Norman Osborn in Spider-Man: Who He Is and Who Plays Him

Norman Osborn is the head of the weapons company Oscorp, the father of Harry Osborn and the man who becomes the Green Goblin, played by Willem Dafoe in Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). The credits spell the name two ways: Green Goblin / Norman Osborn in Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2, and Norman Osborn / Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Dafoe is billed second in the first film, thirteenth in the sequel and seventh in the 2021 film.

Spider-Man (2002), directed by Sam Raimi, introduces Norman as a businessman answering to an Oscorp board that wants results. His son Harry is a friend of Peter Parker, so the Osborn family is tied to the hero long before the costumed fights begin. Spider-Man 2 (2004), also directed by Raimi, keeps Dafoe in the credits while the story turns toward Harry and Otto Octavius. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), directed by Jon Watts, brings him back as a version of Norman who crosses over from another universe.

Norman Osborn is not among the top fifteen billed cast of The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), directed by Marc Webb, although Oscorp is central to its plot: Gwen Stacy is an intern there, and Dr. Curt Connors, a former partner of Peter's father, works in its lab. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), also directed by Webb, has Harry return to be with his dying father, Norman, the head of Oscorp. Colm Feore is in that film's cast, but he plays the Oscorp executive Donald Menken, so he is not the actor behind Norman. For the full list of Spider-Man's enemies, see our Spider-Man villains page, and for every actor who has worn the mask, see Spider-Man actors.

Norman Osborn's story runs from corporate pressure to a fatal duel in the first film, passes through his son's choices, and returns in a multiverse form in 2021. In Spider-Man (2002), the Oscorp board leans on him, and he tests a performance enhancing formula on himself. It gives him great strength but unstable behavior, and he becomes the Green Goblin. He kills members of the board at a city festival, then turns on Spider-Man and the people close to him.

The duel comes when the Goblin captures Mary Jane Watson and takes her to the Queensboro Bridge, where Spider-Man fights him. Norman is killed by his own glider, and Peter keeps his rival's secret by hiding the evidence. Harry finds his father's body at the Osborn home, blames Spider-Man and vows revenge.

The Raimi sequels pass the story to Harry. In Spider-Man 2 (2004), Harry runs Oscorp, backs Otto Octavius's fusion research and eventually sees Peter's identity, then finds his father's Green Goblin gear and the hidden lair. In Spider-Man 3 (2007), Harry attacks Peter as the New Goblin using that gear, and he later learns the truth about his father's death and joins Peter in the final fight, where he is fatally wounded saving him.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) gives Norman a separate path in a different universe. Harry returns to find Norman dying of an inherited illness, and when Norman dies Harry takes over Oscorp, which sets up his own turn toward the Goblin identity.

In Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), a version of Norman from another universe is pulled into Peter Parker's world, fatally wounds May Parker as the Green Goblin, and is cured at the Statue of Liberty. Peter's botched spell with Doctor Strange brings in villains from other realities, including Norman Osborn, Otto Octavius, Max Dillon, Flint Marko and Curt Connors. Peter wants to cure them rather than send them back to certain deaths, but Norman's Green Goblin side retakes control and turns the villains against him. Two other Spider-Men from other universes arrive, and at the Statue of Liberty the Goblin is cured with help from Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker.

Norman's most important relationships are with his son Harry Osborn and with Peter Parker, the hero he fights while his son is Peter's friend. Harry Osborn is the thread that runs through the Raimi trilogy: James Franco is billed fourth in Spider-Man (2002) and plays Harry again as the New Goblin in Spider-Man 3 (2007). Harry's grief and anger over his father's death drive the next two films.

With Peter Parker, the link cuts both ways. Norman is the father of Peter's friend and the villain Spider-Man must stop. In Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), the Goblin meets Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker, Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker and Tom Holland's Peter Parker in the same fight, and he is cured with help from another Peter, which closes a loop that began on the Queensboro Bridge.

Mary Jane Watson is the person the Goblin uses as bait in the first film, when he takes her to the Queensboro Bridge. May Parker is the victim of his worst act in No Way Home, when the Goblin fatally wounds her before she tells Peter that with great power comes great responsibility.

In the same 2021 film, Norman arrives alongside Otto Octavius, so two villains from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films share a scene again. Oscorp also connects him to the Webb films, where Gwen Stacy interns at the company in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and Harry takes it over in the sequel.

Norman Osborn dies in Spider-Man (2002), killed by his own glider during the fight with Spider-Man on the Queensboro Bridge. Peter returns his body to the Osborn home, where Harry finds it and swears to take revenge on Spider-Man.

That was the Raimi universe's Norman, and he does not come back. In Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), a version of Norman from another universe takes part in the fight at the Statue of Liberty and is cured of the Green Goblin persona with help from another Peter Parker. When Peter asks Doctor Strange to cast the final spell to make the world forget him, the visitors return home, so this Norman leaves the story cured, then returned to his own universe, rather than defeated.

In The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), Norman dies of an inherited illness and Harry takes over Oscorp. That death happens in a separate universe from the Raimi films and does not affect the Green Goblin storyline.

The best Norman Osborn moments are the Queensboro Bridge duel in Spider-Man (2002) and the Statue of Liberty cure in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). The duel works because the Goblin has taken Mary Jane to the bridge, so Peter has to fight for her and for his own secret. The real shock comes afterward, when Peter hides the evidence and Harry finds his father's body, because that single choice powers two more films.

No Way Home answers it years later. Seeing the Goblin retake control and fatally wound May is brutal, and the cure at the Statue of Liberty feels earned because another Peter is the one who helps. My pick for the single best moment is the bridge duel, since it ties the hero, the girl and the best friend's father into one fight.

The casting deserves a mention too. Dafoe is credited as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn in two films and Norman Osborn / Green Goblin in the third, and in all three he plays both the businessman and the monster. If you want the next step, read about Harry Osborn to see where that grief ends up.