The character of Spider-Man has one of the best rogues galleries in superhero comic books, so good that many of its devious members can contend for the title of his arch-enemy. When the votes are counted, however, most will probably agree that it has to be Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin.
No superhero is complete without their nemesis, so this means that whenever the Goblin dies, on Earth-616 or 1610, he's always destined to come back. It is truly surprising how many times this villain has avoided death.
10 Heals After Being Impaled By His Own Glider (The Amazing Spider-Man #122)
Gerry Conway & Gil Kane's 1973 arc The Night Gwen Stacy Died is the most iconic clash between Spider-Man and the Goblin, and the story which elevated the Goblin to the top of the rogues gallery; up to this point, the obvious choice for #1 Spidey foe was Doc Ock. As can be gathered from the title of this two-part tale, the Goblin kills Peter Parker's girlfriend in The Amazing Spider-Man #121, then the following issue pits a smugly satisfied Goblin versus a vengeful Spider-Man. Though the hero wins, he can't kill his opponent; Osborn dies by his own hand when he attempts to use his remote-controlled glider to kill Spider-Man.
Permanently killing characters off, even villains, simply wasn't done in comics at this time. The Goblin's crimes were just as unprecedented, though, and so merited severe punishment. As a result, Norman remained dead for 23 years. In the meantime, plenty of others took up the Goblin mantle, and the original only returned in 1996 as a capstone twist for the overwrought Clone Saga; this story revealed that Osborn's enhanced healing enabled him to survive the skewering and he'd been working in the shadows since to make Peter's life hell.
Norman's death and its broad circumstances were adapted in Sam Raimi's 2002 film Spider-Man, but there the Goblin wasn't lucky enough to return; Willem Dafoe did reappear as Norman in the two sequels, but only as a hallucination by his son Harry.
9 Plunged Into The River (Ultimate Spider-Man #7)
In Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley's 2000 Spider-Man relaunch, Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Man and the Goblin's origins were linked. Here, Peter gets his powers on a trip to Oscorp, after being bitten by a spider infused with the "OZ" super-soldier formula; Norman then uses the OZ to become the Goblin. He also winds up being Spider-Man's first super-powered foe when he attacks Midtown High in Issue #7.
In what becomes something of a running gag for the series, Osborn seemingly dies after plunging into a watery grave, but the final panels of air bubbles floating to the river's surface hinted at his survival.
8 Stabbed In The Back (Literally) By His Son (Ultimate Spider-Man #27)
Sure enough, Norman returns in Ultimate Spider-Man's fourth arc, subtitled "Legacy," running issues #22-27. He uses his knowledge of Peter's secret identity to blackmail the young superhero into becoming his heir, with the lives of Peter's friends and family hanging in the balance. This leads to a The Night Gwen Stacy Died homage when the Goblin abducts MJ and hurls her from the Queensboro Bridge; thankfully, this Peter proves more successful at saving the girl.
Cornered by Spider-Man and SHIELD at his penthouse, Osborn overdoses on the OZ and almost kills Peter before being stabbed with a window frame fragment by his own son, Harry. The OZ ingestion ensures this isn't lethal, and Norman is imprisoned by SHIELD afterwards.
7 Begs To Be Killed After He Kills His Son (Ultimate Spider-Man #117)
In Ultimate Spider-Man's 19th arc, "Death Of A Goblin" (Issues #112-117, the first to be penciled by Stuart Immonen after Bagley left the series), Norman battles his son, who'd developed an OZ mutation of his own in the "Hobgoblin" arc.
The original Goblin prevails, killing Harry before he can realize what he's doing. Stunned when he sees his son reverted back to human form post-mortem, Osborn asks the SHIELD agents present to kill him. They oblige by opening fire on him.
6 Seemingly Dies After He Mortally Wounds Spider-Man (Ultimate Spider-Man #160)
"The Death Of Spider-Man" (Issues #156-160, Immonen replaced by a returned Bagley) reveals Osborn had survived the firing squad and was imprisoned by SHIELD. Now blaming Peter for Harry's death, Osborn assembles a group of Spider-Man's adversaries and decides to take revenge. Peter, having been shot by the Punisher, is forced to battle Osborn and co. outside his own home instead of getting medical attention.
The Goblin inflicts further wounds on Peter, and though Spider-Man ultimately prevails (with some help from Iceman, Johnny Storm, MJ, and even Aunt May), his injuries overwhelm him and he dies surrounded by his loved ones. The last page of the comic is a zoom-in on Osborn's dead face, smiling in satisfaction.
5 Shot Then Torched By Maria Hill (Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man #7)
After Ultimate crossover event "Cataclysm," Osborn returns once more in the opening arc of Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man (written by Bendis, drawnn by Sara Pichelli). After once more escaping SHIELD custody, he kills J. Jonah Jameson then antagonizes the new Spider-Man.
Fortunately, it turns out Peter survived the events of Issue #160 as well (he's got OZ flowing through his veins too, after all) and the first Spider-Man teams up with Miles to defeat Norman together. Just to be sure, Maria Hill shoots the villain three times over then burns his body.
4 Shot By The Punisher At A Super-Villain End Of The World Party (Secret Wars Vol. 2 #1)
616 Norman had another brush with death in Jonathan Hickman & Esad Ribic's Secret Wars. When the final universe-destroying "Incursion" came between Earths-616 and 1610, Wilson Fisk threw a get-together for NYC's supervillains to indulge in some apocalyptic depravity.
Norman was one of the attendees, but unfortunately for them all, the Punisher crashed the party. When Earth-616 was restored in Secret Wars' final chapter, so was Norman's life. He next returns in Dan Slott & Giuseppe Camuncoli's The Amazing Spider-Man with a bandaged face, clearly the result of his encounter with Mr. Castle.
3 Returned After The Ultimate Universe Was Restored (Spider-Men II #5)
Earth-616's Norman wasn't the only one who got a second lease on life after Secret Wars. Issue #5 of Spider-Men II (Bendis & Pichelli) reveals Ultimate universe was restored after the event; the scene opens with Peter facing down Norman once more, defeating him before the rest of the Ultimates arrive.
In a telling "wink, wink" moment, the Goblin brags to Spider-Man that he can't be killed. Since then, Norman has most recently reappeared in Saladin Ahmed's Miles Morales: Spider-Man, following the titular hero to Earth-616 and becoming a recurring foe for Miles.
2 Sucked Into Limbo, But Influences Events From The Great Beyond ("Turning Point," "The Return Of The Green Goblin," And "The Wedding," Spider-Man)
Spider-Man did an animated rendition on The Night Gwen Stacy Died in its Season 3 finale, "Turning Point." Two major differences: (1). Gwen was swapped out for MJ (similar to the later homage in Ultimate). (2). Due to the series' stringent censorship standards, neither MJ or the Goblin died, but were merely sucked into limbo via the "time dilation accelerator" (a MacGuffin throughout the series' third season).
Somehow, Norman is able to mentally contact his son Harry and twice over motivates him to become the new Green Goblin. However, he himself remains trapped in limbo by the series' end.
1 Survives An Explosion To His Face ("Final Curtain," The Spectacular Spider-Man)
The premature, portentously-named series finale for The Spectacular Spider-Man climaxes with the just-unmasked Goblin seemingly killed in an explosion of his own bombs. The final scene of the episode (and series), though, is of a disguised Norman on his way to the Cayman Islands.
Series' creator Greg Weisman has said Norman would likely not have returned in Season 3, which would've instead introduced the Hobgoblin. If the series followed the comics, it's possible Harry would have taken up his father's mantle and become a second Green Goblin, a story the show had previously alluded to when Norman used Harry as a red herring to throw Spider-Man off his trail in Season 1. Still, the ending of Season 2 made an eventual return for Norman inevitable. Unfortunately, a legal kerfuffle between Marvel & Sony killed the series, meaning Norman remains eternally unpunished.