Spider-Man has made a number of enemies over the years who have attempted to lay claim to the title of his arch-enemy. Most have never been able to contend with Norman Osborn/Green Goblin's rivalry with the webbed wall-crawler – one that has lasted for decades, stretched beyond the grave and moved outside of the comics.

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As one of Spider-Man's deadliest and most frequent rivals, the character has been adapted quite a few times in animation and live-action. Fans have seen a few different versions of the villain that have pulled from different storylines in the comics and adapted different characters under the mask, but which stands above the rest as the best Green Goblin performance?

Updated on January 23, 2022 by Scoot Allan: The release of the MCU's Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021 brought some classic cinematic enemies back to the big screen. Fans were able to see Spider-Man's greatest enemy make his cinematic return in No Way Home's crowd-pleasing multiversal climax. Norman Osborn's new cinematic appearance has some fans asking "who is the Green Goblin?" so we're jumping back to explore the other live-action and animated appearances of Spider-Man's greatest foe. 

14 Green Goblin Appeared In A Few Different Cameos And Altered Forms

Green Goblin cameos

Norman Osborn or Green Goblin has appeared in a few series as a background villain without speaking lines, such as his numerous appearances in Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, though he was given a larger role in Marvel Future Avengers, voiced by Hiroshi Yanaka and Dave Wittenberg.

Norman Osborn appears in flashbacks and hallucinations in MTV's Spider-Man: The New Animated Series that followed the events of the first live-action film. Finally, Marvel's Spider-Man featured both Norman and Harry Osborn, though neither used the Green Goblin persona and instead focused on the Hobgoblin identity – with Norman later taking on a Dark Goblin role.

13 A New Version Appeared In The Kid-Friendly Spidey And His Amazing Friends (2021)

Green Goblin from Spidey and his Amazing Friends

JP Karliak voiced Green Goblin in a light-hearted take on the villain who appeared in Spidey and His Amazing Friends that aired on Disney Junior in 2021. The series was a modern remake of the classic 80s hit and featured a similar premise as Spider-Man teamed up with his allies to take on his gallery of villains.

Unlike the original animated series, Spidey and His Amazing Friends teamed the wall-crawler up with Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy for most episodes. Green Goblin was in his usual purple and green costume with a simplified glider and worked alongside other heroes like Rhino and Lady Octopus.

Green Goblin fighting Spider-Man in Into The Spider-Verse

Miles Morales jumped to the big screen in 2018's Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, which featured a few alternate reality versions of Spider-Man as well as unique versions of villains from Miles' animated universe.

A gigantic, transformed, and seemingly brainless version of Green Goblin (voiced by Jorma Taccone) appeared briefly in the film, but he was an amalgamation of different versions with a dramatically increased size – making him unique but falling short of doing the character justice.

11 A Futuristic Take On Green Goblin Appeared As A Mutated Hero In Spider-Man Unlimited (1999–2001)

Green Goblin in Spider-Man Unlimited

A heroic version of Green Goblin appeared on Counter-Earth in FoxKids' Spider-Man Unlimited animated series, which followed a high-tech Spider-Man as he battled against the High Evolutionary on an alien Earth.

RELATED: Spider-Man: 10 Essential Green Goblin Storylines For New Fans

Hector Jones (voiced by Rino Romano) was an inventor who created his goblin gear to fight in the human rebellion against the High Evolutionary's bestial New-Men. His costume featured goblin-like wings instead of a glider and explosive pumpkin bombs, but not much was learned about the character as the series was canceled on a cliffhanger.

10 Spider-Man (1967–1970)'s Green Goblin Was A Departure From The Comics

Green Goblin in Spider-Man 1967

The original Spider-Man animated series from the sixties introduced a Green Goblin that was visually similar to his comic counterpart, however, the actual character was a bit different in his weapons and motivations.

The sixties Green Goblin (voiced by Len Carlson) was a thief who specialized in mystical and supernatural crimes, instead of the technology-based character from the comics. Norman Osborn also never appeared in the series, further distancing this version from the comic character.

9 Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends (1981–1983)'s Norman Osborn Transformed Into Green Goblin

Green Goblin in Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends

Another odd version of the character appeared on Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends, which aired in the eighties and starred Firestar & Iceman alongside the titular wall-crawler as they lived together, attended college, and fought crime.

The biggest difference in Amazing Friends' take on Green Goblin was that Norman Osborn would uncontrollably transform into his Goblin persona in heightened moments due to his consumption of the goblin formula. He tried to poison New York's water supply with the formula, but he was stopped and reverted back to Norman Osborn.

Green Goblin (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)

The Osborns played a large role in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but the film's poor reception led to the demise of the franchise in favor of the ongoing MCU films. Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) was left to take over Oscorp and find a cure for the genetic disease that killed Norman (Chris Cooper).

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Harry was cured but transformed and forced to wear a protective enhancement suit that he paired with a glider and weapons to become Green Goblin in order to take out Spider-Man. That said, the unoriginal concept didn't capture the best of the comic Goblin or surpass other versions seen already by fans.

7 Harry Osborn Followed In His Father's Footsteps As The New Goblin In Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Harry-New-Goblin

Sam Raimi finished off his hit franchise with 2007's Spider-Man 3, which introduced new villains like Sandman and Venom while also wrapping up the long-running story of Harry Osborn's revenge against his best friend, who he believed killed his father.

Harry (played by James Franco) upgraded equipment found in one of his father's hidden goblin caches to become the New Goblin. He exchanged the glider for a flying snowboard and the goblin mask for goggles. New Goblin would fatally team up with Spider-Man against the new villains and sacrifice his life.

6 Spider-Man (1981–1982) Explored Some Iconic Moments In Spidey And Green Goblin's Rivalry

Green Goblin in Spider-Man 1981

The Green Goblin (voiced by Neil Ross) that appeared in Spider-Man's solo eighties animated series was the closest adaptation to the comics that had been seen on the small screen at the time, and even featured some iconic comic moments that explored the long-standing rivalry between Spider-Man and Green Goblin.

"Revenge of the Green Goblin" revealed that Norman Osborn had suffered amnesia after the two enemies unmasked each other, which he then used to blackmail Spider-Man when his memory returned, loosely adapting a similar unmasking and amnesia storyline from the comics.

Ultimate-Spider-Man Green Goblin

Disney XD's Ultimate Spider-Man series was rooted in the comic series of the same name, exploring a modernized take on the character in a continuity-free universe – though it also blended in a number of elements from the mainstream comics as well. Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (voiced by Steven Weber) features the transformed Goblin form along with the technological gear.

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The series also showcased his Iron Patriot persona and temporarily transformed him into both Venom and Spider-Goblin before his final Ultimate Goblin transformation. Harry Osborn never became the Green Goblin, but he bonded with Venom and used the Patrioteer armor. Norma Osborn (voiced by Wendy Malick) also appeared as a female Green Goblin in an alternate reality.

An image of Harry Osborn hearing the Green Goblin's voice in Spider-Man: The Animated Series

One of the best adaptations of the Green Goblin appeared in the 90s on Spider-Man: The Animated Series, which aired for five seasons on Fox. The series adapted a number of comic storylines that included the Goblins, although it did initially focus on the Hobgoblin character before finally introducing the Green Goblin in later seasons – exploring Norman's troubled relationship with his son and the mental anguish that led to Harry following in his father's villainous footsteps.

Spider-Man-2002-Green-Goblin

Willem Dafoe portrayed the first live-action Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Sam Raimi's 2002 hit adaptation Spider-Man alongside Tobey Maguire as the titular hero, which explored both characters fairly comics-accurate origins.

While Dafoe absolutely nailed the mental break and duality of Norman and the Goblin's characters, the look differed quite a bit from the comics as it replaced his green and purple goblin costume for a dull green flight suit and goblin helmet. This would inspire later live-action versions of the character but failed to capture Green Goblin's horror element.

SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN – Green Goblin

KidsWB's The Spectacular Spider-Man became a fan-favorite series due to its modernized adaptations of the classic comic storylines that featured Norman Osborn (voiced by Alan Rachins) as the head of Oscorp, and the man behind the creation of a number of Spider-Man's villains.

Harry Osborn (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) is in high school alongside Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, but when Green Goblin (voiced by Steve Blum) appeared, the mystery of his true identity stretched across both seasons of the series, homaging the original comic mystery of the man behind the Goblin's mask.

1 Willem Dafoe Returned As An Incredibly Powerful Green Goblin In Spider-Man: No Way Home

Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home

The Marvel Cinematic Universe expanded in 2021 when Spider-Man: No Way Home brought villains from Sony's previous franchises together to face off with the new Spider-Man. Willem Dafoe returned as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin from the original 2002 Spider-Man, though he quickly outshone his debut appearance.

Norman Osborn displayed his incredible strength in new devastating battle scenes with the MCU's Spider-Man that made the cinematic Green Goblin one of the most dangerous versions of the character. No Way Home's Green Goblin was given a tattered purple hoodie and a satchel bag of weapons that brought in some comic elements to the character.

NEXT: Spider-Man: 10 Most Powerful Goblin Characters, Ranked