman Osborn is revealed alive in the late 1990s and resumes his role as the Goblin. In the end, he is exposed, arrested, and convicted for his crimes.
The Green Goblin also appears in several Spider-Man animated series throughout the years and in Spider-Man, in which he is played by Willem Dafoe. He is one of Spider-Man's most recognizable foes and is widely regarded as his deadliest enemy, posing a large threat to Peter Parker, his loved ones, and all the people of New York.
Publication history
The Green Goblin first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #14. His identity was unknown. He proved popular and reappeared in later issues which made a point of his secret identity. Yet Stan Lee and Steve Ditko had no specific identity in mind. Later they disagreed. Stan Lee always wanted him to be someone known by Parker, Ditko wanted him to be a stranger, feeling this was closer to real life. Finally Ditko left the series and Lee decided in #39 to make him Norman Osborn, a character who had been introduced only two issues earlier (although a Norman Osborn-like character appears in Amazing #23 & #26 as a member of Jameson's executive club and it was referenced in Amazing Spider-Man #249 that Norman Osborn and Jonah Jameson were both members of what was then titled The Century Club) the father of Harry Osborn, introduced in #31. In a particularly inventive twist, Osborn discovers Spider-Man true identity in Amazing #39 but then suffers amnesia so that the story that revealed his origin would also be his last appearance. Nevertheless the Green Goblin would come back three times, the third time killing Gwen Stacy and being killed in the next issue. Considered dead for more than twenty years he would be brought back to explain he had been the mastermind behind many of the convoluted plots of the '90s.
Fictional character biography
Goblin Origins
The original Goblin is Norman Osborn, the son of industrialist Ambrose Osborn, born in Hartford, Connecticut. Although he is a brilliant student in the fields of science, his alcoholic father loses control of his company, and turns on his family. Traumatized, the young Osborn kills the family dog, considering it another mouth to feed.
Cover to Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #122.
Art by John Romita, Sr.
In college, wherein he studies chemistry and electrical engineering, he meets his sweetheart Emily, gets married, and eventually has a son, Harry. In his adulthood, he co-founds a major firm with Dr. Mendel Stromm. Osborn finds that Stromm is embezzling from the company and then searches his possessions, discovering an experimental strength/intelligence enhancement formula. While he is researching his work, Emily becomes ill and dies. This tragedy pushes Osborn to work harder, and he barely has time for Harry. Unbeknownst to Norman, Harry has tampered with the formula beforehand, so when Osborn attempts to create the serum, it turns green and exploded in his face. The accident greatly increases his intelligence and strength, but also drives him insane.
Osborn adopts the bizarre identity of the Green Goblin, based on a monster he feared in his childhood, with the goal of becoming the boss of the city's organized crime. He intends to cement his position in the city by defeating Spider-Man in order to enhance his reputation. To this end, he creates a personal flying device, which starts in a broomstick-like shape and evolves into his Goblin Glider. He also develops hand grenade-like explosive weapons resembling pumpkins, sharp shuriken-like Razor-Bats, and gloves which fire energy blasts from the finger tips. Thus equipped, the Green Goblin sets out to achieve his twin goals, only to be thwarted at every turn by Spider-Man. Frustrated, the Goblin decides to lie low until he is sure his enemy's guard is down. When he is ready, he arranges to have Spider-Man exposed to a special gas designed to suppress his spider sense. With that done, Goblin shadows him until he learns he was really Peter Parker, a classmate of his son Harry. After capturing him, Osborn in turn reveals his own identity to Peter and rants about his origin and his intentions of killing his greatest enemy, before releasing Peter to do battle. Peter defeats Osborn, who loses his memory and has his costume destroyed by Spider-Man to eliminate this menace.
For a long while, the Goblin personality periodically re-emerges in Osborn to bedevil Spider-Man, only to be forced down in turn when he is defeated. Finally, the Goblin takes control one final time and threatens the love of Spider-Man's life, Gwen Stacy, by kidnapping her and taking her to the top of a bridge in New York City. During the resulting battle, the Goblin commits one of his most brutal crimes: pushing Gwen from the bridge. Spider-Man's attempt to save her fails, and Gwen is killed. With blood in his eyes, Spider-Man pursues the Green Goblin for revenge, but manages to control himself after defeating him in battle. In a final attempt to kill him, the Goblin tries to spear Spider-Man with his remote control glider, only to be himself impaled by the glider's sharp points when Spider-Man avoids the attack. Norman Osborn was presumed dead.[2]
Escape
Unknown to Peter, Harry had secretly witnessed their fight. After Spider-Man left the scene, he removed his father’s costume before the authorities arrived. Harry bribed the coroner into faking Norman’s autopsy so no one would find traces of the Goblin formula in Norman’s blood. However Norman’s "death" was not what it seemed. The Goblin formula had given Norman a healing factor which re-grew his internal organs and reanimated him. Norman woke up in the morgue and covered his trail by replacing his body with that of a murdered drifter with almost identical facial features. After arriving in time to watch Harry vow vengeance on Spider-Man, Norman allowed the Goblin legacy to pass to his son and escaped unnoticed into Europe. While in Europe, Norman took over an international criminal organization named the Cabal of the Scrier. He sent one of his agents to Peter's professor, Miles Warren, and offered to help him with his cloning project which resulted in the clones of Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker. For seven years, Norman kept tabs on Peter and watched him from the shadows. [3]
The Return of Norman Osborn
Art by John Romita Jr.
After Harry died from the side effects of a modified Goblin serum, Norman returned to the States and began engineering a series of events known as Clone Saga. He does this in an attempt to drive Peter into despair by convincing him that he is the clone, while the real clone, Ben Reilly, is believed to be the original. After this plot fails, Osborn reveals himself to Peter and subsequently kills Reilly. He also apparently killed Peter's newborn daughter, although the full extent of this is unclear to this day. Norman later loses control of the Scriers and creates a smaller organization left over from the Scriers called the Order of the Goblin, where he is given the title of "Goblin Lord".
Since his return, Osborn came up with a carefully contrived story to explain his absence and regained control of his business. For a while, a genetic construct that has once been a human being acted as the fifth Green Goblin following Norman's orders, so that he (Norman) will not be suspected as the Green Goblin (despite having admitted in public that he is Norman Osborn, and while wearing the costume).
He also buys the Daily Bugle so that he can control and edit out any bad publicity, such as the frequent editorials by Ben Urich. Later, when Norman is driven mad by the Order of the Goblin's mystic ceremony going wrong, the genetic construct seeks out Osborn's original formula to stabilize itself and discovers who it truly is.
But it is too late, and in front of Spider-Man's eyes, it melts into a puddle of goo and dies. (The construct was originally intended by Glenn Greenberg to be Phil Urich, as revenge by Norman for using the gear in the first place, but this was subsequently vetoed by the Spider-Man editor at the time.[4][5])
The Goblin's Heir
After the fifth Goblin dies, the Green Goblin develops a new plan for Spider-Man - he wants Parker to become his new heir. His first move in this game is drugging Parker into flying around in the Goblin's costume and attacking his friends. Norman then takes Peter to the old Osborn estate to try to convince him to take up Norman's mantle on his own free will. After days of physical and psychological torture, Peter cracks under the stress, but still refuses Norman at the last minute.
Norman's next plan involves using a drunk Flash Thompson to drive a truck into Midtown High School, where Peter works. The accident causes Flash to suffer major brain damage and enrages Peter enough to decide to finish his feud with Norman once and for all. At the end of the fight, which takes place in one of Norman's chemical plants, Spider-Man comes close to killing the Goblin, but relents at the last second. Peter tells Norman that if he gave in to his hatred for the Goblin, the last piece of Gwen would die, and that he does not need to kill Norman anyway, as simply beating him is punishment enough. Parker leaves, telling Norman that he is tired of fighting him, and declares a truce.
Exposed
The Green Goblin's true identity is revealed to the public by a dedicated investigation by the Daily Bugle after he murders one of their reporters. After a battle with Spider-Man and Luke Cage that spans the length of Manhattan, he is arrested and sent to prison for the first time in the character's 40-year history.
As expected, however, Osborn does not stay in prison for long. Even behind bars, Osborn masterminds a plot to get Spider-Man himself to help him escape, which the web-slinger ultimately does, as payment for releasing Aunt May from Mac Gargan, The Scorpion, a kidnapper in Osborn's pay; a promise that Osborn later breaks. Spider-Man battles with the Sinister Twelve, a group of his greatest enemies led by Osborn as the Green Goblin, who reveals that he had a hand in financing many of these villains' origins.
The Goblin slips away in the heat of the battle and abducts Mary Jane Watson, taking her to the George Washington Bridge, but Spider-Man manages to rescue her. The Green Goblin then finds himself grappling with a deranged Doctor Octopus, still drugged from being held in police custody. A bolt of lightning sends the two villains plunging into the river. Doctor Octopus is eventually recovered alive and well, and Peter later receives a letter from Osborn, mailed before the fight.
Sins Past
Template:Catmore1 It was recently revealed in a controversial storyline that, prior to Gwen Stacy's death, Osborn had engaged in an affair with her, resulting in twins. After Stacy's death, Osborn takes the children into his care during his sabbatical in Europe. The children, named Gabriel and Sarah, age and mature rapidly within only a few years (due to inheriting Norman's enhanced DNA).
The twins emerge after Osborn's takedown and confront Spider-Man, whom they believe to be their real father, and who they believe has murdered their mother. After a series of confrontations, Gabriel and Sarah discover their real father's identity after Peter digs up Gwen's grave for a DNA sample. Sarah rejects Osborn's vendetta, but Gabriel assumes the mantle of the sixth Green Goblin, or "Grey Goblin".
Gabriel, deranged and amnesiac after a battle with Spider-Man, disappears along with Sarah, although she later reappears in Paris. This explains a great deal to Peter: why the Goblin has killed Gwen, why Mary Jane Watson avoided Peter for a long time, having known the secret, and why Osborn wanted Peter as his 'heir' ("So that we could be One Big Happy Goblin Family").
Civil War
- Main article: Civil War
After escaping to Paris, Osborn is apprehended by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and taken into their custody. While in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, Osborn watches in shock as Spider-Man publicly reveals his identity as Peter Parker (also confirming Osborn's identity as the Goblin and his role in Gwen's death in the process), railing that Peter "broke the rules!" He is then approached by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who are seeking his aid. The Goblin confronts and attacks Ben Urich in an alley, but S.H.I.E.L.D.'s nano-machines cause him to stop, involuntarily making him collapse and foam at the mouth.
Later he makes a deal with Tony Stark who gives him a serum to override the control nano-machines implanted by S.H.I.E.L.D. In the next two issues, Osborn attacks a group of Atlanteans in his Goblin gear, killing and wounding many. Later, when one Atlantean ambassador attempts to give a speech, Norman appears and shoots at him, wounding but not killing him. As he is being taken away by security, Norman says he is 'sick' and is not in control of his actions. While being interrogated by two officers, Norman becomes increasingly agitated when they question who gave Norman access to the press conference and assisted in smuggling a weapon there. At first, Norman gets angry, threatening to kill the two officers' families, then he becomes more and more afraid until Stark arrives at which point Norman begs the officers not to let him go, even promising to reveal all he knows to them. Norman Osborn is now the government's appointed new director of the Thunderbolts and has been prescribed medication to stabilize his personality. He remains unbalanced, however, mainly due to the fact that Thunderbolt Moonstone has influenced attendants to switch his medication with placebos on alternate days so as to get him fired and take his place.
While searching through his desk for his medications, he found the mask of the Green Goblin and appears shocked and sweating.[6] Norman has been identified as one of the 142 registered superheroes who appear on the cover of the comic book Avengers: The Initiative #1.[7] His appearance here is depicted to the likeness of actor Tommy Lee Jones[citation needed]
Powers and abilities
As originally conceived, the formula that turned Norman Osborn into the Green Goblin bestowed upon him enhanced intelligence and limited super-strength only. He is said to be even as strong as Spider-Man.
Today, Norman Osborn possesses superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, and reflexes. His durability has been augmented over the years to the point that bullets fired from most conventional weapons can't pierce his skin. Apparently, a .44 Magnum at close range can injure him, as Mary Jane Watson realizes when she shoots him when he tries to kidnap her. However, Osborn is capable of healing from damage that would be lethal to a normal person to a limited degree, having regenerated from being impaled through the chest by his own rocket-glider and later from having over a dozen of his bombs explode while webbed to his chest. This was first used as a plot device to bring Norman Osborn back from the grave.
He is armed with a variety of bizarre incendiary devices and uses a Goblin Glider as a personal transport. It is fast and extremely maneuverable.
Aside from his physical advantages, the serum also greatly enhanced Norman's already highly above average intellect, making him a bona fide genius capable of making progress in advanced areas of genetics, robotics, engineering, and applied chemistry that most professional scientists can scarcely comprehend. He even at one point creates "DNA bombs", which can turn a person to goo. He sends a bunch of DNA bomb all over the world and hardwires them to go off with the turn of one switch, which he hooks in Aunt May's brain. Spider-Man manages to thwart his plans with the help of Reed Richards.
These aptitudes are all inhibited by the fact that Osborn is criminally insane.
The superhero Green Goblin (Phil Urich, nephew of Daily Bugle reporter Ben Urich), also has the ability to produce an ear-shattering maniacal laugh that throws off his enemies. Unlike the other Goblins, Phil was exposed to a different Goblin formula where the powers were dormant. His powers we re triggered by the mask, which delivered an electric burst to his brain that activated his strength and speed, with some of the typical negative effects on his sanity. His mask also gave him access to remote-controlled weaponry and spy devices. His increased intelligence seems to stay active even without the mask.
Other Goblins
The Amazing Spider-Man #136.
Art by Ross Andru.
While Norman is assumed to be dead, several villains and one hero take up the mantle of the Green Goblin:
Nels Van Adder
Before Norman Osborn becomes the Green Goblin, he tests Stromm's serum on an Oscorp employee named Nels Van Adder. The serum has an adverse effect on him, mutating him into a demon-like creature called the Prototype Goblin, or Proto-Goblin for short. Adder constantly harasses and attacks Osborn until he is shot dead by detectives and his body falls into a nearby river. This was not part of the original continuity and was retconned into the story in 1997.
Harry Osborn
Harry, Norman's son, becomes the 2nd Green Goblin.[8] After being defeated and placed under the care of Dr. Bart Hamilton, Harry while under hypnosis reveals many Goblin secrets and Hamilton decides to become the 3rd Green Goblin. Harry recovers, and fights Hamilton, until an explosion renders Harry amnesiac of his time as the Goblin and kills Hamilton.[9] Years later Harry's memories return and he uses a new stronger Goblin serum to augment his power, but dies from it.
Bart Hamilton
Before his death, Harry is put under the medical care of Dr. Barton "Bart" Hamilton who manages to make Harry bury his vendetta and identity as the Goblin in his subconscious.[10] Unfortunately, Dr. Hamilton wants to use Harry's secrets to become the third Green Goblin.[11] Eventually, the underpowered amateur is confronted by Harry Osborn who has resumed the Goblin identity to stop him. They battle and Hamilton is killed by a bomb meant for Spider-Man and Harry becomes amnesiac.[12] Years later there is speculation that Hamilton was the Hobgoblin but this is disproved.
Hobgoblin
Roderick Kingsley, a fashion designer, finds information that leads him to one of Norman's many abandoned Goblin caches, full of equipment that he alters and takes up the mantle of the Hobgoblin, looking to become an Underworld leader. He resorts to brainwashing and framing Ned Leeds, a friend of Spider-Man's. He goes into hiding, and another Hobgoblin comes forth. This one is killed by Kingsley years later.
Phil Urich
Harry's insanity relapses and he becomes the Green Goblin again on numerous occasions, until he dies from the side effects of a modified Goblin serum. His equipment and the identity of the Green Goblin are then briefly used by Philip Benjamin "Phil" Urich (nephew of Ben Urich of the Daily Bugle), who tries to gain a reputation as a superhero, although he is sometimes seen as being as maniacal as his villainous predecessors. When his equipment is damaged during a battle against a Sentinel in the Onslaught crossover, Phil is unable to repair or replace it and the fourth Green Goblin thereafter retires. He later forms the team Excelsior. In the MC2 alternate future, he resumes his career as the Green Goblin (see below).
Other versions
2099
In the Marvel 2099 setting, the Goblin is a radical trickster who wants to prove that Spider-Man (Miguel O'Hara) is in the pay of a megacorp. He has bat-like glider-wings and a bag of "tricks", similar to the 20th century version. He also has the ability to project illusions.
He is eventually unmasked, and appears to be Spider-Man's brother Gabriel, although it is later revealed, in a retcon, that he is a shapeshifter who took Gabriel's identity. Writer Peter David, who quit the book between creating the character and the unmasking, has said that it was his intent for the Goblin to be the female Catholic priest Father Jennifer, and for Gabriel to be a red herring. [1] (There is a similarity between this situation and the earlier confusion over the identity of the Hobgoblin, in which it was David who wrote the initial unmasking story). This goblin was never called Green but instead, Goblin 2099!.
Age of Apocalypse
Here, Red (Norman Osborn) is a terrorist traitor to the human race, a member of the Marauders along with Dirigible (Wilson Fisk), the Owl, and Arcade. They are a mercenary team that are not above terrorizing defenseless refugees.
Amalgam Comics
In Amalgam Comics, Green Goblin is combined with Batman's archfoe Two-Face to create Two-Faced Goblin (Harvey Osborn), enemy of Dark Claw and Speed Demon and member of Terrible Three. Also referred to as "Green Goblin", "Norman", and "Harvey Osborne". One of the Souls of Power (Only the most pure or most corrupt individuals possess such souls). He appears in Speed Demon #1 and Dark Claw Adventures #1.
Earth X
In the alternate future of Earth X, Norman Osborn's business ventures have completely taken over the United States. Citizens work in his businesses and shop in his stores and eat his food. Norman is the prime economic power and de-facto ruler of the country.
House of M
In the Spider-Man: House of M from the 2005 Marvel comics series House of M, there are two versions of the Green Goblin. The first is Peter's wrestling friend and rival Crusher Hogan, who uses the identity as his wrestling franchise. The second is Peter Parker himself, who, feeling guilty posing as a mutant when really he was a human given powers in the usual Spider-Man fashion (radioactive spider bite), poses as the Green Goblin to reveal the information about him being a human to J. Jonah Jameson, his then publicist, and eventually the entire world. Norman Osborn is also present in this continuity.
Marvel Zombies
In Marvel Zombies: Dead Days, a zombified Green Goblin, alongside several other undead Spider-Man villains, appears to attack Wolverine and Magneto, only to be repulsed by them. The zombie Green Goblin later appears in the main Marvel Zombies series, attempting to defeat and devour Galactus along with several other villains. It is not specified who this Green Goblin is. [13]
Fury the Goblin Queen
Élan DeJunae, daughter of the San Mardeo DeJunaes crime family in South America, is betrothed to Normie Osborn when she is just a baby because of her father's involvement with the Order of the Goblin.
From then on, Élan learns the family business and eventually makes connections with the Black Tarantula. She grows up training to follow Norman Osborn's footsteps, and eventually becomes the leader of the Order of the Goblin. Following a near fatal attack on Normie, Élan returns to New York to follow through with their arranged marriage, but Normie was not aware of the betrothal. Meanwhile, Élan and the Black Tarantula plot to use Spider-Girl to destroy Lady Octopus and Canis so they can take control of the New York underworld. Following plans made by Norman Osborn before his death, the Queen of the Goblins tries to dose Normie Osborn with a new version of the goblin formula. Spider-Girl manages to defeat Élan, but in the battle, the formula explodes and the Queen escapes.
Because Normie spurned her and denied his place in the Goblin legacy, Fury crashes his wedding to Brenda Drago and forcibly bonds the Venom-symbiote to him in an attempt to corrupt him. This so far seems to have backfired as Normie has gained control of the symbiote and gone on to become a hero. After Fury crashed Normie's wedding, Phil Urich (the good Green Goblin) defeats her and sends her to prison.
She is likely still plotting revenge.[14]
Normie Osborn
Normie Osborn is the son of Harry Osborn and Liz Allan, and the grandson of Norman Osborn. In the alternate timeline of the MC2 universe he becomes the Green Goblin and battles Spider-Man's daughter, May Parker, before reforming and becoming her ally.
Phil Urich
In the MC2 timeline, Phil Urich marries his girlfriend Meredith and becomes a forensic scientist and friends with Peter Parker. He is aware of both Peter and Spider-Girl's identities. Phil Urich resumes the Goblin identity, first under the name of the Golden Goblin, then as the Green Goblin with the assistance of Normie Osborn (III). After Phil lost a long series of battles, Normie recreates Phil's original mask, which grants him superhuman strength and other abilities, greatly enhancing his effectiveness. He is also a founding member of the New New Warriors.[15]
Ultimate Green Goblin
In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Norman Osborn is a corrupt industrialist and scientist who is trying to perfect the Super Soldier drug for S.H.I.E.L.D., an obsession that leads to the neglect of his wife and son, Harry.
In Ultimate Spider-Man #1, an OZ-injected spider bites Peter Parker on a field trip. Peter develops amazing powers, and Norman theorizes that if the OZ combined with spider DNA gave Parker the abilities of a spider, then if Norman were to receive OZ combined with his own DNA, he could become a heightened version of himself. The experiment goes wrong and an explosion occurs, affecting Harry and Dr. Otto Octavius. Norman, however, is transformed into a muscular, grotesque, demonic-looking monster, granting him superhuman strength greater than Spider-Man's, enabling him to leap great distances, superhuman reflexes, stamina and durability. He also appears to also be pyrokinetic, as he can throw flaming balls of destructive energy and (in the Ultimate Spider-Man video game) surround himself with flames.
In an attempt to destroy all evidence of his existence, Norman kills his wife and attempts to kill Harry, who manages to escape while the house is burning down. The next day, he attacks Harry's school but is stopped by Spider-Man. During the fight, Osborn plummets off a bridge into the river, seemingly dead.
However, Norman survives and has, in his words, "evolved". He can now control his transformations into an intelligent incarnation of the "Green Goblin" via OZ injections. Due to overdosing on OZ, Osborn suffers from hallucinations. These include seeing everything through a blood-red filter, objects such as the Spider on Spider-Man's chest moving around, and creatures called "plasmids" tormenting him.
Taking Harry back, Norman moves back into the city, blaming rival Justin Hammer for the explosion. He reveals himself to Parker, telling Parker to give up the life as Spider-Man and work for him, or suffer the deaths of Parker's loved ones. Osborn tells Parker to kill Nick Fury, the Head of S.H.I.E.L.D. When Parker refuses, Norman kidnaps Mary Jane Watson, Peter's girlfriend, and attempts to kill her by hurling her from the top of a bridge. Spider-Man is able to save Mary Jane, and joins S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives in attacking Osborn. The battle continues at Osborn's Manhattan penthouse, where Osborn transforms even further after taking several more OZ injections and begins to choke the life out of Parker. Harry discovers the scene, picking up a shattered window pane and jamming it into his father's back, reverting him to his human self. Osborn is taken into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D.
In the Ultimate Six limited series, Osborn and his old assistant, Dr. Octavius, devise a plan to escape from prison which uses Norman's new ability to transform into the Goblin at will. It also seems that he is no longer under the influence of the hallucinogenic "plasmids", with Osborn stating that he has been undergoing a "transitioning stage" during his last confrontation with Peter; furthermore, his speech is more coherent in his Goblin form, suggesting that he is no longer hallucinating as a result of the Oz formula. They kidnap Spider-Man and force him to join them. Norman considers Parker to be his 'true' son and believes Parker belongs with him. In a battle between the Ultimate Six and the Ultimates at the White House, Harry is used as a trump card by Nick Fury. Harry pleads with his father to stop. Norman is about to change back when a trigger-happy Iron Man blasts him from behind, severely altering Norman's genes and causing him to lash out at the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel before being shot down to Harry's horror. He is again taken into custody. At the end of the issue, he is revealed to be in cryogenic suspension, with half of his face in goblin form on account of Iron Man's reckless genetic-disordering shooting.
In the Ultimate Spider-Man video game, the Beetle, a Latverian mercenary, breaks him out to provide samples for Latverian experiments in creating super-soldiers. Osborn rampages around New York city but is stopped by Spider-Man after a confrontation in the UN Conference Building.
In Ultimate Spider-Man #112, Norman Osborn is again in semblance of a human, and is kept in a high-security cell with other superhuman prisoners. When contacted by Carol Danvers, Norman states that he will answer only to Fury; he then transforms into the Goblin, and breaks away from security measures, the OZ in his system having re-worked his body in a further process of what he refers to as 'Evolution'. In #113, the reader is given a look into his state of mind. Though no longer haunted by 'Plasmids', Osborn has given in to severe Paranoia, believing everyone save him to be insane, and Nick Fury a tyrant, imprisoning anyone with the power to stand up to him.
In his breakout, he enlists the promised help of Electro as payback for freeing him; other Supervillains that escape include Omega Red, Kraven the Hunter, and what appears to be Gwen Stacy, the new Carnage. Osborn's stratagem upon escape is simple; he resumes Human form, then appears on a Talk Show, claiming that Nick Fury held him in a prison against his will, just as he was on the brink of creating a drug to solve America's military problems.
In other media
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.
Spider-Man
The Green Goblin's first live action appearance (beyond a 1982 television commercial for the Atari video game) was in the blockbuster feature film Spider-Man (2002), which starred Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn.
Dr. Norman Osborn is a brilliant scientist and businessman/industrialist who is known for his contributions to nanotechnology. His son, Harry, resents his father's apparent favoritism toward his friend Peter Parker, who is a science whiz. He 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 super-soldier. 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. Hearing this, Osborn is threatened with a tight deadline. Needing to prove his formula can succeed, Osborn experiments on himself and becomes the Green Goblin. The process drives him insane however, and he kills Stromm. The military decides to give the super-soldier 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 last threat to his takeover of Oscorp, and inadvertently almost killing 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, strong and intelligent, and attempts to recruit him to his side.
The Goblin next leads an attack at the Daily Bugle to question J. Jonah Jameson 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 him if he's decided to join him. When Spider-Man refuses, the Goblin attempts to kill him and eventually slips away. Norman finds out Spider-Man's identity when, while visiting his son Harry (who is Peter's roommate) for Thanksgiving Day, 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, as he believes 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, 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 manages to save both the children and Mary Jane (a marked difference from the source story, "The Night Gwen Stacy Died", which ended in the death of Spider-Man's sweetheart).
After saving the children and Mary Jane, Spider-Man is lunged into an abandoned building. As the Goblin brutally beats on Spider-Man, he tells him how he will kill M.J. slowly, saying that "M.J. and I, we're going to have a hell of a time" while drawing a trident. In a rage, Spider-Man attacks him, and gains the upper hand. After being defeated in their final battle and with his own personality apparently resurfaced, Norman removes his Goblin helmet to reveal himself to Spider-Man, and asks Spidey to forgive him and protect him from the Goblin persona. At the same time however, the Goblin, still controlling Norman, secretly directs his glider to impale Spider-Man from behind. Norman states he was like a father to him and begs him to be a son to him, to which Peter retorts that he had a father: Benjamin Parker.
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 pleads 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, machine guns and razor-sharp spears. 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-sharp blades. Rather than carrying a shoulder "bag of tricks", the weapons are contained in the glider. His suit is armed with knockout gas that is released from the wrists. His suit is also linked to the Goblin Glider, allowing him to control it remotely.
Spider-Man 2
In Spider-Man 2, obsessed with defeating Spider-Man, Harry forms a brief alliance with Doctor Octopus, which leads him to the discovery of Peter's secret identity. Harry subsequently hallucinates that his father is speaking to him from inside of a mirror, demanding that Harry avenge his death.
When Harry shatters the mirror, he discovers his father's hidden Green Goblin lair.
Spider-Man 3
In Spider-Man 3, Harry Osborn, still obsessed with taking revenge on Spider-Man, has finally taken up the mantle of the Green Goblin. He has modified his father's equipment into a more streamlined Goblin Glider called the Sky Stick and wears a darker costume with a less Goblin-themed mask. Though unnamed in the film, the character is referred to as the New Goblin in the credits. When Harry suffers from amnesia and briefly forgets his vendetta, a brief vision of Norman returns in a successful attempt to sway him back to destroying Peter/Spider-Man by one purpose: "Attack his heart." Harry manipulates the relationship of MJ and Peter. When Peter finds out, he attacks Harry in his mansion while under the influence of the black suit, and mutilates the right side of Harry's face with a pumpkin bomb. Harry's butler, Bernard, eventually reveals to him that it was Norman's glider which had killed him, and not Spider-Man. Harry teams up with Peter to fight Sandman and Venom. He manages to temporarily subdue Sandman with his pumpkin bombs, flamethrower and missiles, but is impaled by Venom with his own glider, similar to how his father died. After Peter destroys Venom, he rushes back to Harry, who was fatally wounded when Venom impaled him with the Sky Stick. Peter and Harry forgive each other, and Harry dies with Mary Jane and Peter by his side.
Television
The Green Goblin is a long-term recurring villain in the Spider-Man series, voiced by Neil Ross. However, though Osborn has been present almost from the beginning, the Goblin himself is a relative latecomer to the series, with Osborn not becoming him until Season 3, despite almost all other villains appearing in Season 1 (including the Hobgoblin). In the Goblin's debut episode, Enter the Green Goblin, Norman Osborn and his partner, Mendel Stromm, are coerced into creating a formula for the Kingpin that grants superhuman strength. Also, he is one of the few characters in the series who knows that Wilson Fisk is Kingpin. Unlike his comic counterpart, Norman Osborn here is not an insane version of himself, and has instead developed a multiple personality disorder. His other side is the Green Goblin, who acts on destroying everyone who has hurt Osborn throughout his life, thus, Osborn is never truly responsible for his actions. However, in later episodes Osborn accepts the Goblin persona and they became 'one', determined to destroy everyone who has hurt him. Also, unlike the comic book version, who considers his son Harry weak, the Norman Osborn here deeply cares for Harry with his life.
An unstable reaction results during one experiment and Norman disappears in the explosion, presumed dead. His son, Harry, blames the Oscorp stockholders, J. Jonah Jameson, Anastasia Hardy, and Wilson Fisk (the Kingpin), among others, for the death of his father.
Soon a mysterious airborne figure, identifying himself as the Green Goblin, begins kidnapping the stockholders one by one.
Harry quickly becomes the main suspect and is followed by a wary Mary Jane who was herself kidnapped. Tracking her down, Spider-Man uncovers an underwater base where the Goblin intends to kill everyone he has kidnapped. Fighting the Goblin, Spider-Man unmasks him, only to discover that the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn. Amnesia ensues and Norman is unable to remember his dual identity. The following morning at OsCorp, he announces that he will no longer build chemical weapons.
In Goblin War!, Norman Osborn becomes the Green Goblin again, after being pressured by the Kingpin to reveal the identity of the Hobgoblin, who he has hired before to kill Fisk. The Goblin persona tricks Osborn into thinking that Spider-Man, Hobgoblin, and the Kingpin are trying to hurt him. With the Goblin in control of his body, he then tracks down the Hobgoblin in Jason Phillip Macendale's home, because he knows that villain lived there as Macendale. The Goblin kidnaps him and his fiancée, Felicia Hardy, who had just figured out who Macendale was. He takes the Hobgoblin's Time Dilation Accelerator, a machine which can create portals from anywhere around the world or in other worlds, and nearly kills Macendale and Felicia by almost melting them in a pool of acid at OsCorp. Spider-Man battles the Goblin, knocks him out, saves Felicia and Macendale from certain death and nearly destroys the Accelerator using one of the Goblin's boomerangs. However, the machine has enough energy to create another portal and Spider-Man warns him not to go in because the Accelerator is too low on power and he'll be trapped in limbo. The villain states that he rather wants to take his chances in limbo than be defeated by him and jumps in. After the Hobgoblin's arrest, the Goblin returns; the Accelerator still had enough energy to get him back to OsCorp, and he begins plotting the downfall of his enemies.
In the next episode Turning Point, the Green Goblin finds out Spider-Man's secret identity with the Time Dilation Accelerator. Spider-Man and the Green Goblin fight atop the George Washington Bridge. In the end, the Goblin gets stuck in another dimension, after his glider pushes him through a portal. He wanted to push Spider-Man in as well, but before that he propels Mary Jane into a wormhole, never to be seen again except for the appearance of a clone that took her place in several episodes in the fourth and fifth seasons.
In The Return of the Green Goblin, the Green Goblin chooses Harry Osborn as the new Green Goblin, because Norman wants to leave the other dimension in which he is stuck. Harry has difficulties being the new villain, but like the original Goblin, he wants Spider-Man dead because the original Goblin promises Harry that he will see his father again, if he kills Spider-Man. In reality the Goblin is Harry's father but, ironically, Harry doesn't know who he is. When Spider-Man tracks him down, the hero reveals to Harry his father is the Goblin and just when Harry thinks the hero is lying, the original Goblin reveals himself to his son. This event drives Harry insane and causes him to embrace his role as the new Green Goblin. The new villain battles Spider-Man and the Punisher at the George Washington Bridge where it ends with Spider-Man jumping on Harry and both of them fall into the New York City river. Harry is knocked unconscious and the Punisher takes his body, brings it to Peter Parker's house and realizes who Harry is. After the clone of Mary Jane appears, Spider-Man takes Harry to the Ravencroft mental hospital.
In The Wedding, Harry Osborn becomes the Green Goblin again, because he hears that his friends, Peter Parker and Mary Jane are going to get married. At the church, Harry tells the priest to make Mary Jane marry him or he will blow up the church with everyone inside it. In the end, Harry lets Mary Jane go and returns to Ravencroft after Liz Allan reveals her love for him and 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 makes his final appearance in I Really, Really Hate Clones, the first part of the first part of the two-part series finale, in which he is working for Spider-Carnage and the Kingpin in an alternate reality. It is not clear if this is the same Norman Osborn that was stuck in limbo, but it is likely that it is simply a parallel version of the character in this other universe, as there is nothing that implies of the previous Norman Osborn. When the Green Goblin is confronting the Spider-Men from different realities who have joined forces to stop Spider-Carnage, all of them use their webbing to stick him to a floor of the Kingpin's tower. In the next episode, although he doesn't appear in it, the Green Goblin likely dies in an explosion that destroys the tower.
A Counter Earth version of the Green Goblin appears in the Spider-Man Unlimited animated series voiced by Rino Romano, who also plays Spider-Man. This version is actually a hero instead of a villain, mistaking Spider-Man for a villain during their first encounter. By the end of his first appearance, after saving Naoko and Shayne Yamada-Jones from one of Venom and Carnage's plans with the help of Spider-Man and after the Goblin lets Naoko and Shayne go, he whispers to himself about calling Naoko his love. It is revealed in the next episode, which the Goblin himself doesn't appear in, that Naoko has a jealous ex-husband who works for the rebellion against the High Evolutionary. Naoko's ex-husband, who is standing in the shadows by the end of the episode, reveals that he is jealous, suspecting that Naoko and Peter Parker, the man who pays the rent while living at Naoko's home, are having an affair. He punches a wall that bricks fall down thus confirming the Goblin, who has super-strength is indeed Naoko's ex-husband.
The Goblin's next appears when he finds out that both Spider-Man and Peter Parker are the same person. He also learns that Spider-Man is from the original Earth, and his intentions on Counter-Earth are to rescue John Jameson. But since Jameson, who is working with the rebels against the High Evolutionary, doesn't agree to come and lets Spider-Man go off on his own, the Goblin decides to help by getting a ship the High Evolutionary has, which was originally Spider-Man's. Spider-Man and the Goblin team up with the Rejects, a group of Beastials that the High Evolutionary gotten rid of since they proved useless, and they get to Solaris II, the ship Spider-Man once had. But Spider-Man has more heart and has Solaris II crash into one of the High Evolutionary's towers, which presumably kills the Goblin in the explosion. However, by the series finale, it is revealed he survived the explosion and joined the Rejects. But he leaves them to help Spider-Man and the rebels fight against the High Evolutionary. By the end of the episode, he is one of the characters who run off when thousands of symbiotes spring to Counter-Earth according to Venom and Carnage's plans.
Other animated media
- The 1960s animated television series features the first depiction of the Goblin outside of the comic book in "The Witching Hour", although the Goblin here is depicted as a dimwitted robber who is obsessed with magic and the supernatural - fields of expertise that Norman Osborn in the comics is never interested in (save for one incident in the late 1990s), preferring to use technology to commit crimes. He later returns, joining several other rogues in "To Catch a Spider".
- The 1980s Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon show features the character in "Triumph of the Green Goblin", which depicts Osborn as something closer to The Lizard, with a serious medical problem of physically and uncontrollably changing into the Goblin, a kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This version of the character had a niece by the name of Mona Osborn, who had no knowledge of her uncle's double identity. She appeared in "Triumph Of The Green Goblin" and "Quest Of The Red Skull".
- The solo Spider-Man series' version, which ran around the same time, is truer to the original comic book (in which Osborn suffered from amnesia and wore a Goblin costume instead of physically transforming into the Goblin), with the Goblin appearing in "Revenge of the Green Goblin".
- Norman Osborn and The Green Goblin will appear in Kids WB!'s The Spectacular Spider-Man in 2008, voiced by Dwight Schultz. His pumpkin bomb is seen trying to blow up Spider-Man in the official trailer.
- Green Goblin also appears in a episode of South Park in "Imaginationland Episode II".
Video games
- The first video game appearance of the Green Goblin is in 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 Green Goblin is a boss in the Spider-Man arcade game. Though not the final boss, he is often acknowledged as being the hardest.[16]
- The Green Goblin is also a boss in the video game adiptation of Spider-Man: The Animated Series The game, Spider-Man features the Green Goblin as one of the many bosses that have to be beaten throughout the game.
- In 2000's PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Dreamcast game, Spider-Man there is a crane Spider-Man can enter which contains pumpkin bombs, a Goblin Glider and a Green Goblin poster inside. This is a reference to the numerous hidden hideouts of the Goblin; the Green Goblin himself does not appear in this game.
- The Goblin appears in the 2002 Spider-Man video game, based on the Spider-Man film. He is voiced by Willem Dafoe. The game's biggest unlockable is the ability to play through the game as Harry in the Goblin suit and equipment, apparently featuring a Harry who has discovered his father's Goblin gear and is trying to learn more about his father's plans as the Goblin. Because the levels are designed for Spider-Man, certain levels (E.g., the bell tower level) are harder, while some are far easier (Such as the chase sequences). Levels where Spider-Man fights the Goblin feature a second Goblin, with a distorted voice, who claims to have been hired to fight Spider-Man; his true identity is unknown. Harry is voiced by Josh Keaton. The Goblin's genesis in the game parallels that of the film, with Norman and his scientists attempting to capture Spider-Man in order to study his genetics to perfect their own contracted super soldier serum. After a number of failed attempts to capture Spider-Man using OsCorp robots, Norman subjects himself to the serum and becomes the Green Goblin. In this guise he offers Spider-Man a partnership but is refused. Upon seeing a picture of Mary Jane kissing Spider-Man, he abducts her as bait for a final battle with Spider-Man, ending with Norman impaled on his glider much like in the comics and film.
- 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 has snuck into the headquarters and frees the Goblin, having him go on a rampage throughout New York. Spider-Man has confronted him and they fought throughout the city, with the battle ending in a conference house where Spider-Man finally beats Goblin to a pulp, knocking him unconscious. Shortly after the villain's defeat, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrive in the warehouse and arrest Osborn back to S.H.I.E.L.D., without giving Spider-Man a "thank-you", which upsets the hero.
- Ultimate Goblin makes a major appearance in the Nintendo DS & 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 appears in the game Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, voiced by Roger L. Jackson, as both a boss and a playable character.
Footnotes
- ^ Wizard #177
- ^ Amazing Spider-Man #122
- ^ Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal
- ^ PART 33
- ^ The stand-in Green Goblin revealed!
- ^ Thunderbolts #117
- ^ Avengers: The Initiative #1 Character Map
- ^ Amazing Spider-Man #136
- ^ Amazing Spider-Man #180
- ^ Amazing Spider-Man #174
- ^ Amazing Spider-Man #176
- ^ Amazing Spider-Man #180
- ^ Marvel Zombies #4
- ^ Goblin Queen
- ^ Green Goblin VI
- ^ Peter Parker & The Sorcerer Stone
External links
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