Green Goblin

The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, mostly those starring Spider-Man. The first and most well known incarnation is Norman Osborn, who was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in The Amazing Spider-Man #14. The Green Goblin is a Halloween-themed supervillain whose weapons resemble bats, ghosts and jack-o'-lanterns. Comics journalist and historian Mike Conroy writes of the character: "Of all the costumed villains who've plagued Spider-Man over the years, the most flat-out unhinged and terrifying of them all is the Green Goblin." The Green Goblin has appeared in several films including 2002's Spider-Man as Norman Osborn, and 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as Harry Osborn, Norman's embittered son.

Publication history

According to Steve Ditko: "Stan's synopsis for the Green Goblin had a movie crew, on location, finding an Egyptian-like sarcophagus. Inside was an ancient, mythological demon, the Green Goblin. He naturally came to life. On my own, I changed Stan's mythological demon into a human villain."

Norman Osborn

Norman Osborn is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964) as the original and most well-known incarnation of Green Goblin. An amoral industrialist head of Oscorp, he took a formula which enhanced his physical abilities and intellect but also drove him to insanity. He adopted a Halloween-themed appearance, dressing in a goblin costume, riding on a bat-shaped "Goblin Glider", and using an arsenal of high-tech weapons, notably grenade-like "Pumpkin Bombs", to terrorize New York City. He is one of Spider-Man's most persistent archenemies that is responsible for numerous tragedies (such as Gwen Stacy's death and the Clone Saga), and is Harry Osborn's father. However, he has also come into conflict with other superheroes in the Marvel Universe, and was the focus of the company-wide Dark Reign storyline as the original iteration of Iron Patriot.

Phil Urich

Philip Benjamin "Phil" Urich is a fictional character created by Marvel Comics. His first appearance was in Web of Spider-Man #125, written by Gerry Conway. He once was the fourth Green Goblin as a superhero, and later became the new Hobgoblin as a supervillain. He was later crowned the Goblin Knight by the Green Goblin before replacing the Green Goblin as the new Goblin King.

Publication history

Phil Urich first appeared in Web of Spider-Man #125.

Fictional character biography

Heroic Green Goblin

Phil Urich, nephew of Ben Urich of the Daily Bugle, stumbled upon one of Harry Osborn's old Green Goblin hideouts. Using a mask which delivered a 'zap' that gave him Goblin-level strength without the psychotic side-effects of the original Goblin formula, he gained enhanced strength and endurance. He tried to gain a reputation as a superhero following the death of Harry Osborn, son of the original Green Goblin. However, he was sometimes seen as being as maniacal as his villainous predecessors. His equipment was damaged during a battle against a Sentinel in the Onslaught crossover; Phil sacrificed his glider to destroy a Sentinel by ramming the robot in the head, but a fragment of metal ricocheted off the explosion and damaged his mask's circuitry. Phil was unable to repair or replace it and retired from being the Green Goblin.