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| “ | ♫The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout, down came the Goblin and took the spider out!♫ | „ |
| ~ Green Goblin singing during his attack on the bridge. |
| “ | Green Goblin: The cunning warrior attacks neither body nor mind. Norman Osborn: TELL ME HOW! Green Goblin: The HEART, Osborn! First, we attack his heart! |
„ |
| ~ Green Goblin telling Norman Osborn how to torment Peter Parker. |
| “ | I've watched you from deep behind Norman's cowardly eyes. Struggling to have everything you want, while the world tries to make you choose. Gods don't have to choose. We take. | „ |
| ~ Green Goblin taunting the MCU's Peter Parker in Spider-Man No Way Home. |
| “ | She was there... because of you. I may have struck the blow but You You are the one that killed her. | „ |
| ~ Green Goblin last words before taunting MCU's spider man for the last time before being having the antidote injected into him by MCU Peter, saving Norman and ending the Green Goblin for good in Spider-Man No Way Home. |
Norman Osborn, later known as the Green Goblin, is the main antagonist of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy, serving as the main antagonist of Spider-Man and the posthumous overarching antagonist of its sequels, Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. He also appeared as the main antagonist of the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home.
He is the founder and CEO of Oscorp and the father of Harry Osborn, who befriended Peter Parker. After being exposed to the Goblin Serum, Norman is driven into insanity, causing his mind to split in two, creating his alternative persona, the Green Goblin. A complete parallel to himself, the Green Goblin takes over Norman, driving him to kill and destroy anybody and everything until he becomes obsessed with destroying Spider-Man and everything he cares about, becoming his archenemy and the one foe who keeps haunting him even after death.
Years later, the Green Goblin is accidentally transported to a different universe, where he teams up with other supervillains, from his home universe and from an alternate one, who shared the same fate. Not wanting to go back to a world where he is doomed to die, the Green Goblin decides to target this world's version of Spider-Man and his loved ones.
He was portrayed by Willem Dafoe, who also played Raven Shaddock in Streets of Fire, Eric Masters in To Live and Die in L.A., John Geiger in Speed 2: Cruise Control, Max Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire, Armando Barillo in Once Upon A Time in Mexico, Nikolai Diavolo in 007: Everything or Nothing, George Deckert in xXx: State of the Union, Lord Cob in Tales from Earthsea, Rat in Fantastic Mr. Fox, J.G. Jopling in The Grand Budapest Hotel, Jack Lassen in The Simpsons, Ryuk in Netflix's Death Note and Thomas Wake in The Lighthouse.
Appearance[]
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Green Goblin's suit.
The Goblin has a shiny metal green and purple shaded suit that's pressed and manufactured where it fits the mask and glider and the person wearing it. The mask is a goblin mask with yellow eyes and an opening for his mouth. On his left leg is a button that slides the eyes of the mask up for Goblin to see. On his right arm is also a button for the glider to come. He has a metal green layer on his arms and chest without weighing him with heavier armor. On his wrists are buttons as well for the sleeping gas he used against Spider-Man. As for his abdomen, back, and legs which instead of mostly green armor it is smooth out where the wearer can move easily and not be restricted.
Personality[]
Unlike Norman, who is a genuinely nice man and remorseful for his actions under the Goblins influence, The Green Goblin is a jovial yet malicious showman with a clear sadistic and cunning streak to boot. He is consistently cheerful, playful, and merry in tone, in stark contrast to the viciousness and violence of his actions. He seems to take everything in stride, having no value for human life, and finds amusement in wanting destruction. While he comes off as silly at first, the Green Goblin constantly scheming and he can orchestrate incredibly elaborate plans. He also has a nihilistic sense of humor and what is entertaining to him is disturbing and horrific to others. He shows strong hate towards the very concept of morality, believing it weakens people and makes them suffer, and even goes as far as calling it an illness.
Furthermore, he can assess an opponent and accurately deduce their mindset and desires - exploiting their impulses for his own gains. His greatest strength lies in his ability to understand his opponents' capacity for empathy and love, and twist it in order to bend their will to suit his own needs. The Green Goblin is sharply perceptive of other people's mindsets, which makes him much more insidious and dangerous than other typical villains. While many villains fail to grasp empathy or believe in selflessness and kindness, the Green Goblin understands these qualities well and exploits them to psychologically break the will of others.
Biography[]
Spider-Man[]
Birth of the Goblin[]
The Green Goblin persona was born when Oscorp, Norman Osborn's company, has begun to struggle, with Osborn's promised performance-enhancing serum for a military contract having been hit with several setbacks, not the least of which being that rodents that it had been tested on have displayed violence, aggression and insanity. Upon being told by General Slocum that his funding will be cut if a successful human trial isn't performed within two weeks time, Norman becomes desperate and ultimately tests the serum on himself, against the recommendations of Dr. Mendell Stromm, his own assistant. When Norman starts to convulse during the test, the Goblin is born from within him. Stromm stops the experiment and tries to wake Norman, but a deranged and insane Goblin violently grabs and fatally throws Stromm out of the glass cell he was in.
The next day, Harry finds a sick and amnesiac Norman on the floor of his penthouse, with no idea of what happened because of the side effects of the serum altering his mind. After waking up, Norman reacts in shock when he is informed that Stromm was murdered and that the Oscorp glider and suit were stolen, unaware that the Green Goblin was controlling his mind to take them for himself. Impatient with Oscorp, Slocum goes to a laboratory of Quest Aerospace, which competed against Oscorp for the military contract, and sees their armor, wishing to put Norman out of business. However, the Green Goblin appears with his glider and destroys Quest's armor with its pilot inside before bombing the installation, killing Slocum and the Quest scientists.
Attacking the City[]
The Green Goblin attacking and ambushing the Unity Festival at Times Square.
Sometime after the bombing, the Goblin re-awakens back at Norman's business, where things run smoothly for him until Henry Balkan and Maximilian Fargas, the highest-ranking executives of his Board of Directors, notify him that after getting the military contract, Oscorp has accepted a deal with Quest Aerospace, which is using the bombing incident to capitalize and expand, which involves his own resignation in the next thirty days, with Fargas adding that the Board voted unanimously. Enraged at being forced out of his own company, the Green Goblin decides to attack the World Unity Festival, which the Board of Directors is attending and after which they plan to announce the sale.
Arriving at the festival with his glider, the Green Goblin wreaks havoc over the festival and uses his Pumpkin Bombs to pulverize Balkan, Fargas and the rest of the board, in addition, to endanger the lives of Harry and his girlfriend Mary Jane Watson, who are also attending, accidentally knocking Harry out in the process with some debris. However, that's when the Green Goblin first encounters Spider-Man, the mysterious web-slinger who has protected New York City since a few months ago. After engaging in a fierce fight, Spider-Mana damages the Green Goblin's glider, leading him to retreat and flee from the scene while Spider-Man proceeds to rescue Mary Jane from falling to her death.
Knowing that The Daily Bugle newspaper publishes photos of Spider-Man in their slandering news, the Green Goblin attacks the newspaper's building and interrogates the chief editor J. Jonah Jameson and pressures him to reveal the identity of the photographer, unaware that it's Peter Parker. Jameson refuses to reveal Parker's identity, but then Spider-Man arrives to fight the Green Goblin. The Green Goblin knocks Spider-Man unconscious with sleeping gas and takes him to a building's roof. Later at night, when Spider-Man wakes up, the Green Goblin tells him that the city will gladly enjoy seeing him sacrifice himself and that everyone will hate him eventually, proposing him to join forces and together create and destroy things, acknowledging all the deaths they will cause with their constant battles.
Battling Spider-Man[]
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Spider-Man and Green Goblin 2nd battle.
Following the attack at The Daily Bugle, the Green Goblin and Spider-Man are declared "public menaces" and "partners in crime" by Jameson, leading the authorities to turn on Spider-Man, even though most New Yorkers still support him. Sometime after their meeting, the Green Goblin sets a building on fire to get Spider-Man's attention, leading him to rescue a baby who had been left before the floor where he was exploded. After delivering the child back to his mother, Spider-Man is allowed by some cops to go back into the building to rescue an apparent woman who is still inside. However, when Spider-Man approaches the woman, it turns out to be a disguised Green Goblin, who asks Spider-Man what he has thought about his offer and fights him when Spider-Man rejects his proposal again. He then throws Spider-Man some Razor Bats, leaving a cut on his arm before leaving.
After the fight, the Thanksgiving dinner that Norman is attending is interrupted when May discovers Peter's arm injury, which he says he got after stepping off a curb and getting clipped by one bike messenger. Realizing that Peter and Spider-Man are the same people and that it was Peter's blood that fell off the roof some minutes earlier, the Goblin reawakens within Norman, excuses himself, and leaves the dinner, much to Harry's dismay. While waiting for the elevator, the Goblin advises Harry to not trust Mary Jane because she's likely a golddigger like Harry's mother, much to the anger of Mary Jane, as all the guests overhear the Goblin, leading Harry to have a fight with his girlfriend and prompting Mary Jane to leave.
Losing himself more and more to the Green Goblin half inside him but unwilling to hurt Peter, Norman asks his Goblin inner self what to do, and the Green Goblin insists he "educate" Parker by making him suffer through attacking his heart. That night, the Green Goblin assaults May Parker at her house by destroying her room while she was praying to God with a photo of Ben, greatly scaring her and insisting she finish her prayer. The encounter leaves May traumatized and is sent to the hospital to recover from her shell shock, leading Peter to conclude that the Green Goblin knows his secret identity. Back at his penthouse, Norman is visited by Harry, who had earlier visited May at the hospital and found Peter and Mary Jane talking to each other, allowing him to realize that the two were in love. Despite hearing the Green Goblin's laughs, Norman appears as if nothing strange happened and consoles Harry when his son admits that he was right about Mary Jane. Now having an idea to hurt Parker even more, but wanting to make amends with his son, Norman tells Harry that he knows that he wasn't a good father to him but that he hopes to mend things with him, leading father and son to embrace each other.
Shortly afterward, the Green Goblin goes to find where Mary Jane is and abducts her offscreen. Realizing that Mary Jane could be in danger after May tells him how all people know he has a thing for Watson, Peter calls her, but the Green Goblin answers the call, sadistically inviting Spider-Man to come to play with them, proving true Peter's concerns. As it turns out, the Green Goblin has taken Mary Jane to the Queensboro Bridge, so while he waits for Spider-Man to come, he destroys the station of a sky-cab full of innocent civilians and children, grabbing the sky-cab's rope before it can fall into the East River. Spider-Man then arrives and the Green Goblin forces him to choose between saving Mary Jane or the sky-cab's passengers. Spider-Man does the two things and is left hanging from the bridge, but the Green Goblin constantly attacks him with his glider so he, Mary Jane, and the sky-cab can fall. As a barge with two fishermen arrives to rescue the sky-cab's passengers, Spider-Man asks Mary Jane to climb down to the sky-cab and the Green Goblin prepares to strike again, but a multitude of New Yorkers throw things at the Goblin to defend Spider-Man, proving that he was wrong that all people would hate him. With that backup, Spider-Man succeeds in delivering Mary Jane and the sky-cab into the barge, but the Green Goblin decides that they are not finished yet and charges at Spider-Man.
Fight at the Smallpox Hospital and Death[]
Green Goblin and Spider-Man fight their final battle.
Enraged, the Green Goblin drags Spider-Man with the cable toss to the abandoned Smallpox Hospital where their battle resumes. The Goblin throws a Pumpkin Bomb which destroys part of Spider-Man's mask, damaging his costume and injuring him. The Green Goblin then states out of pity "misery, misery, misery, that's what you've chosen" meaning that Spider-Man brought this on himself and betrayed the Goblin's offer of friendship. Rather than fight him with gadgets or other weapons, Goblin wants to give Spider-Man a more brutal beating with his strength than weapons. Goblin savagely beats Spider-Man which makes Goblin gain the upper hand. As much as Spider-Man tries to fight back, he can't due to his injuries and although he tries to use his web to stop him, the Goblin rips it with his strength.
Knowing that with Spider-Man down, the Green Goblin gets his glider's trident to kill Spider-Man but before doing that, vows to make Mary Jane suffer as punishment for Spider-Man's "really pissing him off". However, that threat only succeeds in invigorating Spider-Man, enraging him enough to fight back and subdue the Goblin, overpowering him in a fit of rage, even using his webs to bring down a brick wall onto him before bringing him to another wall and repeatedly punching him. As Spider-Man punches him a few more times, realizing that he's had enough, the Green Goblin persona goes dormant again and Norman Osborn finally unmasks himself, with Norman begging the horrified Peter for forgiveness and revealing that the Green Goblin killed the Board of Directors against his will and arguing that even if he threatened Aunt May and Mary Jane, he never hurt Peter, trying to sway him to his side by saying "be a son to me now". Unknown to Peter, the Green Goblin was secretly starting to control Norman's body again and configuring his glider to fly straight to skewer him from behind.
However, Peter assures Norman that his Uncle Ben was like a father for him (a callback to how he earlier asked Ben to not act like if he were his father in their last argument). Then and there, the Green Goblin resurfaces and wishes him a "godspeed" before activating his glider. Alerted by this, Peter uses this to his advantage by dodging out the way last second. Because of this, the glider hits the Goblin instead, much to his concern, fatally wounding him before Norman can take back control over his body. As he bleeds out, Norman pleads Peter in his last breath to not tell Harry the truth before succumbing to his wounds, ending the Goblin's threat.
Spider-Man 2[]
The Goblin's Legacy[]
Two years after the Green Goblin's reign of terror over New York ended, Norman's death still haunts both Peter and Harry, as Harry starts to feel that Peter is being selfish by not telling him who is Spider-Man despite that Peter often takes photographs of him for The Daily Bugle. After the Goblin's death, Harry has taken over his position as Head of the Research Department at Oscorp and funds the project of Dr. Otto Octavius. However, after Otto's experiment goes horribly wrong and becomes Doctor Octopus, Harry leaves a bad business impression among his father's colleagues and has a fight with Peter, estranging their friendship.
Later on, Doctor Octopus demands Harry to find more tritium to make his experiment again, so Harry makes a bargain with Octopus by asking him to kill Spider-Man to avenge his father, only to change his mind shortly afterward and request Octopus to deliver Spider-Man to him so he can kill him personally. Octopus does so and Harry gives him the tritium before preparing to kill Spider-Man with a dagger, but first chooses to see his face and reacts in horror when he realizes that Peter Parker is behind the mask. Horrified that Peter killed his dad, but knowing that Mary Jane's safety is more important, Harry lets Peter go by telling him where Octopus is hiding.
The Green Goblin makes an appearance later when Harry is left alone at his penthouse, leading him to hallucinate Norman's presence in the penthouse's mirror, proving that the malevolent half of Norman lived on as a figment of Harry's imagination, goading him to continue his father's legacy and seek vengeance on Spider-Man. Harry resists the hallucination's influence and ends up breaking the mirror, but by doing so, accidentally discovers a secret laboratory the Green Goblin used, full of weapons, gliders, and goblin suits. In perhaps an homage to his father's alter ego, Harry attends the intended wedding of Mary Jane and John Jameson with a green bow tie.
Spider-Man 3[]
Effect on Harry[]
| “ | Listen to me! I didn't kill your father! He was trying to kill me! He killed himself! | „ |
| ~ Peter confronts a vengeful Harry, trying to make him understand that he didn't kill Norman. |
One year after Doctor Octopus' death, Peter's life has improved a lot, but Harry remains stranded from him due to learning his role in Norman's death, adopting the identity of the New Goblin. One night, as Peter goes to propose to Mary Jane, Harry assaults him because of the Green Goblin's effect on him, and Peter insists that he didn't kill Norman but that Norman accidentally killed himself while trying to kill him. Harry refuses to hear, leading to a fight that ends with Harry being seriously knocked out. An amnesiac Harry recovers and forgets his feud with Peter, only remembering that Norman died but without knowing the cause.
With his amnesia, Harry's friendship with Peter is restored, but one night, after a conflicted Mary Jane leaves him due to her own problems and Peter's apparent infidelity, Harry recovers his memories and remembers his mission to avenge his father by looking at a portrait of Norman. The hallucination of the Green Goblin appeared again and convinced Harry to make Peter suffer by attacking his heart. To hurt Spider-Man, Harry goes to Mary Jane's house and demands her to break up with Peter, and then tells Peter that he is the one Mary Jane loves. Unfortunately, given the effects of his black suit, Peter decides to get back at Harry and gives him a brutal beating which ends with Peter taunting Harry that his father hated him before throwing back a Pumpkin Bomb which Harry threw first, disfiguring Harry.
Sometime after getting rid of his black suit, Spider-Man returns to Harry's penthouse and asks him for his help in saving Mary Jane from Venom and Sandman. Harry refuses to help him and demands him to go away at first, but once alone, the Osborns' butler Bernard comes and tells Harry the truth behind Norman's death, informing him that the blade which took Norman's life was the one from his own glider, before reminding him that he loved Norman just like he and Harry's friends love Harry. With Bernard's encouragement, Harry abandons his vengeance and comes to rescue Spider-Man and Mary Jane from the villains. However, when Venom tries to kill Peter with the New Goblin's glider, Harry gets in the way to save his friend at the cost of his own life. Peter then kills Venom, avenging Harry.
Before his death, Harry makes peace with both Peter and Mary Jane, who forgive him for his crimes and treatment of them even before he became the New Goblin, allowing him to pass away accompanied by his friends. Ironically, by sacrificing himself, Harry ended up dying in the same method his father did except that he ended up giving up his life to save Peter. With Harry's death, the Green Goblin's hallucinations were no more and his legacy was finally gone once and for all.
Spider-Man: No Way Home[]
Arrival to the MCU[]
Having been taken seconds before his death to the MCU, the Goblin first appears after MCU Peter defeats Doctor Octopus. Upon seeing him, Doc Ock expresses confusion on seeing Norman alive. As the Goblin flies at MCU Spider-Man on his glider, with the intent to attack him, Peter and Doc Ock are teleported to the Sanctum Sectorum. After regaining control of his mind, Norman panics because someone else lives at his home and Oscorp or Harry Osborn don't exist. Not wanting anything to do with the Green Goblin anymore and renounces his altar ego, Norman begins to abandon his Goblin equipment, but the Goblin (through his mask) tries to take control of him once more, only for Norman to resit his attempts then breaks the mask and runs away.
He later appears at the F.E.A.S.T building with the intention to find Spider-Man and seek out his help, where he is instead tended to by the MCU Aunt May, who gave him some clothes to hide his Green Goblin armor. After MCU Peter arrived at F.E.A.S.T as he was called by his Aunt May, Norman meets him but expresses confusion when he sees that he isn't the Spider-Man he knows. Norman explains his situation to the two Parkers and tells them about the Green Goblin, which has MCU Peter feeling sympathy for him. Trusting MCU Peter, Norman goes with him to the Sanctum Sanctorum, where Doc Ock, Electro, Sandman and Lizard are being held. Upon arriving there, Norman meets MCU Peter's friends, Ned and MJ, and asked the latter's girlfriend if her name is short for Mary Jane but she corrects him that her name is short for Michelle Jones. Amazed by his surroundings, Norman goes to the holding cells and quickly recognized one of the prisoners as he realized that Doc Ock is really his friend and fellow scientist Otto Octavius as they reunite with each other. Norman was shocked to see the tentacles on Octavius back as he asked him what happened to him, and he reveals to him his death during a fight against their Spider-Man many years prior, just as Sandman, who is also from their world, but survive his encounter with their Spider-Man reveals to both Norman and Otto on how they died. However, he is swiftly teleported to his holding cell by Doctor Strange, who reveals how all the villains died fighting Spider-Man and that they will be sent back to their universes the exact moment they were about to die. Unable to let this happen, MCU Peter fights Doctor Strange and traps him in the Mirror Dimension, then stranded him at Grand Canyon.
Hearing MCU Peter's intentions to help him and the rest of the villains, Norman decided to assistant him in curing the group, especially his friend Otto Octavius, and himself. He and the rest of the villains (excluding Lizard) go back to the home of one of Spider-Man's friends where both Peter and Norman start developing cures for each of the villains, starting with Doc Ock. Norman forms a bond with the MCU Peter as he sees a lot of his Peter (Raimiverse counterpart) in him when he oversees how remarkable and intelligent he is while creating the cures, even jokingly (albeit meaningfully) offering him a chance to work at Oscorp should he ever change universes. They successfully cure Doc Ock and help him gain control of his arms, restoring him to Otto Octavius once more, much to his relief to have his friend and fellow scientist back to the person he knows.
However, as MCU Peter begins to administer the cure for Electro, he sense a disturbing presence within Norman and web his hand. As Green Goblin turns out to be alive and unbeknowst to Norman himself as well, he takes control of Norman's mind once more while he's off guard as he talks with Octavius. Goblin berates MCU Peter, Aunt May and Octavius for trying to get rid of him, then convinces Electro and Sandman to turn against MCU Peter. Peter engages Goblin in a brutal fight through the building, where they are both initially equally matched, but Goblin gains the upper hand and successfully defeats Peter by crashing him down into the bottom of the building. In the ensuing chaos, a news crew led by J. Jonah Jameson appear with an NYPD SWAT Team as Jameson decides to continue ruining Peter Parker's reputation, with the NYPD wanting to apprehend Peter, despite him having done nothing to warrant an arrest. The Green Goblin proceeds to threaten May that he will kill MCU Peter if she didn't hand over the antidote. However, this was all a distraction for Goblin to get his glider to stab May before using it to escape. Before leaving, he throws a pumpkin bomb at May, which MCU Peter successfully diverts. The Green Goblin then leaves but not before using his glider to kill several NYPD officers who were dispatched to apprehend MCU Peter. Despite this, the wounds from his glider's stab result in May's death. This, combined with J. Jonah Jameson gaslighting him, sends Peter into a depressed state and desiring revenge.
Final Battle and Defeat[]
| “ | What have I done? | „ |
| ~ With the Green Goblin gone for good, Norman realizes the consequences of his actions. |
After MCU Peter meets Raimiverse Peter (Peter-Two) and Webbverse Peter (Peter Three), MCU Peter challenges the villains to a final showdown at the Statue of Liberty via video. Goblin sends Electro, Sandman, and Lizard to deal with the Spider-Men. After all three villains are defeated (with the help of Octavius) Goblin flies in at the end to attack the Spider-Men. His attack is initially stopped, but unbeknownst to the heroes until too late, Goblin had thrown a bomb into the Box that was containing the multiverse barriers and blows it up, opening the barriers rendering Spider-Man villains from every universe to almost come through. When his act destroys the Statue of Liberty, Goblin stops MCU Peter from saving MJ, although it allows Peter-Three to save her and redeem himself for Gwen's death.
MCU Peter hijacks Goblin's glider and activates a bomb, destroying the glider and sending them crashing on the destroyed Captain America shield from the Statue. Goblin taunts Peter for not killing him and sickenly congratulates him upon learning that Peter wanted to personally kill Goblin himself as revenge for May's death. They engage in a final brutal fight, where Peter gains the upper hand and almost succeeds in killing Goblin, only to be stopped by Peter-Two, stopping him from becoming a killer, and Peter-One understands straight away why he stopped him. Goblin takes this opportunity to stab Peter-Two in the back as revenge for his actions in their own universe, but with the help of Peter-Three, MCU Peter stabs the Goblin in the neck with an anti-serum created by the Goblin's Peter, purging the Green Goblin from Norman's psyche for good and restoring Norman to normal once and for all.
Upon finally gaining complete control permanently, Norman expresses confusion toward MCU Peter over what happened and, upon seeing the Peter of his universe lying on the ground after being stabbed, expresses remorse over his actions. Norman is last seen being sent back to his universe via Strange's spell.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Artificially Enhanced Physiology/Goblin Formula Enhancements: Norman decided to expose himself to a formula being developed by his company that was specifically made to create Super Soldiers for the military. As Norman's alternative personality, the Green Goblin is far stronger, durable, faster, and agile than Norman or any other normal human. However, the performing-enhancing gas resulted in him in his creation, where the Goblin often takes over whenever he wants and his voice also changes between the two personas. Osborn often sees his Goblin persona while staring in a mirror and have no memory of the Goblin's actions. The Goblin continued to be at the peak of his power until he was rehabilitated by the MCU Spider-Man who chose not to kill him, but by injecting him with an anti-serum that undid his mutation, ridding the Goblin persona and thereby restoring Norman's sanity.
- Superhuman Strength: The Goblin is stronger than any normal human. He was strong enough to fight and overpower his Spider-Man, slamming him through multiple floors, and destroying an entire apartment building. He showed his strength when he punches a wall when Spider-Man ducks in the final battle and he busted the wall completely showing his strength in his blows. He also easily broke his helmet with a rock. Later in his battle with the alternate Spider-Man, he was able to take the young hero down and sent him smashing through the hotel walls.
- Superhuman Durability: The Goblin's body is tougher and far more durable than a normal human's, which allowed him to withstand physical strikes attacks from an enraged Spider-Man without facing any fatal injury. However, he did have his limits, as his own glider was capable of impaling him and Spider-Man was eventually able to best him during their final confrontation. The Goblin also has far more stamina than any normal human, which allowed him to easily keep up with the likes of the powerful Spider-Man himself who was holding back his power.
- Superhuman Speed: The Goblin is far faster and more agile than any normal human, being almost as fast as Spider-Man and being able to make maneuvers to best his opponents. The Goblin can also has incredible reflexes to react much faster than any regular human and can keep up with Spider-Man during his fight.
- Superhuman Agility: Osborn is far more agile than any normal human, being able to use it to make maneuvers to best his opponents. Osborn can use his glider with little issues with his superhuman equilibrium and sense of balance and dodge certain attacks from an enraged Peter. Also because of the performance-enhancing gas Osborn experimented with, Osborn became capable of great athletic feats as seen during his battles with Spider-Man.
- Superhuman Reflexes: Osborn can react much faster than any regular human. He can keep up with Spider-Man during his fight. Osborn even as far was able to block some of his attacks and react from an intense blow Peter attempted to give.
- Superhuman Stamina: Osborn's musculature produces far fewer fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human, allowing him to easily keep up with the likes of the powerful Spider-Man himself who was holding back his power. Osborn continuously laugh and enjoy the every punches Parker gave and continued the fight.
- Regenerative Healing Factor: The enhancing gas also gave the Goblin the ability to heal more quickly than a regular human, he did have his limits, as his own glider was capable of killing him in seconds.
Abilities[]
- Genius-Level Intellect: As Osborn, the Goblin is an expert businessman, as he was able to create his company from the ground up in his universe. He was described as "brilliant" by the likes of Doctor Octopus, an accomplished scientist in his own regard. He was described as a "brilliant scientist" in the field of military research by Doctor Octopus. He helped Spider-Man in his endeavor to cure the other villains while Osborn was in control. The Goblin was also able to create with Osborn's company through the creation of several advanced weapons. His best work as an engineer includes his Green Goblin Armor, Glider, Pumpkin Bombs, and Razor Bats. He also helped Spider-Man fabricate an improved Neural Inhibitor Chip for Doctor Octopus utilizing Stark technology, which is technology far beyond what he has ever seen and still able to use it efficiently.
- Expert Combatant: While having no known formal training, the Green Goblin is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, using an aggressive and methodical fighting style, as seen when he repeatedly went toe to toe with his universe' Peter Parker and grappled with an alternate Spider-Man. The Goblin also has a retractable blade along the gauntlet of his armor. He managed to stab his Spider-Man in the back, although he failed to kill him. He can also throw his Pumpkin Bombs and Razor Bats with great accuracy. He threw one of his bombs into the Machina de Kadavus with considerable ease, destroying it to unleash the spell.
Weakness[]
- Split Personality Disorder: The effects of the Formula caused mental instability in the test subjects before Norman decided to expose himself to the formula, after being exposed to the formula, he developed a personality different from his own that was thirsty for blood and vengeance who would be the Green Goblin.
Equipment[]
- Green Goblin Armor: The Green Goblin wore a technologically advanced battle-suit that enhanced his strength and durability. The suit has control over the goblin glider, as he is able to remotely control it. His helmet can reveal his eyes while the rest of his face remains hidden when he wears it. Shortly after entering Spider-Man's universe, Norman smashed his helmet into bits in a futile attempt to escape the Goblin. He then received a purple sweater from MCU May Parker when he sought refuge at F.E.A.S.T., which became tattered as the Goblin took over and fought Spider-Man. The Goblin would later equip a satchel to hold many Pumpkin Bombs and Razor Bats and goggles to substitute for his broken helmet for the battle at Liberty Island.
- Sleep Gas: The original Goblin suit was equipped with sleep gas that come out from the arms. He used this to kidnap Spider-Man when he attacked the Daily Bugle.
- Retractable Blade: The Goblin suit became upgraded with a retractable blade. He attempted to use this weapon against MCU Spider-Man. He managed to stab his Spider-Man in the back, but he survives due to his healing factor.
- Pumpkin Bombs: The Goblin uses these specialized pumpkin-themed explosives/bombs to blow up or disintegrate his targets. He used one to destroy the Machina de Kadavus. These bombs are stored and can come out of his glider.
- Razor Bats: The Goblin uses small bat-shaped boomerangs. These Razor Bats are drones to slice his enemies, they could be used to sever Spider-Man's web-lines. The Razor Bats were a variant of Pumpkin Bomb that sprouted rotating wing-shaped razor blades when thrown, and were capable of flight and homing in on a target.
Goblin holding his trident
- Goblin Trident: The Goblin utilizes a special weapon he briefly wield in his final battle with Spider-Man. His shiny trident was made specifically to kill Spider-Man.
- Goblin Glider: The Goblin utilizes a special transportation device to fly where he wants to, store his weapons, and impale his enemies. A number of Pumpkin Bombs are stashed in the machine, which the Green Goblin can retrieve at any time. Osborn can also control the Glider remotely to either summon it or attack his foes with it. At the front of the Glider are sharp prongs which the Goblin can use to impale his enemies, usually with lethal results. He impaled and killed himself while trying to murder the Spider-Man native to his universe and managed to fatally injure May Parker, who was the aunt of an alternate Peter Parker. The Goblin himself was almost killed by his own glider once more by a vengeful MCU Parker but was stopped by the Goblin's native Spider-Man.
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Emily Osborn † - Wife
- Harry Osborn/New Goblin † - Son and Temporary Successor
Allies[]
- Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus - Friend and Temporary Enemy
- Flint Marko/Sandman - Situational Ally
- Max Dillon/Electro - Situational Ally
- Curt Connors/The Lizard - Situational Ally
- Peter Parker/Spider-Man - Former Friend turned Former Archenemy, Former Attempted Killer and Former Attempted Victim
- Peter Parker/Amazing Spider-Man - Former Enemy
- Ned Leeds - Temporary Enemy
Enemies[]
- Mary Jane Watson - Kidnapee and Attempted Victim
- May Parker - Attempted Victim
- Henry Balkan † - Former Board Member turned Enemy and Victim
- Maximilian "Max" Fargas † - Former Board Member turned Enemy and Victim
- General Slocum † - Former Board Member turned Enemy and Victim
- Dr. Mendel Stromm † - Former Employee turned Victim
- Peter Parker/MCU Spider-Man - Second Archenemy, Attempted Victim, Attempted Killer and Curer
- MCU May Parker † - Former Ally and Victim
- Michelle Jones - Attempted Victim
- Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange - Capturer
Quotes[]
Spider-Man[]
| “ | Back to formula? | „ |
| ~ The Goblin's first words before killing Stromm. |
| “ | YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I SACRIFICED?! | „ |
| ~ The Goblin's breakdown when he gets fired. |
| “ | OUT, AM I!? | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin to the Oscorp Board members before killing them. |
| “ | Hello, my dear! | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin to Mary Jane. |
| “ | I surrender! | „ |
| ~ The Goblin pretending to surrender before taking out the cops. |
| “ | Impressive! | „ |
| ~ The Goblin complimenting Spider-Man's fighting before punching him. |
| “ | We'll meet again, Spider-Man! | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin after his first defeat at Spider-Man's hands. |
| “ | You're an amazing creature, Spider-Man. You and I are not so different. (...) Well. To each is own. I chose my path, you chose the way of the hero. And they found you amusing for a while, the people of this city. But the one thing they love more than a hero... is to see a hero fail, fall. Die trying. In spite of everything you've done for them, eventually, they will hate you. Why bother? (...) Here's the real truth: there are eight million people in this city, and those teeming masses exist for the sole purpose, of lifting the few exceptional people onto their shoulders. You, me? We're exceptional. I could squash you like a bug right now... but I'm offering you a choice. Join me! Imagine what we could accomplish together... what we could create! Or we could destroy! Causing the deaths of countless innocents with our selfish battles again and again and again until we're both dead! Is that what you want? Think about it, Hero! | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin to Spider-Man. |
| “ | You're pathetically predictable, like a moth to the flame! What about my generous proposal? Are you in or are you out? | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin to Spider-Man about the choice of joining him or not. |
| “ | Wrong answer! | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin. |
| “ | No one says no to me! | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin. |
| “ | Harry, please. Look at her. You think a woman like that's sniffing around because she likes your personality? Your mother was beautiful too. They're all beautiful until they're snarling after your trust fund like a pack of ravening wolves. A word to the not-so-wise about your little girlfriend. Do what you need to with her, then broom her fast! | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin expressing his prejudicial of women to his son Harry. |
| “ | Finish it! FINISH IT! | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin telling Aunt May to finish her prayer as he attacks her in her own home. |
| “ | Can the Spider-Man come out to play? | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin to Peter over the phone. |
| “ | Spider-Man! This is why only fools are heroes — because you never know when some lunatic will come along with a sadistic choice. Let die the woman you love… or suffer the little children! Make your choice, Spider-Man, and see how a hero is rewarded! We are who we choose to be…now, CHOOSE! | „ |
| ~ The Goblin holding Mary Jane and a tram full of innocent children hostage forcing Spider-Man to decide whom to save first. |
| “ | It's time to die! | „ |
| ~ Green Goblin attempts to kill Spider-Man. |
| “ | Misery, misery, misery. That's what you've chosen. I offered you friendship, and you spat in my face! | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin as he attacks and beats Spider-Man. |
| “ | You've spun your last web, Spider-Man. Had you not been so selfish, your little girlfriend's death would have been quick and painless. But now that you really pissed me off, I'm gonna finish her nice and slow. MJ and I, we're gonna have a hell of a time! | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin to Spider-Man. |
| “ | Peter don’t tell Harry… | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin's last words right before he's killed by his own glider and before Norman regains control. |
Spider-Man 2[]
| “ | Green Goblin: Son... Harry: Dad? I thought you were... Green Goblin: No. I'm alive in you, Harry. You swore to make Spider-Man pay... now make him pay. Harry: But Pete's my best friend! Green Goblin: And I'm your father. You're weak. You were always weak and you will always be weak until you take control! Now you know the truth about Peter. Be strong Harry. Avenge me. Harry: No... Green Goblin: AVENGE ME! Harry: NO! |
„ |
| ~ The Green Goblin to Harry in Harry's vision. |
Spider-Man: No Way Home[]
| “ | Coward! We have a new world to conquer. You make me sick. Hiding in the shadows. Hiding from who you truly are. You can't escape yourself! | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin to Norman Osborn. |
| “ | Green Goblin: That's some neat trick... that sense of yours. Doc Ock: Norman? Green Goblin: Norman's on sabbatical, honey. Electro: What the hell? Spider-Man (MCU): The Goblin. Green Goblin: "No more darker half"? Did you really think that I'd let that happen? That I'd let you take away my power, just because you're blind to what true power can bring you? Spider-Man (MCU): You don't know me. Green Goblin: Don't I? I saw how she trapped you. Fighting her holy, moral mission. We don't need you to save us. We don't need to be fixed! These are not curses. They're gifts. Doc Ock: Norman, no. Green Goblin: Quiet, lapdog. Spider-Man (MCU): You don't know what you're talking about. Green Goblin: I've watched you from deep behind Norman's cowardly eyes. Struggling to have everything you want... while the world tries to make you choose. Gods don't have to choose. We take. |
„ |
| ~ The Green Goblin to MCU Spider-Man and the other villains. |
| “ | Strong enough to have it all... TOO WEAK TO TAKE IT! | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin taunts MCU Spider-Man's morality. |
| “ | Your weakness, Peter... is morality. It's choking you. Can you feel it? | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin as he strangles MCU Spider-Man. |
| “ | Norman was right. He got it from you, that pathetic sickness. You tried to fix me. Now, I'm gonna fix you. | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin before fatally wounding Aunt May. |
| “ | Peter, Peter, Peter. No good deed goes unpunished. You can thank me later. | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin to MCU Spider-Man before escaping. |
| “ | Can Spider-Man come out to play?! | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin arriving to battle all three Spider-Men. |
| “ | Green Goblin: Poor Peter. Too weak to send me home to die? Spider-Man (MCU): No. I just want to kill you myself. Green Goblin: Attaboy! |
„ |
| ~ The Green Goblin beaming at an enraged MCU's Spider-Man. |
| “ | She was there... because of you. I may have struck the blow, but you... you are the one that killed her! | „ |
| ~ The Green Goblin's very last words, taunting the MCU's Peter Parker over Aunt May's death when it was truly his own fault, not Peter's, which gave them the opportunity to defeat him while he was talking too much, and his most infamous quote. |
Reception[]
Dafoe's performance as the Green Goblin was widely praised and is considered to be one of the greatest superhero movie villains.
Vulture ranked the Green Goblin 19th on the top 25 superhero film villains in 2018, while Collider ranked him the 5th greatest Spider-Man film villain in 2020. Steven Scaife of Vice wrote that "Dafoe's Goblin represents everything that’s fun about superhero villains, as well as everything that’s great about Raimi's campy films." He also commended Dafoe's voice and body language, which helped overcome the bulky Green Goblin costume that he compared to that of a Power Rangers villain. Looking back at the Sam Raimi trilogy, Tom Holland, who portrays Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in addition to his co-star Jacob Batalon, praised Dafoe's performance in the trilogy, calling the Green Goblin a "landmark villain". The two actors praised Dafoe's ability to "bring a difficult character to life" and particularly the mirror scene where he portrays both Norman Osborn and the Green Goblin persona.
David Germain of Peninsula Clarion stated, "Dafoe's best moments come in schizoid debates between the tremulous Osborn and his snarling alter-ego, his internal struggle eliciting occasional compassion among viewers."
Tulsa World stated "Willem Dafoe shoots the moon as Norman Osborn, an unhinged scientist who becomes a masked supervillain called the Green Goblin. Encased in gleaming armor and cackling maniacally as he zips around on a one-man jet glider, he provides some of the film's most dynamic images. However, the Goblin is only half as scary as Dafoe without the mask. In one memorable scene, he debates the nature of his own evil with his reflection in a mirror, successfully taking more risks as an actor than Jack Nicholson in Batman or his own tour de force in Shadow of the Vampire. As much fun as Dafoe is to watch, it's in some of his scenes where the film nearly goes off the rails. At times the Goblin is almost too menacing for this otherwise good-hearted adventure."
Stylistically, there was heavy (though not universal), criticism of the Green Goblin's costume, which led IGN's Richard George to comment years later, "We're not saying the comic book costume is exactly thrilling, but the Goblin armor (the helmet in particular) from Spider-Man is almost comically bad... Not only is it not frightening, it prohibits expression."
William Dafoe won a New York Film Critics Online Award for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.
Trivia[]
- During the final battle scene, it was supposed to be more brutal with more blood and the use of razor-sharp weapons again and Spider-Man's beating was supposed to be more brutal, but they decided to tone it down to meet PG-13 rating.
- Willem Dafoe portrayed the Green Goblin in each of the three films of the Raimi Spider-Man trilogy. Although his character was killed during the climax of the first film, the Goblin appeared in the other two films as a vision/hallucination to his son, Harry, thus, he liked to manipulate him and drive him into trying to kill Spider-Man.
- Aside from appearing as a vision of Norman Osborn in Spider-Man 3, Dafoe appears in a cameo as a customer in a club that Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy go to.
- Norman Osborn, a.k.a. the Green Goblin, also appeared as the main antagonist in the 2002 Video Game based on the film. In the game, his main scheme was to take Spider-Man's blood and inject it into himself, in order to improve himself, but in the film, his scheme was to defeat and kill Spider-Man, kill his loved ones and destroy the city with his equipment. In the game, unlike in the movie, he was also killed by his glider's blades, which hit him straight in his body, and not in his stomach, which left him to die alone while the glider flew away.
- Norman's Goblin character model was also a playable character in the game, although it is actually his son Harry.
- The Goblin didn't make an appearance in the costume of his respective film until the second half.
- Willem Dafoe performed 90% of his own stunts.
- The Green Goblin was chosen as the film's main villain since Sam Raimi felt the father-son theme (Norman and Harry Osborn and Peter Parker) would make the film deeper.
- The Green Goblin's costume was originally designed to be more bulky and armored, but Willem Dafoe, having decided to film his own stunts, rejected it in favor of a more streamlined and athletic costume. The final outfit was composed of 580 pieces and took Dafoe half an hour to put on.
- During the fight between the Green Goblin and Spider-Man near the end, Willem Dafoe accidentally clipped Tobey Maguire on the chin with one blow.
- The smoke in the lab during Norman Osborn's transformation scene was originally white but was then digitally altered to green. Director Sam Raimi wanted to use real green smoke but went with the CG effect when prop designers could not create a colored smoke that was nontoxic.
- Both Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe incorporated a Yoga technique called Ashtanga into their training regimens for this film. "Ashtanga" translates into English as "eight-legged", like a spider.
- Before Willem Dafoe received the role of the Green Goblin, the role was originally intended to be played by Billy Crudup, who even dropped out of other projects to act in this film, but he was considered too young to play the part of Norman Osborn and was declined the role. Many other actors, including De Niro and Travolta, turned down the role. Robert De Niro was also considered for Otto Octavius/Dr. Octopus, (another villain), in the sequel. The final actor in line to play Norman was Bill Paxton, but Sam Raimi was finally convinced that Dafoe was right for the part after a few meetings. Paxton's father still appears in the film as Osborn's elderly housekeeper.
- Willem Dafoe's own face bears an uncanny resemblance to the original Green Goblin mask from the comics, designed almost 40 years before he was cast in the role.
- Norman Osborn's home is decorated with masks from around the world. The filmmakers did this to suggest that Norman is a collector of masks, thus offering an explanation for how he was able to provide a mask for his Green Goblin outfit.
- The film was supposed to feature Doctor Octopus and Green Goblin. However, Sam Raimi decided against using two villains, to focus on a more straightforward story. Doc Ock would later be used in the sequel.
- Willem Dafoe was never an intended choice to play the Green Goblin. After the script fell into his possession, he began lobbying for the role and met with Sam Raimi, who had intended to cast Billy Crudup in the role. Sometime later, while filming a movie in Spain, Dafoe was approached and shot some test footage inside the hotel room he was staying in. It led to his being cast. Once he received the role, Dafoe asked that he be allowed to perform his own stunts so that the character and movements would feel authentic, or else the audience would notice the difference. He performed about 95% of his own stunts, and unlike many of the stunt crew, learned how to handle the Goblin Glider after just 15 minutes. Having such a great time during filming, he offered to return for Spider-Man 2 (2004) and asked if they could write him in somewhere, his character having died in this movie. Sam Raimi took him up on the offer and both of them set aside a specific day of filming on Spider-Man 2 for Dafoe to shoot Norman Osborn's cameo in other characters' dreams and memories.
- Willem Dafoe had to be fitted with prosthetic teeth when he took the role of Spider-Man. Producers didn't feel a person as rich as Norman Osborn couldn't afford to get his teeth straightened out. Willem Dafoe's real teeth can be seen in the scene where Norman Osborn is having a conversation with himself in the mirror.
- While filming Spider-Man: No Way Home, Willem Dafoe wore a cloak to conceal his identity and costume on the set to prevent his appearance from being leaked and preserve the film's secrecy. Tom Holland actually met Dafoe during filming when they accidentally bumped against each other.
- The Green Goblin has the distinction of being the only main antagonist of a film of the Spider-Man film series within the Marvel Cinematic Universe whose origins aren't linked in any way to Tony Stark (though this is likely because we don't know if Stark exists in the Raimiverse or not). The Vulture lost his job thanks to Tony founding Damage Control to clean up the remains of the Battle of New York and Mysterio was fired by Stark due to his unstable nature.
- He also has the distinction of being the first non-MCU villain to appear as the main antagonist of an MCU film, due to having been the main villain of the Raimi trilogy before becoming the main antagonist of No Way Home.
- He is also the first main MCU antagonist to not die in his respective film since Thanos in Infinity War.
- He appears in the Chad Kroeger and Josey Scott "Hero" music video.
- In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter is able to create a cure for Norman, telling the MCU Peter that he'd been "thinking about it a long time," suggesting that even with the Goblin long gone, Peter had still cared for and wanted to help Norman if he could.