Spider-Man: No Way Home is less than a month away from its December 17th release, and fans are hyped to see some of Spider-Man’s greatest villains make their long-awaited return to the live action. But out of all of these infamous rogues, none are quite as iconic as Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin.
Though he was featured as the antagonist of the original Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man film all the way back in 2002 — almost 20 years ago — the Green Goblin wasn’t Spider-Man’s first nemesis in the comics. Other villains like the Vulture, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, the Lizard, Electro, and Mysterio all predate him. However, the Goblin’s long history of vile villainy in both the comics and major adaptations have cemented his place as Peter Parker’s most enduring foe. So with the Green Goblin heading back to the big screen soon, there’s no better time to take a look at why this emerald-clad evildoer is the most well-known Spider-Man villain of all.
His Horrifying History
The Green Goblin made his comic debut in July 1964 with The Amazing Spider-Man #14, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Steve Ditko. In his initial appearance, the Goblin is barely recognizable as the character he would eventually become. For instance, he uses a mechanical broomstick as his vehicle of choice, fights using regular grenades, and has no apparent motivation for wanting to fight Spider-Man. Additionally, his master plan is downright surreal — he convinces a film director to create a movie about Spider-Man and convinces the real web-slinger to star in it, only to attack him on the day of the shoot. The Goblin would much more closely resemble his typical portrayal in the next appearance in issue #17, in which he first used his trademark Goblin Glider and Pumpkin Bombs, and began scheming to take over New York’s criminal underworld.
Curiously, the Green Goblin’s civilian identity of Norman Osborn wasn’t introduced until issue #37, only two issues before Norman was revealed as the Green Goblin. This revelation was the last ingredient that the Goblin needed to become a truly great supervillain — like Peter Parker, Norman led a double life, hiding his costumed identity from both the public and his family. And speaking of family, Norman’s status as the father of Peter’s best friend Harry Osborn only added further drama. But of course, the event that cemented the Green Goblin as Spider-Man’s most despicable enemy of all came with June 1973’s The Amazing Spider-Man #121, written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Gil Kane. In this fateful issue, the Green Goblin murdered Peter’s longtime girlfriend Gwen Stacy — a truly monumental occasion, as major character deaths were virtually unheard of in comics of the time.
This led to a climactic showdown in the next issue, where a vengeful Peter nearly killed Norman, only to ultimately spare his life. But when Norman attempted to take advantage of Peter’s mercy and stab him in the back, he ended up impaling himself on his own glider in a poetic death that was later replicated in the 2002 Spider-Man film. Norman remained dead until 1996, when Spider-Man #75 revealing that he had survived the climactic battle and gone on to mastermind the much-maligned Clone Saga. Norman would then continue to menace Spider-Man regularly, at one point even becoming leader of the Thunderbolts — a position he would eventually use to assume control of SHIELD and command his own Avengers team as the Iron Patriot.
Silver Screen Schemes
Naturally, Norman has also appeared as the Green Goblin in numerous Spider-Man adaptations. Most famously, he was portrayed by Willem Dafoe in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy — as the main antagonist in the first film, then as a hallucination haunting his son Harry in the second and third movies. Dafoe perfectly captures both the callous narcissism of Norman Osborn and the unhinged cruelty of the Green Goblin. And though he may chew the scenery, it’s exactly that over-the-top flair that makes Dafoe’s performance so beloved. Additionally, Chris Cooper appeared as a dying Norman in a single scene in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, though it was his son Harry (Dane DeHaan) who would become the Green Goblin later in the film.
The Green Goblin also showed up briefly in Spider-Man’s first animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, voiced by The Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone. And speaking of animation, the Green Goblin has also appeared in numerous Spider-Man TV series, from the classic 1967 cartoon to 1994’s Spider-Man: The Animated Series. But without a doubt, the best animated iteration of the Green Goblin is his depiction in 2008’s The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by Steve Blum of Cowboy Bebop fame. Not only is the Spectacular Goblin delightfully manic, he’s also a cunning planner and a deadly combatant. But most interestingly, his secret identity is treated as a long-running mystery with several potential suspects, with the real man behind the mask not being revealed until the series finale.
All Power, No Responsibility
Other great Spider-Man villains like Doctor Octopus and Venom serve as dark mirror images of Peter Parker, showing what he could become if he lost his sense of hope and compassion. By contrast, Green Goblin is not a reflection of Spider-Man, but an inversion of him. Rather than a sympathetic antagonist driven by a corrupted sense of responsibility, Norman Osborn is motivated purely by a petty lust for power. He’s sadistic, spiteful, and lacking in any redeeming qualities whatsoever. It’s telling that while Peter often attempts to reason with and redeem his foes, Norman is often portrayed as one of the few villains he truly loathes.
Norman may not have as much complexity or nuance as the likes of Kingpin or Doc Ock, but he nevertheless serves as a perfect antithesis to Spider-Man. Peter works to support his Aunt May, Norman has nothing but disdain for his son Harry. Peter struggles to make ends meet, Norman is a billionaire industrialist. And while Peter is defined by his responsibility to help others, Norman cares about no one but himself. In other words, Green Goblin is everything Spider-Man isn’t.
There are many reasons the Green Goblin is one of Marvel’s most famous supervillains. There’s his striking design and weapons, his vengeful and power-hungry personality, his devastating murder of Gwen Stacy, and his personal enmity with Peter Parker. And of course, there are his masterful portrayals in both live-action and animation. For all these reasons and many more, the Green Goblin is arguably the greatest Spider-Man villain of all, and a prime example of a bad guy who fans love to hate.