Green Goblin

Real Name: Norman Osborn

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-man #14 (July 1964)

Powers: Superhuman Strength, Increased Speed, Reflexes, and Endurance. Possesses a Healing Factor much like Wolverine, but not at that level.  Enhanced Intelligence.

Affiliation: Thunderbolts, Cabal of Scrier, Dark Avengers

Enemies: Spider-Man, The Color Wheel

Did you know: Norman’s son Harry also becomes the Green Goblin.

A Little History

Sadly, just one year after the birth of his son, Harry, his wife, Emily, died. After her death, Norman went down a path that few should travel.

In a very short period, he:

1. Became extremely stern with his son and purposely raised Harry without love
2. Lost the family fortune
3. Consistently belittled Harry for being below average academically
4. Regained the family fortune

Norman is the co-owner of a powerful firm called Osborn Industries. His firm is primarily involved in chemical manufacturing and robotics. He rose to power by assisting known villains in their affairs so as to distract the known Superheroes so that they would not get involved in his work. In one of his ‘distractions,’ he transformed an Osborn employee into a ‘Protogoblin.’

The transformation led the police to become suspicious of what he was doing. Fearing what might happen, Norman used the serum on himself. What he didn’t realize was that the chemicals inside the serum were unstable and their instability resulted in an explosion.

The explosion left Norman hospitalized for a short while. Upon awakening, Norman learned that he was granted Superhuman Strength, Increased Speed, Reflexes, and Endurance. On top of that, he also received a Wolverine-like healing factor and Increased Intelligence.