GREEN GOBLIN
Real Name: Inapplicable
Identity/Class: Genetic construct
Occupation: Henchman
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Green Goblin (Norman Osborn), Dr. Angst (Jonas Mueller)
Enemies: Hobgoblin (Roderick Kingsley), Clarence Fielding, Jimmy-6, Liz Allan Osborn, Norman "Normie" Osborn II, Override (Greg Herd), Punisher (Frank Castle), Shotgun (J.R. Walker), Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
Known Relatives: Dr. Angst (Jonas Mueller, creator)
Aliases: "Gobby"
Base of Operations: An abandoned warehouse;
formerly Dr. Angst's lab
First Appearance: Peter Parker: Spider-Man I#88 (February, 1998)
Powers/Abilities: The Green Goblin construct possessed the ability to shapeshift, allowing it to mimic the features of others, although his default form seems to be a bald, hollow-eyed humanoid. Whether it could alter its mass, size, or take on non-humanoid forms is unknown. After consuming the Goblin Formula, the construct possessed superhuman strength, endurance, and healing abilities, although not to the same degree that Norman Osborn did. Without consuming a stabilizing formula, however, his artificial body would begin to break down. He wore bulletproof armor, rode a mechanical glider, and used a number of exotic weapons, including concussive and incendiary pumpkin bombs, razor bats, and electro-gloves. He also occasionally wielded a tranquilizer-dart gun.
In addition, the Goblin possessed the ability to emit a brilliant green glow. Whether this derived from a device incorporated into the suit or was related to his shapeshifting powers is unknown.
History:
(Peter Parker: Spider-Man II#18 - (fb)) - Created by Dr. Angst to convince the
public that Norman Osborn was never the Green Goblin, the Green Goblin construct
latched on to Norman as a father figure. He was given the Goblin Formula
and the paraphernalia of the Green Goblin, but given insufficient training to
fully play the role.
(Peter Parker: Spider-Man I#88) - Peter Parker saw the Goblin, glowing eerily, atop a building. Changing into his Spider-Man suit, Parker raced to the top of the building only to find that the Goblin had disappeared, and had left a pumpkin bomb behind. Escaping the bomb, Parker later saw the Goblin outside the Daily Grind coffee shop, but again the villain disappeared before he could reach him. Believing the Goblin to be Norman Osborn, Parker confronted Osborn at his offices, but saw the new Goblin again immediately afterwards, indicating that it wasn't Osborn.
(Sensational Spider-Man I#25) - After undergoing empowering treatments by Dr. Angst, the Goblin kidnapped Normie Osborn from the Osborn estate.
(Amazing Spider-Man I#432) - Holding the boy at Sirico Salvage in Brooklyn, the Goblin sat silently as Normie asked him if he was his father.
(Peter Parker: Spider-Man I#89) - The Green Goblin launched a
pumpkin cluster bomb into the warehouse where Shotgun, Spider-Man, and the
Punisher were battling.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#255) - Digging himself out of the wreckage, Spider-Man chased the Goblin down, but was forced to let him go when Shotgun opened fire on him. Later, he burst through into J. Jonah Jameson's office at the Daily Bugle, and demanded that Bugle owner Norman Osborn delivers ten million dollars to him on the Brooklyn Bridge at midnight in return for his grandson's life. At the money drop, the Goblin abducted Osborn, chucked a pumpkin bomb at the cops, and flew off. Sent crashing into a mannequin factory when Override shut down his glider, the Goblin released Osborn and attacked the newly-arrived Spider-Man with a barrage of bombs, ghosts, and razor-bats. Claiming not to work for Osborn, the Goblin blasted Spider-Man and flew off without the money. Retreating to the junkyard, the Goblin took a bullet in the chest from Jimmy-6, and battled Spider-Man again. Distracted when novice bounty hunter Clarence Fielding rescued Normie, the Goblin was pummeled by Spider-Man. Attempting to dive-bomb the wall-crawler, the Goblin crashed when his target leapt out of the way. His glider exploded, engulfing the junkyard in flames.
Secretly escaping, the Goblin was healed by Dr. Angst, aided by the regeneration factor of the Goblin formula. Osborn congratulated him on a job well-done, and decided to retire the Goblin for a little while.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#259) - After learning that Roderick Kingsley planned to surrender evidence proving that Norman Osborn is the Green Goblin to the district attorney, Osborn sent the Green Goblin to capture Kingsley on his way to meeting with the DA. Snatching the prisoner, the Goblin outfought Spider-Man and brought Kingsley to meet with Osborn outside of Great Neck, NY.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#260) - The Goblin stood by silently as Osborn and Kingsley talked. He almost attacked when Kingsley called him a "pathetic also-ran", but was stopped by Osborn. After Kingsley agreed to work with Osborn, the Goblin tied him up and flew off. When Kingsley, outfitted in his Hobgoblin gear again, went to track down his brother Daniel, who he claimed had the evidence, Osborn sent the Green Goblin to tail him. Watching Spider-Man and the Hobgoblin battle over Daniel from afar, the Green Goblin decided to interfere, and shot the web-slinger with a tranquilizer dart.
(Spectacular Spider-Man II#261) - The Green Goblin prevented
the Hobgoblin from unmasking the unconscious wall-crawler, and instead bore
both
Spider-Man and Daniel Kingsley back to a Multivex warehouse, where Osborn waited
for them. The Goblin watched Osborn and the Hobgoblin argue, and finally
intervened when the Hobgoblin attacked Norman. He was stopped by Osborn,
who wished to destroy his rival himself. As the warehouse burned around
him, the Goblin took on the now-free Spider-Man, who quickly defeated and
unmasked him. Fleeing under cover of pumpkin bomb, the Goblin escaped to
Norman Osborn's apartment, where Osborn berated him for his failure.
(Peter Parker: Spider-Man II#18 - (fb)) - Abandoned in the wake of Osborn's crippling mystically-induced madness, the Green Goblin laid low, but the Goblin formula began to make his cloned body degenerate.
(Amazing Spider-Man II#18) - Resurfacing, the Goblin attacked Liz Osborn's limo on the 59th Street Bridge, searching for a cure to his condition. Blasting through a police barricade, he cornered Liz, and demanded that she show him Norman's files. Before she could answer, Spider-Man swung in and engaged the Goblin in battle. Their battle took them atop a cable car, suspended above the river. The Goblin snapped the cable with a razor bat, forcing Spider-Man to hold it together and keep the car aloft while the Goblin made his escape.
(Peter Parker: Spider-Man II#18) - Plotting in his decaying lair, the Goblin plotted before a mirror. Seeing nothing reflected in it, he smashed it, and set out to find Liz Osborn once more. Finding her in front of the Daily Bugle, the Goblin swooped down, only to be confronted by a superhuman in a makeshift costume made from a painter's tarp. The unknown man knocked the Goblin from his glider and quickly overwhelmed him. Recognizing his foe's moves as those of Spider-Man, the Goblin unmasked, revealing himself as - Harry Osborn!
Or not. The Goblin quickly shapeshifted into a variety of guises, finally settling on Harry again. He explained his origins and began to fall apart, warning the horrified Spider-Man of Norman Osborn's return as he melted into a puddle of protoplasm.
Comments: Created by Howard Mackie, John Romita Jr., and Scott Hanna.
Note that he's a genetic construct, not a clone. Clones are bad.
Argh. The "big reveal" promised in Peter Parker: Spider-Man II#19 was nothing of the sort. The identity of the new Goblin was built up as this big mystery, only for the Goblin's actual identity (or lack thereof) to conflict with all the clues we'd been given. For example, in Sensational Spider-Man I#25, Dr. Angst mentions the construct "becoming [the Green Goblin] again" - which makes no sense unless Mueller thinks the construct is Harry Osborn, which he shouldn't because he created it himself (as confirmed in the Spider-Man Encyclopedia). In all subsequent appearances, the Goblin's face was kept in shadow, just as the faces of the original Green Goblin and Hobgoblin were - and then the plot thread was dropped with the relaunch and picked up a few years later, revealing the Goblin as literally nobody.
Interestingly, it appears that Glenn Greenberg originally intended for this guy to be revealed as Phil Urich in Spectacular#261, "reprogrammed" by Osborn as revenge for stealing his son's Goblin-crap, judging by his comments in part 33 of his must-read Life of Reilly articles. For reasons unknown, this was nixed, and we ended up with this guy. More's the pity.
He picked up the cape somewhere between his battle with the Hobgoblin and his attack on Liz. Dunno where he got it, but I like it.
Profile by Minor Irritant.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Green Goblin construct should not be confused with:
images: (without ads)
Amazing Spider-Man II#19, p5, pan4 (main image)
Peter Parker: Spider-Man II#19, p20, pan1 (default form)
Peter Parker: Spider-Man I#88, p?, pan? (glowing)
Peter Parker: Spider-Man II#19, p20, pan5 (melting)
Appearances:
Peter Parker: Spider-Man I#88 (February, 1998) - Howard Mackie (writer), John Romita Jr. (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Sensational Spider-Man I#25 (March, 1998) - Todd DeZago (writer), Joe Bennett (penciler),
Al Milgrom & Dan Green (inkers), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man I#432 (March, 1998) - Tom DeFalco (writer), John Romita Jr.
(penciler), Bud LaRosa (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Peter Parker: Spider-Man I#89 (March, 1998) - Howard Mackie (writer), John Romita Jr. (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#255 (March, 1998) - Tom DeFalco (plotter), J. M.
DeMatteis (scripter), Luke Ross (penciler), Dan Green & Al Milgrom (inkers),
Ralph Macchio (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#259-261 (July-September, 1998) - Roger Stern
(co-plotter), Glenn Greenberg (co-plotter/scripter), Luke Ross (penciler), Al
Milgrom (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man II#18 (June, 2000) - Howard Mackie (writer), John Byrne (penciler),
John Romita Sr. (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Peter Parker: Spider-Man II#18 (June, 2000) - Howard Mackie (writer), Graham
Nolan (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
First Posted: 07/11/2007
Last updated: 09/23/2010
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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