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Norman Virgil Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964) as the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin.
- Overview
- History Early Life and Education
- Personality
- Attributes
- Paraphernalia
- Notes
- Trivia
- See Also
- Links and References Norman Osborn on Marvel.com Norman Osborn on Wikipedia.org Recommended Readings
Maybe I can't destroy my sins. But perhaps… I can still atone for them.
—Norman Osborn
Norman Osborn was a wealthy and brilliant scientist who founded one of the world's leading companies, Oscorp. His transformation into the Green Goblin, brought about by a risky experiment gone wrong, using a Serum that granted him enhanced physical abilities and a severely fractured psyche. Sporting a distinctive Goblin-themed costume, riding a glider he became a notorious adversary to Spider-Man, often devising elaborate plans and wielding an array of gadgets such as his signature Pumpkin Bombs. One of his most notorious of crimes was when he kidnapped Gwen Stacy, and his confrontation with Spider-Man on a bridge ultimately led to her death. He tried to kill Spider-Man but he was able to dodge his glider which instead impaled him.
During the "Clone Saga," Osborn returned, seemingly from the dead, and created havoc in Peter Parker's life. His take down and arrest was short lived as he was recruited to join the Thunderbolts. During the Skrull Invasion he was able to trick the world he was a heroic figure by shooting the Skrull Queen Veranke. When the President shut down S.H.I.E.L.D., Osborn was given the role of running the S.H.R.A. and the Avengers Initiative. During his "Dark Reign" he formed H.A.M.M.E.R. and established his own version of the Avengers, known as the "Dark Avengers". He lead the team wearing armor calling himself the Iron Patriot. In what became known as "The Siege", Osborn's ambitions and actions came to a head, leading to a confrontation and defeat against several of Earth's heroes. In "Goblin Nation", Osborn returned as the Goblin King to wreak havoc on New York. This event featured a high-stakes battle between him and the Superior Spider-Man. Osborn later bonded with the Carnage symbiote to become the Red Goblin, an even more dangerous and unhinged threat to Spider-Man and his loved ones. Defeated, Norman would believe he was the serial-killer Cletus Kasady, the real one eventually coming after him during his rampage to awake the dark symbiote god Knull from his cage and infected him with the Dark Carnage symbiote. Assuming the alias of Carnage, he was defeated by Spider-Man and, after the rampage, returned to his identity as Norman.
Early Life and Education
As a child, Norman Osborn became obsessed with gaining wealth and power. His father, a failed business inventor who claimed that he was swindled out of his inventions and personal fortune, took out his rage on Norman. Norman would not allow himself to become a failure like his father, he realized that he could not depend on him for financial security, thus began working after school. Norman studied chemistry and electrical engineering at Empire State University, and also took a number of courses in business administration. However, he had a cheating apparatus which was reported by one of his friends, Ned Tobolowski, causing him to lose his scholarship and nearly getting expelled. One of his teachers was Professor Mendel Stromm. They became good friends and later formed a business partnership. Since Norman put up the bulk of the financing, they called their company Osborn Chemical, a.k.a. Oscorp. He married his college sweetheart; Emily Lyman and they had a son Harold "Harry" Osborn. Unfortunately, his wife became ill. After she seemingly died, he buried himself in his work and rarely had time for young Harry.
Oscorp
When he was about to go bankrupt on account of his debts and would eventually have his company taken over by his partner, Mephisto approached him in the guise of an "acquisitions" investor and offered Norman a deal to make his financial life more successful in exchange for his son's soul. Norman initially refused the deal, but after the devil explained to him that if he accepted, he would not even remember their encounter, he agreed. With the deal closed, Mephisto made Norman's business life immensely successful both financially and in status but made him relentless in the process - ultimately leading to his madness. This reality-warping deal greatly affected Norman's life, not only as his soul was corrupted that he became so obsessed with wealth and power, but it also affected his son, that would suffer great misfortunes until Spectacular Spider-Man #200. But Mephisto honored his part of the deal, as Norman's business partner, Mendell Stromm, was eventually arrested after he discovered he was committing embezzlement, granting Norman complete control over the company as he always wanted; making him the official CEO of Oscorp. While going through Stromm's notes, he found a secret formula that would make him superhumanly powerful. However, his son, Harry, tired of always being ignored and rejected by his father, switched the chemicals in the serum, causing it to explode in his face. Later, at the hospital, Osborn found himself thinking more clearly than ever before, not knowing that he would slowly reach insanity.
Green Goblin
Attempting to achieve power beyond his wildest dreams, Norman Osborn planned to become the most powerful gang-lord of all by uniting all the independent gangs under his leadership in an attempt to gain control over all of New York's crime. To prove his power and establish his reputation, he decided to choose Spider-Man as his victim of choice, and sent two criminals, Scorcher and the Headsman, after Spider-Man. The two were soundly defeated, and then Osborn decided to take matters into his own hands. Remembering a giant green goblin monster from childhood nightmares, he created a costume that resembled that monster, and he became the "Green Goblin". The Green Goblin first battled Spider-Man with the help of the Enforcers, by getting Spider-Man to participate in a movie about him. Attempting to defeat him in New Mexico, he let Spider-Man battle the Hulk, after the Green Goblin, the Enforcers, and Spider-Man accidentally stumbled upon the Hulk's stomping grounds. Escaping the Hulk, Spider-Man attempted to capture the Green Goblin, but was too exhausted to prevent his escape. Returning to New York, the Green Goblin easily hid amongst New York's vast population. Spider-Man and the Green Goblin fought a few months later at a fan club meeting for Spider-Man organized by Eugene "Flash" Thompson. However, when Spider-Man heard that his Aunt May was extremely ill, he was forced to retreat, giving him a sour reputation by most of New York's citizens, including several super heroes, super villains, citizens, and, of course, J. Jonah Jameson, and giving the Green Goblin an impressive reputation. Later still, the Green Goblin pretended to be helping the police by attempting to capture Lucky Lobo, a big gang leader, and, after seeing defeat by Spider-Man, attempted a partnership with the Crime-Master, which again ended in defeat. With constant defeat, the Green Goblin became more determined. In time, Osborn became obsessed with Spider-Man and began directing all of his efforts to find a way to defeat his web-swinging adversary. And he did. The Green Goblin managed to discover Spider-Man's secret identity, by utilizing a false gang that sprayed Spider-Man with a gas that nullified his spider-sense, allowing the Green Goblin to follow him without being detected. Capturing Spider-Man with ease, he brought him to his hideout and revealed himself to be Norman Osborn, the father of Peter Parker's friend. After revealing his past, he let Spider-Man escape, so as to prove his superiority. Spider-Man managed to defeat the Goblin by sending him into a bunch of disconnected, high-voltage wires that were drenched in chemicals. Suffering amnesia, Osborn lost all memory up to the years that his son was in high school. Spider-Man, content in this knowledge, burned the Green Goblin's costume, hoping never to see him again.
You can make fun of me all you want...but you know this is true... I was right. The world is a mess and the world needed me to fix it. And I would have. I could have. This world is a madhouse of mutants, terrorists, psychotics, aliens, and monsters. All of them clashing and crashing into each other at every second of every day. People put on costumes and just decide, all by themselves, that they are the savior of this world. That it's okay for them to go and do whatever the hell they want to whoever they want because they have a costume. Well, I am telling you, the world is going to end, one day soon, it's actually going to explode. The wrong creature is going to slam into the wrong Mutant and boom. That will be it. All of this--All of it will have been for nothing. All I wanted was to stop it. All I wanted to do was fix the problems before they happened. I know the mutants of this world will rise up and kill us. I know that the Hulk will one day decide to destroy everything he sees. I know the Punisher will one day kill the wrong person and set off a chain of events that will lead to nuclear holocaust. I know these heroes will dive head first into something they do not understand and end up doing such insane damage to the world that humans can no longer live on it. Victor von Doom will crush us under his last mad gasp of air. I know this is true. I know it. And I could have stopped it. If not for the fact that you kept standing in my @#$@# way...
—Norman Osborn to his Green Goblin persona
A ruthless and ambitious, yet paranoid, troubled and disturbed man long before taking the Goblin Formula. His charisma and ambition have led him to become the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a time, rebranding it as H.A.M.M.E.R.; found his own personal army;[138] and even locate the Temple With No Name to learn how to use magic.[108] Norman is normally callous towards his son, Harry, dismissing him as a milquetoast disappointment unworthy of inheriting his legacy; though there were short-lived and occasionally-faked occasions where Osborn suffered amnesia and became caring towards Harry.[139][140] Initially harboring the ambition of conquering the criminal underworld, as a result of Spider-Man's constant meddling with his plans Osborn developed an intense obsession with destroying Peter Parker's life as thoroughly as possible, to the detriment of his ambitions of becoming a crime-lord.
After being exposed to the Goblin formula, which enhanced his physical abilities at the cost of his sanity, Osborn adopted the persona of the Green Goblin - a grandiose and theatrical wisecracking maniac with a sadistic sense of humor. After the Gathering of Five, Osborn was cursed with insanity and his mental instability worsened, with the Green Goblin eventually developing into a split personality that at times cooperates with Osborn and at times wars with him for control of their body.[141] Osborn's disdain for the Green Goblin's theatrics was such that he was initially happy to be de-powered by Spider-Man, but after realizing that without superpowers he was at a massive disadvantage he became increasingly obsessed with becoming the Green Goblin again;[107] to the point of bonding to the Carnage symbiote.
After suffering the psychic backlash of the Carnage symbiote's death, Osborn's psyche was shattered and overwritten by that of Cletus Kasady; though there were moments when Osborn's psyche fought to reassert itself.[116][142] After being turned back into Carnage by the real Cletus Kasady, who had bonded to an empowered Carnage symbiote, Osborn expressed frustration and disdain towards Kasady's "Prophet of the Void" motif, threatening to turn on him and take all the codices for himself.[117] Following his symbiote's destruction, Norman returned to his original self.
Norman was then cleansed of his evil when he was shot by Sin-Eater and was shown to feel genuine remorse for everything he had done, deeming himself unworthy of help and in a long time wanting to help his son Harry.[114]
Powers
Green / Gold Goblin Goblin Formula: Thanks to the chemical composition of the Goblin Formula, Osborn gained the following abilities: •Superhuman Strength: Osborn can easily overpower humans by lifting them up with one hand or by hurling them around. He can also lift extremely heavy objects, crush and break through wood panels and templates, bend metal, and can punch through glass without gaining injury. As shown on many occasions, Osborn could match Spider-Man even before bonding with the Carnage symbiote. •Superhuman Speed: Osborn can run and operate at superhuman speeds.[143] •Superhuman Stamina: Osborn can operate or maintain his movements for up to a day without exhausting himself. •Superhuman Durability: The formula also fortified all of Osborn's bodily tissues, making them far tougher and more resistant to injury than normal humans. While Osborn can be injured by something along the lines of a knife or small conventional bullets composed of conventional material, he is very resistant to great impact forces and blunt trauma. He can withstand powerful impacts, such as falling from several stories or being repeatedly struck by a superhuman enemy, that would severely injure or kill a normal human with little to no injury to himself.[144] •Regenerative Healing Factor: If Osborn does sustain injury, his body's increased metabolism allows him to heal damaged tissue much faster and more extensively than a normal human is capable of. While not nearly as efficient as the healing powers possessed by Wolverine, he can heal from injuries that would prove lethal to an ordinary human. For example, Osborn survived being impaled by his Goblin Glider and made a full recovery with only a scar left on his chest. He also recovered from having over a dozen of his bombs explode while webbed to his chest. •Superhuman Agility: Osborn's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. •Superhuman Reflexes: His reflexes are similarly enhanced and are superior to those of the finest human athlete.[145] Former Powers Carnage Primordial Symbiotic Costume: While the portion of the original Carnage symbiote bonded to Norman was killed by Spider-Man, Cletus Kasady bonded him to a portion of the empowered Carnage symbiote - turning him back into Carnage. After Norman was knocked unconscious by Spider-Man, his portion of the Carnage symbiote separated from him and attacked Dylan Brock and Normie Osborn, but was destroyed by Dylan.[122] •Superhuman Strength •Superhuman Durability •Superhuman Stamina •Superhuman Speed •Superhuman Agility •Superhuman Reflexes •Regenerative Healing Factor •Wall-Crawling •Genetic Memory •Fangs and Claws •Constituent-Matter Generation •Shapeshifting Super-Adaptoid Power Mimicry: As the Super-Adaptoid, Osborn can copy the powers, of any super powered who he manages to touch. However, unlike other Super-Adaptoids, he cannot duplicate weapons and appearances, leaving only the powers. Given the opportunity, it can copy up to eight different beings at one time. If he touches too many super-humans, he would overtax himself and stay in a coma. His abilities given to him via the Super-Adaptoid are so powerful, he can absorb Ragnarok's godly abilities as well as copy many others at the same time.[146] •Enhanced Superhuman Strength: When he had his Super-Adaptoid powers, Osborn increased his strength to such a degree that he was able to throw Luke Cage a considerable distance.[147] Red Goblin Goblin Formula-Enhanced Red Symbiotic Costume: After bonding with the Carnage symbiote, the nanites that were nullifying the effects of the Goblin Formula in his body were ejected, allowing him to regain most of the abilities he possessed as the Green Goblin upon drinking it again. In addition to having his original abilities enhanced by the symbiote, Osborn gained several new abilities: •Wall Crawling: Much like Spider-Man, Osborn has the ability to cling to virtually any surface. He can rapidly crawl, walk, or run across even slick surfaces. •Webbing: Osborn can project a powerful, organic web-like substance similar to the webbing Spider-Man has. He typically uses this webbing to swing from building to building or as a means of immobilizing someone. The webbing is exceptionally strong, much more than even the finest human athlete can break. •Camouflage Capabilities: The symbiote possesses limited shape-shifting abilities in the sense that it can immediately change itself to appear as any type of clothing or garment that Osborn wishes. •Constituent Matter Generation Osborn can now generate tentacle-like appendages from various parts of his body, which he often uses either in combat situations or to restrain someone. •Constituent Matter Manipulation: Osborn can morph sections of his body, such as his hands or feet, into bladed weaponry such as spikes, blades, or axes. Osborn can also detach these bladed weaponry if he chooses to. For example, he often forms spikes that he expels from his body and can freely control the separated biomass. •Symbiotic Expansion and Psychic Control: Osborn has been shown to be capable of expanding his symbiote's mass by feeding it nutrients and mass from, for example, in a form of his Pumpkin Bombs. •Pyrokinesis: As the Red Goblin, Osborn displayed limited pyrokinetic abilities -- expelling torrents of flame from his mouth, manifesting explosive "Carnage Bombs", and manifesting a fiery symbiote-augmented Goblin Glider from his body. •Immunity to Spider-Man's Spider-Sense: Due to the Carnage symbiote being a child of the Venom symbiote, Carnage can't be detected by Spider-Man's Spider-Sense. •Fire Immunity: Carnage was originally weak to fire and heat but after being enhanced with the Goblin Formula, it became immune to fire and extreme heat, as proven when the Red Goblin withstood the Human Torch's fire powers.[111] •Sonic Immunity: Besides immunity to fire and heat, Carnage has also developed strong resistance against sonic-based attacks due to the Goblin Formula enhancement, as evidenced by the Red Goblin being capable to withstand Clash's sonic-blasts without any discomfort.[111]
Abilities
Indomitable Will: The monks from the Temple With No Name described Norman as being someone with a strong will and spirit, which would explain how he was able to reach and see them.[108] Gifted Intelligence: Even before consuming the Goblin Formula, Norman was extremely smart and intelligent, was extremely skilled with mathematics and science, possessing an immense knowledge of chemistry and the side-effects of drugs on humans and animals. The Goblin Formula enhanced Osborn's mental capacities and creative talents. Aside from his physical advantages, the serum also greatly enhanced Norman's already highly above average intellect, making him capable of making progress in advanced areas of genetics, robotics, engineering, and applied chemistry that most professional scientists can scarcely comprehend.[citation needed] For example, Osborn created a cure for cancer, but he decided to instead use it as a weapon against Deadpool.[148] Since becoming the Goblin King, he was able to gain 52% of the New York underground without anybody noticing. He was even able to implement the "Goblin Protocol" which blocked out the presence of anyone with a Goblin mask or symbol into Spider-Man's systems meaning he is an expert hacker because those systems were created by both Otto and and child prodigy Uatu Jackson. Goblin also re-powered an abandoned subway line while having it avoid other trains. Expert Marksman: As the Green Goblin, Norman uses various hand-held throwing weapons such as explosives and razor projectiles which he will throw with great aim rarely ever missing his target. He is also a skilled sharpshooter with various firearms.[149][150] Skilled Combatant: He is a skilled unarmed combatant that is capable of using most weapons proficiently.[151]
Weaknesses
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: After being cleansed of the Green Goblin personality by Sin-Eater, Norman began to feel immense guilt for his past crimes. His guilt was so strong that he started seeing hallucinations of those he had hurt.[114] Former Weaknesses Dissociative Identity Disorder: After being exposed to the Goblin Formula, Norman Osborn developed mental instability and adopted the persona of the Green Goblin. As a result of varying factors, such as Norman being the recipient of insanity during the Gathering of Five, Norman's Green Goblin persona developed into an entirely separate personality. While always mentally unstable, the formula had greatly diminished his already fragile grip on reality. His increased mental instability caused him to sometimes be extremely impulsive, not thinking before plunging into a potentially dangerous situation, making it relatively easy to lure him into a trap. Osborn also suffered from the delusion that he was invincible, claiming that "not even death could defeat him." This caused him to fight when at a severe disadvantage, resulting in his defeat. After suffering the psychic backlash of the Carnage symbiote dying, Norman's personality was overwritten by that of Cletus Kasady. However, after his symbiote was destroyed, he returned to his normal self.[122]
Equipment
Goblin Armor: The Green Goblin's costume incorporated chain mail in the tunic, giving him further protection from high impacts, such as the punches or kicks inflicted during his battles with Spider-Man. Former Equipment Iron Patriot Armor Model 1: Norman Osborn wore a unique full battle-suit patterned after the heroic images of Captain America and Iron Man. The battle-suit was cobbled together from StarkTech that had been confiscated from Tony Stark's armory at Avengers Tower shortly following the formation of H.A.M.M.E.R. However, the armor was disabled by Tony Stark in the middle of Osborn's fight with Steve Rogers during the Siege of Asgard. Carnage Symbiote
Weapons
Pumpkin Bomb: The Green Goblin created and utilized various concussive, incendiary, and other specialized explosives in his career, most in the form of miniature jack-o'lantern-shaped grenades. The Goblin usually carried these in a shoulder bag, nicknamed his "bag of tricks". •Concussive: The original variant of the pumpkin bomb was little more than a flashbang designed to disorient opponents. •Incendiary: The incendiary grenades ignited almost soundlessly and released enough heat to melt through a three-inch thick sheet of steel. •Smoke/Gas: He also carried a variety of smoke and gas-emitting bombs, which were surrounded by a light plastic mantle that fluttered like a wraith when the bomb was thrown. Other gas bombs emitted hallucinogenic gases, and others released a specially concocted gas that could neutralize Spider-Man's spider sense for a limited period of time.
Transportation
Goblin Glider: Osborn's primary mode of transport is the Goblin Glider, a rocket-propelled aircraft capable of great maneuverability and speeds of up to 90 miles per hour. The original version of the Goblin Glider was capable of supporting about 400 pounds including Norman's weight (and far more for very brief periods of time). Top speed and a full normal load would exhaust the fuel supply in about one hour. The main microprocessor assisted manual controls were behind the head of the glider, and later modifications added voice-activated radio-linked controls integrated into the Green Goblin's mask. The goblin glider was steered primarily, however, by the weight and attitude of its rider, with Goblin's boots locking into the stirrups of the glider electromagnetically. Former Transportation •Flying Broomstick: The Green Goblin originally rode through the air on a one-man, miniature turbofan-powered vertical thrust "flying broomstick". •The Zeus[152]
•The Green Goblin was #47 in Series A of the Marvel Value Stamps, published in 1974.
•While being H.A.M.M.E.R. Commander, he was granted Security Level Ten and Code Clearance White.
•Dan Slott had denied Norman being the Goblin King. However, there were already hints that Norman was the Goblin like explicitly calling himself Norman Osborn, the Glider scar, and reacting to Hobgoblin talking about Harry. It was eventually revealed at the end that Norman was both the Goblin King and Mason Banks.
•Norman's email was oz@amazinghair.net.[153]
•His murder of Gwen Stacy was one of Norman's proudest achievements.
•In Amazing Spider-Man #122, when Norman dies, Peter mentioned that: " So do the Proud Men Die: Crucified, not on a cross of gold----but on a stake of humble tin.", Jesus Christ died crucified, so this is a possible reference to Norman's god Complex.
•In Marvel Ultimate Comics: Absolute Carnage Norman was voiced by Giles Panton.
•When talking about the creation of the character of Green Goblin in the journal Starlog and Comics Scene Present Spider-Man and Other Comics Heroes Steve Ditko stated that: "Stan's synopsis for the Green Goblin had a movie crew, on location, finding an Egyptian-like sarcophagus. Inside was an ancient, mythological demon, the Green Goblin. He naturally came to life. On my own, I changed Stan's mythological demon into a human villain".
•In the introduction of Green Goblin and in his early appearances his true identity was unknown. According to Stan Lee and John Romita Jr., Lee always wanted the character to be someone Peter Parker knew, while Ditko wanted his identity to be someone not yet introduced, since in real life very often a villain turns out to be somebody that you never knew. Lee was against that, since he felt that it cheated the readers. However, Lee couldn't remember if it was his or Ditko's idea that Norman Osborn would be the Green Goblin, though Ditko stated that it was his.[154][155]
•Following his redemption Norman appears to be Christian.[156]
•676 appearance(s) of Norman Osborn (Earth-616)
•26 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Norman Osborn (Earth-616)
•175 minor appearance(s) of Norman Osborn (Earth-616)
•397 mention(s) of Norman Osborn (Earth-616)
•26 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Norman Osborn (Earth-616)
•823 image(s) of Norman Osborn (Earth-616)
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.
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Nov 22, 2022 · For almost 60 years (since 1964, to be exact), Norman Osborn, the original Green Goblin, has been one of Spider-Man's arch-enemies and arguably his greatest foe.
