Appearance
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 185 lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Reddish Brown
Features: Huge Chest Scar Tissue*
The Basics
Created By: Stan Lee, Steve Ditko
Real Name: Norman Osborn II
Current Aliases: None
Former Aliases: None
Dual Identity: Once secret, revealed years after his "death", covered up again upon his return, now exposed*.
Current Occupation: Professional supervillain, Head of Osborn Industries.
Former Occupation: Owner and president of Osborn Industries, Inc.
Citizenship: U.S.
Legal Status: No known criminal record
Place of Birth: Hartford, Connecticut
Marital Status: Widowed
Known Relatives: Harold "Harry" Osborn, son(deceased); Norman Osborn III, grandson; Norman Osborn I, father(presumedly deceased); Emily Osborn, wife(deceased),Liz Osborn (daughter-in-law)
Known Confidants: The Scriers*, Mendel Stromm (Robot Master / Gaunt), Spider-Man, Donald Menken, Kolina Frederickson*
Known Allies: The Crime-Master, Kraven the Hunter, the Scriers, Gaunt, the "Host"
Major Enemies: Spider-Man
Usual Bases: New York City and an unidentified European location
Former Bases: none
Current Groups: leader of the Order of Goblins* (derivative from the Cabal of Scriers)
Former Groups: The Enforcers, the Scriers*
Education: College
Powers & Gear
Strength Level: Somewhat less than Spider-Man's (lift (press) 10 tons)
Powers: The Goblin formula dramatically increased Osborn's intellect, although not to superhuman levels. His reflexes, and coordination are heightened. His strength is superhuman.
Abilities: Adept at organization. A genius when it came to chemistry and mechanical gadgetry.
Equipment: The vertical-thrust goblin glider, powered by a miniature turbo-fan. It can travel at speeds up to 90 miles per hour and support 400 pounds.
Weapons: Concussive, smoke, gas and incendiary bombs. Deadly-sharp Razor-Bats that can cut through Spider-Man's webbing. Powerful Gloves capable of conducting pulses of electricity upwards of 10,000 volts. Gas and chemicals able to numb Spider-Man's spider-sense.
Weaknesses: Insanity and an inordinate obsession with Spider-Man/ Peter Parker.
Background
After having his business partner, Professor Mendel Stromm, imprisoned for embezzling, industrialist Norman Osborn experimented with one of Stromm's formulas in an attempt to increase his intelligence. The formula had not been tested thoroughly, and blew up in his face. Norman nearly died, but discovered that the formula increased both his intelligence and strength. It also drove him insane. Plotting to become leader of the underworld, Osborn created his Green Goblin persona and decided to establish his reputation by killing Spider-Man. He came close but failed many times. Devising a compound that would weaken Spider-Man's spider-sense, he followed the Web-slinger undetected. Snatching Spider-Man while he was in his civilian identity of Peter Parker, the Goblin dragged him (literally) back to a secret hideout. There he revealed to Peter his own secret identity and each realized their common bond ... Harry. Afterwards ,The Goblin released Spider-Man and insisted he put his mask back on as he could not lower himself to defeat an opponent that was just a kid. During the battle, the Goblin came in contact with live wires, which seemed to jolt him into partial amnesia. Since Osborn had no memory of his criminal past, Spider-Man let him go and told police and firefighters at the scene Osborn had helped him defeat The Goblin.
The amnesia, however, proved temporary. Osborn several times regained the memories of the Green Goblin and, knowing Spider-Man's own secret identity, came after Parker each time. For what would be the "final" time, deciding the direct approach wasn't working, the Goblin kidnapped Gwen Stacy, Parker's girlfriend, and killed her throwing her off of the Brooklyn Bridge. Although Spider-Man came close to exacting the ultimate revenge for this act, he pulled back before killing the Goblin. The fight may have continued, but the Goblin was accidentally impaled by his own goblin glider. (It would be over 20 years before Marvel decided to "revive" the character and proceed to show how he had in fact survived the accident in a desperate attempt to exit the flailing out-of-control "Clone-Saga". This was the beginning of the running joke in the moderm Marvel Universe that The Goblin is behind every single bad thing that happens to Peter Parker.)
Numb with shock after witnessing the event, his already disturbed son Harry Osborn removed the Goblin's costume so that the arriving authorities found industrialist Norman Osborn, not the Green Goblin, dead. Despite suffering from years of neglect and hard drug abuse, Harry made sure his father's secret identity was kept safe for years to come.
Revised History: The Goblin Lives Again. Post-Clone Saga
Editors Note: We here at GoblinJournals do not really aknowledge the "ressurection" of Norman Osborn or anything afterwards. (Come to think of it, we don't really aknowledge pretty much anything from the Spider-Marriage on.) The real Green Goblin died in ASM 122 and left a legacy far greater than anything any replacement or reinvention could ever, that is haunt Peter Parker forever from the grave. There will be no mention of Sins Past, Thunderbolts or "goblin-twins" here."
"Though he was in the morgue, Norman Osborn's tale did not end there. According to his journals, the chemicals that altered Norman Osborn's strength, intelligence, and sanity also gave him superhuman healing ability. Despite being impailed through the chest, Norman regenerated, and escaped the morgue replacing his body with that of a drifter he murdered (and impaled through the chest). To cover-up the shame of his father's alter-ego, Harry bribed the coroner to fake the autopsy ensuring there would be no record of the Goblin formula in his blood.
For seven years Norman was in hiding - planning, plotting, waiting for the day to arrive when he would strike back. He joined a legendary society, the cabal of Scriers. There, he quickly rose up the ranks, and made an "unorthodox hostile takeover," expanding his powerbase.
After Harry disgraced the Osborn family name, ending up in a mental institution, Norman sent a Scrier to one of Parker's college professors, Dr. Miles Warren (aka, the Jackal). The Scrier promised Warren with recreating his beloved student, Gwen Stacy, while funding his cloning research. One of Warren's assistants, Seward Trainer, was caught stealing files by the Scrier. The Scrier promised to keep Trainer's secret in exchange for a future favor.
Norman saw that the Jackal's plans for revenge were interfering with his own plans. After the explosive conclusion during the battle between Spider-Man and his clone at Shea Stadium, the Jackal retrieved his clone and put who he thought was the real Peter Parker into a state resembling death. Actually, Norman's Scrier called in his favor from Trainer, having Trainer tinker with the Jackal's equipment such that the Jackal had the identities reversed. Norman allowed the real Peter Parker to walk away from the battle, and dump his clone (in the near-death state) into a smokestack in Brooklyn. The Jackal retrieved the clone's body, and replaced it with the corpse of a earlier failed Parker clone. The clone wandered the country calling himself Ben Reilly.
Later, hearing of the return of his old partner, Mendel Stromm, Norman sent his Scriers to investigate. Althought this "Stromm" was just a robot, the Scriers checked the corpse of the real Stromm and discovered he was decayed, withered, yet still alive. Stromm had used the original "Goblin" formula upon himself before his "death". Norman revived Stromm, and outfitted him in a life-support suit where he became known as "Gaunt". Through Gaunt, Norman gained technology that allowed his Scrier to appear as a single mystical being.
Norman became infuriated over news of the Hobgoblin's aquision of his equipment and journal notes. But before acting, he remained in the shadows, sending a Scrier and a team (the Host) to befriend criminal psychologist and deranged mutant, Dr. Judas Traveller.
Upon the death of his son, Harry, from the toxic effects of an updated Goblin formula, Norman accelerated his revenge against Parker. When Ben Reilly returned to New York and the Jackal resurfaced, Norman returned to New York as well. Norman had Gaunt coerce Trainer to tamper with the Jackal's equipment again, so that Ben Reilly will think he was the original Peter Parker.
After the Jackal's second apparent death, and the true Parkers (with Mary Jane pregnant) moving to Seattle, Ben Reilly became the new Spider-Man. Norman was not pleased with the happy ending. In Revelations, Norman returned as the Green Goblin revealing himself as the mastermind behind the clone saga. Ben Reilly was killed by the Goblin, and disintegrated revealing that he was truly the clone. Mary Jane was poisoned into a premature labor by Osborn employee Alison Mongrain. It appears Norman somewhere still has custody of the child.
Later, Norman revealed that he had Aunt May held captive, admitting that he had sent a genetically transformed actress to take her place (and die in spiderman_amazing.400). Norman organized and participated in an ancient ritual called "the Gathering of the Five" where he hoped to obtain ultimate power - but instead received insanity.
In The Final Chapter, Norman was defeated as the Green Goblin by Spider-Man once again, though in his madness, he believed he had triumphed. He was taken off to jail, but rescued by the Scriers. His sanity maintained by medicated dermal patches, Norman has since organized the Order of the Goblin, fallenll in love with his nurse, Kolina Frederickson.
After the fifth Goblin died, Norman developed a new plan for Spider-Man - he wanted Parker to become his new heir. His first move in this game was drugging Parker into flying around in the Goblin's costume and attacking his friends. Norman then took Peter to the old Osborn estate to try to convince him to take up Norman's mantle on his own free will. After days of physical and psychological torture, Parker cracked under the stress, but still refused Norman at the last minute. Norman's next plan involved using a whiskey-induced Flash Thompson to drive a truck into Midtown High School, where Peter worked. The accident caused Flash to suffer major brain damage and enraged Peter enough to decide to finish his feud with Norman once and for all. At the end of the fight, which took place in one of Norman's chemical plants, Spider-Man came close to killing the Goblin, but chose not to. Peter told Norman that if he gives into his hatred for the Goblin, the last piece of Gwen would die. Parker left, telling Norman that he was tired of fighting and declared a truce with Norman.
Recently the Green Goblin's true identity was revealed to the public by a dedicated investigation by The Daily Bugle. After a battle with Spider-Man and Luke Cage that spanned the length of Manhattan, he was arrested and sent to prison for the first time in the character's 40 year history.
As could be expected, however, Osborn did not stay in prison for long. Even behind bars, Osborn masterminded a plot to get Spider-Man himself to help him escape, which the web-slinger ultimately did, as payment for releasing Aunt May from kidnappers on Osborn's pay. After this, Spider-Man battled with the Sinister Twelve, a group of his greatest enemies lead by Osborn as the Green Goblin, who revealed that he had a hand in financing many of these villain's origins. The Goblin slipped away in the heat of the battle and abducted Mary Jane, taking her to the Brooklyn Bridge, but Spider-Man was able to rescue her. The Green Goblin then found himself grappling with a deranged Doctor Octopus, still drugged from being held in police custody. A bolt of lightning sent the two villains plunging into the river - Doc Ock was recovered alive and well, and Peter later received a letter from Osborn revealing that he had survived as well. Osborn is once again at large, and it will likely be only a matter of time until he and Spider-Man clash once again.
Young Norman
In recent years we've learned more details about Norman Osborn's childhood and young adult life, things that helped shape him into the, schizophrenic, twisted, evil man he would become.
We know, for example that The Osborn family has long been prominent, but it was Norman's father, Amberson Osborn, who squandered the family fortune. In Spectacular Spider-Man Anuual #14, we see him hitting Norman. Norman's mother steps in to stop his father, from yelling at him. His father hits his mother, and Norman runs to his room. Amberson pounds on the door saying he isn't done talking to the boy. The next morning Norman sees his father apologizing to his mother, and whining about how they stole his invention and how the company went bankrupt. Norman runs out of the house thinking about how he has to start earning his keep. He takes a stick and beats his dog to death so there will be one less mouth to feed.
Revenge of the Green Goblin #2- flashback-Norman watches as his drunken, abusive, failure of a father hits his mother.
Revenge of the Green Goblin #1- flashback- Norman's father shouts at a young Norman that there are no monsters under his bed. Later when Norman comes out again his father throws him back into the room. He yells at Norman to get over this foolishness.
Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2 #25- flashback- Norman's father pulls him along by the shirt into the house built by Norman's great-grandfather. He tells Norman that he only has to stay there one night. He says that he will pick him up in the morning and Norman will wonder what he was ever afraid for. His father leaves and says that he will thank him for this one day.
Peter Parker: Spider-Man vol. 2 #25- flashback- Norman pounds on the door screaming for his father to let him out. Norman imagines that there are the ghosts of his ancestors and a goblin near him. Each time the lightning strikes Norman thinks that he can see the goblin waiting to eat him. Norman starts to hope that each time the darkness will last a little longer. Eventually Norman grows to hate the light. The next morning Norman is sitting calmly on the floor when his father opens the door. Norman walks out with a smile on his face.
Revenge of the Green Goblin #1- flashback- Norman walks along as the sunsets with his wife Emily.
Revenge of the Green Goblin #2- flashback- As they walk Emily tells Norman that they should take a vacation, and that he needs to relax. Norman says that he wants to make her proud and restore honor to the Osborn name. Emily tells Norman that she didn't marry him for a name.
Revenge of the Green Goblin #1- flashback- Norman stands with a pregnant Emily in what is to be Harry's room.
Revenge of the Green Goblin #1- flashback- Norman stands by Emily's bed as she lies in the hospital delivering Harry.
Revenge of the Green Goblin #3- flashback- Norman stands by Emily's open casket.
Revenge of the Green Goblin #1- flashback- Norman kneels in front of Emily's grave in the rain. Harry was born less than a year ago. Norman does not regard it as a fair trade.
Sources: The Marvel Handbook, Spiderfan.org, The Leader's Lair
For more, as well as a complete chronological breakdown of Green Goblin's history, go to The Leader's Lair.
Image Gallery
Green Goblin 2 Hobgoblin
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The Green Goblin and Spider-Man are the property of Marvel Comics and used without permission
References: Spiderfan.org and Wikipedia