Marvel’s Reformed Green Goblin Repeats Spider-Man’s Biggest Mistake

Norman Osborn is now the heroic Gold Goblin, but he’s still making one of Spider-Man’s greatest mistakes, and it will cost them both.

Warning: SPOILERS for Gold Goblin #2

Marvel’s Green Goblin is now officially a hero – but he’s already making one of Spider-Man’s worst mistakes (that he continues to make throughout his history). Peter Parker is, to put it mildly, not the most perfect of superheroes; his many mistakes and character flaws are why millions of fans identify with the superhero. But it appears some of these flaws have rubbed off on Norman Osborn, and Gold Goblin #2 reveals why.

After Nick Spencer’s run on Spider-Man that ended in 2021, Norman Osborn has decided to finally turn over a new leaf and change for good. Constructing a new suit using his old Goblin technology (including pumpkin bombs and his Goblin Glider), the Gold Goblin decides to be a masked hero – but this plan goes up in smoke when he’s recognized by two civilians. This doesn’t deter him, however, and Norman is committed to his new life, but perhaps he is a bit too committed.

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In Gold Goblin #2, written by Christopher Cantwell with art by Lan Medina, Norman flashes back the moment when he died (in the aftermath of Gwen Stacy’s death). The Goblin Glider pierces his body, but there’s nothing inside; this is Norman’s recurring nightmare. In the present, the effects of the Dark Web event have plunged New York City into chaos, and Norman suits up. His team protests – he is injured and in no shape to fight crime – but Osborn refuses to listen to reason. “The city needs me,” he says. “This is a full-scale emergency.”

Like Spider-Man, Osborn has developed a savior complex, and imagines himself as the only man that stands between civilians and evil. This is far from the case, especially in the Marvel Universe which is populated by hundreds of superheroes (New York plays host to the Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four, just to name a few). The city doesn’t need him, it just needs someone, but Norman believes he alone is called upon to act. Such is the case with Spider-Man; his so-called sense of responsibility is actually guilt, and this drives him to put himself at greater and greater risk just so he can sleep at night.

Osborn is suffering from chronic nightmares about his villainous past, and he desperately wishes to forget his life prior to becoming the Gold Goblin. This is, unfortunately, impossible, for it is impossible to learn from the past and forget it at the same time. Spider-Man has eventually learned this difficult lesson, but the Green Goblin still has much to learn about setting his guilt aside.

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