by Gil Kane, 1973

Norman Osborn Jr.

(AKA The Green Goblin)

Occupation: Founder and President of Osborn Industries
Known Relatives: Harry Osborn (AKA Green Goblin II) (Son), Liz Allen Osborn (Daughter-In-Law), Norman "Normie" Osborn (Grandson), Emily (Wife) (Deceased)
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #14 (As Green Goblin), Amazing Spider-Man #23 (Unnamed), Amazing Spider-Man #37 (Introduced)
Status: Thought Dead, Revived, No criminal record

History:

Norman Osborn in both his civilian life as an industrialist and in his persona of the Green Goblin has long been a thorn in Spider-Man's side. As one of the few people who knows Spider-Man's secret identity, he is one of the few adversaries able to attack Peter at home and threatened him with the revelation of his identity.

While experimenting with some odd formulas his former business partner developed, Norman Osborn was caught in the explosion when the green mixture reacted violently and exploding. The formula gave him increased strength, death-defying healing abilities, and increased his genius but with that Norman developed a monomania. In his madness, he took on the identity of the Green Goblin with the intent of becoming the greatest criminal of all time.

Originally, Norman Osborn appeared just as a face appearing at Jonah Jameson's exclusive gentlemen club (ASM # 23). Eventually, he was formally introduced as one of Peter's college classmates father when he was attacked by Prof. Strom, the robot master (ASM #37). Shortly after that, he discovered Peter's secret identity and revealed himself to be the Green Goblin. However, during the resulting fight, he developed amnesia and lost all memory of his activities as the Green Goblin including Spider-Man's identity (ASM #39-40).

For a time, Norman was a much better father to Harry and tended his business. He even interviewed Peter for a position at Osborn Industries without any trouble. Eventually, the amnesia wore off. Norman again attacked Spider-Man but was shocked out of his madness when he was forced to confront his son's hospitalization. The shock caused amnesia to set in once again (ASM #97-98).

Predictably, the amnesia wore off again. This time, Norman struck by kidnapping Peter's then-girlfriend Gwen Stacy. When confronted by Spider-Man, he killed Gwen by knocking her off the Brooklyn Bridge. When Spider-Man caught up with him, Norman accidentally impaled himself on his own glider (ASM #121-#122). He body was discovered by the authorities without the Green Goblin, and for a time Spider-Man and the Green Goblin were wanted for his death.

However, Norman regenerated from his wounds and recovered in the morgue. Replacing his body with the body of a drifter, he went into hiding in Europe choosing instead to manipulate some event behind the scenes. Eventually, his son's death caused Norman to return from Europe. He made public the knowledge that he was still alive and continues to torment Peter to this day.