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

Although there have been many people who have taken up this mantle, the most well-known is the original Green Goblin, Norman Osborn. He is one of Spider-Mans most persistent foes, and is considered as one of the archenemies (archenemy) of Spider-Man. Having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Spider-Mans life, such as the death of Gwen Stacy and masterminding the entire Clone Saga. He is also the lead protagonist of the Dark Reign (Dark Reign (comics)) series. After a serum enhanced industrialist (business magnate) Norman Osborns physical abilities and intellect it also drove him insane, he adopted a Halloween-themed appearance, dressing in a goblin costume and using an arsenal of high-tech weapons, notably grenade (Hand grenade)-like "Pumpkin Bombs" while riding on a bat-shaped "Goblin Glider" to terrorize New York City.

The character was ranked number 19 on Wizard Magazine (Wizard (magazine))s Top 100 Greatest Villains Ever list and 27th greatest comic book character on Wizards top 200 comic book characters. In 2009, Norman Osborn was also ranked as IGNs 13th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time, with a sidenote that they may rate him higher after the Dark Reign arc finishes. He also placed #11 on GuysNations Top Villains of All Time. Comics journalist and historian Mike Conroy writes of the character: "Of all the costumed villains whove plagued Spider-Man over the years, the most flat-out unhinged and terrifying of them all is the Green Goblin."