Amazing Spider-Man #122 is regarded as one of the best and most pivotal issues in all of comic history. Gwen Stacy had recently been killed by the Green Goblin, but death was far from done in the story, as Green Goblin himself ended up dying as well, taken out by his own glider. It’s one of, if not the most, legendary deaths of a villain in comics. And Norman Osborn stayed dead for 24 years within the pages of Marvel Comics, but as is often the case, death isn’t always permanent. He came back at the tail end of the Clone Saga in 1997, as part of a massive twist reveal.
Green Goblin’s return was a major development, marking a major change to the narrative of Spider-Man as a whole for the first time – but it was also divisive. While many fans who had been around for the Goblin’s day were thrilled to see him return, newer fans were less excited and, honestly, for good reason. Bringing back Green Goblin was the worst thing Marvel could have done with Spider-Man. He’s a villain that should have stayed dead.
Going past the shock value of Green Goblin’s return, the character coming back represented something larger. This was the first sign that death and finality in Marvel comics meant utterly nothing in the grand scheme of things. Green Goblin’s death was significant. Not only did it show a villain perishing because of their own hubris and providing stark consequences for his actions (in this case, the death of Gwen Stacy), but Green Goblin’s death also meant something for Spider-Man. For the hero, while Spider-Man wanted him dead, it actually happened, proving to be a hollow victory, and it fundamentally changed Peter. Bringing back the character left all of that development in a weird, unsettled πlace.
There’s also the matter of how it impacted Spider-Man’s other villains. By the time of Green Goblin’s return, Doc Ock had become the main antagonist of Peter and was the perfect foil to him. As an intelligent scientist creating real issues for Peter, Doc Ock’s danger was much more refined than anyone else Spider-Man faced. Now his urgency was gone because the original foe was back, changing the dynamic and the stakes.
There is also the matter of how gimmicky Green Goblin’s return really was. It was just a quick way to drum up a buck and give the “Clone Saga” a shocking ending. It’s shocking, alright, shocking how much this is in bad taste for all those involved. Peter’s character feels flat anytime he meets Norman now; Gwen’s death feels more standard among the “fridging” trope, and it’s an insult to the fans who’ve enjoyed Peter’s growth beyond Norman Osborn. And beyond that, there was already a perfect replacement for the sort of villain Green Goblin was.
Hobgoblin was the true successor to Green Goblin. Even with all of the feuds behind who should have been behind the mask, Hobgoblin gave readers a new villain following in the footsteps of the Green Goblin, and it wasn’t Harry Osborn. It was another character completely, and that gave the general concept something new and interesting that fit brilliantly in the further development of Spider-Man’s story. Hobgoblin sought to take out all of the threats of crime as a new take on the Green Goblin, giving Spider-Man someone new to battle, but also functioning as an “improved” version of an iconic threat. It worked very well and was proof that there was no need to bring back Green Goblin.
Hobgoblin still proves this today, which is obvious in how they’ve really underutilized Green Goblin, or rather Norman Osborn, since his return. These days, Norman is a side character in Amazing Spider-Man, and it’s obvious he has nothing to do in the book; he’s not even the Green Goblin anymore. He’s even become friends with Peter. It legitimately doesn’t make any sense and just feels like the character was never really brought back for any real purpose. It’s just a waste.
Green Goblin’s death was a turning point for Spider-Man. It had great meaning, and it changed the trajectory of the hero. Bringing the character back, especially when a suitable replacement existed, and then not really doing anything with the character, that’s made sense, undermines a lot of storytelling. The truth is, Green Goblin should have stayed dead, a cautionary tale about hubris as well as for how getting what you want may not actually be what you wanted all along.
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