Green Goblin Should Be The Main Villain In Spider-Man: No Way Home

The Green Goblin will enter the MCU in Spider-Man: No Way Home, where he should be the main villain. Villains from the Sam Raimi and Marc Webb Spider-Man film franchises will face off against Tom Holland’s iteration of the web-slinger, and, if rumors prove true, the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield versions of Peter Parker as well. No Way Home’s trailers have revealed five villains so far, but the inclusion of Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin, is particularly ominous for the MCU’s Spider-Man, given the villain’s comic and cinematic history.

The Green Goblin was introduced early in Spider-Man’s comic history, quickly establishing himself as Peter’s most challenging opponent. Over the years, Norman strengthened his superlative status, differentiating himself from other Spider-Man foes. While Doctor Octopus and The Jackal were intellectual threats and villains like Venom and Carnage gave Spidey his toughest physical fights, the Green Goblin attacked Spider-Man’s spirit, resolving to break Peter Parker until he either died or became a monster like Norman. Though he’s obsessed with Spider-Man, Norman is no stranger to menacing other Marvel heroes. While he lacks the cosmic threat levels of beings like Thanos or Galactus, the Green Goblin is easily one of the most dangerous villains in Marvel comics.

As Spider-Man’s greatest nemesis, the Green Goblin has, unsurprisingly, found his way into various Spider-Man adaptations, including live-action films. Willem Dafoe’s iteration of the Goblin captures the gleefully sadistic spirit and the incredible threat level of his comic counterpart perfectly, contributing to the Sam Raimi Spider-Man Trilogy’s positive reception. Dafoe’s Green Goblin will return in No Way Home, where his twisted mind games, deadly weaponry, and cruel schemes should render him the greatest threat of all the multiverse villains. His brief moments in the film’s trailers look promising, implying that the Goblin will, as always, elevate himself above most supervillains (Spider-Man’s or otherwise).

In 2002’s Spider-Man, the Green Goblin follows his comic counterpart and tries to psychologically break Spider-Man, first by trying to turn him against the very people he protects. Upon discovering Spider-Man’s civilian identity, Norman quickly begins attacking his loved ones, culminating in a cruel unwinnable scenario in which Spider-Man is forced to choose between saving Mary Jane Watson and a tram car full of innocents. Though he only appeared in one film as the Green Goblin, Dafoe’s performance echoed some of Norman Osborn’s most horrific stories from the comics, and he should continue to do so in No Way Home, even if he’s facing off against another universe’s Spider-Man.

No Way Home’s second trailer includes some dialogue from Dafoe’s Goblin, seemingly taunting Peter Parker as he struggles against his multiverse-based enemies. The Goblin’s words may remind some of his sadistic scenarios in his 2002 debut, and while the line in context may be him twisting the knife in response to Peter’s suffering, he might also be playing his twisted head games with another universe’s Spider-Man. The footage of a pumpkin bomb exploding in front of Spider-Man is juxtaposed with new shots of Aunt May and Happy Hogan, ominously leading some to think that Norman will go after them to once again break Spider-Man’s spirit.

Though undeniably likable, Tom Holland’s iteration of Spider-Man is significantly less competent than his Raimi and comic counterparts, so he may be woefully unprepared for a villain like the Green Goblin, especially while juggling four other villains and a potentially collapsing multiverse. With the assistance of Doctor Strange and potentially two other Spider-Man iterations (one of whom has experience fighting Norman Osborn), however, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man might just stand a chance against the Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home.