Spider-Man has made a number of enemies over the years who have attempted to lay claim to the title of his arch-enemy. Most have never been able to contend with Norman Osborn/Green Goblin's rivalry with the webbed wall-crawler – one that has lasted for decades, stretched beyond the grave, and moved outside of the comics.
As one of Spider-Man's deadliest and most frequent rivals, the character has been adapted quite a few times in animation and live-action. Fans have seen a few different versions of the villain that have pulled from different storylines in the comics and adapted different characters under the mask, but which stands above the rest as the best Green Goblin performance?
12 Cameos And Altered Goblins
Norman Osborn or Green Goblin has appeared in a few series as a background villain without speaking lines, such as his numerous appearances in Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, though he was given a larger role in Marvel Future Avengers, voiced by Hiroshi Yanaka and Dave Wittenberg.
Norman Osborn appears in flashbacks and hallucinations in MTV's Spider-Man: The New Animated Series that followed the events of the first live-action film. Finally, Marvel's Spider-Man featured both Norman and Harry Osborn, though neither used the Green Goblin persona and instead focused on the Hobgoblin identity, with Norman later taking on a Dark Goblin role.
11 Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)
Miles Morales jumped to the big screen in 2018's Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, which featured a few alternate reality versions of Spider-Man as well as unique versions of villains from Miles Morales' animated universe.
A gigantic, transformed, and seemingly brainless version of Green Goblin (voiced by Jorma Taccone) appeared briefly in the film, but he was an amalgamation of different versions with a dramatically increased size, making him unique but falling short of doing the character justice.
10 Spider-Man Unlimited (1999–2001)
A heroic version of Green Goblin appeared on Counter-Earth in FoxKids' Spider-Man Unlimited animated series, which followed a high-tech Spider-Man as he battled against the High Evolutionary on an alien Earth.
Hector Jones (voiced by Rino Romano) was an inventor who created his goblin gear to fight in the human rebellion against the High Evolutionary's bestial New-Men. His costume featured goblin-like wings instead of a glider and explosive pumpkin bombs, but not much was learned about the character as the series was canceled on a cliffhanger.
9 Spider-Man (1967–1970)
The original Spider-Man animated series from the sixties introduced a Green Goblin that was visually similar to his comic counterpart, however, the actual character was a bit different in his weapons and motivations.
The sixties Green Goblin (voiced by Len Carlson) was a thief who specialized in mystical and supernatural crimes, instead of the technology-based character from the comics. Norman Osborn also never appeared in the series, further distancing this version from the comic character.
8 Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981–1983)
Another odd version of the character appeared on Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, which aired in the eighties and starred Firestar & Iceman alongside the titular wall-crawler as they lived together, attended college, and fought crime.
The biggest difference in Amazing Friends' take on Green Goblin was that Norman Osborn would uncontrollably transform into his Goblin persona in heightened moments due to his consumption of the goblin formula. He tried to poison New York's water supply with the formula, but he was stopped and reverted back to Norman Osborn.
7 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
The Osborns played a large role in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 which was the sequel in the second cinematic franchise starring the wall-crawler. However, its poor reception led to the demise of the franchise in favor of the ongoing MCU films. Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) was left to take over Oscorp and find a cure for the genetic disease that killed Norman (Chris Cooper).
Harry was cured but transformed and forced to wear a protective enhancement suit that he paired with a glider and weapons to become Green Goblin in order to take out Spider-Man. That said, the unoriginal concept didn't capture the best of the comic Goblin or surpass other versions seen already by fans.
6 Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Sam Raimi finished off his hit franchise with 2007's Spider-Man 3, which introduced new villains like Sandman and Venom while also wrapping up the long-running story of Harry Osborn's revenge against his best friend, who he believed killed his father.
Harry (played by James Franco) upgraded equipment found in one of his father's hidden goblin caches to become the New Goblin. He exchanged the glider for a flying snowboard and the goblin mask for goggles. New Goblin would fatally team up with Spider-Man against the new villains and sacrifice his life.
5 Spider-Man (1981–1982)
The Green Goblin (voiced by Neil Ross) that appeared in Spider-Man's solo eighties animated series was the closest adaptation to the comics that had been seen on the small screen at the time, and even featured some iconic comic moments that explored the long-standing rivalry between Spider-Man and Green Goblin.
"Revenge of the Green Goblin" revealed that Norman Osborn had suffered amnesia after the two enemies unmasked each other, which he then used to blackmail Spider-Man when his memory returned, loosely adapting a similar unmasking and amnesia storyline from the comics.
4 Ultimate Spider-Man (2012–2017)
Disney XD's Ultimate Spider-Man series was rooted in the comic series of the same name that explored a modernized take on the character in a continuity-free universe – though it also blended in a number of elements from the mainstream comics as well. Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (voiced by Steven Weber) features the transformed Goblin form along with the technological gear.
The series also showcased his Iron Patriot persona and temporarily transformed him into both Venom and Spider-Goblin before his final Ultimate Goblin transformation. Harry Osborn never became the Green Goblin, but he bonded with Venom and used the Patrioteer armor. Norma Osborn (voiced by Wendy Malick) also appeared as a female Green Goblin in an alternate reality.
3 Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994–1998)
One of the best adaptations of both the Norman Osborn (Neil Ross) and Harry Osborn (Gary Imhoff) versions of Green Goblin appeared in the 90s on Spider-Man: The Animated Series, which aired for five seasons on Fox.
The series adapted a number of comic storylines that included the Goblins, although it did initially focus on the Hobgoblin character before finally introducing the Green Goblin in later seasons – exploring his troubled relationship with his son and the mental anguish that led to him following in his father's villainous footsteps.
2 Spider-Man (2002)
Willem Dafoe portrayed the first live-action Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Sam Raimi's 2002 hit adaptation Spider-Man alongside Tobey Maguire as the titular hero, which explored both characters' fairly comics-accurate origins.
While Dafoe absolutely nailed the mental break and duality of Norman and the Goblin's characters, the look differed quite a bit from the comics as it replaced his green and purple goblin costume for a dull green flight suit and goblin helmet. This would inspire later live-action versions of the character but failed to capture Green Goblin's horror element.
1 The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008–2009)
KidsWB's The Spectacular Spider-Man became a fan-favorite series due to its modernized adaptations of the classic comic storylines that featured Norman Osborn (voiced by Alan Rachins) as the head of Oscorp, and the man behind the creation of a number of Spider-Man's villains.
Harry Osborn (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) is in high school alongside Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, but when Green Goblin (voiced by Steve Blum) appeared, the mystery of his true identity stretched across both seasons of the series, homaging the original comic mystery of the man behind the Goblin's mask.
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