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Norman Osborn (Earth-616)

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This page is similar in name or subject to other pages.

See also Green Goblin, Norman Osborn for a complete list of references to distinguish between these closely named or closely related articles.

Character Template Help
Real Name
Current Alias

Identity

Alignment

Affiliation
Thunderbolts; Former leader of the Sinister Twelve, partner of Mendell Stromm, Crime Master, employer of the Enforcers

Relatives
Alton Osborn (paternal grandfather, deceased)

Floyd Baker (paternal uncle)
Mrs. Baker (aunt-in-law)
Amberson Osborn (father, deceased)
Sandman (paternal cousin)
Emily Osborn (1st wife, deceased)
Gwen Stacy (2nd wife, deceased)
Green Goblin II (son, deceased)
Gray Goblin (son)
Sarah Stacy (daughter)
Liz Allan (daughter-in-Law)

Venom (grandson)

Universe

Base Of Operations

Characteristics
Gender

Height


Eyes

Hair

Status
Citizenship

Marital Status

Occupation
Government-appointed director of the Thunderbolts, professional criminal, owner of Osborn Industries and Oscorp; former owner of the Daily Bugle

Origin
Origin
Injecting himself with a chemical formula to increase strength and intelligence, Osborn becomes the Green Goblin as well as criminally insane.

Place of Birth


Contents

History


Norman Osborn was just a child when he first became obsessed with acquiring wealth and power. His father was an inventor whose business failed. Claiming that he had been swindled out of his inventions and personal fortune, Amberson Osborn took out his rage on his son. Norman realized that he couldn't depend on his father for financial security, so he began working after school and saving every cent he earned. He wouldn't allow himself to become another failure like his father. Norman studied chemistry and electrical engineering in college. He also took a number of courses in business adminstration. 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, or Oscorp.

Norman married his college sweetheart and they had a son, Harry. Unfortunately, his wife became ill. After she died, Norman buried himself in his work and rarely had time for young Harry. As the brilliant co-owner of a chemical manufacturer known as Oscorp, Norman Osborn, loving wealth and power, decided to take control and had his partner Stromm arrested when he found he was committing embezzlement, granting him complete control over the company and making Norman 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, who was tired of always being ignored and rejected by his father, switched the chemicals in the serum, which turned it green and caused it to explode in his face.

Norman Osborn aka Green Goblin
Norman Osborn aka Green Goblin

Later, at the hospital, Norman Osborn found himself thinking clearly than ever before, not knowing that he would slowly become insane. Attempting to achieve power beyond his wildest dreams, Norman Osborn planned to become the most powerful ganglord 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, the Headsman and Scorcher, after Spider-Man. The two were soundly defeated, and Norman Osborn decided to take matters into his own hands. Remembering a giant green goblin monster from childhood nightmares, he created a costume that reflected that monster, and he became the Green Goblin.

He 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, whose stomping grounds the Goblin, the Enforcers, and Spider-man accidentally came upon. 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 population. Spider-man and the Green Goblin would fight a few months later at a fan club meeting for Spider-Man. 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 superheroes, supervillains, citizens, and, of course, J. Jonah Jameson, and giving the Green Goblin an impressive reputation. Later still, the Green Goblin would pretend to be helping the police by attempting to capture Lucky Louis, a big gang leader, and, after seeing defeat by Spider-Man, attempted a partnership with the Crimemaster, which again ended in defeat.

With every one of these defeats, the Green Goblin became more determined. In time, Osborn became totally obsessed with Spider-Man and finally began directing all of his efforts to finding a way to conquer his web-swinging adversary.

One of the biggest success in the Green Goblin's career was learning Spider-Man's secret identity, by utilizing a false gang that sprayed Spider-Man with a gas that nullified his spider-sense, allowing the 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 Harry Osborn, one of Peter Parker's classmates. After gloating and revealing his past, he let Spider-Man escape his bindings, 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. Gaining amnesia, Norman 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.

Green Goblin & Gwen Stacy (by Dan Brereton)
Green Goblin & Gwen Stacy (by Dan Brereton)

However, memories eventually returned, and the Green Goblin attempted to overcome Norman and defeat Spider-Man once more, this time with a bomb that was filled with a gas that nullified his wall-clinging ability. Spider-Man defeated him this time by landing on his back and luring him to the hospital room of Norman's son, who was extremely ill from drug abuse. Snapped back to reality, Norman returned to normal. Somehow, though, by as-of-yet unknown means, Norman regained his memories. He nearly killed Gwen Stacy after kidnapping her and throwing her off a bridge, after which Spider-Man attempted to save her with a webline, but the "romantic idiot" killed her by applying the 1100 pounds of force required to bring her to a dead stop. Filled with rage, Spider-Man savagely attacked the Goblin, nearly killing him. He returned to his senses at the last minute, however and the Goblin took the opportunity to attempt one final play by remote controlling his goblin glider to impale the wall crawler. Spider-Man was able to dodge the glider which instead impaled the Goblin, seemingly killing him. The nightmare was over... or at least that's what Peter thought.

Harry Osborn, Norman's son, had witnessed the final defeat of his father at the hands of Spider-Man and removed his costume before the authorities could arrive, thus preserving his secret identity. He even bribed the coroner so that further autopsies would show no trace of the "Goblin" formula in Norman's blood. And for many years, the world believed Norman Osborn to be dead.

After the apparent death of the Green Goblin, many tried to follow in his footsteps, including his son Harry, Harry's therapist Bart Hamilton, Phil Urich, and millionaire Roderick Kingsley who attempted to create his own variation and legacy on the goblin motif as the murderous Hobgoblin. Each subsequent version of the goblin was defeated and Harry eventually died as a result of exposure to an untested experimental version of the formula that had given his father his abilities. Little did anyone know that Norman Osborn was in fact alive and well and putting a master plan into place that he hoped would ruin Spider-Man forever.

The same formula that had given Osborn his heightened strength and intellect also gave him powerful regenerative abilities, allowing him to survive the impalement by his goblin glider. He had escaped the morgue, replacing his body with that of a drifter he had murdered (and impaled through the chest) and fled to Europe. There he joined the Cabal of Scriers, eventually moving up in their ranks and completely taking them over. After the death of his son Harry, whom Norman believed would prove himself in his absence, Osborn accelerated a series of plans he had formulated over the past several years.

From the shadows, Osborn manipulated Empire State University Professor Miles Warren as part of a grand scheme to have Parker believe he was in fact a clone and that Ben Reilly (the real clone) was the real Peter Parker. However, with Peter's wife Mary Jane Watson pregnant and the possibility of a life without Spider-Man on the horizon, Peter freely relinquished his alter-ego to Reilly. Unsatisfied with these results, Osborn returned as the Green Goblin revealing himself as the mastermind behind the entire fiasco and killed Ben Reilly who sacrificed himself to save Peter. Reilly's body disintegrated, proving that Peter was in fact the real Spider-Man all along. In addition, Osborn had an employee of his, Alison Mongrain poison Mary Jane into an induced premature labor, kidnapping the child.

Osborn's next grand scheme was to make Spider-man his heir, first drugging him into wearing the Goblin costume and attacking his friends. After days of physical and mental torture at the Osborn Estate, Peter nearly gave in, but refused at the last minute. Next, the Goblin used a drunken Flash Thompson to drive a truck into Midtown High School, where Peter had taken a job as a teacher. The accident caused Flash brain damage, and spurred Peter into a final battle with his old enemy. Although, it seemed that in some strange way Norman wanted Peter to finish him off, Peter refused saying he did not want to fight him anymore and declared a truce.

Sometime later, Norman Osborn was finally revealed to the public as the Green Goblin and after an climatic battle with Spider-Man and Luke Cage that raged across Manhattan, he was finally imprisoned. However, things were far from over.

From behind bars, Osborn once again masterminded a plan against Spider-Man. This time he had Mac Gargan, also known as the Scorpion, kidnap Peter's Aunt May. The plan was for Spider-Man to break Osborn out of prison in exchange for his Aunt's life. Peter reluctantly agreed and with the help of the Black Cat proceeded to break Osborn out... only to have twelve of his greatest enemies waiting for him on the outside. Osborn had assembled a Sinister Twelve, which included Mac Gargan newly bonded with the Venom symbiote. However, Mary Jane had contacted SHIELD and the villains were faced with the combined might of Captain America, Iron Man, Yellowjacket, Daredevil and the Fantastic Four. During the fracas, the Goblin had escaped to kidnap Mary Jane and took her to the George Washington Bridge in order to replay his murder of Gwen Stacy... a final act of vengeance against Spider-Man. However, a drugged Doctor Octopus intervened, attacking the Goblin. Spider-Man was able to save Mary Jane after a bolt of lightning sent the two villains into the river. Following some verbal clues from the Goblin, Peter was also able to discover where he had hidden Aunt May and rescued her as well. It is revealed that Osborn sent Peter a letter before the fight, thanking Peter for giving his life meaning and purpose, but Peter never recieved the letter due to moving from his residence.

It was later revealed that Osborn had been involved in a brief affair with Gwen Stacy which resulted in the birth of twins, Gabriel and Sarah. The twins had been taken with Osborn to Europe to be raised during his sabbatical. They rapidly aged, and developed superhuman strength and endurance. After the Goblin's takedown, the twins confronted Spider-Man. They believed Parker to be their real father as well as responsible for killing their mother and abandoning them. Spider-Man told the twins the truth - Gabriel rejected Spider-Man, and accepted the Goblin mantle as the Gray Goblin, becoming insane in the process. After battling Spider-Man, a deranged Gabriel disappeared, while Sarah sought training to use her powers for good.

The Goblin later watches in shock as Spider-Man publicly reveals his identity as Peter Parker, railing that Peter "broke the rules!" Peter also confirms on TV that Osborn is the Goblin, and that he killed Gwen Stacy. He's then approached by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who are seeking his aid. When Osborn fled during his last jail break, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents picked him up outside of Paris and returned him to his jail cell under heightened security.

The Goblin confronts and attacks Ben Urich in an alley, but SHIELD's nanomachines cause him to stop, involuntarily making him collapse and foam at the mouth.

Later he makes a deal with a shadowy figure from the pro-registration side who gives him a serum to override the control nanomachines implanted by SHIELD. The figure is indicated to be highly trusted by the superhero community, though whether he is himself a superhero is unspecified. In the next two issues, he attacks a group of Atlanteans in his Goblin gear, killing and wounding many. Later, when one of an Atlantean ambassador attempts to give a speech, Norman appears and shoots at him, wounding but not killing him. As he is being taken away by security, Norman says he is 'sick' and is not in control of his actions. While being interrogated by two officers, Norman becomes increaingly agitated when they question who gave Norman access to the press conference AND assisted in smuggling a weapon there. At first, Norman becomes angry, threatening to kill the two officers' families, then he becomes more and more afraid until a government figure interrupts the interview (assumed from Norman's comments to be the man who neutralized his nano-machines) at which point Norman begs the officers not to let him go, even promising to reveal all he knows to them.

Norman Osborn is now the government appointed new director of the Thunderbolts and has been prescribed medication to stabilize his personality. He remains unbalanced, however, and prone to maniacal laughing fits. One such occourance happened after he read a file on Steel Spider. "Steel Spider, man."


Powers and Abilities

Powers

  • Superhuman Intelligence: The Green Goblin possesses a superhuman intellect and cunning, thanks to the Goblin serum, although the serum also altered his mental state, slowly driving him to insanity, and later losing all mental sanity after partaking in the Gathering of Five, giving him complete and total insanity. Although he is completely insane, he is a brilliant inventor, chemist, strategist, businessman, and manipulator.
  • Superhuman Strength: The Green Goblin's strength is superhuman. He is able to lift around 9 tons.
  • Superhuman Speed: The Goblin is capable of running and moving at speeds greater than that of even the finest Olympic athlete.
  • Superhuman Stamina: The Goblin's enhanced musculature generates less fatigue toxins than the muscles of ordinary humans. He can exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before fatigue begins to affect him.
  • Superhuman Durability: The Green Goblin's skin, muscle, and bone tissues are somewhat harder and more durable than those of an ordinary human. He has proven capable of resisting small caliber bullets. Apparently, a .45 Magnum at close range can injure him, as Mary Jane Watson realized when she shot him when he tried to kidnap her.
  • Regenerative Healing Factor: If injured, the Goblin's body is able to heal itself with greater speed and efficiency than an ordinary human. 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 impailed by his Goblin Glider and completely recovered, although the puncture did leave a scar across his chest. He also recovered from having over a dozen of his bombs explode while webbed to his chest.
  • Superhuman Agility: The Goblin's agility and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural limits of the human body.
  • Superhuman Reflexes: The Goblin's reaction time is enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural limits of the human body.

Abilities

Aside from his physical advantages, the serum also greatly enhanced Norman's already highly above average intellect, making him a true genius capable of making progress in advanced areas of genetics, robotics, engineering, and applied chemistry that most professional scientists can scarcely comprehend. However, these aptitudes are inhibited by the fact that Osborn is criminally insane.

Strength level

The Green Goblin possesses superhuman strength sufficient to lift approximately 9 tons.

Weaknesses

The Green Goblins insanity causes 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. He also believes himself to be invincible, claiming that "not even death could defeat him" this has caused him to fight when at a severe disadvantage, resulting in his defeat.


Paraphernalia

Equipment: The Green Goblin's costume incorporates chain mail in the tunic, giving him some protection from the blows inflicted during his battles with Spider-Man
Transportation:

  • Flying Broomstick: The Green Goblin originally rode through the air on a one man, miniature turbo-fan-powered vertical thrust "flying broomstick".
  • Goblin Glider: He soon re-designed this device into an improved version that he called his "goblin glider", capable of great maneuverability and speeds of up to 90 miles per hour. It is capable of supporting about 400 lbs including Norman's weight (and far more for very brief periods of time). Top speed and a full normal load will exhaust the fuel supply in about one hour. The main microprocessor assisted manual controls are 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 is steered primarily, however, by the weight and attitude of its rider. The Green Goblin's boots lock into the stirrups of the glider electromagnetically.

Weapons:

  • Explosives: The Green Goblin has created and utilized various concussive, incendiary, and other specialized explosives in his career, most in the form of miniature jack-o'lanterns. The Goblin usually carries these in a shoulder bag, nicknamed his "bag of tricks".
  • Incendiary: The incendiary grenades ignite almost soundlessly and release enough heat to melt through a three-inch thick sheet of steel.
  • Smoke/Gas: He also carries a variety of smoke and gas-emitting bombs, which are surrounded by a light plastic mantle that flutter like a wraith when the bomb is thrown. Other gas bombs emit hallucinogenic gases, and others release a specially concocted gas that can neutralize Spider-Man's spider sense for a limited period of time.
  • Flying Razor Bats: The Green Goblin sometimes throws razor sharp bat shaped projectiles which can slice into or ram and impale themselves into opponents.
  • Electrical Discharges: The Green Goblin's gloves are interwoven with microcircuit-conducting filaments capable of high-frequency electrical power from rechargeable power packs in both his glove cuffs and costume tunics. They have the capacity to discharge for up to five minutes of sustained fire befor depleting their power supplies.


Notes

  • No special notes.


Trivia

  • No trivia.



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