Norman Osborn

Norman Osborn
Norman Osborn as seen on the textless cover of Dark Reign: The Goblin Legacy #1 (July 2009). Art by Kalman Andrasofszky.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	As Green Goblin: The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964)[1][2] As Norman Osborn: The Amazing Spider-Man #37 (June 1966) As Iron Patriot: Dark Avengers #1 (March 2009) As Red Goblin: The Amazing Spider-Man #798 (April 2018) As Gold Goblin: Gold Goblin #1 (November 2022)
Created by	Stan Lee (writer) Steve Ditko (artist)
In-story information
Full name	Norman Virgil Osborn
Species	Human mutate
Team affiliations	Oscorp Sinister Twelve Commission on Superhuman Activities Thunderbolts H.A.M.M.E.R. Dark Avengers Dark X-Men Cabal Goblin Nation
Notable aliases	Green Goblin, Iron Patriot, Overload, Super-Adaptoid, Mason Banks, Goblin King, Red Goblin, Gold Goblin
Abilities	Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, durability, reflexes, and healing Genius-level intellect Proficient scientist Skilled hand-to-hand combatant Uses Halloween-themed paraphernalia, high-tech gadgetry, and a Goblin Glider equipped with various weapons

Norman Virgil Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964) as the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin. He has since endured as one of the superhero Spider-Man's most prominent villains and is regarded as one of his three archenemies, alongside Doctor Octopus and Venom.

In his comic book appearances, Norman Osborn is the amoral industrialist head of science conglomerate Oscorp and the father of Harry Osborn, the best friend of Spider-Man's alter ego Peter Parker. Osborn, in part as a reaction to the death of his wife, maintains a cold disposition and is obsessed with attaining as much power as possible. As a result, he treats his son harshly and openly favors Peter for his intellect, leading Harry to often try to compensate. In his origin story, Osborn is exposed to an experimental formula that enhances his physical abilities and intellect at the cost of his sanity. As the Goblin, he becomes a criminal mastermind who uses an arsenal of advanced, Halloween-themed equipment, including grenade-like Pumpkin Bombs, razor sharp bats, and a flying Goblin Glider, to terrorize New York City.

Osborn has been part of many of Spider-Man's defining stories, most notably "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" and the "Clone Saga". While his primary foe is Spider-Man, Osborn has often come into conflict with Iron Man, Captain America and other superheroes in the Marvel Universe. Although Osborn sometimes works with other supervillains such as Doctor Doom and Loki and groups like the Sinister Six and the Dark Avengers, these relationships often collapse due to his desire for unbridled power. Osborn's largest overarching story came during the line-wide "Dark Reign" and Siege comic book events, in which he served as the main antagonist; during this time, he became the original iteration of Iron Patriot.

The character has been in various top villain lists as one of Spider-Man's greatest enemies and one of the greatest comic book villains of all time. The character's popularity has seen him appear on a variety of merchandise, inspire real-world structures (such as theme park attractions) and be referenced in a number of media. He has been adapted to serve as Spider-Man's adversary in live-action, animated, and video game incarnations. Willem Dafoe played the character in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy and reprised the role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), while Chris Cooper played the character in the film The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014).