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Quote1 The world exploded around me. Just as I lost consciousness, I thought Stromm had done me in! I was in the hospital for weeks. The doctors thought I'd suffered brain damage... But they were wrong--wrong! If anything, the accident had made me think more clearly--and it gave me great physical might! You can't imagine how wondrous it felt! I was stronger, smarter than anyone--free to do whatever I wanted, unbound by the petty rules of ordinary society! Quote2
Norman Osborn[src]

History

Goblin Formula from Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 40 001

Origin[]

After framing Mendel Stromm for embezzlement and having him arrested,[4] Norman Osborn found in his notes a formula which could apparently augment a person's body to superhuman levels and began research on it, hoping to eventually sell it.[5] Norman's first attempt to recreate Stromm's formula turned his assistant, Nels van Adder, into a red creature who ended up killing people after losing control.[4] His other attempt was tampered with by his son Harry, who did it out of spite, without him noticing. Consequentially,[6] the completed formula became unstable and exploded in Norman's face. He spent the next week in the hospital recovering. After finally regaining consciousness, he found his mental and physical functions had been greatly enhanced. It was later learned that exposure also caused severe insanity, which was the primary motivation for Norman taking the identity of the Green Goblin.[5]

Goblin Formula from Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 188 001

The Second Green Goblin[]

Discovering that his friend Peter Parker was Spider-Man, Harry Osborn exposed himself to the Goblin Formula and donned his father's suit, proclaiming himself the new Green Goblin. The effects of the formula caused memory loss and when he was defeated, he could not remember what he was doing.[7] When he regained all his memories, Harry submerged himself in a new version of the formula that his father had been working on before disappearing,[8][9] making himself stronger than Norman believed possible.[10] It was enough for Harry to match Spider-Man blow for blow.[9] However, this version hadn't been tested previously;[10] as a result, it poisoned Harry, sending him to a slow and painful death.[9]

Hobgoblin[]

Goblin Formula from Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 1 85

Roderick Kingsley, the original Hobgoblin, came into possession of the Goblin Formula. He knew of the dangers and tested it first on Lefty Donovan, who was a small-time hood. He sent Donovan out as a decoy Hobgoblin and, satisfied, terminated him before the thug could expose his employer's identity.[11] Kingsley then used a modified version of the Goblin Formula. He tried to find a safer way to expose himself to the chemicals and used a robot to mix the concoction into a giant vat. He then passed through a permeable membrane limiting the amount of exposure to the chemicals. However, Kingsley stayed in the membrane for a bit longer than he had hoped but came out unharmed. After exposing himself to the formula, he set out as the true Hobgoblin once more.[12]

Goblin Formula from Green Goblin Vol 1 1 001

The Fourth Green Goblin[]

On a journalism assignment, Phil Urich joined his uncle Ben Urich in an investigation of Oscorp Tower. When his uncle was besieged by attackers in the building, Phil hid and tried to find help. Stumbling upon an experimental new Green Goblin costume Phil also fell into a chamber of the Goblin Formula. Quickly dressing up in the suit, he scared off the hoods. Later on, he decided that the costume and equipment were worth using.[13]

Menace[]

Goblin Formula from Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 586 001

Lily Hollister found a hidden door in Harry Osborn's closet and found an old journal of his, uncovering the location of one of Norman Osborn's secret rooms in it. There she found all of the Goblin's equipment along with some experiments. Accidentally knocking over some experimental Goblin chemicals, Lily absorbed them into her skin and became able to transform into her "Menace" form at will.[14]

Sui Generis[]

Stanley Osborn was born with enhanced abilities due to his genetic heritage from his parents Harry Osborn and Lily Hollister, who had both taken the Goblin Formula in their lifetime.[15]

Goblin Formula from Superior Spider-Man Vol 1 24 001

Monster[]

Norman Osborn, now calling himself the "Goblin King," sprayed Carlie Cooper's face with the Goblin Formula, transforming her into a Goblin, and nicknamed her "Monster." Carlie seemingly succumbed to the madness induced by the formula, but refused to reveal Spider Man's identity to the Goblin King.[16] She was mostly reverted to human form by the cure developed by Parker Industries, but retained black eyes and a few scales.[17]

Red Goblin and the Goblin Childe[]

Norman Osborn (Earth-616), Normal Harold Osborn (Earth-616), and Carnage (Symbiote) (Earth-616) from Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 799 0001
When Norman Osborn bonded to the Carnage symbiote, it mixed with the formula in his body, purging its traditional weaknesses of sonic and fire and granting it new powers, such as pyrokinesis and enhanced strength. This new combination resulted in them becoming the Red Goblin.[18] Norman later abducted his grandson, Normie Osborn, and bonded him with the symbiote, turning Normie into the Goblin Childe. Eventually, Normie turned on his grandfather and his parents were able to get most of the symbiote out of Normie's body.[19]

Alternate Reality Versions

Image Description Debut
OZ Formula from Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1 75 001 On Earth-1610, ever since the successful creation of Captain America decades ago, the government always wanted to recreate the Super-Soldier Serum for military applications. Since the original serum was lost, the government has contracted private firms to help re-develop the serum, including OsCorp. Utilizing the blood of Nick Fury (the first actual successful super soldier and Rogers was the second) as a template, OsCorp created a prototype serum called Oz.[2]

Oz was created by OsCorp CEO Norman Osborn. OsCorp had since fallen on difficult financial times and the Oz Project was meant to save both his company and his seat on the board. Like any prototype drugs, Oz was injected into lab experiment animals to observe their reactions, including a series of spiders that mutated because of it.[20]

Peter Parker had a tour of OsCorp and was accidentally bitten by one of the escaped lab spiders labelled OZ Experiment Arachnid No. 00. The spider's venom mixed with Oz and created a variant of Oz that successfully created Spider-Man; Oz worked. With OsCorp on the verge of collapse, Osborn tested Oz on himself, believing he had the necessary data he needed to recreate Spider-Man upon himself.[21] It created the Green Goblin instead, a flame-powered reptilian-like creature with a savage mind.[22]

Harry Osborn would also later become victim to Oz and transform into the "Hobgoblin".[23]

Mary Jane Watson was kidnapped from her bedroom by a facially disfigured clone of Peter Parker, who was determined to give her powers so that she would no longer be in danger from his enemies. He pumped into her bloodstream an unquantified amount of OZ. Upon learning this, she became very angry and transformed into a huge, hairy, horned red goblin-like creature: the "Demogoblin".[24]

Unknown to many, the spider that bitten Parker wasn't the only Oz-mutated spider, there was actually a series of them. After the destruction of OsCorp, the lab spiders mutated by Oz was left by their own devices and one of them ended up biting Miles Morales, creating a second Spider-Man.[25]

Norman Osborn later returned from the death, as well as Peter Parker, and claimed that exposure to Oz had given him and Peter immortality, allowing them to return from death every time they were killed.[26]
Ultimate Spider-Man #1
Otto Octavius (Earth-12041) and Goblin Formula from Ultimate Spider-Man (animated series) Season 1 25 001 On Earth-12041, Otto Octavius created the Goblin Formula by mixing Spider-Man's blood with a sample of the Venom symbiote and injected into Norman Osborn as part of his betrayal, turning him into a Goblin monster.[27]

Norman would eventually be cured from the serum and go on to be the hero Iron Patriot, that is until he and Spider-Man's faced the newly upgraded Sinister Six, where Doc Ock again injected him with the serum, turning him into the Goblin once more. Goblin then kidnapped Spider-Man's team and turned them into Goblin monsters as well to pit against Peter. After facing each one, Spider-Man used and anti-serum he made to cure them and assist him in fighting Goblin. Even upon his defeat and apprehension, Norman now appears to be incurable[28][29]

Goblin later used the Siege Perilous to travel across the multiverse collecting samples from different Spider-Men to concuct a new serum using Electro's powers. Not only did this serum granted Norman all the same powers as the other Spiders, but also evolved him into a half spider monster: "Spider-Goblin". With the help of all the Spiders they've met, they were able to cure Norman using Electro to de-synthesize the serum. Norman is later hospitalized with no memories during his time as the Goblin.[30]
Ultimate Spider-Man (animated series) Season 1 25
Spectacular Spider-Man Globulin Green On Earth-26496, Globulin Green is an experimental performance enhancing chemical formula developed Norman Osborn at Oscorp(just like in the Ultimate Universe). Harry Osborn in an attempt to prove his father wrong, stole the Globulin Green, which was known to enhance its user's physical attributes (such as strength, agility, and intelligence); however, what Harry did not know is that this chemical formula came with a heavy price: his sanity. Using the drug he was able to win his way onto the football team, but he began having blackouts. Spider-Man started to believe Harry was the Green Goblin and tried to help. His father agreed and he was sent away to Europe for treatment. However it was revealed that Norman was really the Green Goblin throughout the entire time. At some point, Norman came across the chemical formula with the intention of using it to increase a person's intelligence and physical strength. Osborn tried to recreate the chemical and instead of ingesting a single dose, he diluted the substance and rendered it as an inhalant. The smaller dosages applied over time avoided the physiological side effects of Harry's drinking an entire tube of the formula. He created a Halloween-like costume for himself which he colored green after the solution and named himself the Green Goblin. [31] Spectacular Spider-Man (animated series) Season 1 1
Goblin Formula from Spider-Man (2002 film) 001 On Earth-96283, Norman Osborn and his team at Oscorp were experimenting with human performance-enhancers for the military. At the time, Oscorp was competing for a defense contract against its competitor Quest Aerospace who was building exoskeletons deemed superior to drugs for soldiers. With little options, Osborn decided a test subject was needed immediately. After exposing himself to the experimental Oscorp performance-enhancing process, Norman underwent the same transformation as the earlier animal test subjects. He gained superhuman strength and durability as well as improved dexterity and agility. Earlier tests suggested that the process increased strength over 800%, but it was even more efficacious for Norman, who could punch Spider-Man hard enough to knock him back over two dozen feet with enough momentum to fell a metal lamp post that crossed his path and allowed him to suspend the weight of a cable car full of passengers with one hand. His improved reflexes and agility allowed him to easily defeat numerous police officers in hand-to-hand in a few seconds and to match the swiftness and acrobatic prowess of Spider-Man. Unfortunately for Norman, the same process also rendered him insanely violent and aggressive. These psychotic urges manifested as a new identity, the "Green Goblin".[32] Spider-Man (2002 film)
Genetically-Modified Spider Venom from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (film) 001 On Earth-120703, desperate to save his life from dying due to his extremely rare hereditary degenerative disease, Harry Osborn headed down into a secret area within Oscorp and used the extracted venom from the same genetically modified spider that bit Peter Parker into himself in the hopes that it cures him. The venom however had a violent effect on Harry, seemingly accelerating the disease rather than curing it, morphing him to look more goblin-like. In pain, he crawled over to an Oscorp prototype exo-skeleton suit and glider. Upon putting it on, the suit healed the damages done to his system. Later, when Harry is imprisoned in Ravencroft, he's seemingly return to normal, but explains the symptoms come and go.[33] The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (film)

Notes

Trivia

  • While the majority of the Goblins wear costumes and masks, some upgraded iterations of the Goblin Formula - such as those used on Lily Hollister and Carlie Cooper - induce a physical transformation in the person exposed to it.

See Also

Links and References

References

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