THE GREEN GOBLIN
(of Earth-8107)

Real Name: Norman Osborn

Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Earth-8107) human mutate

Occupation: Businessman, criminal

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: His pilot

Enemies: Betty Brant, J. Jonah Jameson, Spider-Friends (Firestar/Angelica Jones, Iceman/Bobby Drake, Spider-Man/Peter Parker)

Known Relatives: Harry Osborn (son), Mona Osborn (niece)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: New York City, New York, USA; formerly a secret lab on the campus of Empire State University, New York City, New York, USA

First Appearance: Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends cartoon episode, "Triumph of the Green Goblin" (September 12, 1981)

Powers/Abilities: As Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin apparently possessed the same business and chemistry skills as his 616 counterpart. When transformed into the Green Goblin, he possessed superhuman strength. He also used a bat-shaped rocket glider, a stun wand and a Future Finder helmet.

Height: 5'11" (presumably-see comments)
Weight: 185 lbs. (presumably-see comments)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Brown

History: (Spider-Man cartoon episode - "Revenge of the Green Goblin" (fb) - BTS) - Businessman Norman Osborn donated a science lab to Empire State University.

(Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends cartoon episode - "Triumph of the Green Goblin" (fb) - BTS/Spider-Man cartoon episode - "Revenge of the Green Goblin" (fb)) - At some point, Norman Osborn was in an accident and was transformed into the Green Goblin. As the Goblin, Norman hid a copy of his formula inside a secret safe in the ESU science building. The accident, according to Norman, ruined him as a businessman and inspired him to become a criminal.  

(Spider-Man cartoon episode - "Revenge of the Green Goblin" (fb)) - Three years ago on Halloween, the Green Goblin's crime spree was stopped by Spider-Man. At some point during the fight, the Green Goblin captured Spider-Man and unmasked him. The Green Goblin then unmasked himself as Osborn but an explosion ripped apart his lab. Spider-Man pulled Osborn free from the rubble but he lost his memory of Spider-Man's true identity and was sent to jail.





(Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends cartoon episode - "Triumph of the Green Goblin") - Osborn was later committed to a sanitarium (see comments).


(Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends cartoon episode - "Triumph of the Green Goblin") - During a thunderstorm, Norman Osborn left the sanitarium, seemingly cured. He took a private airplane to return to New York during the storm. When lightning struck the plane, Norman and his pilot bailed out. Norman landed hard, with the stress apparently triggering his transformation into the Green Goblin.

Fully transformed and outfitted with his gear, the Green Goblin broke into the science lab at ESU. When Spider-Man, who was at ESU as Peter Parker for a costume party, slipped into the building to investigate, the Green Goblin hit him with a paralysis ray. With the hero disabled, the Green Goblin recounted his origin story and the hiding of his Goblin Formula, which seemed to be missing from the ESU safe. Donning the Future Finder, a thought-projecting helmet, the Green Goblin boasted of his plans to the captive Spider-Man, namely his intention to infect the people of New York with his Formula and turn them into goblin-like beings that he could rule. When he proved still unable to find the Formula, however, the Green Goblin grew enraged and wrecked the science lab before coming to the conclusion that his niece Mona would know where his formula was since she was a student at the school. Soon hearing the approaching Angelica Jones (AKA Firestar), the Green Goblin set a trap. He placed Spider-Man, who was slowly regaining his ability to move, directly in front of the door with a canister of liquid nitrogen in front of him, set to open when the door did.






Grabbing his niece Mona, the Goblin took her back to his secret lab. With her unwitting help, he concocted his Goblin Formula, which he then decided to test on Mona. He stopped when Spider-Man, who had escaped the trap in the lab thanks to Firestar, set off an alarm. The Green Goblin responded by activating a security system, trapping the hero within a steel-lined room with heated panels. Activating another trap, the Green Goblin tried to dump Spider-Man into a giant trash compactor with oil that shot out of the walls. When Spider-Man escaped the deathtraps and stopped the Green Goblin from exposing Mona to the Goblin Formula, the Green Goblin escaped on his bat glider, boasting he had enough of the Formula to still infect New York, St. Louis, Washington and several other cities. Spider-Man snagged a webline onto the back of the glider, prompting the Green Goblin to try to ditch the hero using centrifugal force. After a brief struggle, the Green Goblin tossed Spider-Man free over Central Park and laughed, as there was nothing in the Park tall enough for the wall crawler to latch onto. Unfortunately, the Goblin failed to figure on the appearance of Iceman, who saved the falling Spider-Man.

The Green Goblin then dumped his Formula into the city water supply but grew annoyed when Iceman froze the entire reservoir and even moreso when Spider-Man snagged his glider again. Vowing to rid himself of the web spinner, the Green Goblin aimed for some nearby power lines, unaware that Spider-Man had already jumped off and by the time he realized, the Green Goblin was too low and crashed into the lines, causing an explosion. The shock of the explosion and fire transformed him back into Norman Osborn. Seemingly confused about his whereabouts, Osborn swore to return to the sanitarium and not leave until he was cured for good.

(Spider-Man cartoon episode - "Revenge of the Green Goblin" (fb) - BTS) - Norman Osborn was apparently moved from the sanitarium back to regular prison.





(Spider-Man cartoon episode - "Revenge of the Green Goblin"/Spider-Man cartoon episode - "Return of the Kingpin" (fb)) - Norman, possibly feeling that he was cured, escaped from prison. Riding a train to an unrevealed destination, he grew nervous and when the train crashed, Norman was thrown clear of the car. As the wrecked train exploded into a fireball, Osborn looked at the carnage with a familiar grin on his face (see comments). Subsequently breaking into the science building at ESU in his guise as the Green Goblin, Osborn waited in the dark until Spider-Man entered the lab, having been led there by his spider-sense. As Spider-Man examined the safe the Goblin had left open, the Green Goblin shot the hero with a stun gun. With Spider-Man laying prone, the Green Goblin explained that as Norman Osborn, he had donated the science lab to the school and also used it to store his gear. As Spider-Man remained helpless, the Green Goblin yanked the hero's mask off and once again learned the hero was Peter Parker. Before Parker's stunned eyes, the Goblin reached into the safe and pulled out the Memory Amplifier machine. Using the machine, the Green Goblin recapped his origin but when he heard the approaching Betty Brant, the Green Goblin left through the window on his bat glider, finding the idea of Parker being found as Spider-Man rather funny. Flying to the Daily Bugle building, the Green Goblin broke into the printing press room and treated the rollers with a special gas before leaving.










Subsequently returning his secret lab, the Green Goblin found Spider-Man using his Memory Amplifier. When Spider-Man expressed confusion at seeing a memory he didn't recall, the Goblin explained that the helmet could also predict the future. The Green Goblin then flew around the lab, with Spider-Man grasping and hanging onto the glider's tailpipe. Flying over Central Park, the Goblin shook Spider-Man free, cackling as he saw Spider-Man fall but failing to see Spider-Man glide into the lake.










The next day, the effects of the Goblin's gas became apparent when Daily Bugle newspapers crumbled into powder all across the city. As J. Jonah Jameson ranted in his office, the Green Goblin hovered by his window and gloated at the publisher's misfortune, his enjoyment growing as Jameson wildly swung at him and fell out of top floor office. Seeing Jameson clinging for his life on a window ledge, the Green Goblin hovered closer and continued his gloating. When Jameson angrily waved his fist, he lost his balance and fell again but Spider-Man saved the plummeting publisher, prompting the Green Goblin to intervene. When Spider-Man and Jameson hitched a ride on the Goblin's glider, the Green Goblin offered Jameson Spider-Man's secret identity, forcing Spider-Man to swing down to the street with Jameson. The Goblin tried to shout Spider-Man's identity to Jameson but the wall crawler made sure to make plenty of noise to drown the Goblin out. Flying lower to talk to Jameson, the Green Goblin failed to see the gas tanker truck parked in front of the alley he was flying in and by the time the Goblin turned to look forward, he was too close and crashed headlong into the tanker. In the ensuing explosion, the Green Goblin persona faded and his costume was shredded, leaving only a confused Norman Osborn in a rumpled green suit. Carried away from the fire by Spider-Man, Osborn showed confusion at the mere mention of the Green Goblin and had no knowledge of Spider-Man's true identity. The confused Norman Osborn was left in the alley beside a screaming Jameson as the man screamed himself hoarse at being cheated out of Spider-Man's identity.

(Spider-Man cartoon episode - "Return of the Kingpin" - BTS) - During a news report on Spider-Man, the newscaster mentioned Spider-Man's previous encounters with the Green Goblin, Dr. Doom and the Lizard.

Comments: Created by Dennis Marks and Marvel Productions, Ltd. (see Appearances list for list of artists involved).

According to a few online sources, the Green Goblin was voiced by Neil Ross in the '81 Spider-Man series and Dennis Marks in Amazing Friends.

Height and weight taken from his 616 counterpart.

During the costume party seen in the Amazing Friends episode, there are several decorations that have the Green Goblin on them, so presumably, Osborn's criminal alter ego was known to the public, including one costumed attendee who dressed as the Goblin. In the Spider-Man series, a different, Halloween party was also attended by several people in goblin costumes. The two episodes even did the same bit of a fake goblin swinging from the ceiling and both episodes focus on the Goblin having a golden helmet that projects memories.

In Amazing Friends, they make it clear Osborn isn't wearing a costume and that he was in a sanitarium but in the '81 Spider-Man series, he looks like he was in prison plus they make it clear the goblin costume was just a costume.
Maybe he was sent to prison but got moved to a sanitarium prior to the "Amazing Friends" episode and after he apparently returned there, he was deemed cure and was sent back to regular prison, the one he escaped at the beginning of the '81 episode? As for the transforming vs. costume conflicts, perhaps since we see the Goblin Formula transforming him physically into the Green Goblin in the "Amazing Friends" episode, maybe he DOES physically transform in his '81 series appearance too but keeps extra costumes handy in his goblin bag in case the Formula wears off prematurely and he has to keep up appearances. Osborn always was something of a planner so maybe that's what gets shredded at the end of the '81 episode...an extra costume? Maybe he transformed back into Osborn off-screen and his extra costume was shredded to keep him from recalling his criminal identity since seeing it might restore his memories? Or maybe he somehow lost his physical transformation powers off-panel prior to his appearance in the '81 episode...- Proto-Man

On the train, we see Norman wearing a pair of handcuffs but no guard is present.
Well, if he escaped, maybe he was still wearing the handcuffs he had on while incarcerated? -Proto-Man

Man, that image of the Green Goblin wearing the Memory Amplifier above really looks like Willem Dafoe, who would later go on to play Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in the 2002 live-action Spider-Man film. -Proto-Man

Profile by David Lawrence.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-8107's Green Goblin has no KNOWN connections to:

Norman Osborn's pilot

A pilot, apparently in the employ of Norman Osborn. He flew him away from the sanitarium but a thunderstorm damaged the plane. He was forced to bail out as the plane crashed. He was last seen parachuting to safety.






--Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends cartoon episode, "Triumph of the Green Goblin"

images: (without ads)
Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends cartoon episode, "Triumph of the Green Goblin" (Green Goblin main image, Norman Osborn headshot, Norman transforming into the Green Goblin, Green Goblin with Goblin Formula, Green Goblin headshot, Norman Osborn in Goblin costume, Norman Osborn's pilot)
Spider-Man cartoon episode, "Revenge of the Green Goblin" (Norman Osborn waist-up image, Norman Osborn grinning, Green Goblin with Memory Amplifier, Norman wearing Goblin costume, Norman in shredded Goblin costume)

Appearances:
Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends cartoon episode, "Triumph of the Green Goblin" (September 12, 1981) - Dennis Marks (writer), Bruce Bennett, Norm Cabral, Dan Faucett, Neil Galloway, Greg Garcia, Gary Graham, Rick Graham, Karl Hepworth, Stuart Heimdall, Elaine Hultgren, Boyd Kirkland, Debra Pugh, Dave Sharp, Roy Smith, Tom Tholen, Grant Wilson, Roy Wilson, Bob Foster (layouts), Jan Green, Rick Hoberg, Cullen Houghtaling, Larry Houston, Sherman Labby, Will Meugniot, Dick Sebast, Bob Schaffer, Don Shepard, Hank Tucker, Warren Tufts (storyboards), Gerry Chiniquy, Steve Clark, John Gibbs, Sid Marcus, Bob Richardson, Nelson Shin, Arthur Vitello (animation directors)
Spider-Man cartoon episode, "Revenge of the Green Goblin" (November 14, 1981) - Creighton Barnes, Doug Booth, Francis X. Feighan, Donald F. Glut, Jack Hanrahan, Christy Marx, Larry Parr, Jeffrey Scott (writers), Lyle Beddes, Bruce Bennett, Norm Cabral, Dan Faucett, Neil Galloway, Greg Garcia, Gary Graham, Rick Graham, Karl Hepworth, Stuart Heimdall, Larry Huber, Elaine Hultgren, Boyd Kirkland, Debra Pugh, Keith Sargent, Dave Sharp, Roy Smith, Grant Wilson, Roy Wilson, Bill Wray (layouts), Mario Piluso (layouts, storyboards), Rick Hoberg, Cullen Houghtaling, Larry Houston, Sherman Labby, Henry Tucker (storyboards), Gerry Chiniquy, Steve Clark, John Gibbs, Sid Marcus, Bob Richardson, Nelson Shin, Kay Wright (animation directors)
Spider-Man cartoon episode, "The Return of the Kingpin" (February 27, 1982) - Creighton Barnes, Doug Booth, Francis X. Feighan, Donald F. Glut, Jack Hanrahan, Christy Marx, Larry Parr, Jeffrey Scott (writers), Lyle Beddes, Bruce Bennett, Norm Cabral, Dan Faucett, Neil Galloway, Greg Garcia, Gary Graham, Rick Graham, Karl Hepworth, Stuart Heimdall, Larry Huber, Elaine Hultgren, Boyd Kirkland, Debra Pugh, Keith Sargent, Dave Sharp, Roy Smith, Grant Wilson, Roy Wilson, Bill Wray (layouts), Mario Piluso (layouts, storyboards), Rick Hoberg, Cullen Houghtaling, Larry Houston, Sherman Labby, Henry Tucker (storyboards), Gerry Chiniquy, Steve Clark, John Gibbs, Sid Marcus, Bob Richardson, Nelson Shin, Kay Wright (animation directors)

First Posted: 03/01/2018
Last updated: 02/02/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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