Characters / MCU: Norman Osborn

Main Character Index > Villainous Individuals and Organizations > Multiversal Foes > Multiversal Spider-Man Foes (Norman Osborn)

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For tropes pertaining to his original appearance, see Spider-Man Trilogy: Green Goblin.

Spoilers for the Spider-Man Trilogy and all Marvel Cinematic Universe works set prior to Spider-Man: No Way Home are unmarked.

Dr. Norman Osborn / The Green Goblin

"Peter, Peter, Peter... No good deed goes unpunished."

^{Click here to see his maskless costume}
"Can the Spider-Man come out to play?!"

^{Click here to see Norman Osborn}
"Someone's living in my house, Oscorp doesn't exist, and my son..."

Species: Enhanced human (formerly), Human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): Oscorp

Portrayed By: Willem Dafoe

Voiced By: Jesse Conde (Latin American Spanish dub), Jorge Lucas (Brazilian Portuguese dub), Éric Herson-Macarel (European French dub), Sébastien Dhavernas (Canadian French dub)

Appearances: Spider-Man | Spider-Man 2^note As a hallucination | Spider-Man 3^note As a hallucination | Spider-Man: No Way Home

"I watched you from deep behind Norman's cowardly eyes... Struggling to have everything you want, while the world tries to make you choose. Gods don't have to choose — we take."

The CEO of Oscorp from Earth-96283 who tested a performance-enhancing drug on himself, resulting in a Split Personality known as the Green Goblin. While Norman is remorseful for his alter ego's actions and wishes to be free of his darker half, the Goblin has other plans.

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Tropes that apply to both

• 24-Hour Armor: While Norman smashes the helmet not long after arriving in the MCU, the rest of the Green Goblin armor is worn for the entirety of the movie and is never taken off (with the exception of the gloves, which are removed until the climax), though May Parker does donate him some clothes to cover them up.
• Achievements in Ignorance: Scientists and governments across the MCU timeline (including Howard Stark, Arnim Zola, SHIELD, HYDRA, the CIA, and even the US military) tried to recreate Abraham Erskine's super-soldier serum that gave Captain America his powers, yet even with samples of Steve's blood containing the serum, most could only synthesize enough serum for a limited number of doses, and their other attempts either didn't work, killed their subjects, or made something much worse. In his universe, Captain America and Erskine don't exist, yet Norman Osborn and his scientists were able to create the Goblin Formula in large amounts, and its results are comparable to the super-soldier serum and perhaps even superior (with the Goblin demonstrating strength comparable to The Hulk while keeping his human form). While it does have the side-effect of insanity, in Spider-Man Osborn's top scientist feels they were pretty close to perfecting it.
• Adaptational Hairstyle Change: He doesn't have his comic book counterpart's cornrows and has much straighter hair instead.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • In the 2002 film, Norman was afraid of the Goblin persona and while he put up a little resistance to its murderous intentions, he eventually gave in and submitted to it, and the Goblin saw itself as Norman's accomplice, killing his enemies and bringing him power. Here, Norman is terrified of the Goblin and does a much better job restraining it, while the Goblin sees Norman as a weak coward.
  • It's established that Otto and Norman knew each other prior to Norman becoming the Green Goblin and were apparently friends, while in the comics they briefly become friends during their super villain careers before developing a strong hatred for each other.
• Alternate Self: Played With. When the Goblin is pulled from his home universe, he ''is'' the exact same version as the one from Spider-Man, with Doctor Strange even insisting on sending him and the other villains back on their "correct" path, but Peter's insistence on redeeming and curing Norman of his Goblin identity means that he doesn't have to die fighting Spider-Man. Going by the MCU's established timeline rules, this should create a new alternate timeline separate from the Raimi movies for Norman to return to. Meanwhile, more straightforward Variants appeared in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and will appear in Spider-Man: Freshman Year.
• Back from the Dead: He is pulled into the MCU before his final battle with his Spider-Man, which ultimately resulted in his death.
• Badass Bookworm: He is a brilliant scientist as well as a supervillain who can give Spider-Man a grievous beatdown.
• Broken Faceplate: Norman destroys his mask shortly after being transported to the MCU, in a bid to stop the Goblin's influence. It doesn't work.
• Brought Down to Normal: Peter's cure not only removed his powers permanently, but also the Goblin persona, allowing Norman Osborn to continue his life as a regular person.
• Celebrity Paradox: Played with. As far as Black Widow (2021) is concerned, the James Bond franchise exist in the MCU with Willem Dafoe having played the Big Bad of the franchise's video game Everything or Nothing despite his character here being from another universe and a visitor to the MCU.
• Characterization Marches On: In the original film, Norman is tempted by the Goblin's promises of power, and it was difficult to tell where the line between the two truly started or ended. Here, they're unambiguously portrayed as separate personalities, and Norman is presented as an innocent victim.
• Deadpan Snarker: The Goblin, more so than Norman, but he has his moments too. He is Peter's Evil Counterpart after all.
  Dr. Octavius: Norman?
  Green Goblin: Norman's on sabbatical, honey.
• Death of Personality: The cure injected into Norman ends up erasing the Goblin persona for good, leaving a remorseful Norman Osborn behind.
• De-power: Peter's cure stripped the Goblin's powers and personality from Norman's body.
• Establishing Character Moment: The Goblin persona is introduced bombing the Alexander Hamilton Bridge within a second of him arriving in the MCU, setting him up as an irredeemable monster who exists solely to cause violence and chaos wherever he goes. The Norman persona, on the other hand, is introduced begging the Goblin to leave him alone, establishing him as the Goblin's much more sympathetic half who just wants to be free from his inner demons.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: He was taken from his universe shortly before his death in 2002 and now arrives in 2024 in another universe.
• Foil: To each of the other multiversal villains.
  • To Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus. Both of them are dangerous villains from the Raimi-verse who are confused as to what the hell is happening and how they got into the MCU, and both of them were genuinely decent (if flawed) scientists who just wanted to live their lives and make their world a better place. However, Norman undergoes a Split-Personality Takeover from the Green Goblin, which undoes all his previous attempts to assist Peter in curing him and the other villains in exchange for becoming the Big Bad. Otto, by contrast, starts out as an angry and uncooperative jerk towards Peter as he's trying to help him before he's finally freed from his tentacles' A.I, allowing him to perform a Heel–Face Turn and help Peter succeed in his goals.
  • To Flint Marko/The Sandman. Both of them have a child they care for back in their home dimension, though Flint is a better father to his daughter despite being a criminal while Norman bordered on being an Abusive Parent. Flint also regretted the accidental death of Ben Parker and is only fixated on going home, whereas Goblin has no problem with killing May Parker and has no interest in going home over Norman's objections and desire to go back to his son.
  • To Curt Connors/The Lizard. Both of them are Green and Mean characters from another dimension with a Split Personality who terrorize people For the Evulz. The main difference is that the Lizard has no personal vendetta against Peter for the most part outside of a few Kick the Dog moments and thinks turning people into human-reptile hybrids would benefit mankind, whereas the Goblin is obsessed with him to the point where he actively tries to corrupt him into a cold-blooded killer and just wants to cause chaos with no proper end goal.
  • To Max Dillon/Electro. They both end up enjoying the MCU and all it has to offer them, mainly since it gives them both a chance to be more than what they were in their home dimensions. Max was what he saw as a nobody back home and wants to stay where he could have even more power, while the Goblin sees the MCU as a new playground to cause mindless chaos and death.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: As depicted in the 2002 movie and mentioned by Sandman in this movie, Norman originally died from being impaled by his own glider. After inflicting a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown, MCU Peter attempts to kill Goblin the same way in revenge for Aunt May's death, only narrowly being stopped by Raimiverse-Peter.
• Hope Spot: Norman seemingly gets rid of the Goblin's influence shortly after entering the MCU, and becomes an ally of Peter and May. Naturally, the Goblin retakes control and undoes all of Norman's progress.
• Hover Board: The Green Goblin comes back on his trademark glider, which allows him to fly and bombard the innocent from above. Ironically, this universe's Peter almost willingly kills Osborn with it in a fit of rage.
• Irony: A rather dark case of it. In the 2002 movie, Norman (or possibly Goblin playing Norman) attempts to earn Peter's sympathy by blaming the Goblin for everything he's done, even though the Goblin was just targeting people whose deaths would benefit Norman (at least until Spidey got involved); either way, the line between the two was blurred. Here, with the difference between Norman and the Goblin much more apparent, Norman blames himself for the Goblin's actions (after being cured, he asks what he had done) even though for once he'd have justification for blaming everything on the Goblin.
• Jekyll & Hyde: The dynamic between Norman Osborn and his Green Goblin personality is even more distinct than it was in his original appearance. Norman is full of remorse for his atrocities, is absolutely terrified of the Goblin, and attempts to help out Peter as best he can. The Goblin, meanwhile, is even more sadistic than ever, killing and tormenting For the Evulz, and unless he's killed or erased, he can take over Norman at any time.
• Mirror Character:
  • To Captain America / Steve Rogers. Both characters' main abilities come from the formula they were injected with, which enhanced certain qualities of their personality and gave them incredible Super-Strength. However, while Steve's serum made him a more virtuous person who wants nothing more than to help those in need no matter the cost, Norman's serum caused his negative traits to manifest into something monstrous, turning him into an Omnicidal Maniac who destroys lives and property For the Evulz.
  • To Bruce Banner / The Hulk. Both of them were injected with a serum that created a split personality that is associated with the color green and engages in mindless mayhem when provoked, and both of them (initially) try to find ways to cure themselves of what they believe to be a Superpowered Evil Side. That said, Bruce manages to work out his issues with his other personality and become a force for good in the world, whereas Norman is, unfortunately, a slave to the Goblin, who wants nothing more than to commit acts of sadistic violence.
• Misplaced Retribution: Given the Spideys have no qualms with erasing the Goblin personality via antiserum, it seems the primary reason Raimi-Verse Peter stops MCU Peter from impaling the Goblin is to prevent Norman from becoming a victim in the crossfire, as it was the Goblin specifically who was responsible for killing his Aunt May.
• Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: Inverted since he comes from a more grounded world where he is one of the few supervillains to exist, while the MCU is filled with aliens and magic users alongside with superhumans like himself. However it's also downplayed, since while Osborn would be considered a super soldier in MCU terms, the Goblin's feat of strength are far above what other super soldiers have shown meaning that he would still be considered a dangerous threat by most heroes outside of Thor and the Hulk.
• Sequel Adaptation Iconic Villain: Zigzagged as while he makes his debut in the third MCU Spider-Man movie, after the previous films featured lesser-known villains Vulture and Mysterio, he's the same version of the character from the first Spider-Man film.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift: Norman initially appears in an exact replication of his appearance from Spider-Man, before switching to an upgraded suit that ditches the Goblin mask in exchange for a pair of goggles and a purple hood, which cuts a figure more in line with his traditional appearance. Doubly significant plot-wise, in that the point he adopts this new look befitting the style of the MCU is the point he effectively takes over as the Big Bad of the film and becomes something of an Arch-Enemy for the MCU's Spider-Man.
• Sky Surfing: Courtesy of his Goblin Glider.
• Split-Personality Makeover: A downplayed case as with his original appearance — Norman has straight teeth, while the Goblin's teeth as Norman are crooked.
• Split-Personality Takeover: Even more pronounced than in Spider-Man 1, the Green Goblin is a separate evil persona within Norman Osborn that wants nothing more than to just being evil for evil's sake, and just as Norman himself is getting somewhere with MCU Peter and MCU Aunt May, the Goblin persona emerges and asserts full control, and begins attacking his would-be rescuers, ultimately killing May.
• Super-Reflexes: He can not only react and counter against Spider-Man in a brawl but stay on his Goblin Glider without falling.
• Super-Speed: He moves just as fast as Spider-Man, but is relatively less agile than him.
• Super-Strength: Displayed in his first fight with Peter, where he powerbombs him through at least five floors and repeatedly sends him flying with little effort. Based on his showings, he is clearly above super soldiers like the Winter Soldier and US Agent, and he at least approaches Kree and Asgardians on the physical power scale.
• Super-Toughness: He continues to laugh maniacally even after Peter punched him in the face several times, and was also clearly unaffected by Peter stomping him through a concrete deck and immediately hurled him through a window when Peter tried to sling himself to higher ground, while Peter was much more visibly affected by Goblin powerbombing him through a floor and barely limped away with a bunch of fractured ribs.
• Transplant: The same Norman Osborn from the first Spider-Man.
• Trapped in Another World: He was unintentionally brought out from his universe and into the MCU. Norman is upset by this as he has lost everything he has ever had and is horrified to learn that his son doesn't exist in this universe, but the Goblin enjoys the idea of causing chaos in a new universe.
• Villain Respect: Norman swiftly takes a shine to Peter for his boundless intelligence and kindness. This is horribly inverted with the Goblin persona, who derides Peter for not having the cold heart it takes to kill. The only time he displays any pride in him is when he's driven Peter so mad with grief he finally attempts to murder him even with a cure for the serum on stand-by.
• Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: An interesting case. On the one hand, Norman himself is just as nice as he appears to be. On the other hand, the Goblin himself fools everyone (including Norman himself) into thinking he's been subdued for the first half of No Way Home. Norman aids Peter in trying to cure himself and the other villains of their conditions, but eventually, the Goblin makes it clear that he could have resurfaced anytime he wanted, he was just waiting for a perfect moment. That moment comes when Peter makes the mistake of leaving Norman alone with the Stark Fabricator, after which the Goblin takes control and cruelly reveals that he was watching and listening from behind the "mask" of Osborn the whole time.

Tropes that apply to Green Goblin

• Above Good and Evil: Far more explicit than in the 2002 Spider-Man film. Green Goblin believes that powerful beings like himself, the other multiversal villains, and MCU Spider-Man transcend human morality and should not be bound by it and that any showing of kindness, altruism, or mercy is weakness stemming from remaining human moral fetters.
• Adaptation Origin Connection: Zigzagged. While he was not there for Uncle Ben's death nor Peter's initial transformation into Spider-Man, his murder of Aunt May triggers a harsh change in Peter that makes him much more like the majority of iterations of his character. It forces him to finally absorb what it means to be Spider-Man.
• Adaptational Badass: His enhanced physical abilities are much more expanded in No Way Home, thanks to showings of previous characters with similar powers. As a whole, Goblin in the comics has low-grade superhuman strength and can trade blows with Spider-Man, but has consistently been shown to be a step or two below him, while Goblin in the Raimi-Verse was able to hold a fully-loaded gondola with minimal difficulty and was Peter's physical superior in most of their fights. Here, he is able to repeatedly slam MCU Peter through reinforced concrete floors with very little difficulty, culminating in bodyslamming him through at least five floors, and is able to effortlessly manhandle him throughout their first fight. He's also much notably tougher than he was in his home universe, as he repeatedly takes MCU Peter's punches even after he stops holding back without too much pain or lasting damage, compared to his debut movie where he was helpless and resorted to a Wounded Gazelle Gambit when he could no longer compete when Raimi's Peter began to stop pulling his punches.
• Advertised Extra: Not Goblin himself, but zig-zagged with his suit, specifically his mask. He's seen wearing his complete get-up in the bridge scene for five seconds before dumping it in an alley and smashing his mask in a fit of desperation (to silence the Goblin's taunts). You would guess from the trailers and the poster above that he wears it through the whole film. His alternate outfit, however, still uses the armor but it's mostly covered in tattered robes with a hood that more closely resembles the Goblin in the comics, minus the mask.
• Alliterative Name: The Green Goblin.
• Arch-Enemy: He takes a departure from being a designated foe of the Raimi trilogy's Spider-Man in favor of MCU Peter when he corrals the other villains under his orders to rain bedlam on the MCU New York, and deliberately makes it personal with its Spider-Man by murdering Aunt May. With this act alone, he has caused the most personal damage to Peter's life, only being rivaled by Mysterio outing his identity to the public. He is also Peter's physical match in a fight as well. By the end of the film, Peter has every intention to kill him and is only stopped by Raimi-Peter. However, the Goblin still stabs Raimiverse Peter in the back, further cementing that in his mind, no matter which universe he is in, he will torment and mess up the lives of every Spider-Man he encounters.
• Asshole Victim: MCU Peter injects him with the successful version of the Anti-Goblin serum created by his universe's Peter, erasing his consciousness from Norman's body. Given how much death he caused in his own world and in the MCU, it was a deserved death for him.
• Ax-Crazy: This Goblin is just as deranged and murderous as his original appearance in 2002, cackling maniacally as he unleashes his wrath on Spider-Man and everyone around him.
• Being Good Sucks: As he did with his own universe's Spider-Man, he has taken it upon himself to prove this to Peter, trying to demonstrate that if Peter could just disregard his responsibility, he could truly enjoy his power.
• Being Evil Sucks: However his philosophy proves costly for him as by killing MCU Aunt May, it led to him getting his gadgets destroyed and being Erased out of existence. And to add salt to the wound it was by being injected by a Serum that was created by his Spider-Man.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: He wants MCU Peter to kill him with all his hatred. He got his wish by being injected by the Anti-Goblin Serum, causing him to be erased out of existence, all the while MCU Peter gives him a Death Glare.
• Big Bad: As in Spider-Man, due to his manipulative tendencies and sheer evil, Goblin proves to be a worse villain and greater threat than Doc Ock, Sandman, Electro, and Lizard. While Strange's spell going awry causes the problem to begin with, the Goblin makes everything worse the moment he resurfaces. He murders MCU Aunt May and is the last one standing when all three Spideys cure the other villains, cementing his place as the main antagonist of the climax for No Way Home.
• Big Entrance: Upon arriving in the MCU, the Green Goblin bombs the Alexander Hamilton Bridge before revealing himself from the smoke with his signature Evil Laugh.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: His left gauntlet has a retractable blade built into it, which he added after killing May Parker.
• Book Ends: The Big Bad of the first Spider-Man movie in the first trilogy is also the Big Bad of the final movie in the third (and, as of now, the latest) Spider-Man series.
• Break Them by Talking: What makes the Goblin so dangerous are not his superhuman abilities nor his gadgets, but his uncanny ability to psychologically deconstruct then have them dance to his tune with nothing but words.
• Card-Carrying Villain: The Green Goblin, as ever, does what he does both for the sake of it and to revel in as much suffering as possible. Even when the Raimi trilogy Peter narrowly saves him from a merciless execution at the hands of a furious MCU Peter with the Goblin Glider in hand, Goblin's response is to stab his savior in the side and proceed to mock and taunt Peter about being responsible for his aunt's death to the very last.
• Color Character: The Green Goblin.
• Combat Pragmatist: Through his ruthless pragmatism, Green Goblin can keep up with Spider-Man despite his arsenal of abilities being limited compared to his fellow villains. Best shown when he arrives moments after Sandman, Lizard, and Electro are defeated: He's able to fight off Doc Ock and occupy Peter 2 and 3, while also forcing Doctor Strange's hand.
• Composite Character: Goblin starts the film wearing the same green suit and mask from his appearance in Raimi's Spider-Man. Halfway through the film though, he takes to wearing a ragged purple jacket over his suit after smashing the Green Goblin mask early on, making him resemble his comic book interpretation while also incorporating the hooded look of the Hobgoblin. His attitude as well as his actions towards MCU Spidey in No Way Home now takes cues from Harry Osborn of Peter-Three's universe.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Unlike both major villains of the MCU Spider-Man films, he has no connection to Tony Stark whatsoever due to being from a different universe. Neither Toomes nor Beck would have been able to do what they did without the help of their respective teams, while all the tech and power the Goblin has was designed by Norman, or at least he had a hand in creating it through Oscorp. And while he does convince the other villains to reject the cures being offered, he isn't their leader while Toomes and Beck were the leaders of their groups. He is also the first superhuman threat to Spider-Man while the other two were normal humans who relied on advanced technology, and is also the first of them to pose a physical threat - Toomes just had a massive home-field advantage and would have handily lost a straight fight to him (and wasn't actively trying to harm Peter in any of their encounters, he just wanted him out of his way), while Beck personally wasn't a direct physical threat whatsoever and was effectively helpless once his illusions stopped working on Peter. Both men were also fully aware and conscious of their decisions and became villains of their own free will while Norman is seriously mentally ill and has no choice in what he does as the Goblin and isn't even aware of his actions when it takes over. There are other differences that follow.
  • To Vulture. Both men wear green and use technology as a means of flight, both also have a child that they (or at least the Norman half for Goblin) care a great deal for who was close to a version of Peter. The key difference in this is that Vulture resented the rich and the Avengers, whereas Norman comes from a world that lacked any known superheroes prior to Spider-Man and is a wealthy billionaire himself. And while Vulture had a family he genuinely cared for and a code of honor that means he is sincerely grateful to Peter for saving his daughter's life and later his own and keeps his identity a secret from other villains, Goblin has no loved ones or lines he won't cross.
  • To Mysterio. Both men have advanced technology at their disposal. Quentin Beck lied about being a hero from another universe, whereas Goblin himself is a villain who is indeed from another universe. Both men also sought to ruin Peter's life for different reasons. Because Peter foiled his plans, Mysterio broadcasts his identity to the world to make Peter's life a living hell. Goblin takes a further, much pettier route; because Peter wanted to help cure Norman, Goblin causes Aunt May's death and goads Peter to killing him as a means of corrupting him. Beck was also a younger man and a regular engineer before becoming a villain while Goblin is at least in middle age and is a billionaire. Beck is a sadist but he does have a goal he cares about more than petty cruelty in making himself the new hero that everyone loves and relishes in the admiration he gets. Goblin meanwhile doesn't care about anything but acts of cruelty. Beck also played a hero and convinced himself his actions served some greater goal while Goblin is always open about his evil nature.
  • To the previous Phase Four villains as he has no greater purpose beyond senseless pain and destruction, which also makes him different from even the most poorly developed MCU villains who still always have a reason or goal that to them at least justifies their actions, while some even showed regret. Even Infinity Ultron, an Omnicidal Maniac and Multiversal Conqueror who killed all life in his universe before moving onto other universes in The Multiverse, is still motivated by his basic programming that makes him think he's doing the right thing and the brief moments when he believes he's completed his purpose clearly sadden him as he doesn't know how to do anything else. Since the Goblin is born out of all of Norman's repressed anger and dark thoughts, he is completely unsympathetic and upon finding himself in the MCU, he has no greater purpose beyond causing as much pain and mayhem as possible.
• The Corrupter:
  • After reasserting his control over Norman, the Goblin goads Max into embracing his villainy by preying on his fear of no longer being special after being cured of his electric powers. He specifically proclaims both him and Electro gods that take what they want, rather than having to choose what to be.
  • He quickly takes to compelling Peter to become as violent and ruthless as himself, quipping that Peter will "thank him later". When Peter first fights with him, he laughs when Peter stops pulling his punches, and his glee only escalates after killing Aunt May, sending Peter off the rails. In their final battle, when Peter states that he fully intends to kill him, Goblin almost sounds proud.
    Green Goblin: Awww, poor Peter. Too weak to send me home to die!
    MCU!Spidey: No... I just want to kill you myself!
    Goblin: Atta boy.
• Costume Evolution: Norman breaks the Goblin helmet in an attempt to run away from his Goblin persona and wears a hoodie over his suit to blend in. After the Goblin resurfaces, the ensuing fight tatters the hoodie, making it look like a Black Cloak with the hood over his head. He later on manages to repair his suit using gold and purple plating, giving him an overall more bulkier/muscular-looking build, and source bags for his bombs, a pair of goggles for flight and a Blade Below the Shoulder weapon offscreen.
• Crossover Villain-in-Chief: While not the leader of the multiversal villains, he is the one who convinces them to reject MCU Peter's efforts to save them, setting up the conflict of the film's third act.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: On both ends of this with MCU Peter. During their first fight, the Goblin completely brutalizes Peter and probably would have killed him if not for May intervening, and even then the Goblin just mortally wounds her before flying off. The second time around, Peter wants revenge for May's death, and he stops pulling his punches, subjecting the Goblin to a downright brutal No-Holds-Barred Beatdown before being a split-second from outright killing him.
• Curb Stomp Cushion: He's utterly outmatched in his rematch with MCU Peter as a result of him not holding back anymore and having the intent to kill, but he still manages to graze him in his left shoulder with his retractable blade which visibly hurts Peter and lands a punch to his face before being completely battered during their fight. And more notably, he's still in a condition to fight before MCU Peter ultimately cures him.
• Devious Daggers: The Green Goblin loves sharp things almost as much as his bombs. Besides keeping his glider-mounted spikes, he equips a Blade Below the Shoulder.
• Did You Actually Believe...?: The Goblin belts this out near-verbatim when he resurfaces and takes the reins of the plot, chastising Peter, May, and Otto for seriously thinking, despite knowing he was still in there, that he'd just quietly let Norman be rid of him.
  Goblin: "No more darker half"; did you really think that I'd let that happen?
• Didn't See That Coming: While he was well aware that he may be killed by any version of Peter, he took that in stride as he felt it would corrupt them. He never thought he would be spared and purged from Norman's body instead.
• Die Laughing: After once again rubbing the death of May in MCU Peter's face, the Goblin lets out one last mighty cackle before Peter purges him from Norman's body for good.
• The Dreaded: When the Goblin emerges, Peter's Spidey-Sense goes haywire, which it had not done even in the simultaneous presence of four other villains (although to be fair, three of the four were tagging along to be helped and returned to their world, while the fourth was restrained).
  • When Otto sees the Goblin in the final battle, he has an Oh, Crap! moment.
  • Raimi-Spider-Man also reacts with terror when he hears the Goblin's voice call out.
• Enemy Within: The Green Goblin is shown to be a separate persona from Norman Osborn's, even more so than in the Sam Raimi trilogy. What makes this so dangerous is that the Goblin persona could resurface at any time, but chooses to wait until the right moment to maximize harm towards those who begin to trust Norman.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: As part of his philosophy, he believes that powerful beings transcend human morality and should not be bound by it and that any showing of kindness, altruism, or mercy is weakness stemming from remaining human moral fetters. It becomes clear time and time again that he cannot understand why anyone with that sort of power wouldn't live the life of violent, murderous depravity that the Goblin stands for, and he reacts to MCU Peter's own moral philosophy with contempt and disgust, just as he had with his original nemesis, Raimi-Verse Peter, which initially leads him to try and murder him before turning his sights towards Aunt May after he comes to believe that she is the corrupting influence holding him back. He then repeats this when he is excited at the prospect of MCU Peter killing him, and then he thanks the Raimi-Peter for preventing MCU Peter from doing so by impaling him.
• Evil Counterpart: He is this to Iron Man. They are both very wealthy men and capable scientists who rely heavily on technology in combat, as well as playing a major role in Peter's life. While Tony served as Peter's mentor and father figure, the Green Goblin killed Peter's aunt and tried his best in corrupting him though the parallel is made stronger by the fact that Norman acted as a father figure for the Peter of his universe. They also both researched nanotechnology, though Tony got a lot further than research. He is also this for all versions of Spider-Man, having the exact opposite philosophy where he believes his powers give him the right to do whatever he wants while Spider-Man's core philosophy is that his powers give him a responsibility towards others.
• Evil Is Hammy: It may have been 20 years, but Willem Dafoe hasn't lost his touch.
• Evil Is Petty: Green Goblin decides that, no, it's not enough that Peter will naturally be at odds with him in his bid to conquer the MCU reality. He has to make absolutely sure there is nothing but mutual enmity between them and kills Aunt May since he's so offended Peter would dare save Norman instead of apathetically dispatch his enemies as Doctor Strange intended. He also torments MCU Peter all to spite at everything any Spider-Man stands for.
• Evil Laugh: Gives off his signature cackle as he blows up the Alexander Hamilton Bridge with a Pumpkin Bomb, and during his subsequent battles with Spider-Man. It's rather telling that most fans could tell immediately who else would be in the movie just from the cackle alone (the Pumpkin Bomb visual helped but definitely wouldn't have been necessary).
• Evil Sounds Raspy: Willem Dafoe is infamous for this, and he chews the scenery in his trademark gravelly voice for both of his personas. Just like in the climax of Spider-Man, this indicates who is in charge: when Norman says, "Just me" to Otto, it's in the Goblin's voice, even though he's pretending to be normal Norman.
• The Farmer and the Viper: Goblin stabs his Spider-Man In the Back after he prevents MCU Spider-Man from killing him.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • His insanity. It's a crippling weakness in the MCU. Especially when his main foe has fought people like Cap, Bucky, Cull Obsidian, and Thanos.
  • And of course his obsession with adding salt to the wounds of other people. When it's clear that he lost. In the final battle when Raimiverse Peter stops MCU Peter from killing him, he still can't resist trying to corrupt him, which gives MCU Peter an opening to cure him.
• Faux Affably Evil: Unlike Norman himself, who is a genuinely Nice Guy, the Goblin persona (true to form) has an eerily charming, informal, and bombastic way of interacting with people and can even be rather convincing whenever he decides to Break Them by Talking, but he's truly a reprehensible, irredeemable psychopath whose sole source of joy is causing as much pain, misery and torment as possible, particularly for Peter (any version apparently). He doesn't even treat Norman himself well, constantly mocking him for his "cowardice" simply because he doesn't want to harm others or cause chaos and pain and allowing him to make progress to better himself, only to undo it in a second solely for his own twisted amusement.
• Final Boss: After the Spider-Men cure the rest of the villains, the Goblin is the last and biggest threat for the climax of No Way Home. By extension, he's also the final villain of the MCU Spider-Man Trilogy.
• For the Evulz: As before, the Green Goblin's motivation is simply killing people and wreaking havoc for evil's sake. It's the reason he's that much worse than the other displaced villains. While they are all victims of circumstance or have their own goals, the Goblin engages in violence and mayhem because it's fun.
• Game Face: One of the signs that the Goblin is in control is that his expression changes to an open-mouthed sneer (when he feels like talking) or a maniacal toothy grin (when he feels like getting violent).
• Genius Bruiser: The Green Goblin possesses a genius-level intellect, along with a fighting prowess on par with that of Spider-Man.
• Goblin Face: Like in the first Spider-Man film, the Goblin makes quite a number of frightening facial expressions when he's causing chaos. Bonus points in that he forgoes his trademark mask for most of his film, allowing him to really lean into this trope.
• A God Am I: Not quite of the usual sense, but re-flavored in the Goblin's Super Supremacist viewpoint, in that he and the other villains are "gods" in that they can do as they please and determine their own fates without needing to be tied down by moral compulsions.
  Goblin: Gods don't have to choose. We take.
• Green and Mean: His costume is primarily green in color, and he is the most dangerous and evil of the five villains in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
• He-Man Woman Hater: While he intended to kill Aunt May to corrupt Peter, it's implied that he also did this out of misogyny that Norman still has deep down. If the way how he describes May Parker as "trapping" Peter down to fight for her "holy moral mission" can be read in the context of a seductress.
• Hero Killer: Kills Aunt May, and would have killed MJ as well if Webb-verse Peter didn't interfere. He also manages to inflict a serious injury on the Raimiverse's Spider-Man at the end of the film, though he ultimately survives.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: During the final battle, MCU Peter Parker hangs on to the Goblin's glider and grabs one of his Pumpkin Bombs to blow it up, causing both of them to crash to the ground. Also, his sadistic tendencies and taunts nearly get him killed; MCU Peter has more experience at fighting than Raimi-verse Peter, who fought Goblin when he was starting his career as Spider-Man in contrast MCU Peter, who has been Spider-Man even before Tony recruited him. Goblin's taunts also leave an opening for MCU Peter to inject him with the cure, giving him a death that he didn't want.
• Hyde Plays Jekyll: When the Goblin persona resurfaces, he initially does a very good job of pretending to still be Norman. The only reason it doesn't last for more than a second is because the monster is so dangerous and outright demonic in his evil that MCU Peter's Spider-Sense starts screaming the very moment he takes control.
  Dr. Octavius: How does it feel, Norman? You're about to become whole again. No more darker half. Just you.
  Norman (really the Goblin): Just me.
• I Am Not Weasel: Peter refers to him at first as a Green Elf.
• In the Back: Where the Goblin stabs Raimi-Verse Peter after latter saved him from being killed by MCU Peter. However, Raimi-Verse Peter manages to recover due to his healing factor.
• In the Hood: His upgraded look includes a purple hooded jacket.
• Incoming Ham: "CAN THE SPIDER-MAN COME OUT TO PLAY?!" A refitted version of the line he said in the 2002 movie.
• Jerkass: In addition to being a sadistic monster, the Goblin persona speaks to everyone else (including Norman himself) with utter contempt, mocking them for having standards or caring about others, enemies included. It's notable that while Norman speaks fondly of Peter, even expressing interest in offering him a job at Oscorp, the Goblin taunts Peter about Aunt May's death in order to get Peter to kill him and become a killer just like him.
• The Juggernaut: In his first fight with MCU Peter, he is absolutely unstoppable. He barely notices his blows, completely destroys him with his own, and is relentless in his pursuit of him and does not stop coming.
• Karmic Death: His reason for starting a feud with MCU Peter was because he reminded him of his Peter. So it's natural for him to get erased by an Anti-Serum that was created by his Peter.
• Kick the Dog: He kills Aunt May and later on taunts MCU Peter that he is the one to blame for her death. This almost pushes Peter towards the point that he wants to kill the Green Goblin out of pure vengeance. This in the end proves to be his undoing, as when his Peter stops MCU Peter from killing him, the Goblin still tries to taunt the latter, who instead injects him with an Anti-Serum, which was the very scenario he was trying to avoid.
• Killing Intent: The Goblin is so evil that he triggers Peter's Spider-Sense just by being there, often long before he actually arrives on scene. This happens to two completely different Spider-Man in two completely different universes.
• Kill It with Fire: He punctuates his exit from the apartment complex where he just killed May and absolutely destroyed MCU-Peter by carpet-bombing the lobby and outside entryway with incendiary Pumpkin Bombs.
• Knight of Cerebus: The Green Goblin easily outclasses every other villain Spider-Man has had to face in terms of how evil, chaotic, and violent he is. Once he takes over Norman, the film almost dips into horror movie material, especially when he kills Aunt May, driving Peter to his darkest point yet.
• Laser-Guided Karma: He spends the remainder of his time in the MCU messing up MCU Peter's life as a way to spite Raimiverse Peter. So it's fitting that it was Raimiverse Peter that ruined his Plans of corrupting MCU Peter by stopping the latter from killing him with MCU Peter using Raimiverse Peter's Anti-Goblin serum to purge him out of Norman.
• Large Ham: Willem Dafoe continues to shine in the role after two decades.
• The Last Dance: From his perspective, he's got three options for his immediate future — wreak havoc in the MCU, go back to his home universe without changing his fate, or get "cured" — and in two of those scenarios, he dies for sure. Since he figures that he's probably going to die anyway, he dedicates whatever time he has left to torment and corrupt another universe's Spider-Man, either killing him or having the dying satisfaction of knowing that he truly broke a good man. Thanks to the intervention of the other Spider-Men, he doesn't succeed at either goal.
• Laughing Mad: The Green Goblin often madly laughs and in the most inappropriate situations, such as being punched by Peter, reveling in the way he wreaks havoc and messes even more with Peter's life.
• Lean and Mean: He is not as muscular as Peter, but he is still a dangerous adversary.
• Leitmotif: "Spectre of the Goblin" returns for a few of his scenes.
• Lightning Bruiser: He's fast enough to keep up with MCU Peter, strong enough to effortlessly manhandle him and repeatedly smash him through concrete floors, culminating in him slamming him from the upper level of a condo complex and down to the lobby through the floors, and tough enough to effortlessly tank his blows.
• Mad Bomber: The Goblin's weapons of choice are his trademark Pumpkin Bombs.
• Malevolent Masked Men: He wears a demonic-looking mask and he is the most malevolent of the five villains in Spider-Man: No Way Home. He eventually ditches the mask in favor of a purple hood and flight goggles.
• Manipulative Bastard: Once the Goblin has full control of Norman's body, he convinces the other multiversal villains that they should not have their abilities taken away before battling Peter Parker, killing Aunt May, and nearly succeeds in turning Peter into the cold-blooded killer that he is seen as by most of the world.
• Marquee Alter Ego: Norman destroying the mask as mentioned above gives his new costume a visible face and greater freedom of expression, which the Goblin uses as his own personal playground when he comes out.^note This reflects a common issue cited by both fans and people who worked on the original movie — while people are split on the general design of the Goblin suit, most agree that the inexpressive faceplate did a disservice to Dafoe's acting and muffled his voice, whereas the scenes with unmasked Norman as the Goblin were much creepier for giving him full reign.
• Mid-Season Upgrade: Osborn initially wears the same Goblin suit from his movie but eventually changes his gear before the final battle. His second suit ditches the mask to a pair of flight goggles and he is now equipped with a Blade Below the Shoulder.
• Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds: By destroying the box containing Strange's spell, the Goblin could have destroyed the universe by flooding it with an infinite number of people that know that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. However, it's very likely that he doesn't know that would be the result, and that he thought destroying the box would only ensure that he stays in the MCU.
• Motive Decay: The Goblin persona manifested as the evil side of Norman's personality, determined to take revenge on Norman's enemies both within and outside Oscorp with the addition of believing Spider-Man could either join his side or die as his enemy since they were two extra-ordinary people with incredible feats to their name. Now, finding himself in a world where neither Norman nor Oscorp exist, the Goblin simply wants to cause as much chaos and destruction as possible, his targeting of MCU Peter is more petty, deciding to try to kill or corrupt him for little reason but to believe he can.
• Near-Villain Victory: Despite the beating he receives, the Goblin's endgame is to drive Peter so far over the Despair Event Horizon, he forsakes his personal code and tries to murder him. He comes very close to succeeding and if Raimi-Verse Peter hadn't intervened, MCU Peter would have almost certainly done the deed.
• Nested Mouths: If you look closely, the open jaw of Norman's goblin mask covers and reveals his actual mouth.
• Nightmare Face: One that is even scarier than his mask.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Says this word-for-word when killing May.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Both sides. In their first fight, he savagely beats MCU Peter in an incredibly one-sided fight and was clearly about to deliver a Coup de Grâce before Aunt May intervened. In their second fight, MCU Peter finally gets his hands on the Goblin after he killed Aunt May and proceeds to pummel the Goblin mercilessly before preparing to deliver his own finishing blow.
• No-Sell: In their first fight, nothing Peter does fazes Goblin and he can only knock him down for a few seconds at most before he bounces back to continue the assault. Even when Peter pins him to a wall and punches him with ever-increasing ferocity, Goblin merely smiles and belts a sinister cackle before sending him through the floor. It's only when Peter stops holding back in their final showdown that he can do any real damage.
• Odd Name Out: The only one of the five supervillains whose moniker isn't an Animal Motif or element-related.
• Oh, Crap!: The Goblin makes the face the moment he realizes Peter-1 injected the needle in him before administering the cure mid-Laughing Mad.
• Omnicidal Maniac: The Goblin in a sense was always this, killing just about anyone and everyone he wanted at the drop of a pin, but in this film it goes even further, as he plants a Pumpkin Bomb in the box containing Strange's broken spell, setting it loose and causing the fabric of reality to begin breaking apart as an infinite flow of people begin to flood in from every possible universe. That said, it's likely that the Goblin wasn't even aware just how much damage it would cause other than not sending him back home.
• Outside-Context Problem:
  • No villain in the MCU is without agency for their own actions. Everything they do is motivated by their history, be it through trauma, strife or some other impulse; at their core, they're all very human. And then, there is the Goblin. His Jekyll & Hyde nature makes him unlike any other villain to come before, even amongst the other multiversal inclusions, in that there is no rhyme and reason for what he does. He is quite literally a manifestation of purely evil thoughts and desires born from Norman's subconscious, incapable of ever being anything less than outlandishly cruel, obsessively sadistic, and unbelievably vindictive. Electro's incredible power, Doc Ock's heartless pragmatism, the Lizard's ruthless Darwinism, and Sandman's implacable nature pale in comparison, leaving Goblin as the most dangerous villain by a landslide.
  • He's also this from a physical perspective: Peter's previous two personal villains were both normal humans using technology, but otherwise physically far weaker than him. The Goblin is in a tier of strength comparable to Asgardians, making him already extremely powerful by MCU standards, but outlandishly powerful compared to Vulture and Mysterio.
• Person of Mass Destruction: The second he shows up in the MCU, he starts bombing a bridge full of innocent civilians. When he later resurfaces in Happy Hogan's condo, he ends up completely obliterating much of the building by smashing Peter through its walls, floors, and ceilings, and tops it off by bombing the news and Damage Control vehicles outside the place. And if that wasn't enough, the Goblin also ends up wrecking all the renovations given to the Statue of Liberty, and also destroys the box containing Doctor Strange's spell. If Strange didn't wipe everyone's memory of who Peter Parker was, the Goblin could've single-handedly destroyed the entire universe.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Green Goblin genuinely commented the MCU Spider-Man's spider-sense, after he took over Osborn's mind.
  • Although it was still villainous, Green Goblin telling the MCU Spider-Man and his fellow villains that their powers are a gift not a curse.
• Practically Joker: Like The Joker, he's a psychopath, laughs a lot, embraces his evil, loves destruction, and tries to turn the hero into a murderer. Coincidence? Admittedly a downplayed example, as the Joker inherited certain Goblinisms following the departure of DC's Silver Age, and the Goblin adopted more Joker-like mannerisms in his madness and penchant for distinctive cackling.
• Psychopathic Manchild: It's more pronounced in here but basically, his starting a feud with MCU Peter boils down to a bully targeting another kid just because they had the same name or reminded the bully of their previous victim in disgust.
• Purple Is Powerful: His second costume sports a purple hooded jacket, and he becomes the deadliest villain in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
• Sadist: The Green Goblin is an unhinged psychopath who indulges in misery and mayhem. This is most prominent when comparing his personas' reactions to MCU Aunt May's death. The Norman persona feels horrified that he murdered an innocent while the Goblin persona gleefully relishes the fact he killed someone that Peter loved, even when said-Peter is about to kill him with his glider.
• Satanic Archetype: Just like his original film appearance, and even more so. He is introduced raining fire and descending from above. His success comes from taking advantage of a woman's trusting nature, he corrupts both Peter and the villains that are on the fence of morality by using a charming face hiding a sadistic mind, as well as comparing himself to a god. He seeks no goal other than to reign chaos on the world.
• Secondary Color Nemesis: He has the same green costume, and later wears a purple mantle over it. The "Goblin" personality is the single most evil villain among those that were transported, eviler than the Norman personality, Doc Ock, Sandman, Lizard, and Electro combined.
• Silence, You Fool!: When the Goblin's personality resurfaces and starts encouraging the other supervillains to renounce the idea of being "cured" and use their powers to run amok instead, Otto tries to intervene but the Goblin promptly shuts him up.
  Green Goblin: Quiet, lapdog!
• Sinister Whistling: During his final battle with MCU Peter, he gives an ominous whistle as he reveals his retractable blade.
• Slasher Smile: In typical Goblin fashion, he does one right before throwing one of his Pumpkin Bombs at May.
• Smug Snake: He is just as arrogant as he was in the Raimi Trilogy, still thinking he can corrupt MCU Peter and wreak havoc on the MCU. not knowing that even if he succeeds it would only make him a target for the Avengers and other heroes. This even extends to him fighting MCU Peter, the only reason why he overpowered the latter was that he has the numbers advantage, and MCU Peter pulling his punches. This bites him back in the final battle, where MCU Peter proved that he is stronger than the Goblin in terms of combat. While the Goblin only has the advantage in terms of brute strength.
• The Social Darwinist: The Super Supremacist/The Unfettered variety. He believes that powerful beings are above human morality and should use that power to do as they please, and he has a pronounced and violent disdain for the weakness of any sort, including human moral compunctions, which leads him first to very nearly beat MCU Peter to death and then fatally injure Aunt May once he comes to believe that she is MCU Peter's morality chain in the hope that losing his last tie to humanity will encourage him to shed all human vestiges and embrace godhood. When MCU Peter expresses his intention to kill him, he is clearly thrilled at the prospect - as far as the Goblin is concerned, he has embraced godhood, risen above human morality, and proven himself the superior being.
• The Sociopath: The Goblin persona is a deceitful manipulator with a god-complex who indulges in the carnage he creates. He tricks the other displaced villains, except Otto Octavius, into rebelling, murders Aunt May to hurt Peter, tries to do the same with MJ, and plans to make MCU his personal playground.
• Straw Nihilist: The Goblin kills Aunt May to show Peter that no good deed goes unpunished.
• Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!: In their final battle, the Goblin's delighted to see that MCU Peter is out for blood to avenge May's death, and when the Raimi trilogy Peter intervenes, he stabs him to get him out of the way and vindictively goads MCU Peter to try and get him to do it. Unfortunately for him, the only one Peter "kills" is the Goblin specifically.
• Super Supremacist: He sees the super-powered like him, Peter, and Electro as "gods" who should be free to take what they want.
• Supernatural Fear Inducer: MCU Peter's Spider-Sense considers the Goblin persona such a massive threat that it practically deafens him the second it resurfaces until Peter is able to figure out what the danger is. For comparison, the only times any of the other multiversal villains triggered it was when they were about to outright attack Peter, and it only gave a mild signal in their cases—all five being gathered into one spot doesn't even trip it.
• Take Over the World: Played the straightest out of any MCU antagonist. There's no grand ideology Goblin ascribes to. No greater mission. And while the circumstances surrounding Norman himself are tragic, his other half clearly revels in the misery he causes him and everybody else. He just wants power for power's sake, treating the reality he's found himself in as an entirely new playground with toys he can break over and over again. Namely Peter.
  Goblin: We have a new world to conquer.
• Terms of Endangerment: The Goblin greets Otto in this manner.
  Otto: Norman?
  Goblin: Norman's on sabbatical, honey.
• Thanatos Gambit: The Goblin's final plan is to corrupt Peter into killing him directly, thus continuing his Villainous Legacy in both the Raimi-Verse and the MCU. He ends up a split second from accomplishing this. Only fittingly being foiled by his Spider-Man who at that point had been suffering the impact of his Original death. (Including his falling out with Osborn's son Harry who becomes his successor and later his death).
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Attempted with Aunt May. After using his glider to pierce her body and slam her to the ground, the Goblin decides to take it a step further and throw a Pumpkin Bomb at her body. Even though Peter is able to bat it out of the way before it explodes, it's rendered pointless when May succumbs to her wounds from the glider.
• They Died Because of You: He murders Aunt May, and keeps taunting Peter about dragging her into Peter's superhero life. Right up until Goblin's last words.
• Throw Down the Bomblet: Like all versions of the character, the Green Goblin uses his signature Pumpkin Bombs as a weapon and is very fond of throwing them around to blow things up.
• Token Evil Teammate: Barring the Osborn personality, the Goblin is the evilest member of the assembled Spider-Man villains as he is the only one who is not a Tragic Villain and being Forced into Evil. Having already killed many people in his universe, he made it personal with the MCU Spider-Man by killing his beloved aunt and plans to cause even more chaos in this new universe, even if it means wrecking reality.
• Truer to the Text: Green Goblin's modified costume in this film is more accurate to the comics, complete with the purple hood, robe, and satchel bag to store his bombs. The only thing missing is the mask.
• The Unfettered: What ultimately makes him as dangerous as he is. No matter what the situation is, he gives his all and shows absolutely zero restraint, and his belief that he is above human morality coupled with his open disgust for weakness means that there does not seem to be a single line he's averse to crossing.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Not even a minute after Raimi-Verse Peter saves his life, Goblin stabs him in the back. Probably because he didn't want to be saved; he had been goading MCU Peter to kill him to corrupt him. And also out of spite towards Raimi Peter. Seeing as he was his original Archenemesis.
• Unskilled, but Strong: He handily overpowers MCU Peter in their first fight, proving himself the clear better of the two in brute strength, and his fighting style reflects this - it's stiff, clumsy, and unrefined, but he's so ridiculously strong and tough that it doesn't matter. But when stripped of his glider and weapons in their second bout, as well as Peter not pulling his punches anymore, he's only able to land a few good hits before being taken down. MCU Peter has more experience battling superhumans, including aliens, while the Goblin spent most of his screen time terrorizing unarmed civilians and has only fought one Spider-Man from his own universe. In his last bout from his original appearance, he had an advantage over Peter until he threatened Mary Jane, which caused his Peter to beat him up so badly that he resorted to a Wounded Gazelle Gambit that cost him his life, though not without doing significant damage to Spider-Man. In contrast, Goblin just punches MCU Peter in the face and slashes his left arm before the latter beat him to a bloody pulp by using his webs to slow down. And MCU Peter did this without a mask or hiding or using sneak attacks, which shows just how much he outclassed the Goblin in terms of combat. Making this a total repeat of Thanos' fight with the Hulk.
• Underestimating Badassery: He has been underestimated by both MCU Peter and Strange, with the former calling him a flying elf while Goblin ultimately ends up the biggest danger out of all the multiversal villains. However, he also underestimated MCU Peter (and by extension, the MCU in general), thinking he can kill or corrupt him. This goes badly as for Goblin, as MCU Peter ultimately doesn't give in to his hate and opts to cure him instead.
• Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: The most ruthless and sadistic of the villains in an MCU Spider-Man film. Whenever Norman's Green Goblin persona appears on-screen, an aura of dread always follows.
• Villain Has a Point: Although meant to rile MCU Peter up into killing him due to murdering Aunt May, Goblin isn't wrong when he states Peter's naivety regarding handling the villains created the conditions which allowed him to kill her.
  Goblin: She was there... because of you. I may have struck the blow, but you... You are the one that killed her.
• Villain of Another Story: He was the primary antagonist of Spider-Man.
• Villain Takes an Interest: From the moment he resurfaces, the Goblin takes an unsettling personal stake in Peter reminiscent of his Why Are You Not My Son? attitude towards the one of his native reality. Namely, he sees Peter struggling to try and manage all of his life's troubles, whereas in the Goblin's Super Supremacist mindset, there's no reason he shouldn't just take what he wants. He deems Aunt May the cause for Peter's being chained to morality, and true to his nature, takes the action he deems necessary to ensure Peter falls from his kindhearted ways and becomes like him. Even in their final battle, he goads Peter to kill him if only to see his vision for the boy accomplished.
• Virtue Is Weakness: Believes that Peter's kindness holds him back from his full potential. After all, why would someone with Peter's power not just take what they want? His eventual endgame is to force said potential out of Peter by any means necessary.
  Goblin: Strong enough to have it all. Too weak to take it!
• Wham Line: Not the line itself, but after Peter webs his hand, the sinister tone in which he responds makes it clear that the Goblin has reclaimed control of Osborn.
  Norman: [with a borderline Slasher Smile] That's a neat trick, that sense of yours.
  • One for the audience if they remember The Goblin's vocal mannerisms. Bonus points for it being a scene before Peter himself realizes:
  Otto: How does it feel, Norman? You're about to become whole again. No more darker half. Just you.
  Norman: (Norman's back is turned towards the camera, so the audience can't see his face. But we can hear his voice, which for a moment sounds slightly more like the Goblin's trademark raspiness) Just me.
• With Great Power Comes Great Perks: He's a firm believer of this and tries his best to convert the MCU Peter as he tried with Raimi-Peter, nicely contrasting him with the usual Spidey motto.
• Would Hit a Girl: Killed May Parker and would have killed Michelle Jones if Webb-Verse Peter had not come to her rescue.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Goblin pulls some wrestling moves on Peter as they battle in Happy's apartment building.
• Yellow Eyes of Sneakiness: The yellow-colored lenses of his original mask are these.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: A villainous example. Wanting to cause as much damage as he can, the Goblin convinces Electro that his power isn't an affliction that needs to be cured, but a gift that should be embraced and used as he sees fit. Max, who'd been treated like a nobody in his own universe before his accident, takes Goblin's words to heart and joins in the mayhem that ensues.
  Goblin: We don't need you to save us. We don't need to be "fixed"! These aren't curses. They're gifts.

Tropes that apply to Norman Osborn

• Action Dad: He's a supervillain who is also the father of Harry Osborn.
• Adaptational Nice Guy:
  • In the Raimi film, Norman was afraid of the Goblin at first but was either unable to control it or let it out, and over time the Goblin became the dominant persona and Norman submitted to it, to the point the Goblin was influencing him and its mannerisms slipped through even when Norman was in control. In No Way Home, Norman resists the Goblin persona and refuses to go along with it, and he helps Peter in curing the villains knowing that eventually it'll be his turn and his alter-ego will be erased.
  • In the first film, Norman shows a subtle but strong Straw Misogynist He-Man Woman Hater streak that bleeds into his Goblin personality. Here, he's nothing but polite to May Parker and is very thankful for her support, making it all the more tragic when learning that his Goblin personality killed her. Of course, like with his anger at those who wronged him which was enhanced into a desire to murder them as the Goblin, it's possible that the formula enhanced any sexist qualities he possessed into what was shown in the original film.
• Adaptational Sympathy: In Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man film, Norman Osborn is shown doing little to fight his Goblin persona, and it's implied that he may have been faking his Split Personality at times in order to manipulate others (primarily his own Peter Parker in his final moments in a Wounded Gazelle Gambit). In No Way Home, Norman is shown to be genuinely terrified of causing more harm whenever he is in the Goblin persona, and he actively helps MCU Peter try to cure it so he can be normal again. This is in addition to the struggles of being trapped in a world where he was never born, which means his company and, more importantly, his son don't exist. When he finally is cured after the Goblin takes over and subsequently wreaks more havoc, Norman can only wallow in his own horror, remorse, and shame at what he has done, and does so in a way that makes it clear that he legitimately means it.
• Ambiguous Situation: Norman says that Oscorp doesn't exist in the MCU. Since the MCU's version of "Mary Jane Watson" goes by a different name, does the Osborn family still exist in the MCU but under a different name? Do the MCU's Osborns exist under that name, but Oscorp hasn't been founded yet? Raimi Norman learns about MCU MJ and says, "Fascinating", so he might believe the former is the case.
• Amnesiac Resonance: Although he doesn't remember his actions as Green Goblin, Norman is quick to realize that he did something terrible while under his persona's control, especially if he hurt those he cares about.
• Ascended Meme: When he offers Peter his help with making cures for the other villains, Norman quotes his famous "I'm something of a scientist myself" line from the original film, which had become a meme in the intervening years since the original film's release.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Similar to how things started with his Peter, Norman is friendly with the MCU Parkers because they were the only people who were nice to him when he was brought to an unfamiliar world where he doesn't have everything he had in his universe.
• Benevolent Boss: Is willing to cure his Oscorp employee and friend Dr. Octavius of the tentacles' influence and even help Max Dillon and Curt Connors despite them working for a separate Oscorp run by Norman's sickly Alternate Self from another universe.
• Big Eater: Implied. While Peter and May are discussing what to do with him while at F.E.A.S.T., Norman can be seen sneakily pocketing some pastries on the table in front of him. He later expresses a desire for a burrito while at Happy's condo in response to Otto snarking at Peter's lack of preparedness.
• Bittersweet Ending: For Norman. He gets cured of the Goblin and has the chance to live a better life in his home universe, but has to live with the regret of killing Aunt May, someone who showed him kindness, before that could happen.
• Call-Back: Twice, Norman says certain things that harken back to his original film appearance. After MCU May Parker drops him and Peter off, he tells May that he hopes to see her again, which he said towards the end of his first conversation with his Peter before parting ways with him. When offering his help to MCU Spider-Man, Norman states that he is "something of a scientist [himself]", which he said when introducing himself to his Peter.
• Connected All Along: It's shown that the Norman Osborn and the Otto Octavius of the Spider-Man Trilogy knew each other, despite no evidence of this in their home series (however, seeing as Otto knows Harry in his original appearance, it isn't too unlikely he knew his father first).
• Cool Old Guy: Norman's exact age is never specified but he's at least well into middle-age (Willem Dafoe was 65 years old when filming began) and he's a kind, polite and gracious man who gets along well with others and forms a mutually respectful relationship with Peter in their brief time together, acting as something of a mentor to him and Peter respecting him in turn.
• Easily Forgiven: Norman is quickly forgiven by Otto, his Peter, and his MCU counterpart for everything he did as Green Goblin as they understand that he may have created his evil persona, but was not in control of himself.
• Easily Impressed: Norman is impressed with the MCU universes technology as he checked out Dum-E and U at Happy Hogan's place and was amazed by the Stark Industries fabricator. However, Norman was more impressed with the MCU Peter's intelligences and skills with the advanced technology.
  Norman: Remarkable. The technology and you.
• Excellent Judge of Character: Norman seems to have good intuition as he is quick to trust Peter Parker's MCU counterpart. Also, upon seeing his friend and fellow scientist Otto Octavius in the MCU universe, Norman quickly realizes that something isn't right with him, after hearing a different tone in his attitude. Fortunately, while working with the MCU Peter, Norman realizes that he is right to trust his judgment, as he found out that Otto was under the control of his tentacles, which caused him to be grumpy and miserable.
• Hearing Voices: Even when Norman is in control, he's tormented by the Goblin's malevolent voice.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: Starts as a villain, then Norman tries to suppress the Green Goblin persona and assists Peter in coming up with cures for the supervillains, then the Green Goblin persona resurges and goes on a rampage that kills May, then the Goblin's finally destroyed by the antiserum and Norman returns as a very regretful good guy.
• Heroic Willpower: Norman resists Green Goblin's attempt to retake control of his body and mind. Unfortunately, he could only hold Goblin off for so long.
• Honest Corporate Executive: Moreso then in the original movie he debuted in.
• In Another Man's Shoes: Norman ends up in another universe where he's not a captain of industry or a feared supervillain, he's just a crazy homeless guy (with superpowers).
• Insistent Terminology: When Peter brings him to the Sanctum he refers to Norman as "Mr. Osborn". Norman immediately corrects him that it's "Doctor Osborn".
• Like a Son to Me: As with his own Peter, Norman is genuinely impressed by the MCU Peter's own selflessness and ingenuity. He even remarks that should time (and cross-universe travel) permit, he would readily offer him a job at Oscorp.
• Manly Tears: Norman nearly breaks down in tears when he recalls to the MCU Parkers his circumstances in this universe, namely that someone else is living at his house, Oscorp doesn't exist, and worst of all, he can't find his son Harry.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Norman speaks this word for word after being cured of the Goblin persona, realizing that he murdered Aunt May and badly injured (but thankfully didn't kill) Raimi-Verse Peter while the Goblin was in control. He spends his remaining screentime sitting in place and staring out into the ocean, horrified at what he's done.
• Nice Guy: Norman's real personality is shown to be helpful, polite, well-meaning, and utterly horrified by the Goblin's atrocities. His friendship with the Parkers and respect for Peter is genuine, which makes it all the more tragic (and horrifying) when the Goblin finally returns.
• Riches to Rags: Pulled from a universe where he's a billionaire into one where Oscorp doesn't even exist and stumbles his way into F.E.A.S.T. seeking refuge. Add in his mental issues from the Goblin persona corroding his sanity and the second-hand jacket and hoodie he's given to cover his lurid battle armor, and he comes across more like any other homeless person May helps daily. It's hard not to feel immensely sorry for him.
• Scatterbrained Senior: When Peter first encounters him, the horrors of being enslaved and dominated by the Goblin personality, and the shock of learning he and his son Harry do not exist in this world, give Norman the appearance of an elderly, senile homeless man trying to escape an abuser. It's his helplessness that convinces May to urge Peter to help the misplaced villains, and, much like other dementia patients having greater faculty in familiar places, Norman's scientific prowess begins to return when he's working in the lab again. Though he seems to make strides towards returning to his old self, it turns out to just be the Goblin toying with him, and the murder of May leaves Osborn a traumatized wreck at the end.
  May: He's lost. And I don't mean just in the cosmos, I mean in his mind.
• Super-Strength: He displays this by easily smashing the Green Goblin mask into pieces with a rock in one hit, compared to the 2002 Spider-Man film where it manages to endure a thick brick wall slamming against it and being punched repeatedly by an enraged Raimi-verse Spider-Man, but was still heavily damaged.
• Tears of Joy: Norman almost sheds happy tears when he witness the MCU Peter's intelligences and the prospect of saving Otto from not only his fate in their universe, but from his tentacles' control.
• Tomato in the Mirror: Norman does not know that he will eventually die fighting Spider-Man, and is horrified when Doctor Octopus and Sandman inform him about his death.
• Tragic Villain: Norman, the real Norman, is flawed, but an overall good person who is constantly tormented by his Goblin persona, a side of him which he clearly despises and fears, and wants nothing more than to be rid of for good. He's left wallowing in misery and remorse when he is finally cured of the Goblin, but has to live with the terrible things that side of him has done (most notably killing Aunt May, who Norman grew to see as a friend).
• You're Insane!: He says this to Otto Octavius when they meet each other in the dungeon and Otto tells him he's supposed to be dead for years.

Variants

Your Friendly Neighborhood Norman Osborn

Norman Osborn

Species: Human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): Oscorp

Appearances: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

A Variant of Norman Osborn who recruits Peter Parker prior to the events of Civil War instead of Tony Stark.

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• Adapted Out: Inverted in comparison to the main MCU continuity as that instead established that Oscorp and by extension Norman apparently doesn't exist while the Green Goblin seen there was from another universe. Your Friendly Neighborhood however takes place in a universe where Norman and presumably Oscorp coexist with the rest of the MCU.
• Ambiguously Brown: He has a darker skin tone than his Raimi counterpart.
• Truer to the Text: He has his signature cornrows and resembles his comic book counterpart more than his Raimi counterpart.

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"Peter... what have I done?"