Norman Osborn made his debut as the supposedly heroic Gold Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #13. And though he seemed like he was solidly on the side of the heroes, Norman's first outing as Gold Goblin may have shown some cracks in the foundation of Osborn's reformed attitude.
Now, November 16's Gold Goblin #1 puts Norman in the spotlight with his own limited series from writer Christopher Cantwell, artists Lan Medina and Antonio Fabela, and letter Joe Sabino - and answers the question of whether the Green Goblin is still lurking around in Norman Osborn's psyche somewhere.
Spoilers ahead for Gold Goblin #1
Way back in 2020's Amazing Spider-Man #50, Norman Osborn was "purified of his sins" by the villain the Sin-Eater, who more or less altered Norman's personality to cleanse him of the Green Goblin and his villainous urges (it's not exactly real world psychology).
Now, two years later, Norman is still supposedly "cleansed," though he's now having visions of the death of Gwen Stacy, and experiencing an emotional breakdown over his past misdeeds.
In Amazing Spider-Man, where Norman has been Peter Parker's employer, providing Spider-Man with new OsCorp tech, he's expressed a wish to avoid violence because it could bring out his dormant Green Goblin persona. And when he finally put on his Gold Goblin armor (a name given by the press which Osborn hates, saying he doesn't want to be a Goblin) he almost crossed a line, beating the Hobgoblin to a pulp.
In Gold Goblin #1, he does the same thing to a new incarnation of Jack O'Lantern, a villain who uses old Green Goblin weapons. Using his access to the weapons and glider he designed which Jack O'Lantern is using, he causes the villain to crash into a fiery explosion, seriously injuring him.
And if that's not enough to spell imminent disaster for Osborn, he actually starts hallucinating the Green Goblin again - apparently signaling that Osborn is about to tragically descend back into villainy and madness.
Gold Goblin #2, which ties into Spider-Man/X-Men: Dark Web, is due out December 21.
Norman Osborn is not just one of the best Spider-Man villains ever, he's also on the list of the best Avengers villains ever.
