| Let�s compare the movie�s Green Goblin and his comic book inspiration. Of course we have the basic costume differences: The movie�s mechanical battle armor verses the comic�s frightening Halloween outfit. The armor is too 21st century for me, I�ll take the original 1964[1] rubber costume with dandy satchel for holding the Goblin�s pumpkin bombs and razor bats. However, I have to admit that the classic outfit probably wouldn�t have worked well on the silver screen. Even with all of his gadgets and bad attitude, Norman Osborn would be no match for Spider-Man if not for that nice experiment that gave Norman super-strength and reflexes. The movie version has weapons-manufacturer Osborn purposely exposing himself to the treatment with the help of an employee. The comic story has chemical-manufacturer Osborn accidentally exposing himself (explosively) as he single-handedly tries to create the chemical formula from his former business partner�s notes[2]. Either way, both end with a pumped up Norman Osborn who is driven a quite insane by the experience (although insanity is later found to run in the comic book Osborn family). In the movie, this insanity appears as a split-personality. The Goblin�s psychosis in the comics has often depended on the series� writers at the time. Norman had the old split personality during the end of the 60�s and lots of memory lapses in the early 70�s. Nowadays, he�s just a major league bastard with obsessions about his family and Peter Parker/Spider-Man. The movie has also altered Norman�s reason for becoming the Green Goblin. The theatrical Norman dons the Goblin armor to save his company and wipe out the competition (maybe he should have attacked George Lucas). Comic Norman becomes the Goblin as part of a bizarre plan to take over New York�s underworld[1]. The first step in this plan is to kill Spider-Man and make a name for himself�obviously Norman wasn�t thinking too well even back then. What makes the Green Goblin such a nasty adversary is that he discovers Spider-Man�s secret identity. Movie GG just plain gets lucky�he notices that tell-tale cut on Peter�s arm. Comic Book Green Goblin is much more sneaky�he exposes Spidey to a chemical that dulls his �Spider-Sense� (Remember, Comic Norman is a chemist) and follows Spider-Man home[3]. Both times it�s quite a shock for Norman�Spider-Man is the best friend and roommate of his own son, Harry! What a small world! Luckily for Peter (and Marvel Comics� sales department), Comic Norman periodically has memory lapses and forgets that he is the Green Goblin and that Peter is Spider-Man�so the two can still have a number of battles before their final showdown in 1973[4,5]. Since Movie Green Goblin needs to kill Spider-Man within a two-hour time frame, he gets right to it. The movie�s climax has the Green Goblin kidnapping Mary Jane to lure Spider-Man to the top of a bridge (a good way to minimize Spidey�s web-swinging). GG does the same in the comic; however, the victim is Gwen Stacy (Peter�s girlfriend at the time)[4]. Movie Goblin tries to force a tough choice on our hero by dropping MJ and a cable car full of kids off the bridge at the same time. The comic book villain battles Spider-Man for a while before knocking Gwen off the bridge alone. Thankfully, Movie Spider-Man saves both the girl and the kids. Whew! Comic Spidey is not so lucky�he snags Gwen with a webline and drags her back up to safety, but she�s already dead (from getting whacked by the Goblin�s glider, or from being jerked by Spidey's webline, or from �the shock of the fall�--it's left quite inconclusive). This may seem a bit bloodthirsty, but Gwen�s death was a major event for the comics�the controversy caused a huge upswing in Spider-Man�s popularity as the ultimate angst-filled hero. It�s still discussed today (in the comics and by fans) 29 years later. The fateful bridge encounter leads to a final showdown between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin on the screen and on the page. Both versions end with GG impaling himself on his own glider[5]�a deserving end for the costumed killer. In the aftermath, Movie Spider-Man decides to cover the fact that Norman is the Green Goblin to spare Harry the shame. Although Comic Peter has acted similarly in the past, this time he just leaves his adversary's body to go mourn Gwen�s death. It falls to comic book Harry (who viewed the final battle) to hide the Green Goblin�s identity from the public. Harry removes the Goblin costume from his father�s corpse[6] and bribes the coroner not to perform an autopsy (lest the public servant discover that Norman has been chemically-altered)[7]. Each Harry blame Spider-Man for his father's death. Comic Harry�s own insanity quickly appears as he takes over the Green Goblin mantle himself[8] and waffles back and forth between being Peter Parker�s friend/worst enemy, remembering/forgetting that he�s the Green Goblin, and being committed to/released from mental institutions until his death in 1993[9]. Comic books are basically two-dimensional soap operas, so it was quite impressive that the original Green Goblin actually stayed dead for 23 years. But Norman finally made his return in 1996[10]�yeah, he got stabbed in the chest, but he got better (good thing Harry didn�t let the coroner perform that autopsy) and had been hiding in Europe all these years. So Norman and Peter�s war continues today� |
 |
 |
 |
| VS. |
| FOOTNOTES: [1] Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #14 (7/64) [2] Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #40 (9/66) [3] Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #39 (8/66) [4] Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #121 (6/73) [5] Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #122 (7/73) [6] Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #137 (10/74) [7] Spider-Man: Osborn Journals #1 (2/97) [8] Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #136 (9/74) [9] Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #200 (5/93) [10] Spider-Man (vol. 1) #75 (12/96) |
| The Green Goblin! |
| Copyright Marvel Comics |
| Copyright Marvel Comics |
| Copyright Sony Pictures |