The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the first and best-known incarnation of Green Goblin is Norman Osborn. He has endured as one of Spider-Man's principal archenemies, alongside Doctor Octopus and Venom. Originally a manifestation of chemically induced insanity, others would later take on the persona, including Norman's son Harry Osborn. The Green Goblin is depicted as a criminal mastermind who uses an arsenal of Halloween-themed equipment, including grenade-like Pumpkin Bombs, razor-sharp bat-shaped blades, and a flying Goblin Glider, to terrorize New York City.
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."Conroy, Mike. 500 Comicbook Villains (Collins & Brown, 2004), p. 55 The Green Goblin has appeared in numerous media adaptations of Spider-Man over the years, including films, animated television series, and video games. Norman and Harry Osborn were portrayed by Willem Dafoe and James Franco in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy (2002–2007), and by Chris Cooper and Dane DeHaan in the film The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). Dafoe reprised his role as Norman Osborn in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) which used the concept of the multiverse to link the Raimi trilogy to the MCU.
Publication history According to Steve Ditko: 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. According to both Stan Lee and John Romita, Sr., who replaced Ditko as the title's artist, Lee always wanted the Green Goblin to be someone Peter Parker knew, while Ditko wanted his civilian identity to be someone who had not yet been introduced.Ro, Ronin. Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and the American Comic Book Revolution, p. 107 (Bloomsbury, 2004) Lee elaborated: Steve wanted him to turn out to be just some character that we had never seen before. Because, he said, in real life, very often a villain turns out to be somebody that you never knew. And I felt that that would be wrong. I felt, in a sense, it would be like cheating the reader. ... if it's somebody you didn't know and had never seen, then what was the point of following all the clues? I think that frustrates the reader. However, Lee prefaced this statement by admitting that, due to his self-professed poor memory, he may have been confusing the Green Goblin with a different character. Moreover, in an earlier essay he had said that he could not remember whether Norman Osborn being the Green Goblin was his idea or Ditko's. Ditko has maintained that it was his idea, even claiming that he had decided on it before the first Green Goblin story was finished, and that a character he drew in the background of a single panel of Amazing Spider-Man #23 was meant to be Norman Osborn (who is not introduced until issue #37).
Ditko left the series with issue #38, just one issue after Norman Osborn was introduced as the father of Harry Osborn. The first issue without Ditko saw the Green Goblin unmasked. John Romita, Sr., who replaced Ditko as the title's artist, recalled:
In the landmark story, "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" (The Amazing Spider-Man #121–122), the Green Goblin kills Gwen Stacy and later perishes in a fight against Spider-Man. However, the story's writer, Gerry Conway, had Harry Osborn adopt the Green Goblin identity in that story's aftermath, later remarking that "I never had any intention of getting rid of the Green Goblin as a concept". Harry Osborn's becoming the Green Goblin was mostly well-received, with fans remarking that Harry was more menacing than his father had ever been.
Several other characters would take on the Green Goblin identity, and writer Roger Stern later introduced the Hobgoblin to replace the Green Goblin as Spider-Man's archenemy. In addition, a retcon during the "Clone Saga" determined that the original Green Goblin survived the events of The Amazing Spider-Man #122 and had been playing a behind-the-scenes role in Spider-Man's adventures since then.
Fictional character biography Norman Osborn
Norman Osborn is the first and most-known version of Green Goblin. He developed the equipment used by the other Green Goblins.
Harry Osborn
Harold "Harry" Osborn is Norman Osborn's son and the second character who used the Green Goblin alias.
Bart Hamilton
Bart Hamilton is a psychologist born in Scarsdale, New York and the third character to use the Green Goblin alias. When Harry was put under medical care, Hamilton managed to make Harry bury the vendetta as the Goblin identity from Harry's subconscious via hypnosis.The Amazing Spider-Man #174 Hamilton uses these secrets to be the third Goblin.The Amazing Spider-Man #176 Since Harry has no knowledge of where Norman's strength-enhancing Goblin formula is, Hamilton is unable to locate it. He hatches an elaborate plot to kill Silvermane but Harry resumes the Goblin identity to stop him. They battle and Hamilton is accidentally killed by a bomb with which he meant to kill Spider-Man.The Amazing Spider-Man #180
Phil Urich
Phil Urich is the nephew of Ben Urich and the fourth character to use the Green Goblin alias.
Nameless construct Norman Osborn conspires with associate Doctor Angst to genetically engineer a new Green Goblin, one devoted to his case.Peter Parker: Spider-Man vol. 2 #18 After Norman is incapacitated by the Gathering of Five, the Goblin is left alone and begins to degenerate due to no longer having access to the Goblin Formula required to keep him stable. The Goblin goes after Liz Allan in a desperate bid to find a cure for his condition, but is driven off by Spider-Man.The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2 #18 During a second attempt to capture Liz, the Goblin unmasks himself in front of Spider-Man and melts into protoplasm.
Powers and abilities
In his first appearances, the Green Goblin seems to be a normal man (albeit very nimble and athletic) who gets his powers from his many gadgets. In later appearances, it is established that due to the "Goblin Formula", Norman and most successors to the Green Goblin persona possesses superhuman strength (lifting nine tons under optimal conditions), increased speed, reflexes, endurance, intelligence and healing rate.
Norman started with a portion of the chemical's power, because he only received an accidental splash in the face at a time when one had to bathe in it long enough to get the full effect. Eventually a new version of the chemical was developed, which was suitable for directly drinking it. Though much slower than the likes of Wolverine, he can regenerate damaged tissue and organs. However, if seriously wounded, it would leave scars on his body.
His intelligence has been enhanced to gifted levels, though at the price of his sanity. His involvement with the Gathering of the Five loosened his grip on reality, though he is able to maintain some semblance of his sanity via chemically treated dermal patches. When not impaired by mental illness, Osborn is a cunning businessman, masterful strategist, and highly skilled in electronics, mechanics, engineering and chemistry.
He wears a green bulletproof scale armor costume with an overlapping purple tunic. His mask has a built-in gas filter to keep him safe from his own gases, and his gloves are woven with micro-circuited filaments which channel pulsed discharges of electricity at nearly 10,000 volts.
Goblin Glider In the Green Goblin's first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #14, he rides a steel rocket-powered wingless broomstick. In his second appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #17, he changes to the familiar bat-shaped 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 Goblin later added radio-linked voice controls to his mask.
Its top speed is , and it can support about , 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. In the Goblin's later appearances, the glider possesses a wide array of armaments, including heat-seeking and smart missiles, machine guns, extending blades, a flamethrower and a Pumpkin Bomb dispenser/launcher.
Pumpkin Bombs, Ghost Bombs, and the "Bag of Tricks" The Green Goblin wears an over-the-shoulder satchel called his "Bag of Tricks", containing various weapons including grenades called "Pumpkin Bombs", which resemble miniature Jack-o'-lanterns. When thrown, they ignite almost soundlessly and produce enough heat to melt through a thick sheet of steel. Other weapons in the satchel include razor bats (akin to bladed boomerangs) and miniature "Ghost Bombs". The Green Goblin has a range of other "Pumpkin Bombs" and "Ghost Bombs" at his disposal, including smoke and gas-emitting bombs. Some release hallucinogenic gases, while others emit a specially created mixture that neutralises Spider-Man's spider-sense for a limited period of time. Still others emit a flame-retarding gas, which the Goblin once used against the Human Torch.The Amazing Spider-Man #17 All of these are covered in a light plastic coating.
Groups Goblinettes Some time after Norman's death, Harry is abducted by a trio of mysterious female Goblins. With the aid of Ben Urich and Molten Man, Spider-Man discovers that these "Goblinettes" are robots created by Harry, and controlled by a supercomputer containing copies of Harry and Norman's minds. The Goblinettes are destroyed along with the computer, which had been programmed to expose Normie Osborn to the same version of Goblin serum that killed Harry, in attempt to create a new Green Goblin.Spider-Man: Legacy of Evil
Order of the Goblin An offshoot of the Scriers cult founded by Norman, consisting of only his most loyal followers.Spider-Man: Revenge of the Green Goblin #2
Goblin Gangs Following Norman Osborn's rise and fall from power, a number of Goblin Gangs sprang up across America. Composed mostly of white supremacists who agreed with his plans to remove the Asgardians from the country, they wear purple clothes, green face makeup and have goblin-based tattoos.The Amazing Spider-Man #649 Vin Gonzales was revealed to have received one of these tattoos while in prison passing a message from Norman to Harry about Stanley Osborn.The Amazing Spider-Man #647
Goblin Nation
War Goblins In the eight-month ellipsis that occurred subsequent to the events of Secret Wars, a heavily bandaged arms dealer claiming to be Norman Osborn began selling Goblin-based costumes and equipment on the black market, establishing private armies of "War Goblins".
Other versions Avataars: Covenant of the Shield The Goblin King, a character based on the Green Goblin, appears in Avataars: Covenant of the Shield. This version is a goblin who speaks in rhyme and runs a toll booth in the Webwood. He extorts goods from travelers along with his henchmen, the Six Most Sinister.
Earth-6160 In the Ultimate Universe (Earth-6160), Harry Osborn operates as Green Goblin.
House of M In the storyline House of M, there are two versions of the Green Goblin.
The first is Crusher Hogan, who uses the Green Goblin identity in wrestling.