Norman OsbornGreen Goblin

There is no shortage of great villains within the world of Spider-Man (poor Peter), but there are none more feared or deranged than Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin. Perhaps the very antithesis of New York’s resident Wall Crawler, the Goblin does not use his power for responsibility or the betterment of society, but instead to reign down chaos and destruction. Mr. Osborn was the result of his turbulent upbringing, which manifested itself in the villainous persona he would one day grow up to inhabit completely.

Self-Made Man

Norman is raised by an abusive and alcoholic father who lost the family fortune. Maybe this was the impetus for Norman to become a self-made man, as he grows up to be a ruthless industrialist. He is the co-owner of the leading New York firm, Osborn Industries (AKA Oscorp), which specializes in chemical manufacturing via Osborn Chemicals, as well as other areas of research and development, including robotics. Norman’s wife Emily dies within a year of their son Harry’s birth, leaving Norman embittered. Unfortunately, this causes him to repeat the sins of his own father and Norman raises Harry dispassionately, often devoid of fatherly warmth, frustrated by Harry’s failure to demonstrate academic excellence or a competitive drive. Despite living in opulence, Harry feels depressed and neglected by his father.

Early in his career, before he ever becomes the Green Goblin, Norman resorts to criminal means to advance his agenda. When Norman faces opposition from the owners of Malone’s flophouse, who refuse to sell so that Osborn could build a warehouse, Osborn sends the Enforcers— “Fancy” Dan Brito, Montana, and the Ox (AKA Raymond Bloch)—to violently persuade them. Namor the Sub-Mariner, now a homeless amnesiac, retaliates by destroying Osborn’s construction equipment. Private detective Mac Gargan (later Scorpion and Venom) steals military robotics plans from Osborn for competitor Obadiah Stane, causing Osborn Industries to lose a lucrative contract.

However, the loss pushes Osborn into biological enhancements research. Norman rises in power and wealth by participating in a collusion enabling the creation of powerful opponents to challenge the Super Hero community, thereby offering corrupt corporations a means to distract the heroes from probing into their illegal affairs. One failure in this regard involves using Osborn Industries employee Nels Van Adder as a human test subject, transforming him into the disfigured Protogoblin.

Osborn dodges accusations of wrongdoing from his head of security Arthur Stacy and his brother Police Detective George Stacy. After Osborn has his business partner Professor Mendel Stromm jailed for embezzling funds, allowing Osborn to gain full control of the firm, he discovers Stromm’s notes for a strength-enhancing serum. Osborn tests the serum on himself in his private lab, but the unstable concoction explodes in his face, leaving him hospitalized for weeks. He emerges smarter and possessing super human strength; but this is at the cost of his sanity and moral inhibitions, signaling the beginning of the Goblin identity.

Psychotic Strengths

As a result of the Goblin Formula, Norman possesses super human strength (able to lift nine tons), speed, reflexes, endurance, and healing. He can regenerate damaged tissue and organs (though not at the same rate as the mutant Wolverine). His intelligence has been enhanced to genius levels at the price of his sanity. His involvement with the Gathering of the Five loosens his grip on reality, though he maintains his mental stability through chemically treated transdermal patches and oral medications for bipolar disorder. When not impaired by mental illness, Osborn is a cunning businessman and a masterful strategist, highly skilled at electronics, mechanics, and chemistry.

He designs a grotesque green costume based on an image from a childhood nightmare and the color of Stromm’s serum, and arms himself with high-tech weaponry and a broomstick-like glider.

Osborn’s arsenal includes various concussive, incendiary, hallucinogenic, smoke and stun grenades, and bombs in the form of hand-held pumpkins (the iconic Pumpkin Bombs) and fluttering wraiths. The incendiary grenades ignite almost soundlessly and release enough heat to melt through a three-inch thick sheet of steel. One special gas can nearly neutralize Spider-Man’s spider-sense for a limited period of time. He carries these bombs in his “bag of tricks,” along with razor-sharp bats. His gloves are interwoven with micro-circuit conducting filaments capable of channeling pulsed discharges of 10,000 volts from rechargeable power packs in both the glove cuffs and tunic capable of sustained fire for five minutes. His costume incorporates chain mail in the tunic.

The Green Goblin originally rode a one-man miniature turbo-fan powered vertical thrust “flying broomstick.” He soon improved this device into his Goblin Glider, capable of great maneuverability, speeds up to 90 miles per hour, and supporting about 400 lbs., including Norman’s weight (and far more for brief periods of time). At top speed and a normal weight load, the fuel supply will last about one hour. The main microprocessor-assisted manual controls are behind the glider’s “head”; later modifications added remote controls in his gloves and voice activated radio-linked controls integrated into the Green Goblin’s mask. The Goblin Glider is steered primarily by the weight and attitude of the rider. The Green Goblin’s boots lock into the stirrups of the glider electromagnetically. A modification added a hidden lance behind the glider’s “head.”

Remorseless Rivalry

Green Goblin made the fatal decision to choose Spider-Man as his arch-nemesis. The two clash many times over the years, their destinies linked in a cycle of pain and tragic loss. This is only accentuated by the fact that their alter-egos are also linked—Peter Parker is close friends with Norman’s son, Harry Osborn. When Peter discovers that Norman and the Goblin were one and the same, he hides the terrible truth from Harry.

Power-Hungry Pals

Lusting for more power, Osborn plots to organize a worldwide crime syndicate, aiming at defeating Spider-Man (Peter Parker) to establish his reputation. He hired the fire-wielding Scorcher (Steven Jamal Hudak) to steal secret plans for electronic equipment, explosives, and compact turbine engines, while using this illicitly-gained technology to create the axe-wielding villain the Headsman. Incensed after the Scorcher and Headsman fail to kill Spider-Man, Osborn decides to take matters into his own hands.

A Lifelong Grudgematch

Recalling Spider-Man’s earlier show business ambitions, Osborn lured the hero to New Mexico to film a movie about his exploits, contacting low-budget film producer BJ Cosmos to document Spider-Man’s defeat. Despite hiring the Enforcers for assistance, the Goblin ran afoul of the Hulk (Bruce Banner) and his attempt on Spider-Man’s life failed. The Goblin next ambushed Spider-Man at a meeting of the Spider-Man Fan Club, where he clashed with the Human Torch (Johnny Storm). Failing again, the Green Goblin focused on assuming leadership of Francisco “Lucky” Lobo’s gang, but Spider-Man’s interference resulted in the gang’s arrest.

In a tragic turn of events, Osborn kidnapped Spider-Man’s girlfriend Gwen Stacy. The Goblin threw her off a bridge and Spider-Man shot a web to save her. Believing he had done so, he reeled her in, only to discover she died after sustaining an extreme whiplash effect. An enraged Peter pursued the villain, who was then accidentally impaled on his own glider. However, thanks to the Goblin Formula, Osborn survived and traveled to Europe to continue meddling in Spider-Man’s life from abroad. Later, he convinced Peter Parker that Peter’s clone, Ben Reilly, was the real Spider-Man, and caused the loss of Peter and Mary Jane’s baby.

After killing a Daily Bugle reporter, Osborn was publicly revealed to be the Green Goblin by the paper’s Jessica Jones. He was sent to prison but was freed after making a deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. to take medication that suppressed his manic Green Goblin alter-ego and supported the Superhuman Registration Act during the first Super Hero Civil War. Osborn assembled a team called the Thunderbolts to search for super powered individuals refusing to register. He played a key role in defeating the Skrull invasion and was given control of the Avengers Initiative, as well as the license to replace S.H.I.E.L.D. with his own H.A.M.M.E.R. paramilitaries.

Shortly after Spider-Man and the Black Cat broke Norman Osborn out of jail in a bid to learn the whereabouts of May Parker, they were met outside by a group of Spider-Man’s deadliest enemies. Formed by Norman Osborn and calling themselves the Sinister Twelve, they attacked the heroes as Osborn, now in his Green Goblin costume, made his way to kill Mary Jane. A battle followed in which the heroes were greatly outnumbered and brutally beaten. However, Mary Jane knew that Osborn was going to kill her husband and contacted S.H.I.E.L.D. to help them. The Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Yellowjacket, Iron Man, and Captain America arrived on the scene and helped to defeat the villains. On his way to help Mary Jane, Spider-Man was attacked by Venom, who had managed to escape from the heroes. A brief battle followed in which Spider-Man used his webbing to topple an abandoned building on top of Gargan. He then found the Goblin and Mary Jane on top of the George Washington Bridge where Osborn intended to throw Mary Jane off. Spider-Man saved his wife from the fall, but Osborn tried to sneak up and attack Peter with his glider. However, Doctor Octopus, who had been brainwashed into killing Osborn, arrived and attacked his intended victim. The two villains fought but were struck by a lightning bolt and fell into the river below.

Osborn later became the Iron Patriot, so he could maintain more influence over H.A.M.M.E.R. and the Dark Avengers. They led a raid on Asgard in the name of national security, but it resulted in Osborn becoming disgraced. As the Iron Patriot, Osborn had access to the many functions of Iron Man’s armor including flight, repulsor rays, chest plate unibeam searchlight, laser beam projector, EMP generator, pulse bolts, magnetic field and sonic generators, laser torch, force shields, and the ability to augment his strength (Class 100). The entire suite of capabilities of his specific suit of armor was never revealed. The main drawback was that his Patriot suit could be remotely dismantled by Tony Stark.

Following Osborn’s fall from grace as head of H.A.M.M.E.R. (his evil alternative to S.H.I.E.L.D.), he altered his body using A.I.M. technology to give himself the powers of the Super-Adaptoid.

When Otto Octavius became the Superior Spider-Man, Osborn proclaimed himself the Goblin King to oppose him with a plan to rule New York City’s underworld. Due to Otto’s hubris and less-than-heroic tactics as Spider-Man, Osborn was able to amass a large criminal organization. Dubbing this group the Goblin Nation, Osborn’s forces ran riot. When Octavius finally allowed Peter Parker to resume control of his own body, Peter defeated the Green Goblin and gave him an antidote to the Goblin Formula, removing his powers.

At one point, Norman Osborn also became president of the United States in a dystopian future where he manipulated the public by creating the threat of the Hydra, an alien hybrid parasite that created a collective hive mind among the hosts it infects. In this timeline, Black Bolt unleashed Terrigen Mists into Earth's atmosphere to turn every human into Inhumans. Tony Stark, one of the few non-mutated people, was offered political asylum by President Osborn if he built robotic replicas of the Avengers in order to fight the Hydra menace.

Osborn’s face eventually warped into that of the Green Goblin, but he wore a mask to appear human. He died by being tossed out of a window by the Red Skull; his foot was caught on a flag, causing his neck to snap, in a way to similar to the death of Gwen Stacy.