The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964). Although many characters have taken up this identity, Norman Osborn is the original and most well-known Green Goblin. Osborn was originally an amoral industrialisthead of Oscorp and father of Spider-Man's best friend, Harry Osborn, who took a serum which enhanced his physical abilities and intellect but also drove him to insanity. 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 many consider him to be one of the archenemies of Spider-Man,[2][3][4] being responsible for numerous tragedies in Spider-Man's life, such as the death of Gwen Stacy and the Clone Saga. However, Osborn has also come into conflict with Iron Man and other superheroes in the Marvel Universe. He was also the main character and lead antagonist of the company-wide Dark Reign storyline.
Willem Dafoe played Norman Osborn and his alter ego the Green Goblin in the 2002 film Spider-Man as the main antagonist. Dafoe made cameo appearances in both Spider-Man 2, and Spider-Man 3 as Harry's hallucinations. In the Spider-Man film reboot series, Chris Cooper was officially announced to be portraying Norman in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the follow up to The Amazing Spider-Man. In 2009, Norman Osborn was also ranked as IGN's 13th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.[5] 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."[6]
Willem Dafoe played Norman Osborn and his alter ego the Green Goblin in the 2002 film Spider-Man as the main antagonist. Dafoe made cameo appearances in both Spider-Man 2, and Spider-Man 3 as Harry's hallucinations. In the Spider-Man film reboot series, Chris Cooper was officially announced to be portraying Norman in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the follow up to The Amazing Spider-Man. In 2009, Norman Osborn was also ranked as IGN's 13th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.[5] 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."[6]
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.[8] 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.[7]
Ditko left the series with issue #38, before he could reveal the Goblin's identity, and Lee subsequently unmasked him in the next issue 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.[9]
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.[10]
However Obsorn would loom over the history of the Spider-Man franchise. In particular, the character (originally portrayed as a loving but distant workaholic father who gave his son money and material possessions to make up for how he was never there for his son physically) would be recast as a physically and emotionally abusive father to Harry. One whose disdain for his son would lead to Harry suffering crippling mental problems, leading to him becoming Green Goblin and ultimately his own demise.
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.[7]
Ditko left the series with issue #38, before he could reveal the Goblin's identity, and Lee subsequently unmasked him in the next issue 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.[9]
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.[10]
However Obsorn would loom over the history of the Spider-Man franchise. In particular, the character (originally portrayed as a loving but distant workaholic father who gave his son money and material possessions to make up for how he was never there for his son physically) would be recast as a physically and emotionally abusive father to Harry. One whose disdain for his son would lead to Harry suffering crippling mental problems, leading to him becoming Green Goblin and ultimately his own demise.