Spider-Man is Marvel’s most iconic character, in part because he has some of the best villains in comic book history. From animal-themed villains like Doctor Octopus and the Rhino to highly trained killers like Kraven the Hunter and Carnage, Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery is one of the most well-known in the comic book world. But of all these memorable antagonists, the Green Goblin has the sole distinction of being Spider-Man’s number one archenemy.
From his first appearance in 1964’s The Amazing Spider-Man #14, Green Goblin has done everything in his power to make Spider-Man’s life miserable. He has haunted Peter Parker through different comic book universes, animated television series, and even movies. With so much history between himself and the hero, Green Goblin has proven countless times that he is Spider-Man’s strongest villain of all time.
Green Goblin Traumatized Spider-Man for Life by Killing Gwen Stacy
Marvels #4 Cover showing Green Goblin holding Gwen StacyImage via Marvel Comics
Green Goblin is best remembered as the man responsible for one of the worst things to ever happen to Spider-Man, the death of Gwen Stacy. In The Amazing Spider-Man #121, after rediscovering that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, Norman Osborn goes on another murderous spree as the Green Goblin. This confrontation comes to a tragic conclusion atop the George Washington Bridge, where the Goblin throws a captured Gwen Stacy to her death far below. Spider-Man does his best to catch Gwen before she hits the ground, but is unable to save her life.
This moment is one of the most crucial in Spider-Man’s development as a character. Gwen Stacy’s death affects him just as deeply as Uncle Ben’s, but in an entirely different way. This time, instead of doing everything he could to stop a villain and losing someone he loves, Spider-Man did everything in his power and still came up short. Gwen’s death haunts Peter for the rest of his life and is still a sticking point in his relationship with Norman Osborn more than fifty years later. In one fateful night, the Green Goblin made sure that his archenemy would never forget him.
Green Goblin Haunted Spider-Man’s Life With His Family Legacy
The test of a good villain is just how long they can still haunt the hero long after their death. This is the case for Norman Osborn, who died in The Amazing Spider-Man #122, shortly after killing Gwen Stacy. However, Norman made a quintessentially villainous move to ensure that the Goblin Legacy would outlive him. Before his death, Norman set a plan in motion that would ensure that his son, Harry, would eventually take up his mantle as the Green Goblin. Sure enough, Harry follows in his father’s footsteps, continuing to make Peter Parker’s life a living nightmare.
By corrupting Harry Osborn, the Green Goblin stole yet another beloved person from Peter Parker’s life. Before his turn, Harry was Peter’s best friend. In some ways, watching Harry lose himself in his father’s legacy was worse for Peter than losing Gwen. While Gwen’s suffering began and ended in moments, Harry’s madness consumed him, and the final chapter of his life was defined by pain. Even from beyond the grave, Norman still found ways to haunt Spider-Man.
Green Goblin Orchestrated the Clone Saga and Killed Ben Reilly
Like most major characters from the comic books, Norman Osborn doesn’t stay dead for long. Despite seemingly meeting his grisly end in The Amazing Spider-Man #122, Osborn makes a surprise return in Spider-Man #75, where it is revealed that the Goblin Formula granted him a slow-acting healing factor that eventually healed his fatal wound sustained by the Goblin Glider. For years, Norman plotted his revenge, orchestrating the infamous events of the Clone Saga, which through Peter Parker’s life into turmoil. As one final act of hatred, Norman killed Ben Reilly, Peter’s clone and self-proclaimed brother.
The best comic book villains are fueled with a seething hatred for their nemesis that drives them to commit unspeakable acts. Norman proves the depth of his villainy with his return. Not only does he sustain his hatred for Peter Parker long after his death, but he also practices an eerie patience as he watches his plans play out. He announces his return with the death of yet another beloved member of the Spider Family, throwing Peter’s life into turmoil yet again.
Green Goblin Became the First Spider-Man Villain to Learn His Secret Identity
Green Goblin holds the impressive distinction of being the first Spider-Man villain to learn the hero’s secret identity. In the classic 1966 comic The Amazing Spider-Man #39, Norman Osborn dulls Spider-Man’s Spidey-sense with a gas, then secretly follows him. He watches as the hero reverts to his civilian identity, learning that he is none other than his son’s best friend, Peter Parker. The Green Goblin then captures Spider-Man and unmasks him, confirming his identity beyond a shadow of a doubt. In an act of pride and vanity, the Green Goblin then also reveals himself to the hero as Norman Osborn.
Though many others would follow suit, Green Goblin was the first supervillain to learn Spider-Man’s secret identity. Naturally, this eventually threw Peter’s life into disarray. While Norman temporarily forgot the truth about Spider-Man after suffering a head injury, the memories slowly returned to him. Eventually, he was able to use his knowledge of Spider-Man’s secret identity to ruin his life. He killed people close to the hero, orchestrated complex plots like the Clone Saga, and generally made his life a living nightmare as often as possible.
Green Goblin Took Powerful Punches From Spider-Man Without Flinching
Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) laughs in Spider-Man: No Way HomeImage via Sony Pictures
Willem Dafoe reprises his iconic iteration of Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home, where the villain finds himself transported to Earth-616 after a botched spell by Doctor Strange. While he initially befriends Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, Norman eventually loses his battle with the Green Goblin persona, which slowly takes over his mind. Peter realizes the truth and fights the Goblin, only to learn that he’s punching above his weight class. In a particularly memorable moment, Peter unleashes his incredible strength on the Goblin, landing several punches to his face. Much to Spider-Man’s despair, the Green Goblin only looks up at him and laughs maniacally, somehow enjoying this entire affair.
Not only does this moment show off the Green Goblin’s incredible physical strength, but it also makes him one of the most terrifying live-action villains in any Spider-Man movie. Anyone who can take a punch from Spider-Man and come away laughing is not someone to be trifled with. Sure enough, it was only moments later that Green Goblin unleashed the bomb that would kill Aunt May, taking away the one person who had been there for Peter ever since he became Spider-Man.
Norman Osborn Overcame His Demons to Become a Hero
In a surprising turn of events, Norman Osborn proves his own strength by finally defeating the Green Goblin persona. During the Kindred Saga, the Sin-Eater returns with a power-up that allows him to cleanse the sins of his victims by shooting them with an enchanted shotgun. He successfully cleanses Osborn, releasing him from the Goblin’s grasp. In later comics, notably Zeb Wells’s recent run on The Amazing Spider-Man, Osborn grows to become a surprisingly adept hero, adopting the moniker of Gold Goblin and protecting the city from various threats.
This is a rare example of Norman Osborn showing his strength beyond the powers of the Green Goblin. Although the Sin-Eater was the one who set Norman on this path, it still took a considerable amount of strength on his part to resist the Goblin persona that had controlled his actions for so long. Norman genuinely put in the work to clean up his life and atone for his actions, proving that he is one of Spider-Man’s strongest villains, even when he isn’t being a villain.
Green Goblin Took Over Spider-Man’s Mind
One of the most frightening chapters in Spider-Man and Green Goblin’s feud is also one of the most recent. In The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #50, Norman Osborn reverts to being the Green Goblin after a long period of resisting his darker half. This time, the Goblin’s plan involves hijacking Peter Parker’s mind to turn him into a dark version of himself. Using the infamous Winkler Device, Osborn successfully transforms Spider-Man into the Green Goblin.
This is one of the Green Goblin’s greatest victories over Spider-Man. Through the years, the Goblin took many things from Peter: his friends, his family, his first love. However, the hero always prevailed because of his strong sense of power and responsibility. This time, the Goblin targeted these exact traits, corrupting Spider-Man and taking away all sense of heroism. Had it been permanent, this would have been the Goblin’s final victory over his nemesis. Thankfully, Peter eventually managed to regain his sense of identity, overpowering the Green Goblin persona and wiping it out once and for all.
Green Goblin Killed Spider-Man in the Ultimate Universe
Very few villains have had the honor of killing Spider-Man, and the Green Goblin of Earth-1610 is one of them. In Ultimate Spider-Man #160, the Green Goblin (who is a hulking goblin-esque monster in this universe) teams up with the rest of the Sinister Six for one final battle with Spider-Man. Pushed to his limits and struggling with a gunshot wound, Peter does his best to protect those he loves when they fall into the Sinister Six’s crossfire. His efforts are enough to save them, but not himself. The Green Goblin is the one to land the final blow against Spider-Man, killing the hero in their last confrontation.
The Ultimate Green Goblin did what his Earth-616 counterpart had so often failed to do: kill Spider-Man. While these events take place in a separate universe, they still have had rippling effects on the main version of Spider-Man. The death of Earth-1610’s Peter Parker eventually led Miles Morales to take up the mantle as Spider-Man in his universe. Since then, Miles has become a part of Earth-616, fighting alongside the main version of Peter Parker.
Norman Osborn Became an Avengers-Level Threat During Dark Reign
During the “Dark Reign” storyline, Norman Osborn makes a play at world domination without the assistance of the Goblin formula. As the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D., which he renames H.A.M.M.E.R., Osborn becomes one of the most powerful men in the world. Using his newfound resources, Osborn targets the heroes who oppose his actions and builds his own team, the Dark Avengers, consisting of villains who are more than eager to take the place of their heroic counterparts. Things culminate in a siege against New Asgard, wherein Norman very nearly conquers the new home of the Norse gods.
“Dark Reign” shows that Norman Osborn is a major threat even without his Goblin persona. This is one of the few times that Osborn became a concern to every hero in the Marvel universe, not just Spider-Man. Although his own demons defeat him in the end, “Dark Reign” proves that Norman Osborn is an Avengers-level threat and one of the most dangerous villains to ever threaten the world.
Norman Osborn Bonded With Carnage to Become the Red Goblin
Norman Osborn transforms into the Red Goblin in Marvel ComicsImage via Marvel Comics
Norman Osborn gets a terrifying upgrade at the end of Dan Slott’s Spider-Man Saga. After bonding with the Carnage Symbiote, Norman transforms into the Red Goblin. Using his newfound powers, the Red Goblin goes on a rampage, aiming to ruin Spider-Man’s life once again. Things culminate in an epic standoff with Spider-Man and Agent Anti-Venom, wherein the heroic Flash Thompson sacrifices his life for his old friend, Peter.
This is the most terrifying that Norman Osborn has ever been. The combined strength and hatred of Osborn and the Carnage Symbiote birth one of Spider-Man’s most dangerous villains ever. Not only does the Red Goblin outdo every previous version of the Goblin, but he also manages to kill yet another person close to Peter Parker. As the Red Goblin, Osborn unlocked the height of his villainy in a manner that he still hasn’t quite topped in the comics since.