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The Kingpin (Wilson Fisk) is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics Universe. Kingpin is one of the most feared and powerful crime lords in the Marvel Universe. The character is a major adversary of Daredevil, the Punisher, and Spider-Man. IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains Of All Time List ranked The Kingpin as #10.^[1]

The name 'Kingpin', is a reference to the title crime boss in mafia slang nomenclature.

Publication history[link]

This section requires expansion.

The character first appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #50 (July 1967), and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita, Sr, who based his physical appearance on actor Sydney Greenstreet.^{[citation needed]} There the Kingpin appeared as an adversary of Spider-Man, but eventually became the archenemy of Daredevil.^[2] He continues to be a dangerous and recurring opponent of Spider-Man, Daredevil, and the Punisher.

Fictional character biography[link]

Wilson Fisk began his life as a poor child, ridiculed by his classmates, as he was an unpopular overweight child. When he was repeatedly harassed by bullies, Fisk began training himself in physical combat. Using his new-found strength, he intimidated the bullies into joining his gang, and he started on the road towards being one of the most successful criminals in New York City. His first gang was a small one with only a few thugs. He eventually was found by crime lord Don Rigoletto. Fisk became Don Rigoletto's bodyguard and right-hand man. Eventually, Fisk killed Don Rigoletto and took control of his gang, immediately becoming one of the most powerful criminals in the city.

The Kingpin remained the ruler of New York's criminal underground for a long time. However, he had made enemies with other gangs, specifically the Maggia and HYDRA, who teamed together to bring down Fisk and his gang. Fisk left for Japan, and started a spice business in order to become wealthy once more. After earning enough money, Fisk returned to New York and started gang wars, in an attempt to bring down the Maggia. With the criminal world in chaos, Fisk was able to step in and take control.

Fisk attempted a coalition of the New York mobs after hearing that Spider-Man had apparently gone out of action, and ordered the abduction of J. Jonah Jameson, but was foiled by Spider-Man in his first confrontation with the web-slinger. Frederick Foswell met the Kingpin and was captured. Spider-Man was knocked out by gas while fighting the Kingpin. He and Jameson were locked in a room which was filled with water. However Spider-Man made a web barrier filled with air, and when the door was opened he defeated the henchmen. Foswell was shot and killed while protecting Jameson.^[3]

While Fisk was a powerful crime lord, he posed as a legitimate businessman, one who made donations to charities, and seemed like a generous, wealthy man. He eventually met a woman named Vanessa, whom he married and had a son with, Richard Fisk. Vanessa did not know that Fisk was a criminal when she married him, and when she found out, she threatened to leave him if he did not give up his life of crime. He temporarily retired from crime, and the family moved back to Japan, until the existing New York gangs lured him back to New York in hopes of getting files he was known to have on the various high ranking individuals which contained "irrefutable evidence of various crimes" against them.^[4]

Richard Fisk did not find out that his father was a criminal until he was in college. After graduating, Richard told his parents he would travel through Europe. Only months after he left, they received news that Richard, who was angry after learning the truth about his father, had died in a skiing accident. However, this was not what really happened. It turned out that Richard Fisk was still alive, and was masquerading as a rival crime lord known as the Schemer, intent on toppling his father as the kingpin of crime.^[5]

Fisk contended against his rival gang-leader, the Schemer, who proved to be Richard in disguise, and battled Spider-Man in this encounter.^[5]

At his wife's behest, Fisk later divested himself of his criminal empire. He unsuccessfully attempted to kill Spider-Man once more before retiring from crime.^[6]

At one point, he became the manager and director of the Las Vegas faction of HYDRA.^[7]

Under duress, the Kingpin agreed to turn over his files to the authorities incriminating his former lieutenants. His wife Vanessa was then kidnapped by crime lords who put out a contract on his life, and he witnessed the apparent "death" of Vanessa. He then returned to a life of crime, regained control of his New York mobs, and hired Bullseye as his assassin. He set Bullseye against Daredevil. He then turned over his files as he had agreed.^[8] He then maneuvered Daredevil into battling the Hand.^[9] He secretly promoted mayoral candidate Randolph Cherryh. He then hired Elektra as his assassin. He was forced to abandon his scheme to elect Cherryh mayor when Daredevil found Vanessa alive but amnesiac and returned her to him. Fisk then sent Elektra to kill Foggy Nelson. After Bullseye killed Elektra, Fisk set Bullseye against Daredevil again.^[10]

Some time later Kingpin learned Daredevil's secret identity when Murdock's ex-girlfriend Karen Page, who had become addicted to drugs, sold the information to a drug dealer in return for a fix. The drug dealer subsequently sold the information to Fisk, who then used his influence to destroy Murdock's civilian and professional life in the Daredevil: Born Again story arc.^[11]

Kingpin also provided superpowers to the Black Cat, who at the time was dating Spider-Man, and feared her lack of powers would make her a liability to him. Kingpin hired scientists to provide her with defensive bad luck powers that would cause mishap to befall anyone that attempted to harm the Cat in combat. However unknown to the Cat, Fisk had a surprise for her as a part of plan to get revenge on Spider-Man; her new powers would also negatively affect anyone who stayed in close proximity to her for an extended time, eventually causing death. This story arc contributed to the break-up of Spider-Man and the Black Cat, and climaxed with a physical battle between Fisk and an enraged Spider-Man in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #100. In addition, during the course of this storyline Fisk's scientists also created the supervillains the Answer and the Spot to battle Spidey and the Cat.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Later, Fisk rehired Bullseye to investigate a New York drug war. Kingpin survived an assassination attempt by Crossbones. In retaliation, he sent Bullseye to assassinate Crossbones' employer, the Red Skull. The attempt failed, and the Kingpin then defeated the Red Skull in personal combat.^[12]

After that, Fisk began his own cable television station, partnering with an apparent Texas millionaire the Kingpin thought could be easily manipulated. However, for once, the Kingpin was the one being played as his "partners" were actually the terrorist group HYDRA. Learning of this from Nick Fury, Daredevil began to spread the word through the underworld that the Kingpin had become a HYDRA stooge, weakening his power. When the Kingpin tried to fight back, HYDRA stole the vast majority of his assets, bombed his businesses across the city and even sent a helicopter gunship to blast his skyscraper offices, telling Fisk that he was just a criminal "while we are conquerers." With his empire crumbling, the Kingpin was brought up on a federal indictment and Daredevil tricked him into getting into a fight at a bus depot. Broken and beaten, the Kingpin was given the ultimate humiliation: instead of killing him, Daredevil forgave him for what he had done.^[13]

Bailed out of jail by a rival, Fisk seemed set to be used as an errand boy by all his old employees but instead went on the run.^{[volume & issue needed]} He spent time in Japan rebuilding his empire and fighting the X-Men before he finally returned to take back New York.^{[volume & issue needed]} While there he manipulated Maya Lopez (also known as Echo) into thinking that Daredevil killed her father (although Fisk was actually responsible) to get her to kill Daredevil.^[14] However, his plan backfired when Daredevil convinced her of the truth, and she shot him in the eyes in retaliation, rendering the Kingpin blind.^[15] Fisk eventually lost his criminal empire to one of his employees, Samuel Silke, who was working with his son Richard, in a bloody Caesar-like assassination bid, using the Kingpins' new status as a blind man to rally supporters.^[16] In the aftermath, Vanessa killed Richard and fled the country with Fisk's remaining wealth while the Kingpin recuperated in an unnamed eastern-European country, broken and alone, and was given an eye transplant which restored his eyesight.^[17]

He returned, and after getting revenge on Silke by crushing his head, almost managed to regain his empire through sheer will, but was defeated by Daredevil, who declared himself the new Kingpin. Fisk was put in jail.^[18]

He later hatched a scheme to be freed and regain his wealth by giving the FBI proof in the form of the nonexistent "Murdock Papers" that Matt Murdock is Daredevil. Having made so many enemies who were in prison, Fisk was constantly under attack from the Hand, HYDRA, or any number of criminal organizations with which he had had intimate contact. The U.S. Government was hard pressed to get rid of this expensive, dangerous, legally clean master criminal, and Fisk succeeded in manipulating the FBI into gravely wounding Daredevil and providing them a sample of Daredevil's DNA.^{[volume & issue needed]} He tells Ben Urich to give the feds the location of the Night Nurse, the only medic for injured superheroes, or go to jail.^[19]

He finally succeeded in getting Matt Murdock arrested, but the FBI betrayed him at the last minute and arrested him as well, placing him in the same jail as Murdock with hopes that the two would kill each other.^{[volume & issue needed]} Ironically, the enemies were forced to team up in order to survive a prison riot which was directed at them. Finally, Murdock sacrificed the deal, refusing to let Bullseye, who was also incarcerated, leave the prison as Kingpin had planned. The fight ended with the Kingpin shot point-blank in the knee by gunfire from Bullseye intended for Murdock, while Murdock escaped.^[20]

Fisk also appeared in the Civil War War Crimes one-shot. He offered a deal to Iron Man - consideration on his sentence in exchange for information about Captain America's Resistance base. However, as his status in prison is threatened for collaborating with Stark, he betrays him; he first sets up Iron Man by revealing a gathering of supervillains by Hammerhead to create a new criminal empire, claiming it was a base of Captain America's, and gives information to the Secret Avengers instead.^{[volume & issue needed]}

He also put out a hit on Spider-Man and his loved ones after Iron Man convinced Spider-Man to unmask in public as a means of demonstrating his support for the Superhuman Registration Act. A sniper attempted to hit Spider-Man, only to hit the "secondary target" of Aunt May. Spider-Man tracked down the hit to Kingpin. He confronted the Kingpin in prison and badly beat the Kingpin in a fight in front of the prison's inmates. He decided to let the Kingpin live for a time under the humiliation of his defeat, news of which would quickly spread through the Underworld. Spider-Man vowed to return and kill the Kingpin the second his aunt died.^[21]

However, at some point later, after Matt Murdock returns to America with his name cleared, he completes Vanessa Fisk's last wish and takes on Fisk's case, getting all charges dropped in exchange for Fisk leaving the country and giving up his American citizenship. Murdock told Fisk they had to end their vendetta now as otherwise the Vanessa that the Kingpin had loved would be lost forever, as the woman she became got her last wish by having her husband and Daredevil constantly at war with each other all over again. Although the charges were dropped due to the evidence being too tainted to be brought to court, Murdock delayed the case enough so Fisk would not be able to attend his wife's funeral. Fisk is later seen visiting his wife's grave and mourning her death. Fisk later temporarily returned to New York to "[wrap] up some loose ends that he had to deal with."^[22]

In Runaways, Fisk meets with the Runaways, revealing he knew all about their parents, since they ruled Los Angeles with efficiency and vision; he never tried to take their territory nor did they invade his. He makes a deal with the Runaways to secure a mysterious object for him in exchange for protection from the government. He and his army of ninjas are defeated when the Runaways refuse to give it after they stole it, discovering that it was a device invented by the Pride. It is later revealed that Fisk was hired by an elderly woman named Lillie McGurty, who orchestrated the events so the Runaways can travel back to 1907 and ensure that she would come back to the present with them, which her past self declined.^[22]

Informed of May's survival by Mephisto as a nurse at the hospital, he decides to send a masked hitman after Anna Watson. Mary Jane goes to check on Anna, just in time to stop the hitman, who goes after her. Spider-Man saves Mary Jane and unmasks the hitman.^{[volume & issue needed]}During the course of the One More Day storyline, which ended with the removal of Peter and Mary-Jane's marriage from all memories, the situation changes so nobody (including Fisk and with the exception of Mary-Jane and Deadpool) knows Spider-Man's secret identity.^{[volume & issue needed]}

[edit] Return of the King

Kingpin returns in the Daredevil arc, "Return of the King". There, it reveals he has spent the past year living a normal life in a small Spanish fishing village. There he meets and falls in love with Marta, a young mother of two. He finds himself trying to overcome his former life as a crime boss, only to later find Marta and her kids murdered by Lady Bullseye, and the Hand, who then brutally attack him, stabbing him through the shoulders with two katanas. When he asks why, Lady Bullseye replies "The reasons are far too numerous, but if you want a specific cause, ask Daredevil."^[23] In his revenge against the Hand, Kingpin frees and recruits the Owl to help him with it. Fisk begins hallucinating visions of his dead wife Vanessa, who taunts him. It turns out that Fisk's actual plan to is to take the leadership of the Hand, after killing Hiroshi, the ninja-lord who ordered the family's assassinations. However, he is thwarted by Daredevil, who takes the leadership for himself.^[24]

[edit] Dark Reign

During the Dark Reign storyline, Kingpin later creates an alliance with Lady Bullseye to destroy Daredevil. He orders Lady Bullseye to disguise herself as a member of the Hand and kill two corrupt cops and a judge, making it seem that Daredevil ordered it and making Norman Osborn send Bullseye in retaliation. Though Daredevil survived the fight with Bullseye, The Kingpin is undeterred and states that he has Daredevil "where he wants him".^[25] The Kingpin has also targeted Daredevil's friends to frame Norman Osborn for their recent misfortunes to further his attempts on manipulating Daredevil's actions. He has Foggy Nelson disbarred as an attorney for standing up to a judge on his payroll for a unfair ruling of overturning a jury's verdict. He also causes Dakota North to lose her private investigator's license.^[26]

[edit] Shadowland

During the Shadowland storyline, Kingpin approaches Iron Fist and Luke Cage telling them that they will need to take down Daredevil soon. Kingpin and Lady Bullseye later perform a ritual that brings back Ghost Rider to attack the Hand.^[27] After Daredevil is dethroned from Shadowland, Kingpin takes both Shadowland, and the Hand, under his rule, officially taking his place back as the crime lord of New York City.^[28]

"Big Time"[link]

During the "Big Time" storyline Kingpin hires a new Hobgoblin to steal some experimental vibranium from Horizon Labs.^[29] It was revealed in Spider-Island that Fisk has gained Spider-Powers, as demonstrated by heightened reflexes, and the ability to wall crawl.^[30]

Skills, abilities and equipment[link]

The Kingpin has no superhuman powers. However, he is incredibly strong and durable, possessing remarkable strength concealed by his somewhat corpulent appearance. He has been shown to be strong enough to hurl people across a room,^{[volume & issue needed]} rip limbs from people (demonstrated under a handshake),^{[volume & issue needed]} crush a man's skull with his bare hands,^[31] leave imprints in concrete walls after punching them,^{[volume & issue needed]} and even crush one of Spider-Man's web shooters without making any great effort.^{[volume & issue needed]} Contrary to all appearances, most of his body mass is actually muscle that has been built to extraordinary size, much like a sumo wrestler and he is almost as strong as it is physically possible for an ordinary human to be. The Kingpin is a master of many forms of armed and unarmed combat, particularly sumo, jujutsu, and hapkido. He is an extraordinarily skilled martial artist, especially in sumo wrestling. His signature move is the bear hug. He once fought Captain America to a standstill in hand to hand combat.^{[volume & issue needed]} While he has been shown as being able to hold his own against Spider-Man, this is because Spider-Man has strong psychological inhibitions against using his superhuman strength against non-powered opponents, for fear of killing them. When Spider-Man went all out against Fisk after the attack on Aunt May, Fisk was easily and decisively beaten.

He typically wears Kevlar armor under his clothing. Fisk sometimes carries a walking stick that conceals a laser beam weapon capable of firing a blast of concussive force sufficient for vaporizing a handgun (or a person's head) at close range; this is also known as his "obliterator cane". He typically wears an ornamental diamond stick-pin that conceals a highly compressed chamber of sleeping gas that is effective if sprayed at close range directly into his victim's face. Due to his wealth and intellectual industry, Kingpin could use far more advanced paraphernalia, but he prefers to use such things as a last resort. As Fisk became less Spider-Man's nemesis than Daredevil's, he became more of a naturalistic mafioso than a comic-book criminal mastermind, and depended less on science fiction-like weaponry.

Aside from his remarkable physical advantages and special paraphernalia, the Kingpin is intellectually formidable and is a master tactician and a highly skilled planner and organizer. He is self-educated to the university graduate level in the field of political science. He is extremely skilled and knowledgeable in the organization and management of criminal and legal business operations. Kingpin is also a master manipulator, occasionally going so far as to lead superheroes into taking down criminal rivals that pose a threat to his position.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Other versions[link]

1602[link]

In the Marvel 1602 universe, Wilson Fisk is a pirate captain of the HMS Vanessa, known as the King's Pin, who attacks the ship taking Peter Parquarh and Sir Norman Osborne back to England.^{[volume & issue needed]} However, although his attack injures Osborne, he is unable to take the ship when Peter deflects the cannonballs by using his webbing to throw them back at the Vanessa, throwing Fisk into the sea when he confronts the captain directly, even rejecting Fisk's 'offer' to explain how he got his name.^{[volume & issue needed]}

[edit] Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse, Wilson Fisk is known as Dirigible, a wealthy businessman who bought his way into the Marauders, a human terrorist group serving Apocalypse that makes up for their lack of mutant powers using technology which allows them to fly and emit explosive blasts.^{[volume & issue needed]} Dirigible is clearly the leader of the group, as he is seen giving orders to his three teammates. Alongside Red (Norman Osborn), the Owl, and Arcade, he attacks the human refugee camps of Wakanda. However, Dirigible is killed by Gwen Stacy.^{[volume & issue needed]}

[edit] Old Man Logan

A future Kingpin appears in a possible future timeline in which the United States has been carved up between the various supervillains. This version is described as a "man of the people" who fought his way to the top, gaining control of the Mountain States and killing the domain's former master, Magneto. This version is an African American male, and he is eventually killed and has his territory taken over by Ashley Barton, Hawkeye's daughter and the current Spider-Girl.^[32]

Crossovers[link]

• In the second Batman/Spider-Man crossover, Kingpin is forced to partner with Ra's al Ghul in a plan that would destroy New York City, in exchange for a cure to Vanessa's cancer. As it turned out, Ra's gave Vanessa her cancer to force Kingpin to aid him, but the Kingpin actually formed an alliance with Batman and Spider-Man to save the city. Ra's attempted to get his revenge by denying Fisk the cure for Vanessa's cancer, but Talia al Ghul, Ra's' daughter, provided the cure herself, recognizing in Vanessa a kindred spirit, as both of them loved men that society would regard as monsters.

• In the second Batman/Daredevil crossover book, Kingpin almost lost his entire criminal empire to the Scarecrow, who had tried to dismantle it merely as a distraction so that he could spread his fear toxin throughout New York. In this book, Kingpin is shown to be a formidable physical match for Batman.

• The Kingpin has a small role in Marvel vs. DC, when he purchases the Daily Planet, firing Perry White and replacing him with J. Jonah Jameson. He also bullies workers, especially Lois Lane, who threatens to expose him as the Kingpin. Eventually, he is confronted by his angry staff, but is defeated when Spider-Man and Superboy arrive before he can do any significant damage.

• The Amalgam Comics character The Big Question (Enigma Fisk) is a combination of the Riddler of DC Comics and Kingpin. He appears in the Marvel/DC Comics crossover comic, Assassins #1 (April 1996).

[edit] House of M

Wilson Fisk appears in the House of M, similar to how his mainstream counterpart is represented.

[edit] Marvel Zombies

The Kingpin appears in Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness #2 with his underlings, willing to work with the Punisher to try and save humanity from the zombie attack. The Punisher kills the group instead.^[33]

Somehow, he later resurfaces as one of the undead villains in Marvel Zombies who makes an attempt to devour Galactus, but this attempt is short lived when he is eliminated by the zombified superheroes in an ensuing battle.^[34]

Despite seemingly being killed again, he appears in Marvel Zombies 3 as a leader of the zombie horde, planning to invade Earth-616. He keeps his wife in hiding, satisfying his hunger (and those of other infected characters) by cloning uninfected humans as a source of food.^{[volume & issue needed]} Eventually, he eats her when his plan is defeated.^[35]

Marvel Zombies Return[link]

An alternate version of Kingpin appears in Marvel Zombies Return, where he summons the Sinister Six to steal a sacred tablet from the college where Peter Parker attends. But when the zombified Spider-Man is transported to their world, he kills and devours five of the members. An infuriated Kingpin decides to confront Spider-Man but is quickly dispatched and devoured by Spider-Man, leaving his men to run for their lives.^[36]

PunisherMAX[link]

A more realistic version of Kingpin appears in a storyarc in PunisherMAX starting with the first issue of PunisherMAX #1. A realistic version of Bullseye is his main henchman.^[37] This version of the Kingpin is bodyguard to a one-eyed mob boss named Rigoletto and is from Hell's Kitchen. In order to finally kill the Punisher, Fisk comes up with the idea to create a kingpin of crime who would be a target for the Punisher in order to flush him out. Like the mainstream version he is incredibly strong, able to squeeze someone's head until their eyes pop out. He is a highly formidable hand to hand combatant, cunning and utterly ruthless. While employed as a bodyguard/enforcer by Rigoletto, Fisk used a Glock handgun.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Fisk was regularly beaten and abused by his father. After killing a stray dog that Fisk had adopted, Fisk drugged his father and watched him eaten alive by starving rats. At some point in his criminal career, Fisk was convicted and sent to Attica. There he was badly beaten and gang raped by five men, the leader of whom was "Big Lucky". When he was released, Fisk arranged for Big Lucky's wife to be gang-raped by a dozen drug-addicts and winos. He took photographs of the rape and mailed them to Big Lucky, who broke out of jail. When he arrived home, his wife was dead, and Fisk was waiting for him...^{[volume & issue needed]}

"It was dawn the next day when I finally let him die. The things I did to him that night, they still talk about in whispers on the Lower East Side."^{[volume & issue needed]}

Before becoming Kingpin, Fisk was referred to as a "Mick" by some Mafioso, indicating he may be of Irish ancestry.^{[volume & issue needed]}

He is also married to Vanessa and has a son, Richard, who is very young. It has been hinted that Fisk is just using Rigoletta in order to advance his own agenda. Fisk's past has been shown in several flashbacks, including his brutal murder of his abusive father, his tenure in prison, his vicious cruel streak, and other activities. This version of the Kingpin eventually kills Rigoletto and becomes the Kingpin of crime at the cost of his son's life. Because of this, Vanessa grows to hate Fisk and has vowed to kill him.^[38]

The Kingpin eventually manages to ambush and seriously wound The Punisher at a confrontation at the Punisher's old family home. During the fight, Kingpin is struck in the side of the head with the claw of a hammer, just as he's about to deliver the fatal blow. He returns to his Tower, but is told by the guard that his ex-wife ordered that he was not to be let in. Kingpin is then shot in the back of the head by the Punisher, who states: "Your city, my world." The Punisher stumbles home to recover from his injuries, before collapsing at the steps of his house.^[39] Vanessa Fisk has her ex-husband cremated. She then takes the ashes to a bathroom. Her eulogy to him was: "Goodbye, you son of a bitch." and flushes his ashes down the toilet. Nick Fury cuts power to the city soon afterwards, and shoots Vanessa in the back of the head.^[40]

MC2[link]

In the alternate future portrayed in the MC2 comics, Fisk has finally succeeded in killing Daredevil, although he made the mistake of betraying Kaine in the process. Kaine attempted to revive Daredevil with sorcery, but ended up bonding him with the demon Zarathos and Reilly Tyne (son of Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider), creating the superhero Darkdevil.^{[volume & issue needed]}

At some point, Fisk was sent to prison, although he is still able to manage his criminal empire from within the prison, often with the assistance of bribed guards, and lives in luxury within his cell, feasting on gourmet cooking. Fisk and his lawyer, Foggy Nelson, were on their way to court for his latest appeal when Kaine attacked Fisk. Spider-Girl intervened and saved Fisk. He continues to use costumed villains as agents and assassins including Spider-Girl foes Mr. Nobody and Crazy Eight.^{[volume & issue needed]}

When Kaine was being taken away by the police, Kaine asked Nelson why he represented the man who murdered his partner, Matt Murdock. Nelson had been unaware of this (it is not stated how much Nelson knew about Murdock's alter ego Daredevil or the circumstances of his death), and refused to represent Fisk further. This causes Fisk to lose the appeal in question.^{[volume & issue needed]}

When a gang war started, Fisk is slain by a bomb while still in prison. While dying he has a vision of his wife and son, who show the unrepentant criminal his dark past. The two spirits tell him that he can only come to the "light" if he renounces his criminal past. It is left ambiguous as to what he decided.^[41]

[edit] Spider-Man: Reign

Fisk appears in a vegetative state in the first part of Spider-Man: Reign. He is seen with Mayor Waters, who is saying that he hasn't eaten solid food in ten years. This is part of the oppressive regime imposed by the mayor's secret master, his assistant.^[42]

Ultimate Kingpin[link]

In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Kingpin remained mostly unchanged. He is still a large, thick set bald man who usually wears a white suit and carries a cane. He is the head of New York corporate crime, a ruthless murderer and notorious for bribing his way out of any prosecution. He has a reputation for simply owning many parts of New York, such as the McDonalds in Times Square. His employees include Electro, Elektra, and the Enforcers. In the universe, his wife Vanessa Fisk also exists but is in a comatose state. The Kingpin is trying to remedy this with an ancient tablet that he had stolen. Unfortunately for the Kingpin, it was stolen and lost by the Black Cat as revenge. It is unclear why Vanessa is in a coma. He also finds competition in another crime lord called Hammerhead, and manages to play his enemy against Spider-Man, Black Cat, Moon Knight, Iron Fist, and Shang-Chi.^[43] In his first appearance, his employee Electro manages to knock out Spider-Man with electricity, and he, Kingpin, and The Enforcers manage to unmask him, revealing him to be a teenager. They then throw him out a window. From then on, The Kingpin knows Spider-Man to be a teenager, and tortures him with this knowledge many times. Captain Jeanne De Wolfe was secretly working for the crime lord before being killed by the Punisher. The Kingpin was seen mourning her death in Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2, possibly indicating an affair. Her death came at the end of a play for territory by another crime boss, the Kangaroo, who was taken into custody.^[44]

The Kingpin purchases the holding firm GG Enterprises, which owns the company that carries the licensing rights of the Spider-Man movie franchise. By purchasing the GG, Kingpin now technically owns Spider-Man's likeness. After Iron Fist betrayed the Ultimate Knights team's intentions to him, he had Spider-Man captured. He ties him to a stool, unmasks him, and tortures and humiliates him with this information, citing it as the only reason he would allow Spider-Man to continue to roam free. At the same time, he has Moon Knight assaulted and taken away, and torches Daredevil's offices. In retaliation, a crazed Daredevil breaks into Fisk's offices and threatens to murder his comatose wife by snapping her neck. As Kingpin pleads with Daredevil not to turn something that he only saw as 'business' into something personal, Spider-Man and the rest of the Knights persuade Daredevil to let her go on the condition that Fisk leaves the country. Daredevil grudgingly agrees.^[45]

Fisk, furious that the heroes had broken into his house and threatened his wife, orders their deaths, and that Spider-Man's school to be blown up while class is in session. Unfortunately for Fisk, the Moon Knight (whose assassination Fisk had ordered) escapes death from the Kingpin's men and turns himself in, saying the Kingpin ordered his kill. As such, Fisk is finally arrested as he tries to leave the country.^[46]

Following the events of Ultimatum, evidence implicating Fisk in his crimes were lost, and Fisk's lawyers were able to clear his name. Hoping to reinstate himself as the Kingpin, Fisk returns to New York. Instead, he is attacked by Mysterio, who throws him out a window. Fisk is later declared dead by the media.^[47]

Fisk's grandfather appears in Ultimate Origins attempting to loot a house with Nick Fury and James Howlett (Wolverine), while all three are serving during World War II. Military police arrive to arrest them, and all three are subdued. Fisk is grazed by a bullet, while Fury and Howlett, despite the latter's protests that he's Canadian, are shipped off to separate unknown locations.^[48]

In other media[link]

Television[link]

• Kingpin has appeared in the 1967 animated Spider-Man episodes "King Pinned" and "The Big Brainwasher". In "King Pinned", Kingpin and his henchmen kidnap J. Jonah Jameson when his newspapers were exposing his drug counterfeiting business. Here Foswell is a spy for the Kingpin.^[49] In "The Big Brainwasher", Kingpin has opened a club that Mary Jane has gotten a job at where she takes pictures of city officials and the camera mesmerizes them to enter a room where Kingpin has them brainwashed. In both instances, Spider-Man stops him.^[50]

• Kingpin appeared in the Spider-Woman episode "The Kingpin Strikes Again". In that episode, he was first seen trying to loot a bank with a band of capable henchmen. Though initially thwarted by the timely arrival of Spider-Woman, she herself was foiled when she left herself wide open to attack by sticking to a wall, and one of Kingpin's henchmen with a jackhammer used the contraption to shake the surface the heroine was sticking on, causing Spider-Woman to fall into a cell, holding her at bay. He later finds out Jessica Drew is the Spider-Woman and shares this knowledge with the world. In the end, she uses a robot to make everybody (including the Kingpin) think he made a mistake.^{[citation needed]}

• Kingpin appeared in the 1981 Spider-Man TV series voiced by Stanley Jones. In "Wrath of the Sub-Mariner", Kingpin calls a truce with Silvermane, Hammerhead, and Caesar Cicero when his scientist Dr. Everett has developed a fluid that dissolves metal. In "Return of the Kingpin", his henchman Hal Hunter sets Spider-Man up for a heist.^{[citation needed]}

• Kingpin appeared in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "Pawns of the Kingpin" voiced by Walker Edmiston. In that episode, he brainwashes Captain America, who then tricks Iceman so both heroes would steal a secret weapon for him. The scientist who developed the brainwashing technique betrays the Kingpin by brainwashing him but the Kingpin eventually reveals that he had already taken precautions and had just pretended to be brainwashed waiting for a chance to capture the scientist. He's eventually captured.^[51]

• His most prominent appearance is in Spider-Man: The Animated Series voiced by Roscoe Lee Browne. In this show, he is the main antagonist of the series and the most recurring. This Kingpin is fairly close to the comics version, but he is often occupied with manipulating superpowered characters to do his bidding. In addition, as opposed to just being a crime lord in New York, Kingpin has a global criminal organization; his headquarters is simply located in New York (in the Chrysler Building, which he dubs "Crime Central"). His physical abilities are generally depicted the same as his comics counterpart, except in one instance when he toppled a huge robot. His bodymass is stated in this continuity as being only "2% fat", a statement followed by the declared possession of "350 pounds of muscle". He's the mastermind behind the creation of the Spider-Slayers and is responsible for the creation of the Insidious Six, the animated equivalent of the Sinister Six. He's also involved in a power struggle with crime boss Silvermane. Initially, he operated behind the scenes until the "Framed/The Man Without Fear" two-part episode, where his identity was revealed to Spider-Man with the help of Daredevil, who was seeking revenge for his father's murder at Kingpin's hands. The Kingpin's main associate here was at first Alistair Smythe, but after Smythe nearly betrayed the Kingpin because he believed Kingpin was going to kill him for placing his son in jail during the Daredevil two-parter, Dr. Herbert Landon replaced him. Kingpin remained at large throughout the series, although an alternate dimension's version was arrested in the series finale. Another alternate version was shown to be the lawyer of that dimension's Peter Parker, though he proved just as underhanded as his counterparts. The Kingpin has proven to be more than a match for Spider-Man, eluding capture and even capturing Spider-Man on occasion. This series also described an origin for the Kingpin as seen in "The man without fear," somewhat different than the comic book version. As a boy, Wilson Fisk was influenced by his father, who sought employment as a mob criminal. When older, Fisk assisted his father in robbing banks and jewelry stores, culminating in one robbery where his father escaped but Fisk, hampered by his already-considerable weight, was captured by police. Fisk did not name his father at his trial and was sentenced to prison, where he resolved to survive. In adulthood, Fisk emulated his father's goal and climbed to a position of seniority within the mob, adopting the alias "Kingpin". He has had his police file destroyed, removing all record of his earlier arrest – effectively making his former life "cease to exist." He then exacted revenge against his father, who was implied to have been killed by the Kingpin's henchmen. It was also revealed that his real name was Wilson Moriarty. He maintained a strained relationship with his wife Vanessa, who was well-aware of his activities and wanted him to let it all go. Though he loved her, she eventually left him after being briefly kidnapped by Silvermane. His son, Richard, works for him until he was arrested at the end of the Daredevil saga and contemplates how long until his son takes his revenge on him like he did with his father. During the 'Six Forgotten Warriors' saga he reforms the Insidious Six and tries to gain access to the Doomsday Device. He is told by Silver Sable that one of his men is working against him. He finally manages to capture the Six American Warriors (save Captain America who is in statis in a vortex with the Red Skull) and Spider-Man, and recover the Six Keys needed to gain access to the Doomsday Complex from them. However the Chameleon uses sleeping gas on them, revealing himself to be working with the Red Skull's son (as he was the Red Skull's adopted son). The Kingpin is freed when the Red Skull and Captain America are released and begin fighting. The Doomsday Device turns the Red Skull's son into Electro. The Kingpin tries to attack Electro, but is easily defeated, and is then hospitalized. His final appearance is in the Spider Wars saga.

• Kingpin appears in the Spider-Man: The New Animated Series episode "Royal Scam" voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan. Here, the Kingpin manipulated Spider-Man into thinking he worked for the FBI and assigned the superhero to steal a chip from the mob (they were actually innocent scientists). Spider-Man soon realized he was scammed (evidenced when he learned that the first FBI agent he met is just a movie actor) and with the help of Harry Osborn and the real FBI, Spider-Man had the Kingpin behind bars after a confrontation in one of the Kingpin's helicopters. When the copter crashed, both of them successfully escaped and due to Kingpin's weight, he fell from Spider-Man's hand. However, the superhero saved him and had him trapped behind a crate long enough for the FBI to arrest him. In this series, the Kingpin is depicted as an African-American and uses a red diamond-studded cane capable of shooting lasers.

Film[link]

• In the live action 1989 television movie The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, the Kingpin is portrayed by John Rhys-Davies. David Banner (Bill Bixby) is unjustly arrested after interrupting an assault on a New York City subway by two thugs in the employ of Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. Attorney Matt Murdock (Rex Smith) agrees to represent him, hoping to use information gleaned from Banner to bring down Fisk's organization. Banner and Murdock eventually learn about each other's secret lives as the Hulk and Daredevil, respectively. The pair is able to thwart Fisk's plans, but the Kingpin himself escapes.

• In the 2003 feature film Daredevil, Michael Clarke Duncan played the character. In the film, the Kingpin appears to be an overweight corporate head that takes the name Wilson Fisk, but in fact he is the sole person running organized crime. Duncan signed on for the role in January 2002, though he had been attached far earlier.^[52] When Duncan was cast, he weighed 290 pounds. He was asked to gain 40 pounds for the role in order to fit the physique of Kingpin. In order to do this, he would lift weights for 30 minutes a day, and power-lifted with one or two reps a day, as well as eating whatever he wanted. Despite this, Duncan's biggest concern was that he is an African-American, while Kingpin had always been portrayed as Caucasian in the comics.^[53] He spoke on the fans' loyalty to the source material by saying "they watch movies to say, 'Hey, that's not like the comic book.' But I want them to get past that and just see the movie for what it is and see me for what I am—an actor."^[54] In the film, the Kingpin started out as an enforcer for a mob boss named Falon, in which capacity he was hired to kill Jack "The Devil" Murdock after he refused to throw a fight, leaving a signature red rose at the scene of his crimes. Years later, Fisk became a crime boss in his own right and successfully hid his criminal activities from the public, although the media picked up on reports of a "Kingpin," running all crime in the city. He hires Bullseye to kill Nikolas Natchios after Natchios attempts to leave his organization, attempting to frame Natchios as the Kingpin in the process by leaving a fake paper trail. Though Bullseye is successful, Fisk also wants Natchios' family killed and hires Bullseye to kill Natchios' daughter Elektra, although Bullseye also states an interest in killing Daredevil for free after the hero made him miss a target. After he supposedly kills Elektra, Bullseye is defeated by Daredevil after he reveals during the fight that Fisk is really the Kingpin, unknowingly revealing his role in Murdock's father's death as well. Having learned of his assassin's failure, the Kingpin is prepared for the subsequent confrontation with Daredevil, severely beating the hero- expressing regret that Daredevil came to him injured rather than fighting him in his prime- before he unmasks him, learning that Daredevil is Matt Murdock, whom Fisk met prior to Nicholas Natchios' death. Daredevil nevertheless manages to trigger the sprinkler system in Fisk's office, thus allowing him to better 'see' his opponent. Daredevil then breaks Fisk's legs, but refuses to kill him despite having the opportunity, having realised that he is 'not the bad guy' and thus has no right to kill his foes. Daredevil leaves the Kingpin for the police and Fisk threatened to tell everyone who Daredevil really was, until the lawyer pointed out that revealing to his prison inmates that he had been beaten by a blind man was the equivalent of suicide. Nevertheless, the Kingpin swears that he will eventually get out of prison and kill Daredevil, with the hero simply responding that he will be waiting.

• In July 2006, Duncan showed interest in returning for the role of the Kingpin, but stated that he would not be willing to gain weight as he felt "comfortable" being down to 270 pounds. However, he jokingly showed willingness to change his mind if he was offered $20 million. Duncan suggested that the character is portrayed to have been training a lot in jail in order to become faster in combat against Daredevil, also working as a way to fit his weight loss into the story.^[55]

Video games[link]

This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may only interest a specific audience. Please help relocate any relevant information, and remove excessive detail that may be against Wikipedia inclusion policy. (April 2009)

• Kingpin appears as the final boss of The Punisher video game for the NES, an Operation Wolf style first-person shooter. The Game Boy adaptation of the game saw Jigsaw replacing the Kingpin as the final boss in the game.

• In Spider-Man: The Video Game, the Kingpin was one of the main villains, the last boss of stage 3, The Lair of Kingpin.^{[citation needed]}

• He is also included in the game The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Mega-CD, Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear, where is the main villain and the final boss to beat.

• In The Punisher arcade game, Kingpin was the final villain. If a player finishes the game, the Kingpin is seemingly killed, however the police never find his body.

• The Kingpin is the main villain and the final boss in the video game adaptation of the Daredevil movie for the Game Boy Advance.^[56] In the game, he puts out a warrant out for Daredevil's arrest to the criminal underworld (which is later revealed as a fraud). Daredevil interrogates the Kingpin at his penthouse, where it is revealed that Daredevil eliminated his competition when he was setting up his master plan. After Daredevil defeats him, the Kingpin tells him that although Daredevil knows his secret identity, Daredevil can't reveal Wilson Fisk's secret to the police. At the end, Fisk lies to the reporters by saying that Daredevil's arrest was a "media distortion".

• The Kingpin is a boss in Spider-Man: Battle for New York (a video game loosely based on the Ultimate Spider-Man universe) voiced by Stephen Stanton.^[57]

• The Kingpin is featured in the 2005 video game The Punisher voiced by David Sobolov. Punisher had suspected him of being behind the attempts on his life and being allied with the Gnucchi's and the Russian Mob. Following Bullseye's defeat, the Kingpin confronts Punisher and tells him that his real enemy is a Japanese Yakuza group called the Eternal Sun. In the post-credits scene, the Kingpin is plotting his revenge against the Punisher for the embarrassment he caused him.

• The Kingpin appears in Spider-Man 3 voiced by Bob Joles. He is featured in one of the games many sidequests. At a press conference, Peter (Spider-Man) sees Fisk and gets shots of him with some gang members of the Apocalypse Gang, the Arsenic Candy Gang, and the Dragon Tail Gang. Fisk then tells the gang members to break out their bosses (who are being held present at the press conference). Spider-Man then goes to the Kingpin's penthouse and after defeating the gang members and their bosses, he fights the Kingpin. His strength and aggression amplified by the Venom symbiote, Spider-Man causes Kingpin to fall to his apparent death, although no body is found and Spider-Man wonders if he survived the fall.

• Kingpin appears as one of the primary characters in Spider-Man: Web of Shadows voiced by Gregg Berger. He is shown to own a building called Wilson Fisk Industries. He establishes a crime spree by hiring Vulture to build high-tech armors and gliders for his minions and even sets up a gang war between the Rolling Sevens Gang and the Park Avenue Gang. Spider-Man encounters him and his Tech Soldiers at one of the bridges which was road blocked by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents when the Symbiote Infection occurs. He and his Tech Soldiers retreat back to Wilson Fisk Industries. When Spider-Man freed Tinkerer from Ryker's Island, Kingpin and his Tech Soldiers arrived where Kingpin convinced Black Widow to let Tinkerer come up with a device to stop the Symbiote Invasion. Around the part where Spider-Man deactivates and reactivates the defense systems outside of Wilson Fisk Industries, Spider-Man tells Kingpin that they are transferring Tinkerer to his building. After listening to his plans, Kingpin grants the Tinkerer access to his facilities and informs him that he will make some calls to obtain a specific castle in Italy and a girl from Tinkerer's favorite tool catalog. In both Black Suit endings, Kingpin tells Black Widow that the Tinkerer is ready as Black Widow appoints a symbiote-controlled Wolverine to bring her Spider-Man dead or alive. In the PSP and PS2 version, Kingpin calls up Spider-Man to give him his missions.

• Kingpin appears in Chun-Li's ending for Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, where Chun-Li arrests him after giving him a savage beating.

• Kingpin appears as a villain character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online.

Theater[link]

Kingpin can be seen in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark robbing a bank with Hammerhead before being stopped by Spider-Man.

Music[link]

• The alias of Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, has been used by English band "Wilson Fisk"^[58]

See also[link]

• Daredevil: Born Again

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kingpin at Marvel.com
• Kingpin's Profile at Spiderfan.org

Look up kingpin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Kingpin may refer to:

• Kingpin (automotive part), the pivot in the steering mechanism
• Crime boss

Kingpin may also be:

Film and television[link]

• Kingpin (film), a 1996 sports comedy film by the Farrelly brothers
• Kingpin (television series), a crime/drama TV mini-series

Game[link]

• Kingpin: Life of Crime, a computer game

Literature[link]

• Kingpin (book), a book written by former hacker Kevin Poulsen
• Kingpin (chess magazine), a satirical chess magazine
• Kingpin (comics), a fictional supervillain in the Marvel Universe

Music[link]

• "Kingpin", a song from Being There (Wilco album)
• Kingpin (band), a Swedish metal band from the mid-1980s
• The Kingpins, a Canadian ska band

Vehicular part[link]

• The pivot in a fifth wheel coupling
• The pivot in a railway car bogie, etc.

See also[link]

• Kingpin Bowling, lounge bars in Australia
• All pages beginning with "Kingpin"
• All pages with titles containing "Kingpin"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964).

Although many characters have taken up this identity, the most well-known is the original Green Goblin, Norman Osborn. Osborn was originally an amoral industrialist head of OSCORP and father of Spider-Man's best friend, Harry Osborn, who took a serum which enhanced his physical abilities and intellect but also drove him to insanity. He adopted a Halloween-themed appearance, dressing in a goblin costume, riding on a bat-shaped "Goblin Glider", and using an arsenal of high-tech weapons, notably grenade-like "Pumpkin Bombs", to terrorize New York City. He is one of Spider-Man's most persistent foes, and many consider him to be one of the archenemies of Spider-Man,^[2][3][4] being directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Spider-Man's life, such as the death of Gwen Stacy and the Clone Saga. He is also the lead protagonist of the company-wide Dark Reign storyline.

In 2009, Norman Osborn was also ranked as IGN's 13th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.^[5] He also placed #11 on GuysNation's Top Villains of All Time. Comics journalist and historian Mike Conroy writes of the character: "Of all the costumed villains who've plagued Spider-Man over the years, the most flat-out unhinged and terrifying of them all is the Green Goblin."^[6]

Publication history[link]

According to Steve Ditko, the Green Goblin, as we know him, was entirely his creation. He claims:

Stan's synopsis for the Green Goblin had a movie crew, on location, finding an Egyptian-like sarcophagus. Inside was an ancient, mythological demon, the Green Goblin. He naturally came to life. On my own, I changed Stan's mythological demon into a human villain.^[7]

The Green Goblin debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #14. At this time his identity was unknown, but he proved popular and reappeared in later issues, which made a point of his secret identity. Apparently, Lee and Ditko disagreed on who he should be. According to one theory, Lee always wanted him to be someone Peter Parker knew, while Ditko wanted him to be a stranger, feeling this was closer to real life.^[8] Ditko has refuted this rumor, however, claiming:

So I had to have some definite ideas: who he was, his profession and how he fit into the Spider-Man story world. I was even going to use an earlier, planted character associated with J. Jonah Jameson: he [was to] be [revealed as] the Green Goblin. It was like a subplot working its way until it was ready to play an active role.^[7]

Ditko left the series with issue #38, before he could reveal the Goblin's identity, and Lee subsequently unmasked him in the next issue as Norman Osborn, a character who had been introduced two issues earlier as the father of Harry Osborn. John Romita, Sr., who replaced Ditko as the title's artist, recalls:

Stan wouldn't have been able to stand it if Ditko did the story and didn't reveal that the Green Goblin was Norman Osborn. I didn't know there was any doubt about Osborn being the Goblin. I didn't know that Ditko had just been setting Osborn up as a straw dog. I just accepted the fact that it was going to be Norman Osborn when we plotted it. I had been following the last couple of issues and didn't think there was really much mystery about it. Looking back, I doubt the Goblin's identity would have been revealed in Amazing #39 if Ditko had stayed on.^[9]

After the Green Goblin killed Peter Parker's girlfriend Gwen Stacy, writer Gerry Conway decided that the Goblin had to pay a heavy price. Osborn accidentally caused his own death in the course of a fight against Spider-Man. Others, such as Harry Osborn, later adopted the Green Goblin identity, and writer Roger Stern later introduced the Hobgoblin to replace the Green Goblin as Spider-Man's archenemy.^[10]

Return[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

During the Clone Saga storyline, the Spider-Man writers were met with a massive outcry from many readers after the decision to replace Peter with his clone Ben Reilly as the true Spider-Man. Eventually, the writers decided to reveal that one of Spider-Man's arch-enemies had been manipulating events from behind the scenes. The initial plan was to use Mephisto, but they felt a more down-to-earth character was needed.^[11] It was then suggested that the semi-zombified cyborg known as "Gaunt" be revealed as Harry Osborn, who had been killed in Spectacular Spider-Man #200. Gaunt was a late entry to the controversial storyline, created mainly as a plot device to return Harry to life; the plan for the character included Harry regaining his humanity, taking credit for tricking Peter Parker into thinking he was a clone, and resuming his identity as the Green Goblin full-time. However, the plotline was changed by newly promoted editor in chief Bob Harras, who disliked the Harry Osborn character, and instead chose Norman be the mastermind, revealing Gaunt as Mendel Stromm. Osborn briefly reprised his original evil businessman role, minimizing his Goblin identity, in the lead-up to "The Final Chapter", which closed out the first volume of Amazing Spider-Man.

New roles[link]

Following the "Civil War" story arc, Warren Ellis began writing Thunderbolts,^[12] and Osborn was brought into the title as the director of the team. He was one of several characters offered to Ellis, who picked him because, according to Thunderbolts editor Molly Lazer, "[t]here was something about Norman, his instability, and his fixation with Spider-Man that Warren liked, so he’s in the book!"^[13] Ellis admitted not being very familiar with the character, saying, "all I remember of the Norman Osborn character was from the Spider-Man reprints my parents used to buy me when I was very young, and Norman Osborn was this guy with a weird rippled crewcut who was always sweating and his eyes were always bulging out of his head. That guy as a Donald Rumsfeld-like public governmental figure... [Joe Quesada] talked me into writing the book while I was still laughing."^[14] Lazer confirmed that the new team was answerable to the Commission on Superhuman Activities, giving him the opportunity to do what he wanted: "He's a free man with a lot of power .... And his agenda, well, it's not that secret. He wants to get Spider-Man."^[15]

Writer Christos Gage took over for the Secret Invasion tie-in stories,^[16][17] which ended with Osborn taking credit for the defeat of the Skrulls, after he killed the Skrull queen Veranke.^[18] This allowed the character to be placed into an influential position in the aftermath, Dark Reign. Although the dark turn at the end was always part of the plan for the storyline, Brian Michael Bendis, Secret Invasion's writer, says that Osborn was picked for the leading role because of the changes implemented by Ellis: "While I was putting it together, Warren [Ellis]'s Thunderbolts run made it very clear that if one would choose to do so, Norman was on track to head toward this kind of storyline, very organically, very in-character, and very much within the realm of what was going on."^[19] Bendis stated, "Norman's team is made up of people who are outstanding at what they do. These are bad-ass, hardcore get-it-done types. They'll close the door and take care of business, and he's dressing them up to make them something that the people want."^[20]

Meanwhile, Andy Diggle took over the writing of Thunderbolts.^[21] He introduced new characters to serve as Osborn's black ops team, explaining, "Norman selected agents with stealth, infiltration and assassination skills rather than overt flying-and-fighting type powers"^[22] and "now that he's reached a higher level, he's reconfiguring the Thunderbolts into something much more covert and much more lethal: his own personal hit squad."^[23] Diggle's Osborn is still mad: "To quote the movie Speed, he's 'crazy, not stupid.' He's clearly fiercely intelligent and a natural born leader, with the ego and competitive drive to succeed against all odds. He also just happens to be crazy as a shithouse rat." He describes his take on Osborn: "I think the secret to understanding Norman is that he doesn't realize he's the villain. He thinks he's the hero. He truly believes that he deserves public adulation, and it bugs the hell out of him that so-called 'superheroes' are getting it instead of him."^[24]

Osborn next starred in the five-issue miniseries Osborn that was a tie-in to the "Big Time" storyline in The Amazing Spider-Man,^[25] by writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Emma Rios, looking at the character's life in prison. ^[26]

Fictional character biography[link]

Pre-Goblin years[link]

Norman Osborn, the son of industrialist Ambrose Osborn, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Although Ambrose was a brilliant student in the fields of science, he was also an alcoholic who lost control of his company and was abusive toward his family. In one incident, Ambrose locked Norman in one of the Osborn family's empty estates in an attempt to toughen him. It was in that darkened mansion that Norman felt haunted by a "green, goblin-like" creature that was "waiting to pounce on him."^[27] All of these events had a severe impact on Norman, planting the seeds of the megalomaniac he would eventually become. Norman would stop at nothing to regain the wealth that his father had lost.

In college, where he studies chemistry and electrical engineering, Norman Osborn meets his sweetheart Emily, gets married, and eventually has a son who he names Harry. In his adulthood, he co-founds a major firm with his former professor Dr. Mendel Stromm called Osborn Industries, of which he is owner and president. However, Emily becomes ill and dies when Harry is barely a year old.^[28] This tragedy pushes Osborn to work harder, leading him to emotionally neglect Harry. Hoping to gain more control of Osborn Industries, Norman accuses Stromm of embezzlement and has him arrested. Osborn then searches Stromm's possessions, discovering an experimental strength/intelligence enhancement formula.^[29] When Osborn attempts to create the serum, it turns green and explodes in his face. The accident greatly increases his intelligence and physical abilities, but also drives him to destructive insanity.

Enter the Goblin[link]

Osborn adopts the bizarre identity of the Green Goblin—based on the monster he feared in his childhood—with the goal of becoming boss of the city's organized crime. He intends to cement his position by defeating Spider-Man. As the Green Goblin, he would bedevil Spider-Man many times but fail to achieve his goal. He first assembled the Enforcers and claimed he was shooting a film about Spider-Man for which Spider-Man would be paid $50,000. Spider-Man battled them in the desert, first thinking they were actors. Finally they battled him in a cave and were defeated. However Spider-Man then was attacked by the Hulk, who was hiding there. Spider-Man hid from the Hulk, then turned the Enforcers over to the police, while the Goblin escaped. Later the Goblin encountered Spider-Man again, but left after the Human Torch got embroiled in the battle. He tried to take over a mob led by 'Lucky' Lobo, and led Spider-Man to their base, hoping the leader would be defeated, but they were defeated and arrested by Spider-Man. Spider-Man battled the Goblin again, but he escaped. The Green Goblin revealed his identity to a criminal called the Crime-Master and vice versa. However a rivalry developed between them. They tried to take over gangs, and the Green Goblin succeeded in knocking out Spider-Man just before he attended a meeting of numerous criminals. Hoping to use this to persuade the gangs to join him, he took Spider-Man in. But Spider-Man recovered and defeated the crooks, but the Green Goblin flew away and the Crime-Master escaped by using gas to delay Spider-Man. Later when the Crime-Master tried to attack the Daily Bugle offices, he was shot by the police. He tried to reveal the identity of the Goblin, but died just before he could. It was then revealed he was 'Lucky' Lobo.^[30] Stromm returns and attempts revenge with an army of robots, but apparently dies of a heart attack after someone apparently tries to shoot him through the window.^[31] Osborn discovers that college student Peter Parker, a classmate of Harry's, is Spider-Man after exposing Spider-Man to a gas that weakens his spider-sense with the aid of a gang of ordinary crooks, and allows him to be observed. Osborn captures Parker after knocking him out with an asphyxiation grenade, catching him off-guard at home and concerned for Aunt May. The Green Goblin bound Peter with a steel rope and took him to his waterfront base. He then ties him to a steel chair with the intention of torturing Peter with suspense, revealing his identity to the world, and killing Peter while he is completely helpless and at his mercy. He reveals his true identity and origin to Peter, who stalls Osborn long enough to free one hand. Seeing this, The Green Goblin releases Spider-Man for what he intends to be their climactic battle. Spider-Man defeats Osborn, who loses his memory after being knocked into a mass of electrical wires, and destroys the Goblin costume in the resulting fire.^[32]

Osborn is troubled by repressed memories, which he takes as hallucinations, of the Green Goblin and Spider-Man. A presentation on supervillains by NYPD Captain George Stacy restores Osborn's memory, but after a brief return to his Green Goblin persona, in which he abducts Parker's friends and threatens Parker's elderly Aunt May, he is exposed to one of his own "psychedelic bombs", inducing another amnesia spell.^[33] In The Amazing Spider-Man #96, Osborn stumbles upon an old Green Goblin hideout which again restores his memory. The Goblin battles Spider-Man in this and the following two issues, until Spider-Man leads Osborn to see his son Harry Osborn hospitalized, overdosed on drugs. The shock causes Osborn's amnesia to return yet again.

In issue #121 (June 1973), his memory having been regained, the Green Goblin throws Parker's love, Gwen Stacy, from a tower of either the Brooklyn Bridge (as depicted in the art) or the George Washington Bridge (as given in the text).^[34][35] She dies during Spider-Man's rescue attempt; a note on the letters page of issue #125 states: "It saddens us to say that the whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her."^[36] The following issue, the Goblin appears to accidentally kill himself in the ensuing battle with Spider-Man when he is impaled by his Glider.

Years after Gwen's death, it is revealed that Osborn had a one-night stand with Gwen after she's overwhelmed by his charisma which in turn leads to her pregnancy with his twin children, Gabriel and Sarah. Osborn thus has three motives for killing Gwen; revenge against Spider-Man, to prevent her talking of their affair and creating a scandal, and to take their children to raise by himself thus becoming his ideal heirs. The only person who knew of their liaison and the existence of their children was Mary Jane Watson, who despises Osborn for his immoral behaviors long before discovering he's the villainous Green Goblin.^[37]

Return[link]

The Green Goblin formula endowed Osborn with a healing factor that allowed him to circumvent his otherwise certain death. Osborn, no longer suffering from bouts of amnesia, escapes from a morgue and goes to Europe, where he can move freely and unnoticed. He becomes the leader of the Scrier cabal, which he utilizes to carry out revenge on Parker using Seward Trainer, Judas Traveller, the Jackal, and Mendel Stromm, who is now the cyborg-like Gaunt, as his pawns. It is this group of individuals who become crucial in duping Parker during the controversial^[38] 1990s storyline the "Clone Saga", in which a clone of Parker, created in 1970s comics by the Jackal and dubbed Ben Reilly, returns to New York City. Osborn reemerges in Parker's life, and initially convinces Parker that Parker is the clone and Reilly the original. When Parker learns the truth, Osborn kills Reilly, the real clone.^[39] It is later revealed that he also raises his illegitimate children, Gabriel and Sarah, while in Europe and tells them that Peter Parker is their father and murdered their mother as Spider-Man.^[40]

The returned Osborn devises a contrived story to explain his absence and regains control of his business. He even uses a Goblin stand-in so as not to be suspected of being the Green Goblin. He also crosses paths with Roderick Kingsley, the original Hobgoblin, and initiates a hostile takeover of the latter's corporate empire in retaliation for raiding the Goblin arsenal and identity. Osborn joins a cult hoping to receive great power but instead goes further into madness.^[41] Osborn comes to see Parker as the son he had always wanted and attempts to have Parker take on the Goblin mantle using physiological torture but ultimately fails.^[42] Osborn's next plan involves using a drunken Flash Thompson to drive a truck into Midtown High School, resulting in an accident that causes Thompson brain damage. This successfully enrages Parker into what Osborn anticipates will be a climactic battle. During this confrontation, an emotionally weary Parker tells Osborn he is tired of this roundelay, and declares a truce.^[43]

Osborn's identity as the Green Goblin is revealed to the public through an investigation by the Daily Bugle after Osborn murders one of its reporters. After a battle with Spider-Man and Luke Cage, Osborn is arrested and sent to prison for the first time.^[44] Regardless, Osborn masterminds a plot that forces Spider-Man himself to help him escape.^[45] Osborn escapes to Paris but is apprehended by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.^[46]

Rise and fall[link]

Osborn attempts to distance himself from his Green Goblin persona after being prescribed medication. During the "Civil War" over the Superhuman Registration Act, Osborn is appointed director of the superhero team the Thunderbolts, now tasked to apprehend anyone who resists registering. During the "Secret Invasion" by the shape-shifting alien race the Skrulls, Osborn kills the Skrull queen Veranke, leader of the invasion, by shooting her. He leverages this widely publicized success in defeating the Skrulls to replace Tony Stark as director of S.H.I.E.L.D., which he in turn replaces with H.A.M.M.E.R., a paramilitary force he uses to advance his agenda.^[47] Osborn simultaneously formed an alliance called the Cabal with Doctor Doom, Emma Frost, Namor, Loki, and the Hood,^[48] but this 'alliance' quickly falls apart when Namor and Frost betrayed the Cabal to aid the X-Men.

His attempts to exert his authority were increasingly jeopardized by various superheroes. This includes Tony Stark tricking Osborn into attacking him while Stark was suffering from brain damage in his original suit of armor- thus showing Osborn brutally assaulting a man physically and mentally incapable of even attempting to strike back-,^[49] and the New Avengers using a tracking device Osborn had planted in Luke Cage to trick Osborn into blowing up his own house.^[50] Osborn then creates a rationale to invade Asgard, claiming it poses a national security threat. During a pitched battle with several superheroes, the Sentry causes Asgard to fall to Earth. Stark removes the Iron Patriot's armor remotely, revealing a maddened Osborn wearing green facepaint with yellow paint to create a goblin-like look. He tells them they are all dead as the Void is released.^[51] Osborn knocks out Captain America and tries to escape, but is captured by Volstagg, and is incarcerated in The Raft penitentiary, where he blames his Green Goblin alter-ego for ruining his chance to protect the world.^[52]

Prison break[link]

When transferred to a secret government base somewhere underwater, Osborn quickly began taking steps to ensure his release from prison where he meets June Covington and Ai Apaec. He uses a 'Green Goblin Cult' he has assembled to stage a break-out with the aid of various corrupt senators so that he could turn himself in after eliminating most of his fellow inmates, creating a new impression of him as a 'champion' of the judicial system that he may use in future.^[53] He was subsequently broken out of prison when the government attempted to relocate him to another prison in preparation for his trial, despite the efforts of the New Avengers to prevent any such attack, due to most of the men in the prison belonging to his group.^[54] With his followers explaining the public perception of him as a voice for the 'disenfranchised' who do not believe in Captain America's right to take charge, Osborn sets out to assemble a new team of Dark Avengers, concluding that what he has learned in prison will make it far easier for him to use the team 'properly' this time. While planning to regain his Iron Patriot armor, Norman Osborn recruits Barney Barton to become his new Hawkeye, recruits Hulk's son Skaar to become his Hulk, has Superia become his new Ms. Marvel, has June Covington become his Scarlet Witch, has Ai Apaec become his new Spider-Man, has Gorgon become his new Wolverine, and has A.I.M. rebuild Ragnarok to serve as his Thor.^[55] In the team's first fight with the New Avengers, Norman Osborn demonstrates a new level of strength where he manages to throw Luke Cage in a considerable distance.^[56] With both Avengers teams occupied, Norman declares himself the new head of world security, ordering that the Avengers be arrested and charged with various war crimes.^[57] However, despite possessing the power of the Super-Adaptoid, Osborn's plans are defeated when all of the Avengers attack him at once, the multiple powers his body has absorbed overloading his system, leaving him in a coma with apparent brain damage while H.A.M.M.E.R. is disbanded, leaving A.I.M. and Hydra to pick up the remnants of his resources as Osborn is taken to prison once again.^[58]

Powers, abilities, and weaknesses[link]

Norman Osborn was turned into the Green Goblin by a chemical solution he had devised based upon a formula originally conceived by Professor Mendel Stromm. The process granted Osborn superhuman agility, strength, speed, stamina, and dexterity, as well as a "healing factor" that allows him to quickly heal even from such lethal bodily damage as being stabbed through the chest by large blades.

In addition to these physical advantages, the serum also greatly enhanced Norman's already-above average intellect, making him a bona fide genius capable of making breakthroughs in advanced areas of genetics, robotics, engineering, physics and applied chemistry. The Goblin formula is also said to have driven Osborn insane; defects in his personality were strongly augmented by the serum, resulting in dangerous mood-swings and hallucinations.

Weapons of the Green Goblin[link]

The Green Goblin is armed with a variety of bizarre devices. He travels on his bat-shaped "Goblin Glider", an incredibly fast and maneuverable rocket glider equipped with various armaments. Other weapons the Goblin uses include incendiary Pumpkin Bombs, smoke- and gas-emitting grenades resembling ghosts and jack-'o'-lanterns, razor-edged boomerang-like throwing weapons, resembling bats, and gloves woven with micro-circuited filaments which channel pulsed discharges of electricity at nearly 10,000 volts. He wears a green costume underneath bulletproof chainmail with an overlapping purple tunic. His mask has a built-in gas filter to keep him safe from his own gasses.

Goblin Glider[link]

The Goblin Glider's controls and microprocessor are located behind the head of the glider. The pilot is attached to the glider via electromagnetic clasps on the wings of the glider. It has great maneuverability and is steered mostly by leaning, but manual controls are available behind the head of the glider. The Green Goblin later added radio-linked voice controls to his mask. Its top speed is 90 miles per hour (140 km/h), and it can support about 400 lb (180 kg), though it could lift far more for brief periods. Flying at top speed with a full load and a full fuel tank would deplete its fuel supply in about an hour.

The glider possesses a wide array of armaments, including heat-seeking and smart missiles, machine guns, extending blades, a flamethrower and a pumpkin bomb dispenser/launcher.

Pumpkin Bomb[link]

A grenade used by the Green Goblin, the Pumpkin Bomb resembles a miniature Jack-o'-lantern and, when thrown ignites almost soundlessly and produces enough heat to melt through a 3-inch (76 mm) thick sheet of steel. The Goblin carries these and a variety of other weapons in a shoulder bag he calls his "Bag Of Tricks". The Green Goblin has a range of other "Pumpkin Bombs" at his disposal, including smoke-and gas-emitting bombs. Some release hallucinogenic gases, while others emit a specially created mixture that neutralizes Spider-Man's spider-sense for a limited period of time. All of these are covered in a light plastic mantle that flutters like a ghost when thrown.

Weapons as the Iron Patriot[link]

During the events of the "Dark Reign", Osborn created a new identity, the Iron Patriot (an amalgam of Captain America and Iron Man), to cement his standing as a hero. As the Iron Patriot, he utilized a version of Iron Man's armor. The armor featured superhuman strength, enhanced durability, flight, magnetic impact blasts, heat seeking missiles, miniaturized lasers, flamethrowers, and a communications system housed in his helmet which allowed him to interface with any U.S.-controlled satellite or computer network. While the original Iron Man armor utilized repulsor technology, Osborn's design does not; Stark destroyed all but one repulsor, and stated that "Oz is too stupid" to make his own repulsor-based weapons system. The star shaped Uni Beam projector on his chest, because of its shape, also has a less powerful output than that of the original Iron Man model.^[59]

Powers and weaknesses as the Super-Adaptoid[link]

Following his time in prison, A.I.M scientists converted Osborn into a Super-Adaptoid, capable of absorbing the abilities of any mutant, mutate, alien, android or otherwise by touching them. In this form he possessed considerably increased strength and durability; where he was once approximately as strong as Spider-Man, he now possessed sufficient strength to overpower and throw Luke Cage a significant distance away from him.^[60] He could also levitate, and he was able to defeat the Vision in an aerial conflict between the two.^[61]

He is known to have absorbed the abilities of Luke Cage, Vision, Red Hulk, and Protector, and it is suggested that he also absorbed the abilities of his current Dark Avengers. In his final form, his body grew to the Hulk's size, and like Hulk he was capable of creating shockwaves by hitting the ground or smashing his hands together. His durability was sufficient to withstand the combined attacks of all the Avengers, and he demonstrated remarkable healing abilities, recovering in seconds after Daisy Johnson used her powers to make his heart explode. He could also turn intangible by manipulating his density, as the Vision does.

However, Osborn had no control over his Super-Adaptoid abilities; he would automatically absorb the powers of any superhuman he touched, even if he didn't consciously want to. He was also limited in how many powers his body could hold, as the A.I.M. scientists warned him that absorbing too many powers at once could overload his systems. In the end, he inadvertently absorbed the abilities of all the Avengers and New Avengers when they all touched him at once, and the unstable combination of their multiple different powers caused significant damage to his body chemistry, resulting in him becoming comatose.^[62]

Mental illness and other weaknesses[link]

Norman Osborn has consistently been depicted with several unusual weaknesses related to his psychosis and to his personality. He suffers from manic depression. He has a pronounced narcissistic personality disorder co-morbid with severe anti-social psychopathic traits and in some depictions, multiple-personality disorder (For some of his early appearances he and the Goblin were separate personalities, his Goblin side disdaining his human weaknesses while his other side was primarily motivated by his concern for Harry, although his anger over his son's failing health as 'Norman' helped to provoke his transformation back into the Goblin, his other side never reappearing after he was believed dead). He is also highly sadistic, showing a complete lack of empathy for the lives of innocent people who stand between him and his objectives. These weaknesses have often been referenced in stories featuring him and exploited by his enemies.

In Thunderbolts Norman Osborn is shown to be severely manic depressive.^[63] This has been referenced several times in a myriad of Spider-Man stories. When he is not under the direction of a psychiatrist and taking medication, he has dangerous mood swings. At the apex of his mania, he is paranoid, delusional, and suffers from visual and auditory hallucinations, including hearing the voice of his Green Goblin persona and seeing its face in the mirror rather than his own. Previously, Osborn's arrogance caused him to refuse to submit to psychiatric treatment unless forced to; he viewed mental illness as an imperfection and therefore would not admit that he is mentally ill. In later conversations with the Sentry, Osborn revealed that he had come to accept his own mental illness.

There are many examples of Osborn's pronounced superiority complex, to the point that he will rarely, if ever, admit that he has made mistakes, transferring blame for his shortcomings to others or claiming that he was better than he was; even before his accident, he spent more time providing Harry with gifts or outings rather than actually being there for his son or trying to listen to his problems, and nevertheless claims that he was still a good father. Having become the Goblin, he generally views other people as dim-witted pests, lacking in creative vision, unworthy to be graced by his presence. He goes out of his way to remind others of their personal failures and shortcomings and to remind those in close relationships with him, such as his son, that they are incapable of measuring up to his achievements. When he first learned Spider-Man's identity, he claimed that when Spider-Man had defeated him in their previous battles, none of those victories counted because Spider-Man had only beaten his lackeys or been rescued by the intervention of other super powered beings such as the Human Torch, despite the fact that he always departed the battles after Spider-Man's victories rather than trying to defeat his foe himself.^[64] He also missed the opportunity to lead the original Sinister Six because he felt that joining the group would mean admitting he needed the help of others to rid himself of Spider-Man.^[65] Although he later formed the 'Sinister Twelve' when Spider-Man sent him to prison, he expressed anger at Mac Gargan for acquiring the Venom symbiote rather than using the new Scorpion suit provided for him simply because Gargan wasn't doing what he wanted despite Venom being more powerful than the Scorpion.^{[volume & issue needed]} When he participated in the mystical ritual known as the Gathering of Five, he appeared convinced that he would automatically receive the gift of power from the ritual – which would bestow upon the participants power, immortality, knowledge, madness and death, respectively – only to receive the gift of madness instead,^[66] subsequently requiring an elaborate cocktail of drugs to restore himself to a semblance of sanity. During his time in charge of H.A.M.M.E.R. he was provoked into attacking Asgard by his Goblin side because his ego couldn't allow himself to consider the possibility that the Asgardians wouldn't threaten his power^[67] Later events revealed that Loki at least slightly influenced Osborn's decision to further Loki's own goals.^{[volume & issue needed]} During his attempted takeover of Earth's superhuman security defenses, he was shown reflecting that humans are all barbarians who require the strong like him to control them, dismissing the Avengers as no better than him despite the obvious distinction between Osborn's demands for power and the straightforward respect that the general public have for the Avengers.^{[volume & issue needed]}

It has been shown that since having suppressed the rampaging Green Goblin personality and becoming the more dominant personality, Osborn has proven to be just as (if not more) evil and cruel. Osborn has demonstrated a high degree of sadism. While he was in prison, a guard once asked him for his advice in helping his critically ill wife; Osborn's advice led her to a quicker and more agonizing death. As director of the Avengers, he allowed Bullseye to continue to function as an Avenger, even after Bullseye allowed over thirty innocent bystanders to be killed during a skirmish with a supervillain.^[68] As director of H.A.M.M.E.R. he directed his officers to shoot down an airplane full of innocent people just to see whether his enemy, Pepper Potts, was powerful enough to rescue the passengers with her Rescue variant of the Iron Man armor.^[69] Because these actions threatened the hero persona he had carefully crafted some in the media began to see him for what he really was, and many of his highly-credible former enemies spoke out against him. His Goblin persona vied for control of his body, as depicted in the January 2010 issue of Dark Avengers, where he is shown writhing on the floor and imploring, apparently to himself, "Why won't this face come off...?", and finally took over when Osborn's Iron Patriot armor was defeated by Captain America and Iron Man at the end of the "Siege" arc.^[70]

Other Goblins[link]

While Norman was presumed dead, several other villains and one hero took up the mantle of the Green Goblin. A few other villains also created separate Goblin mantles.

Other versions[link]

As a fictional character, the Green Goblin has appeared in a number of media, from comic books to films and television series. Each version of the character is typically established within its own continuity within parallel universes, to the point where distinct differences in the portrayal of the character can be identified. Various versions of the Goblin are depicted in works such as Marvel's Ultimate line and Earth X.

In other media[link]

The Green Goblin has appeared in many Spider-Man related media.

Television[link]

In television, the Green Goblin appeared in the 1960s Spider-Man animated TV series voiced by Len Carlson. and in the Spider-Man episode "Revenge of the Green Goblin." He also appears in the 1980s Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon with Norman Osborn voiced by Neil Ross and Green Goblin voiced by Dennis Marks. The Green Goblin also appears in the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon series, again voiced by Neil Ross. A Counter Earth version of the Green Goblin appears in the Spider-Man Unlimited animated series voiced by Rino Romano. Green Goblin appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man with Norman Osborn voiced by Alan Rachins and Green Goblin voiced by Steven Blum. Norman Osborn is the main antagonist for Spider-Man in Ultimate Spider-Man.

Film[link]

The Green Goblin is the main antagonist in the feature film Spider-Man (2002), which starred Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn. In the film, Osborn is a leading scientist specializing in cybernetics engineering, and has successfully created the advanced flightsuit and jet-propelled, heavily-armed "glider" later used to wreak havoc as the Goblin. OsCorp's failure, however, in creating an effective "super-soldier" serum for the U.S. Military prompts them to threaten the firm with the loss of their funding. Without enough time to do proper human trials, Osborn tests the procedure on himself, gaining extremely enhanced strength, stamina and reflexes but being driven insane as a side-effect and developing a split personality: his id emerging as the Goblin. He wields pumpkin-shaped grenades of varying effect and wears a green and purple outfit with a grotesque Goblin-faced mask, and this version of the suit is covered in plated armor and circuitry. He is later killed when he fights Spider-Man in an abandoned atrium, and is impaled by his own glider. Dafoe reprised his role in hallucinatory sequences in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, haunting his son Harry Osborn (James Franco) with guilt and inferiority.

On set photos for the upcoming 2013 film Iron Man 3 feature actor James Badge Dale, who plays Eric Savin wearing armor similar to the Iron Patriot suit.^[71]

Video games[link]

The first video game appearance of the Green Goblin was the 1982 Atari 2600 Spider-Man game. He also appeared in Spider-Man arcade game.^[72] and in video game adaptation of the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon. He makes a small cameo in the 2000 Spider-Man game for PSX, as the player can find his lair inside a crane in one of the levels. The Goblin appears in the 2002 Spider-Man video game based on the film with Willem Dafoe reprising his role as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in the game. He briefly appears in the 2005 Ultimate Spider-Man video game voiced by Peter Lurie. He appears in the game Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, voiced by Roger L. Jackson. Green Goblin appears in the Nintendo DS version of Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. He appears as a playable character in the game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, voiced by Armin Shimerman. Also The Noir version of the Green Goblin appears in the final Noir chapter of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions voiced by Jim Cummings.

The Iron Patriot armor appears in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 as part of a downloadable costume pack, as a costume for Iron Man.^[73] Additionally, on the Daily Bugle stage, Oscorp has a banner. In addition, whilst still not appearing, one of Firebrand's alternate costumes is based on Green Goblin.^[74]

Iron Patriot is a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online.

Theater[link]

Norman Osborn/Green Goblin appears as the main villain in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, a two-act rock'n'roll Broadway musical, directed by Julie Taymor, with music by Bono and The Edge. Norman Osborn (played by Patrick Page) is mutated into the Green Goblin after a horrible lab accident gives him superhuman strength alongside mental instability. Here, the Green Goblin flies through the use of wings rather than a mechanical glider. His wife is Emily Osborn (played by Laura Beth Wells), who dies as a result of the lab accident that creates the Green Goblin. The show opened at the Foxwoods Theatre in New York City on 14 June 2011 to generally negative reviews, although critics praised Page's performance as the Green Goblin.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]