| Norman Osborn | |
|---|---|
| Sam Raimi'sSpider-Man and Marvel Cinematic Universe character | |
.png) Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin inSpider-Man (2002) | |
| First appearance | Spider-Man (2002) |
| Last appearance | Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) |
| Based on | |
| Adapted by | David Koepp |
| Portrayed by | Willem Dafoe |
| Voiced by |
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| In-universe information | |
| Alias |
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| Species | Humanmutate |
| Title | Doctor |
| Occupation | CEO ofOscorp Scientist |
| Affiliation | Oscorp Industries |
| Weapon |
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| Children | Harry Osborn (son) |
| Nationality | American |
Norman Osborn is a character portrayed byWillem Dafoe inSam Raimi'sSpider-Man film trilogy and later theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Based on theMarvel Comics characterof the same name, Osborn is introduced inSpider-Man (2002) as a dedicated scientist and the CEO ofOscorp who tests an unstable performance-enhancing serum on himself, developing bothsuperhuman strength and a crazedalternate personality known as theGreen Goblin (or simplythe Goblin). After being removed from the Oscorp board, he uses advanced armor, a glider, and pumpkin bombs to terrorize the board members andNew York City, bringing him into conflict withSpider-Man whom Goblin later discovers is the secret identity of Peter Parker. During his final battle against Spider-Man, he reveals his identity in an attempt to trick Peter into death, but ultimately kills himself via impalement by his own glider. Deeply saddened by his father's death, Harry hallucinates his father pleading for vengeance inSpider-Man 2 (2004) andSpider-Man 3 (2007), in the latter film, he uses his late father's equipment and serum in an attempt to kill Peter.
Osborn and Goblin return inSpider-Man: No Way Home (2021) when a magical spell gone wrong breaks open themultiverse and causes past versions of them (from a point prior to their deaths) to be transported to the MCU reality. The alternate Osborn's mind is taken over by the Goblin persona, tormenting that reality'sPeter Parker and killing his AuntMay Parker. After a brutal fight with Parker on theStatue of Liberty, Osborn is cured of the Goblin identity and returned to his universe.
Dafoe's performance in both films has been met with praise from critics and audiences, considered one of the best villains in thesuperhero genre. Dafoe and co-starsTobey Maguire andJ. K. Simmons held theGuinness World Record for "the longest career as a live-action Marvel character" beforePatrick Stewart reclaimed the record by reprising his role asCharles Xavier inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).
Dr. Norman Osborn is a scientist and the founder ofOscorp Industries, doubling as CEO for the company. He is the father ofHarry Osborn, with whom he has a strained relationship. Fellow scientistOtto Octavius's work was funded by Osborn via Oscorp, but he was considered greedy and misguided by Octavius.[c] During a school field trip in the year 2002, Osborn is introduced to Harry's best friendPeter Parker, whose intelligence impresses him.[d]
After meeting Parker, Osborn returns to Oscorp and hears Dr.Mendel Stromm reveal to military officials overseeing a super-soldier serum project that some test subjects have gone insane; Osborn is threatened with a tight deadline and decides to experiment on himself. An alternate, crazed personality–the "Green Goblin"–of Osborn is developed by the process, who kills Stromm in a fit of insanity, and later the military officials and Quest Aerospace scientists present at the latter's super-soldier test, though Osborn is unaware of either incident. However, Quest expands and works with Oscorp's board of directors to merge the companies, with the stipulation that Osborn step down as CEO. During a festival inTimes Square, Osborn, under the control of the Green Goblin, kills the board members before they can announce the merger, but is forced to retreat after being defeated in a fight against Spider-Man.
The Green Goblin then reveals his identity and their actions to Osborn, who becomes horrified of what he has done under the control of his alter ego, but Goblin is still able to manipulate and brainwash him into continuing to do his bidding. He leads his next attack at theDaily Bugle editor-in-chiefJ. Jonah Jameson for who takes pictures of Spider-Man. Spider-Man appears at theBugle, but is kidnapped by the Green Goblin, who offers him a partnership and belittles his choice to become a hero, warning that the city will eventually turn against him. The Green Goblin baits Spider-Man to a burning apartment, asking if he accepted his offer, but Spider-Man refuses to partner with him. The two then fight with Spider-Man winning again, before making his escape. Goblin is furious at being refused.
AfterThanksgiving dinner with Parker, hisaunt May, Harry, and his girlfriendMary Jane Watson, Osborn deduces Parker is Spider-Man,[e] prompting the Green Goblin to attack and hospitalize May, even though Osborn does not want to hurt Peter. The Green Goblin later kidnaps Watson and makes Spider-Man choose whether to save Watson or aRoosevelt Island Tramway car full of children, but he saves both. The Green Goblin then takes Spider-Man and lands in an abandoned building, where brutally beats and nearly kills Spider-Man. However, after threatening to kill Mary Jane, this enrages Spider-Man, who regains his strength and proceeds to turn the tables on Goblin. Unable to take Spider-Man's beatings and wanting to fool him, Norman begs him to stop and reveals his identity. Peter is shocked to learn that The Green Goblin is indeed Osborn. Unknown to Peter, The Green Goblin is still controlling Osborn and aims to stab Peter with his glider. He continues his act by saying he is like a father to him, but Peter rejects him. Furious, he sends his glider at Peter, but the latter dodges thanks to his Spider senses, causing the glider to fatally stab Osborn and Goblin. Just before succumbing to their wounds, Osborn begs Parker not to tell Harry about the Green Goblin and then dies.
At Osborn's funeral, Harry mourns the loss, vowing vengeance on Spider-Man after witnessing him with his father's body.[d] Sometime later, Osborn's identity as the Green Goblin and death are widely reported on.[c] Two years later, Harry discovers Parker's identity as Spider-Man and is haunted by a hallucination of Osborn demanding to be avenged, but the hallucination's mirror is broken by Harry, who discovers a hidden lair containing Green Goblin's arsenal. Harry becomes the "New Goblin" a year later, with Osborn re-appearing to remind Harry to avenge him and to go after Parker's heart. However, Harry eventually learns the truth about Osborn's death and gives up his vendetta against Spider-Man, sacrificing himself to save Parker.
In the alternate reality ofEarth-616, during the year 2024, Dr.Stephen Strange casts a spell to restore the secret identity of that reality'sPeter Parker (later nicknamed "Peter-One") after it was revealed byMysterio.[f] However, Peter-One's frequent alterations cause the spell to backfire, bringing in people from across themultiverse who knew Parker's identity, including an alternate version of Osborn, who is taken from sometime after he had deduced his Spider-Man's identity and prior to his final battle against him in the original timeline of his universe.[d] The Green Goblin encounters Peter-One and Octavius at theAlexander Hamilton Bridge before the two are whisked away by one of Strange's portals.
Osborn soon retakes control and breaks the Green Goblin's mask in an alley, seeking refuge inF.E.A.S.T. after seeing an ad for the shelter featuring Spider-Man. Osborn meets the alternateMay Parker, who calls in her nephew, Peter-One; Osborn realizes that Peter-One is not his Parker, but goes with him to theNew York Sanctum, where he learns of the multiverse and reunites with Octavius, as well as meetingFlint Marko, another adversary of his Parker, andCurt Connors andMax Dillon, who are also displaced from their universes. Osborn learns from Marko that both him and Octavius died during their final fight with Spider-Man, much to his shock. Osborn is then imprisoned by Strange, who prepares to use a magical device known as the Macchina de Kadavus, which contains the corrupted spell, to send him and the other villains back to meet their fates, much to his horror. He is released after Peter-One traps Strange in theMirror Dimension, taking the device with him.
Peter-One takes the captured villains toHappy Hogan's apartment, where Osborn works with Peter-One to cure himself and the other villains. After Peter-One cures Octavius, the Green Goblin retakes control of Osborn's mind and turns on Peter-One, convincing Dillon and Marko to reject their cures and escape, engaging in a duel with him across the apartment complex. In the lobby, the Green Goblin summons his glider and throws pumpkin bombs, causing the apartment to explode. The glider fatally strikes May before he escapes.
After Marko, Dillon, and Connors are cured by Peter-One with help from Octavius, Parker (dubbed "Peter-Two"), andanother version of Peter from Connors and Dillon's universe (dubbed "Peter-Three"), the Green Goblin appears and destroys the Macchina de Kadavus, releasing the spell contained within. The destruction causes the barriers between universes to break, prompting Strange to try to seal them. An enraged Peter-One, who desires revenge for the May's death, defeats and nearly kills the Green Goblin, but is stopped by Parker, whom the Green Goblin then stabs in the back. However, Peter-Three throws Peter-One a cure Parker developed, which he injects the Green Goblin with, curing a remorseful Osborn of his Green Goblin persona. Osborn becomes confused and horrified of his actions after seeing his own Peter lying on the ground. Afterwards, Strange casts a spell to make the world forget Peter-One's existence, returning Osborn, as well as the villains and alternate Parkers, to their respective timelines, with Osborn being sent to a branched/alternate timeline of his universe where he would get a second chance in life.[g]
TheGreen Goblin was originally created by writerStan Lee and artistSteve Ditko, first appearing inThe Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964) as a character without a human identity unlike otherSpider-Man villains,[2] but the issue had suggested his identity would be revealed in the future; the Goblin revealed himself asNorman Osborn at the end ofThe Amazing Spider-Man #39 (June 1966), the first of a two-part story arc.[3] The Goblin became one of Spider-Man's most popular enemies during the 1960s and was eventuallykilled off in the second part of "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" storyline (July 1973). The character resurfaces inThe Clone Saga and has beenadapted into other media separate from comics.
While rewritingSpider-Man (2002) fromJames Cameron's original "scriptment",David Koepp added the Green Goblin as well as the characterDoctor Octopus as a secondary antagonist.[4] DirectorSam Raimi felt the Green Goblin and the surrogate father-son theme between Norman Osborn and Peter Parker in the then-recentUltimate Marvel comics was much more interesting than adding "a third complexorigin story" to the film, so Doctor Octopus was removed byScott Rosenberg (who was hired to rewrite Koepp's material) and eventually became the antagonist ofSpider-Man 2 (2004).[5][6]
After being cast,Willem Dafoe concentrated on Osborn due to his belief that the Goblin was an aspect of Osborn and already made by external things like his costume and the film's special effects. Dafoe explained that Osborn was "a very complex character on the page", and that he could relate to him due to "[his] ambition and his desire for perfection and how that perverts so much of his relationship to people".[7] During promotion forSpider-Man, Dafoe came up for an idea to reintroduce Osborn via a hallucination of him haunting his sonHarry, which he compared tothe ghost ofHamlet's father; he played the hallucination inSpider-Man 2 andSpider-Man 3 (2007).[8]
- "The Goblin has to have been given a second chance and he was still doing what he was doing in the first movie [2002'sSpider-Man], but in a darker way that now relates to ourPeter Parker." –Chris McKenna on Dafoe's Goblin inSpider-Man: No Way Home (2021)[9]
- "Once it was collectively decided that we were going to take this swing, we had to commit and we had to do what was right for the story." –Erik Sommers on integrating pastSpider-Man film characters[10]
Chris McKenna andErik Sommers began exploring the idea of themultiverse and potentially revisiting characters from pastSpider-Man films while writing theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) filmSpider-Man: No Way Home (2021). The duo ultimately decided to fully integrate the characters into the film and worked hard to preventNo Way Home from being "fan service" by using the returning characters to progressPeter Parker's (portrayed byTom Holland) story.[10][11] Osborn / Goblin was originally not the main villain of the film despite appearing as an antagonist, but was later realized that, after the film lost "other characters", McKenna and Sommers "had to" have him as the villain and rewrote the script to give him a second chance to replicate his actions inSpider-Man, but in a darker way related to Holland's Spider-Man.[9] Goblin would have fought alongsideOtto Octavius / Doctor Octopus (portrayed byAlfred Molina) against Spider-Man in a scene on theAlexander Hamilton Bridge; Goblin's introduction was moved into a climactic explosion with his pumpkin bombs, not engaging with Octavius or Spider-Man—but does encounter them.[12]
Dafoe felt that the Green Goblin had advanced from his original portrayal and that Osborn and the Goblin had "a few more tricks up [their] sleeves" inNo Way Home.[13] Dafoe wasdigitally de-aged in order to replicate his 2002 likeness.[14] To prevent his appearance in the film from leaking, Dafoe was required to wear cloaks around set with Holland learning of his involvement in the film by meeting him for the first time after accidentally bumping into him.[15] Green Goblin was confirmed to be in the film in the official teaser released in August 2021,[16] with Dafoe confirmed in the official trailer released in November.[17]
AfterJohn Malkovich turned down the opportunity to take the role,[18] Dafoe was cast as Osborn / Goblin in November 2000;[19]Kevin Spacey would have portrayed the Goblin in Cameron's unproducedSpider-Man film.[20]
Raimi contacted Dafoe while the latter was filming in Spain and described the film's story to him in "such incredible psychological detail", talking about the relationships without theSpider-Man (portrayed byTobey Maguire)–Goblin story. Dafoe realized that Raimi was "not cynical about this story", deeply loving the characters and feeling "an obligation as a Spider-Man fan to present these characters truthfully".[21] Dafoe was initially hesitant to reprise the role, but was more open when producerAmy Pascal and directorJon WattspitchedNo Way Home to him before he had received a script; he described this as "the same, but different".[22][13] A rematch between Osborn and Maguire's Spider-Man was considered during the filming ofNo Way Home, but was ultimately cut by the film's release.[23]
Dafoe particularly enjoys the "mirror scene" depicting Osborn's conversation with the Goblin identity after murdering theOscorp board of directors; before filming the scene with Dafoe, Raimi gave him a copy ofJekyll and Hyde to prepare for the scene, which filmed in one take multiple times before Raimi split it. Dafoe further differentiated the two identities by wearing dental prosthetics providing Osborn's straight teeth, and using his natural crooked teeth when portraying the Goblin.[24][25]
Norman Osborn is portrayed as a workaholic scientist–businessman with a complicated relationship with his son Harry, being a career-focused man who prioritizes science, business, and success and is quite disappointed with Harry. The Green Goblin is subsequently created through Osborn's exposure to gas, being portrayed as a violent, sadistic, and unhinged[24] psychopath that believes his powers place him above normal people, attempting to recruit Spider-Man into joining him.
The Goblin was introduced in earlySpider-Man comics as analternate identity separate from Osborn, which was adapted to the films; however, later comics would depict the Goblin as a costumedalias used by Osborn to commit his villainous deeds.[24]
Gizmodo's James Whitbrook contrasts Maguire's Peter Parker / Spider-Man with Osborn / Goblin andJames Franco's Harry Osborn in the way they choose to exercise their power in the film series, as he notes Parker, Osborn, and Harry appear to hold some form of power. While Parker learnsthe responsibility with his powers, Osborn gives into fear of losing his position within Oscorp, choosing to pursue an alternate power in the Goblin, attacking his former colleagues and the people he cares about, namely Harry and Parker, while descending further into madness and insanity.[26] Adam Rosenberg fromMashable opined that Dafoe "owned every single one of his scenes" as he "charted Osborn's experimental serum-fueled descent into madness", and that the actor's voice sounded similar to what a reader would hear in their head when reading a comic book villain's speech bubbles.[27]
The Goblin was felt by Oliver Vandervoort ofGame Rant as "a bit more sinister" inNo Way Home compared to his original portrayal, with the character being "a little darker and a little more dangerous" in the film.[28] Praising the decision to have the character maskless inNo Way Home, James Troughton atTheGamer called Dafoe's facial expressions "viscerally unsettling", going from a "lost old man desperate for help" to an unhinged killer "as easy as slipping on a pair of gloves", crediting this as giving a slasher edge to a superhero film.[29] Writing forScreen Rant, Jake Gleason creditsNo Way Home with revealing Osborn as the "most tragic character" in theSpider-Man films by showing his kindness in interactions with Holland's Parker,May Parker, and Octavius as himself. Osborn's reactions to the Goblin's crimes are cited by Gleason as "proof that he is not evil" despite being an "imperfect" father to Harry and letting his "arrogant ambitions spiral out of control".[30]
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Amalgamated Dynamics created the original Goblinanimatronic headgear forSpider-Man. The suit originally was designed much more faithfully to the comics, allowing for a full range of emotions to be expressed by the wearer. This was scrapped after the concept was deemed "too creepy" by studio executives and due to technical difficulties and time constraints.[31][32][33] Dafoe insisted on wearing the new, uncomfortable costume as he felt that astuntman would not convey the character's necessary body language. The 580-piece suit took half an hour to put on.[34] Costume designerJames Acheson said that Dafoe told him that he wanted the costume to be flexible enough for him to do splits, further explaining that Dafoe was a yogi and "probably the most flexible actor [Acheson] ever worked with". When they started designing the costume, there was only a puppet of the design and they "picked out the major points where [they] would be hooking wires up to a harness under the costume", which became the basis from which they could lift him from his back or hips as well as do "several different things on wires".[35] Acheson also experimented with a potential helmet-like design for the suit, which was then scrapped.[34]
InNo Way Home, the character obtains upgrades to his costume which make him more closely resemble his comic book counterpart.[13] The Goblin first appears wearing his 2002 costume before the mask is destroyed by Osborn. The upgraded costume is depicted with a purple undersuit beneath the green armor with the Goblin wearing goggles and incorporating the retractable blades from his glider into his left gauntlet.Screen Rant's Dan Zinski described the suit as tattered and noted the goal of the MCU's costume designs is "to find some middle ground" between the comic book version and the "more realistic".[36]
Dafoe's performance has been praised by critics and audiences, with Dafoe himself calling the role one of his favorite parts to play, having particularly enjoyed portraying the unhinged character due to his dual personalities and his balance between a dramatic and comedic performance.[25] Dafoe'sNo Way Home co-stars Holland,Jamie Foxx, andAndrew Garfield praised his performance as well as his cackle;[39] Foxx had also called his Green Goblin performance "terrifying" and "personal".[22] Holland and hisMCUSpider-Man films co-starJacob Batalon called Goblin "a landmark villain", praising Dafoe's ability "to bring a difficult character to life" and particularly the mirror scene, before filmingNo Way Home;[40] Holland had believed the Goblin "[was] difficult to pull off in live-action" in August 2019, a year before his praises with Batalon.[41]
ANew York Daily News reviewer felt Dafoe put the "scare in archvillain", andPeter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian deemed him "strong support";[42][43] Conversely, criticA. O. Scott ofThe New York Times wrote that Dafoe's performance was "uninspired and secondhand".[44] While reviewing the films in April 2007,IGN's Richard George commented that Green Goblin's armor, particularly the helmet, was "almost comically bad... Not only is it not frightening, it prohibits expression".[45] Steven Scaife atVice wrote that Dafoe's Goblin "represents everything that's fun about superhero villains, as well as everything that's great about Raimi's campy films", also commending Dafoe's voice and body language, which helped overcome the bulky Green Goblin costume that he compared to that of aPower Rangers villain.[46] Dafoe's Goblin is acclaimed as one of the greatest superhero film villains, withVulture ranking the character 19th on the top 25 superhero film villains in 2018,[47] whileCollider ranked him the 5th greatest Spider-Man film villain in 2020.[48]
The Lantern's Brett Price wrote that Dafoe was "on another level" inNo Way Home and not having his mask made him even more intimidating than he was in the 2002 film.[49]Peter Travers ofGood Morning America and Jade King atThe Gamer praised Dafoe and Molina, with King asserting that the two "stole the show as Green Goblin and Doc Ock" and described the depictions as brilliant.[50][51] Amelia Emberwing ofIGN praised the performances of Dafoe, Molina, and Foxx inNo Way Home,[52] whileVulture's Bilge Ebiri said Dafoe "once again gets to have some modest fun with his character's divided self".[53]
After Spider-Man had joined the MCU andSony Pictures partnered withMarvel Studios to co-produceSpider-Man films, Pascal spoke in August 2016 of an attempt to differentiate the new Spider-Man films from previous ones, citing the Goblin's exclusion, "I mean, I don't know how many more times we can do – at least for now – I don't know how many more times we can do the Green Goblin. I've certainly tried to do it fifty".[54] Similarly, Marvel Studios presidentKevin Feige reflected that the MCUSpider-Man films chose to not reuseSpider-Man characters or elements, outside of the major ones, that were already adapted in previous Sony films, saying "it never occurred to us to do a new Goblin story, or to do an Oscorp story, or to do Doc Ock, or anyone that had been done before".[55]
Osborn's line "you know, I'm something of a scientist myself", which became anInternet meme in the years preceding the release ofNo Way Home, was reprised during the film.[56][57][58][59]Screen Rant's Dustin Brewer claimed the "sparing" use of Goblin inSpider-Man influenced the usage of villains in later superhero films such as theJoker inThe Dark Knight (2008), furthering that this approach enables villains to "come and go more sporadically, giving them the ability to cause maximum mayhem every time they come on screen".[60]
Dafoe has received several nominations, mostly in a "Best Villain" category, for his portrayal of Norman Osborn / Green Goblin; Dafoe's only win was aCritics' Choice Super Award in 2022 for hisNo Way Home performance. Separate from their film accolades, Dafoe and Maguire held theGuinness World Record for "the longest career as a live-action Marvel character."[61][62]
| Year | Film | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Spider-Man | MTV Movie Awards | Best Villain | Willem Dafoe | Nominated | [63] |
| Best Fight | Willem Dafoe[h] | Nominated | ||||
| 2022 | Spider-Man: No Way Home | Seattle Film Critics Society | Villain of the Year | Willem Dafoe | Nominated | [64] |
| Critics' Choice Super Awards | Best Villain in a Movie | Won | [65] | |||
| MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Villain | Nominated | [66] |
While it wasn't Spider-Man's first 3D game, this tie-in to director Sam Raimi's firstSpider-Man film starring Tobey Maguire expanded the world of Raimi's trilogy significantly. It also firmly built on the foundation for all future 3D titles starring Spider-Man and featured Maguire and Willem Dafoe reprising their roles from the movie.
...Spider-Man: The Movie was a surprisingly good time. You get Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe reprising their roles as Spider-Man and Green Goblin, ...
It's delicious to see Molina and Dafoe back in the mischief business, that is until Peter decides these titans of terror may really be good at heart.[dead link]
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