"Alright class- now pay attention. Lesson One is on how to make your name as a villain forever."
THE GREEN GOBLIN I (Norman Osborn, aka American Patriot, The Goblin King, The Red Goblin, Gold Goblin)
Created By: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964)
Role: Master Villain, Big Bad, Joker/Lex Luthor Hybrid, Upgraded by History, Bridge-Thrower-Offer, Mad Scientist
Villain Ranking: A-List (mostly B-List before 1976)
Group Affiliations: The Thunderbolts, The Sinister Twelve, The Cabal, H.A.M.M.E.R.
PL 11 (238)
STRENGTH 8 STAMINA 7 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 8 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 5
Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+6)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+12)
Deception 9 (+14)
Expertise (Business) 8 (+16)
Expertise (Current Events) 3 (+11)
Expertise (Politics) 5 (+13)
Expertise (Science) 9 (+17)
Insight 6 (+10)
Intimidation 5 (+10)
Perception 4 (+8)
Persuasion 5 (+10)
Ranged Combat (Razor-Bats & Electro-Gloves) 2 (+14)
Technology 9 (+17)
Vehicles 4 (+8)
"Glider Pilot" Vehicles 6 (+14) (Flaws: Limited to Goblin Gliders)
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Beginner's Luck, Benefit (Wealth) 4, Connected, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Equipment 9 (Goblin Glider), Favored Environment (Airborne), Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Aim, Improved Initiative 2, Inventor, Jack-Of-All-Trades, Last Stand (Ignores All Damage For 1 Round With HP Sepnt), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 8, Skill Mastery (Deception), Startle, Taunt
Powers:
"Altered Healing" Regeneration 2 (Feats: Regrowth) [3]
"Goblin Costume" (Flaws: Removable) [16]
"Electro-Circuitry Gloves" Blast 8 (16)
Protection 1 (1)
Immunity 2 (Chemicals) (2) -- (19 points)
"Goblin Weapon Array" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [21]
"Pumpkin Bomb- Blast" Blast 10 (Feats: Triggered- 1 Round) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Diminished Range -1) (30) -- (35 points)
- AE: "Pumpkin Bomb- Knock-Out Gas" Affliction 10 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Asleep) (Feats: Triggered) (Extras: Ranged, Area- 30ft. Burst) (Diminished Range -1) (30)
- AE: "Pumpkin Bomb- Smoke" Concealment 4 (Feats: Triggered) (Extras: Area- 15ft. Cloud, Attack) (13)
- AE: "Pumpkin Bomb- Hallucinogenic Gas" Affliction 10 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Transformed) (Feats: Triggered) (Extras: Ranged, Area- 15ft. Cloud) (Diminished Range -1) (30)
- AE: "Spider-Sense Neutralizer" Nullify Sensory Powers 10 (Extras: Fort.Resistance +0, Continuous +3, Area- 15ft. Cloud) (Flaws: Fades, Limited to Spider-Sense) (30)
- AE: "Razor-Bats" Blast 5 (Extras: Multiattack) (15)
Equipment:
"Goblin Glider"
(Medium; Strength 2, Defense 8, Toughness 6, Remote Control) (12)
Flight 6 (120 mph) (Flaws: Platform) (6)
"Heat-Seeking Missiles" Blast 10 (Feats: Homing 3) (23) -- (24)
- AE: "Machine Guns" Blast 7 (Extras: Multiattack) (21)
- AE: "Blades" Damage 8 (8) -- (32 points)
Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Missiles +12 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Machine Guns +12 (+7 Ranged Damage, DC 22)
Electro-Gloves +14 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Pumpkin Blast +10 Area (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Pumpkin KO Gas +10 Area (+10 Affliction, DC 20)
Pumpkin Hallucinogens +10 Area (+10 Affliction, DC 20)
Spidey-Neutralizier +10 Area (+10 Nullify, DC 20)
Razor-Bats +14 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
All Accuracy Boosted by +2 When Fighting Spider-Man (+13 Unarmed, +14 Ranged)
Initiative +11
Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +7 (+8 Costume), Fortitude +10, Will +8
Complications:
Motivation (Power)- Norman desperately seeks power in all its forms- wealth, women, politics, etc. He's into the game for power for it's own sake.
Enemy (Spider-Man)
Responsibility (Insane)- The Goblin Formula has driven an already-amoral monster insane- despite his cravings for power, Norman has frequently risked it all out of sheer madness. At various times, his personality is completely altered, and he becomes a maddened, raving lunatic. He can be needlessly-sadistic, and is unbelievably arrogant. He has pretty much every known mental illness combined, fighting for attention in his brain.
Obsession (Spider-Man)- Norman is obsessed with Spider-Man, at times wanting to groom him as a successor, but also to kill him for his "misdeeds".
Responsibility (Sadist)- Norman is more than insane- he is truly sadistic, and enjoys torment. When a friendly prison guard asked him to help his wife, Norman instead arranged for a horrible death for the poor woman. He allows Bullseye to kill dozens of innocents. Pain gives him joy.
Power Loss (Goblin Formula)- If the Goblin Formula is ever neutralized, Norman's stats falter considerably, even his mental ones. His stats become: Strength 2, Stamina 2, Agility 0, Fighting 4, Dexterity 2 & Intelligence 6.
Total: Abilities: 100 / Skills: 76--38 / Advantages: 40 / Powers: 40 / Defenses: 20 (238)
Norman Osborn- Peter Parker's Arch-Nemesis:
-Gotta love Norman Osborn, especially since he started out so small- "just another Spider-Man villain" at first, he started picking up steam with the "Mystery Identity" (other Spidey villains typically had origin stories and real names given immediately), and then he was revealed as the father of Peter's brand-new friend! This is reputed to be the straw that broke the camel's back between Stan Lee & Steve Ditko (the story goes that Ditko believed in the realism of having Gobby be some new guy, but Stan insisted that it be a known-character or the fans would feel ripped-off- Ditko has subsequently stated that he wanted to hold off on the revelation until later)- but it didn't hurt the character at all. Others suggest that Steve, like Jack, hated working with Stan and was gonna bail regardless- Stan even confesses later he's not sure if it was his idea or Steve's to make Osborn the Goblin. Recurring incidents made the Goblin the #2 Spidey villain, perhaps even #1, not opposing Spidey physically like Doctor Octopus did, but being a thinking-man's foe with schemes and plots. They did some silly "Comic Book"-type stuff like having Norman learn Spidey's secret identity, but then forget it with "Convenient Amnesia", resulting in a kinder, gentler Norman for a while (he actually came out of the amnesia TWICE), but it was not to last...
-The funny thing is, he's another one of those guys who I never understood at first because to me... I'd gotten into comics in 1991 or so. Norman had been dead for more than TEN YEARS! And he wouldn't reappear for another 8-9. So to me, the Green Goblin was this goofy-looking dead guy who looked like a lamer version of the Hobgoblin (who was nowhere near my favorite anyways), who didn't matter so much anymore, though I was at least aware that he was the father of Peter's dumbass friend Harry.
The Green Goblin Debuts:
-The Green Goblin debuts in The Amazing Spider-Man #14- Ditko says he was supposed to be a demonic villain coming out of a sarcophagus, and decided to change him to a human villain. The mystery of his identity soon became a major thing- a guy in the background of various issues was soon revealed to be Norman Osborn, the father of Peter's college roommate and new friend, Harry. Osborn makes a proper debut in ASM #37... and Ditko leaves the very next issue. The first issue without Ditko sees the Goblin unmasked- John Romita, Sr. drew it. Norman is depicted as a pretty hard-nosed businessman and part of the "old school" like his friend J. Jonah Jameson- one issue features him ripping on drug addicts and Randy Robertson tells him off about how black people, contrary to popular belief, hate drugs worse than anybody.
-So Norman gets some backstory- his father had ruined the family with bad business deals, and became an abusive drunk- Norman became homicidal partially in response to this, but grew up as a genius and made his own fortune. His wife died when his son Harry was only a year old, and he drove himself to work harder, emotionally neglecting Harry (who was seemingly happy-go-lucky, but was emotionally weak). However, Norman discovered a "Goblin Serum" (we'd later learn it was created by Mendel Stromm, whom Norman fired for embezzlement), and takes it... but an accident causes it to turn green and explode in his face- he becomes more intelligent and superhumanly strong, but it drives him insane. The "Green Goblin" persona is created as a means to become an organized crime leader, and Spider-Man is chosen as a means to earn respect through defeating the hero. Norman creates some gas that robs Spidey of his Spider-Sense, using this to track him home, discovering that he's Peter Parker in a famous issue. He kidnaps Peter and reveals his identity, but Peter GETS HIM MONOLOGUING, and uses the time to break free- the dramatic fight sees Norman knocked into some electrical wires, which gives him amnesia. lol that is so lame. Did that come off as half-assed back then? In any case, Peter makes the HORRENDOUS judgement call of feeling bad for his nemesis, wishing to avoid shaming Harry's family, and just like... destroys the Goblin costume and tells authorities that Norman lost his memory while attempting to defeat the Goblin.
The Night Gwen Stacy Died:
-So Gerry Conway decided to off Gwen Stacy, Peter's "One True Love". Norman, troubled by his memories returning at random, briefly regains his memory and returns as the Green Goblin. But he soon suffers a relapse of amnesia after one of his psychedelic bombs explodes in his face. AGAIN he's let walk free, and stumbles onto an old Goblin hideout, which restores his memory in full. And he finally goes whole hog, abducting Peter's beloved girlfriend Gwen and taking her to a bridge- during a dramatic rescue attempt, Peter snags her by the ankle as Norman tosses her... and her neck snaps from the whiplash. And yeah, pulling a trick like THAT, in the NINETEEN-SEVENTIES? That's about the biggest-possible career-maker you could ever get. No Refrigerator-Stuffing here, this was out-and-out DRAMA, and a shock which no fan was expecting. It revealed the true depths of Norman's villainy, the horror of what happens when a hero's ID is revealed, and more. It's only fitting that Norman was killed-off in that same storyline- How could he POSSIBLY top doing what no costumed super-villain had ever done before? Peter, completely enraged ("You've killed the only woman I'll ever love- and for that, you're going to DIE!"), effortlessly defeats his opponent, even catching him trying to sneak away ("NOT THIS TIME, GOBLIN!"), and beats him nearly to death before stopping himself at the last second. And the death was magnificent- it left Spidey innocent (even the angriest he's ever been wasn't enough to push him to murder in the end), and caused Norman to fail thanks to his own machinations- he defeated himself, impaled on his own weapon when he tries to send his Glider into Spider-Man, who dodges it.
-Norman was dead for an astonishing twenty-some years, largely due to the "sacred" nature of the storyline. This allowed for numerous new "Goblins" to show up- from a random dude grabbing Osborn's gear, to Norman's own son Harry, who could never escape daddy's shadow. Plus Ben Urich's nephew Phil becoming a HEROIC teenage Goblin. There was also a string of Hobgoblins and a Demogoblin, because comics are like that. Norman's spectre loomed a lot, but he was largely unmentioned in most books I had- as a kid, I actually thought the Goblin was dumb, since he looked INCREDIBLY-stupid in most pictures- big googly eyes, a purple cap, purple undies, and giant Dumbo ears? It took them until the 1990s to make that outfit look actually dangerous and creepy/crazy, rather than stupid- even Ditko, Romita & others couldn't save it.
The Return of Norman Osborn:
-But at the end of the Clone Saga, they brought Norman back, in a move many decried, but was intended to save the line from the controversial Clone stuff. But honestly, it's COMICS- someone was gonna do it, and it was a last-ditch effort to save the God-awful Clone Saga, by having him be behind the whole thing, just to make Spidey go crazy. They were gonna go with Harry being behind it all, but new Editor-In-Chief Bob Harras demanded it be Norman. He reveals he'd actually survived his ordeal thanks to a slow healing factor from the Goblin Formula and had hidden away in Europe. Writers took the time to retcon out Aunt May's death, saying Norman faked it and replaced her with an actress. AND retconned out Ben Reilly as the "original" Spider-Man, as Ben sacrifices himself to save Peter from being impaled, disintegrating as all Clones do (thus revealing that Peter was the original all along). And also he had an agent make sure Mary Jane & Peter's baby daughter either died stillborn or got abducted away (that one's never been brought up since). So essentially they got Osborn to be a "Mulligan" to fix SEVERAL things they didn't want happening anymore all at once (Ben-As-Spidey, the Spider-Baby and Aunt May dying). At least they got some REALLY good stories out of him, like the one where he tortures Peter by locking him up in the dark like Norman's own daddy did to him as a kid. He vexes Peter a LOT over the next few years, doing increasingly-bizarre things like replacing Aunt May with an actress (who later dies), telling the Scorpion Spidey's secret identity, and joining a cult to perform a ritual that ends up turning him insane (well, insane-ER). Oh, and he once had sex with GWEN STACY and fathered her twins. Because UGH UGH UGH WHAT THE SHIT, MARVEL? It would be years before they'd retcon that one away.
-So Norman got up to a lot of stuff- he tricked Spider-Man into savagely beating his civilian identity in public, requiring him taking on four separate personas for a time until he cleared his name from murder. He joins a cult for "The Gathering of the Five", hoping to be granted Power, but is instead granted Madness, worsening his already unstable mind (Mattie Franklin instead gets Power and becomes Spider-Woman). He tortures Peter in hopes of getting him to accept Norman as a father-figure (Norman now sees the stronger Peter as his "heir"), but fails. One controversial (and disgusting) storyline indicated that during a breakup between Peter & Gwen, he seduced and slept with Gwen (we of course get close-ups of their O-faces), leaving her with twins that he raised in secret to be "ideal heirs"- this was retconned away years later as an A.I. program of Harry getting revenge on Peter & Norman by brainwashing them into thinking this was true. He repeatedly attempts to cure his addled mind, but is sent to prison in Marvel Knights Spider-Man after Spidey deals him a huge defeat in public and unmasks him- from this point on, everyone FINALLY knows that Osborn is the Goblin. He finagles a dramatic showdown with Spidey, being undone only when a mind-controlled Doctor Octopus is sent after him and lightning hits them both. And THEN...
Norman Osborn & H.A.M.M.E.R.:
-In the follow-up to Marvel's huge event Civil War, various villains are allowed to work for the U.S. government in capturing rogue vigilantes. And Norman wisely takes up the offer, and becomes head of the new "Thunderbolts". This was completely friggin' insane, but to writer Warren Ellis' credit, he went full-on with admitting just HOW insane that move was, as Osborn goes power-hungry, is seen publicly killing the Skrull Queen during Secret Invasion, and ends up becoming the director of H.A.M.M.E.R., replacing a disgraced Tony Stark. He even wears this U.S. flag-themed Iron Man ripoff armor calling himself the Iron Patriot in a disgusting subversion of patriotism! Dark Reign was a GREAT idea, featuring the enormously-dark period of SUPER-VILLAINS holding near-total power in America (insert joke about politics here), but ultimately the cap-off to the story, Siege, was a huge failure. The return of Captain America felt like an afterthought, the dramatic "Cavalry Charge" scene was mostly Cap plus the f*cking Young Avengers of all people, and Norman's entire plot- the invasion of Asgard- was so insanely stupid & pointless that it completely ruined the entire concept. It was just some pointless power-grab that made him look like an idiot, and a huge waste of the entire story arc. Along the way, his dead son Harry would be revived by Mephisto shenanigans (which also caused Norman to forget Spidey's secret identity), and the two would have a big blow-up (Norman slept with Harry's girlfriend, producing a child and another heir).
Post-Power Norman- The Goblin King & Red Goblin (and Gold Goblin!):
-Norman would be incarcerated, but break out of jail and form a Goblin Army that would even ruin OTTO OCTAVIUS' attempts at being Peter Parker, as Norman's chaos destroy Otto's order. Otto has to give up being Peter Parker in order to save the woman he loves- only PARKER has the real ability to halt Norman's rampage. His run as "The Goblin King" ends with him disguised as the new CEO of Alchemax (the Evil Megacorp of the "2099" future, but the post-Secret Wars stories have him as Norman once more, that trick going nowhere. Most recently, Norman stole the Carnage symbiote from custody and rather that controlling it like he'd hoped, he ended up overwhelmed by its mass-murdering nature. As the "Red Goblin", he first executed an imposter Goblin King, then suddenly remembered that Peter Parker was Spider-Man and blackmailed him, promising that if Peter gave up super-heroics and never saved another person, he'd leave him alone- but if he stopped, Norman would kill his loved ones. Peter at first agrees, but works in secret and has his allies watch over those he cares about- Flash Thompson is killed, and during a final battle, Peter goads Norman that the win would go to Carnage/Cletus Kasady and not himself, causing Norman to cast off the symbiote and engage in a fair fight, which he loses- Peter kills the Carnage symbiote while it's attaching itself to Norman, causing him mental trauma that breaks his mind (he now believes Osborn to be Spider-Man while he himself is Kasady, whose mind overrides Norman's).
-This is soon undone via the Kindred (Gabriel- the "son" of Norman & Gwen) using Carnage-Norman as a minion until his mind breaks again and Norman returns- he blames his actions on the Carnage symbiote, and is made director of Ravencroft by New York Mayor Wilson Fisk- he and Peter are both attacked by the Sin-Eater, but in a big shocker, Norman's sins are CLEANSED by the Sin-Eater, making him a heroic, good figure! His sins actually get placed into Peter, making HIM evil for a second, but this "Good Norman" actually stuck around. To the point where we got a Gold Goblin series as a golden-armored Norman acts as a SUPER-HERO, in addition to being Peter's new boss! A FRIEND TO PETER PARKER! In this series, he saves Peter's life from two Hobgoblins (Kingsley & Leeds), then has to deal with Queen Goblin's attempts to force his sins back into him. However, at the very end, he sacrifices himself, in a way- Peter is afflicted with Norman's sins, and Norman deliberately has himself re-infected to spare Peter that fate. So we're of course Back To Basics, but at least in this case that was kinda gonna be the obvious thing in the long run.
Norman as a Whole:
-Truth be told, Norman is pretty awesome these days. He's always had this... weird mix of the big two DC villains in him- Norman Osborn is Lex Luthor with the heart of The Joker- the most brilliant, scheming, lying asshole businessman in the world... but he can't let go of this part of him that's completely, obsessively bonkers. He WANTS to be Neutral/Selfish Evil... but he's actually just Chaotic Evil. This dichotomy makes him fascinating, and truly pushes him to the upper-echelons of super-villainy. I like him more than either DC guy, because he's got all the Billionaire Smart Guy genius, yet he's pathetically nuts. It gives him this extra inch of tragedy, combined with an interesting personal flaw that can be his undoing- Osborn falls way more frequently than does the Teflon-coated Luthor. And his ability to survive stupid stories is almost as impressive as Peter's- truly, they are two peas in a pod.
Norman's Stats:
-Norman's a complex little bastard to stat out, having high stats across the board, even mentally, and with tons of Skills, Advantages and Powers. He's rather clunky as far as his attack-methods go, though- his Gloves, his Glider and his Bombs all create Ranged Damage, yet they're in three different categories and separate from each other. This makes him much more expensive than he theoretically should be (though he's barely more costly than Spidey himself), so it's a good thing he's a final-battle super-villain and not a Player Character. I was gonna make all three Goblin Devices- the Glider, the Bomb Array and the Costume- be actual Removable Devices, but I changed my mind after seeing how a few others statted their Goblins. Thinking about it, the Glider IS an easily-replaced hunk of tin that gets damaged alot, despite being core to his concept.
-I also stole the Triggered/Diminished Range idea for the Pumpkin Bombs from Taliesin (whose current lack of building prevents me from cribbing more of his ideas 
), as I forgot the former Feat, and didn't remember that Range thing either- the DCA-book doesn't give it to Grenades, and I totally didn't get that it left a 100-foot Long-Range on such Devices- far too much distance. Norman's got a TON of Tricks- a Spider-Sense Nullifier (which, remember, reduces Spidey's PL), Burst-Damage Bombs, Affliction-giving bombs (Hallucinogens are kind of a Mental Transformation), enough Science & Tech-skills to create a lot of stuff (+17 in both- higher than Spidey, but lower than Tony Stark, who states that Osborn is "too dumb" to replicate the Iron Man Armor), expertise in Politics & Business, REALLY good Deception, Persuasion & Intimidation (he covers all those bases extremely well- just look at him in Dark Reign, schmoozing with reporters), and more. Norman can do it all, and is a PL 11 accuracy-heavy Ranged Fighter who flies extremely well.
