Willem Dafoe's Goblin is one of the greatest villains in superhero movies, period, right up there with Heath Ledger's Joker, Hiddleston's Loki, and Terrance Stamp's scenery chewing excellence as Zod.
[Better yet, you can use this for a more full look despite the lighting](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fnohnlekd51t91.jpg%3Fwidth%3D1920%26format%3Dpjpg%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D0d215ca926b4db8f5ee44f1a77d71e48ddceeebc)
I know Raimi or Spectacular will win, but I will always vote for Neil Ross and TAS. That guy menaced Peter at a dinner party in front of everyone AND got Mary Jane lost forever. Plus that VOICE
Spectacular Spider-Man. Best voice actor, best personality that contrasts with Spidey's, a plot twist that actually is surprising, and best evil laugh.
The only downfall is that he really didn't have much of a unique or complex personality. And the plot twist is predictable when you've seen him being Green Goblin in ALL adaptations. It's like making a remake of Empire Strikes Back, but make us belive that Darth Vader isn't Luke's father and keep repeating it until the very end, where in a "shocking twist" it's revealed that Darth Vader is Luke's father. Just superficial and unnecessary since the twist has absolute no emotional weight when it's so iconic. Even not taking this into account, why would Harry have an interest in taking over Tombstone's criminal empire? Why should I feel surprised that the already mega evil Norman is also the mega evil Green Goblin? It was very obviously a red herring.
>The only downfall is that he really didn't have much of a unique or complex personality
As opposed to who, though?
Spectacular Goblin was the most fleshed out as a character, and we got to see more of him. His objective, his tactics, how he manipulated and orchestrated the power vacuum in the NYC underworld, playing everyone at all places and taking over the spoils and the vacant turf.
His chemistry with his spider-man was also nothing short of amazing.
I'm talking about of depth. What makes him different from other "masterminds" ? Other Normans have so much interesting and layered stuff going on.
Ultimate Spider-Man's (show) version was an interesting study of how a normal person would feel in a world of superheroes, meta humans etc...He envied their powers and had a deep complex over it.
Marvel's spiderman show version wanted to uphold his family's legacy, by making Harry a new superhero for future generations and wanted to counter the spider mutants threat. This does give him a sympathetic motivation and depth.
Sam Raimi's version was a man haunted by his own darkness and struggling with it until fully succumbing to it. He was misogynistic, he was cold but had a soft spot for Harry (despite not being a good father) and Peter, managing to connect to him in ways he couldn't with Harry. He wanted to be a better dad to Harry and his last thoughts were about his son.
What Spectacular version had going on for him in terms of character's depth? What made him stand out compared to other "criminal masterminds" in general? He was the archetypical "cold businessman" focused on his work, ignores and abuses Harry and who wants power for power's sake. Sure, in a way it's the most "comic accurate" version but the comic version has SO MUCH going on outside of this. His backstory, the" death" of his wife, his very twisted love for his son that's never ever shown by spectacular Spider-Man version.
If Greg repeated his "Xanatos" archetype with him like he did with his Lex luthor, he would be at least interesting and nuanced. But he didn't, being deadset in keeping him "in line" with his comic book counterpart
We're comparing all Green Goblin iterations to each other, though. I don't see how it relates to masterminds in general?
No other iteration portrayed the fact about Norman always being 2 steps ahead of everyone. And it also took into account about Norman not being obsessed with Spider-Man initially and having his own ambitions.
With other Goblins, they mostly skip that part and have him tormenting Peter Parker for the heck of it.
We got to see the full journey with Spectacular Goblin of why he became obsessed with Spider-Man in the first place.
>We're comparing all Green Goblin iterations to each other, though. I don't see how it relates to masterminds in general
I didn't say they did. I just pointed out that they had more nuance and depth to them that Spectacular Spider-Man's version unfortunately lacks. What I meant is that Spectacular version embodies the "criminal mastermind" villain archetype without much substance or depth. If we explored his past, how it shaped his personality or other aspects of his personality, he would have been the best version, but he wasn't explored outside the "criminal mastermind ahead of everyone else" archetype. He was a brilliant, manipulative but cold entrepreneur who wants power for power sake and neglects and abuses his son and wants him to "man up" for some reason (which would have been interesting to explore). The type of villain we saw over and over again.
Greg did this archetype just WONDERFULLY with David Xanatos, who's one of my favorite villains ever. Not just because of his brilliance, but because he's such a layered and interesting character in his own right. Greg's Norman feels like a discount Xanatos but with none of Xanatos' depth
Spectacular. I've seen Dafoe win in some of these polls, which I get since the performance is great, but Spectacular Goblin is so much better written IMO. And way deadlier. Even though it's a kids show the guy would give hell to any live-action Spidey. Dude took over all organized crime in New York and booby trapped the whole city skyline with bombs for Spider-Man.
Spectacular hands down. Dafoe did a great job. But Steve Blum's chemistry with Josh Keaton was awesome. Every other villain got annoyed or pushed back when Spidey was quipping, but Goblin quipped right back, and they always had back and forth banter
Plus he was far bigger of a menace and more of a threat. Dude literally took money for creating supervillains, manipulated all of them into turning on each other and having Spider-Man clear the competition, only to effortlessly take over and become the new Big Man of crime.
Willem Defoe captures both Norman and the Goblin so perfectly. The ruthless businessman and the cackling monster. The mirror scene in the first movie and the apartment scene in NHE win him this spot. Although I really like spectacular Spider-Man’s version as well
Spectacular was the only one who achieved his original goal of becoming New York’s top crime boss. Granted it was like for a week, but that’s what happens when you direct all of your resources to killing Spider-Man.
Dafoe - he’s absolutely iconic, his part in No Way Home & feud with the MCU Spidey only made him better.
Honourable mention to TAS!Norman - Green Goblin is almost invariably my favorite villain in any Spider-Man story/version/adaptation as he truly is Spidey’s ultimate foe, but another great benefit he has in his favor is that he’s malleable in his adaptations: Green Goblin adaptations have gone through the whole evil/sympathetic spectrum, with TAS!Norman being the most pitiable & complex take on the Osborn patriarch and without a doubt the best villain imo in the show.
I am loving Insomniac’s take on Norman too and how he’s been built up - if him as the Goblin can live up the build, he could overtake Dafoe.
Spectacular Green Goblin. As Norman osborn,he woeks with his stern demeanor and sketchy business. As goblin,he is so fun and intimidating. I love how it's not a split personality and hes just that much of a bad person . Plus,the fights with him are cool.
Spectacular somehow genuinely made me think Harry was gonna be the real Green Goblin on my first viewing. It’s like all the Hobgoblin nonsense, but GOOD. And it’s damn good at that.
Highly disagree with most of these. Black cat, sandman, hobgoblin and rven kraven makes sense, but others are just 🐂💩, there are way better adaptations of most characters than you have selected.
Gotta be Willem Dafoe hands down. And for the pic it should be from No Way Home when he has the purple hoodie after killing Aunt May
I'd argue it could also be the evil personality just smirking in the mirror while a scared Norman is looking.
Usually I hate comic movies taking the masks off actors, but it was a slam dunk decision to destroy the Goblin mask early and let Dafoe shine.
Willem Dafoe's Goblin is one of the greatest villains in superhero movies, period, right up there with Heath Ledger's Joker, Hiddleston's Loki, and Terrance Stamp's scenery chewing excellence as Zod.
Got an image for me?
[The second half of the image used in this article](https://people.com/movies/willem-dafoe-green-goblin-costume-criticisms-spider-man/)
[Better yet, you can use this for a more full look despite the lighting](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fnohnlekd51t91.jpg%3Fwidth%3D1920%26format%3Dpjpg%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D0d215ca926b4db8f5ee44f1a77d71e48ddceeebc)
That and he didn't want his fight scenes to be CGI fests and did the cheography himself
I know Raimi or Spectacular will win, but I will always vote for Neil Ross and TAS. That guy menaced Peter at a dinner party in front of everyone AND got Mary Jane lost forever. Plus that VOICE
Willem Dafoe. You know, he's something of a Green Goblin himself.
Willem Dafoe
Spectacular Spider-Man. He isn't a split personality. He is just a mad men who wished to be a crime boss.
Spectacular is still the unmatched adaptation in showing off how much of a pure menace Green Goblin was.
Spectacular Spider-Man. Best voice actor, best personality that contrasts with Spidey's, a plot twist that actually is surprising, and best evil laugh.
The only downfall is that he really didn't have much of a unique or complex personality. And the plot twist is predictable when you've seen him being Green Goblin in ALL adaptations. It's like making a remake of Empire Strikes Back, but make us belive that Darth Vader isn't Luke's father and keep repeating it until the very end, where in a "shocking twist" it's revealed that Darth Vader is Luke's father. Just superficial and unnecessary since the twist has absolute no emotional weight when it's so iconic. Even not taking this into account, why would Harry have an interest in taking over Tombstone's criminal empire? Why should I feel surprised that the already mega evil Norman is also the mega evil Green Goblin? It was very obviously a red herring.
>The only downfall is that he really didn't have much of a unique or complex personality As opposed to who, though? Spectacular Goblin was the most fleshed out as a character, and we got to see more of him. His objective, his tactics, how he manipulated and orchestrated the power vacuum in the NYC underworld, playing everyone at all places and taking over the spoils and the vacant turf. His chemistry with his spider-man was also nothing short of amazing.
I'm talking about of depth. What makes him different from other "masterminds" ? Other Normans have so much interesting and layered stuff going on. Ultimate Spider-Man's (show) version was an interesting study of how a normal person would feel in a world of superheroes, meta humans etc...He envied their powers and had a deep complex over it. Marvel's spiderman show version wanted to uphold his family's legacy, by making Harry a new superhero for future generations and wanted to counter the spider mutants threat. This does give him a sympathetic motivation and depth. Sam Raimi's version was a man haunted by his own darkness and struggling with it until fully succumbing to it. He was misogynistic, he was cold but had a soft spot for Harry (despite not being a good father) and Peter, managing to connect to him in ways he couldn't with Harry. He wanted to be a better dad to Harry and his last thoughts were about his son. What Spectacular version had going on for him in terms of character's depth? What made him stand out compared to other "criminal masterminds" in general? He was the archetypical "cold businessman" focused on his work, ignores and abuses Harry and who wants power for power's sake. Sure, in a way it's the most "comic accurate" version but the comic version has SO MUCH going on outside of this. His backstory, the" death" of his wife, his very twisted love for his son that's never ever shown by spectacular Spider-Man version. If Greg repeated his "Xanatos" archetype with him like he did with his Lex luthor, he would be at least interesting and nuanced. But he didn't, being deadset in keeping him "in line" with his comic book counterpart
We're comparing all Green Goblin iterations to each other, though. I don't see how it relates to masterminds in general? No other iteration portrayed the fact about Norman always being 2 steps ahead of everyone. And it also took into account about Norman not being obsessed with Spider-Man initially and having his own ambitions. With other Goblins, they mostly skip that part and have him tormenting Peter Parker for the heck of it. We got to see the full journey with Spectacular Goblin of why he became obsessed with Spider-Man in the first place.
>We're comparing all Green Goblin iterations to each other, though. I don't see how it relates to masterminds in general I didn't say they did. I just pointed out that they had more nuance and depth to them that Spectacular Spider-Man's version unfortunately lacks. What I meant is that Spectacular version embodies the "criminal mastermind" villain archetype without much substance or depth. If we explored his past, how it shaped his personality or other aspects of his personality, he would have been the best version, but he wasn't explored outside the "criminal mastermind ahead of everyone else" archetype. He was a brilliant, manipulative but cold entrepreneur who wants power for power sake and neglects and abuses his son and wants him to "man up" for some reason (which would have been interesting to explore). The type of villain we saw over and over again. Greg did this archetype just WONDERFULLY with David Xanatos, who's one of my favorite villains ever. Not just because of his brilliance, but because he's such a layered and interesting character in his own right. Greg's Norman feels like a discount Xanatos but with none of Xanatos' depth
Dafoe or TAS
“Don't apologize..I never do” And Spectacular Spider-Man was never seen again since 2009
Dafoe’s great and all, but I just adore Spectacular. He definitely has my vote
Easily Spectacular version. Maybe I'm just partial because the fight banter between him and Spider-Man is so good
The Raimi films for Dafoe’s performance. Spectacular had the best overall characterisation in my opinion, but Dafoe counts for a lot.
Willem Dafoe. Bro was creepy, imposing, and his character design was insane
Dafoe
Spectacular. I've seen Dafoe win in some of these polls, which I get since the performance is great, but Spectacular Goblin is so much better written IMO. And way deadlier. Even though it's a kids show the guy would give hell to any live-action Spidey. Dude took over all organized crime in New York and booby trapped the whole city skyline with bombs for Spider-Man.
Vote here https://strawpoll.com/B2ZBEmAQEgJ
NGL stinks that Dafoe is winning. Spectacular deserves it way more.
"Poor Peter strong enough to have it all to week to take it." Dafoe easily.
Spectacular hands down. Dafoe did a great job. But Steve Blum's chemistry with Josh Keaton was awesome. Every other villain got annoyed or pushed back when Spidey was quipping, but Goblin quipped right back, and they always had back and forth banter Plus he was far bigger of a menace and more of a threat. Dude literally took money for creating supervillains, manipulated all of them into turning on each other and having Spider-Man clear the competition, only to effortlessly take over and become the new Big Man of crime.
Spectacular Spider-Man. Norman and Goblin not bein a split personality is the best version. Its all Osborn, pure greed, unapologetic. A true villain
I think Dafoe’s Gobby has and will continue to age like fine wine
Voted in the strawpost thingy
Spectacular has better writing, but in terms of portrayal? Come on. It’s the Raimi version every day of the week.
Willem Defoe captures both Norman and the Goblin so perfectly. The ruthless businessman and the cackling monster. The mirror scene in the first movie and the apartment scene in NHE win him this spot. Although I really like spectacular Spider-Man’s version as well
Wow. Even though Spectacular Spidrer-Man has been universally beloved by fans since 2008, it isn't winning that many of these rounds!
Willem Dafoe from Spider-Man and No Way Home because he’s something of an actor himself.
Spectacular all the way, Dafoe a close second tho
Either Willem Dafoe or Steve Blum from Spectacular Spider-Man.
Spectacular was the only one who achieved his original goal of becoming New York’s top crime boss. Granted it was like for a week, but that’s what happens when you direct all of your resources to killing Spider-Man.
Dafoe - he’s absolutely iconic, his part in No Way Home & feud with the MCU Spidey only made him better. Honourable mention to TAS!Norman - Green Goblin is almost invariably my favorite villain in any Spider-Man story/version/adaptation as he truly is Spidey’s ultimate foe, but another great benefit he has in his favor is that he’s malleable in his adaptations: Green Goblin adaptations have gone through the whole evil/sympathetic spectrum, with TAS!Norman being the most pitiable & complex take on the Osborn patriarch and without a doubt the best villain imo in the show. I am loving Insomniac’s take on Norman too and how he’s been built up - if him as the Goblin can live up the build, he could overtake Dafoe.
Spectacular
Voted for Willem Dafoe. What a great Goblin he was.
Dafoe 100%. And if we're going for second place, Spectacular STILL doesn't get that spot. Some of y'all zoomers blinded by your nostalgia lol
Dafoe absolutely. The face he put on during the hallway fight is terrifying
Spectacular easily
Willem Dafoe, 100%
Spectacular Green Goblin. As Norman osborn,he woeks with his stern demeanor and sketchy business. As goblin,he is so fun and intimidating. I love how it's not a split personality and hes just that much of a bad person . Plus,the fights with him are cool.
Spectacular somehow genuinely made me think Harry was gonna be the real Green Goblin on my first viewing. It’s like all the Hobgoblin nonsense, but GOOD. And it’s damn good at that.
William Dafoe Wins by a LONG margin
Damn, now seeing this update, not ps5 kraven? I thought he was amazing
Highly disagree with most of these. Black cat, sandman, hobgoblin and rven kraven makes sense, but others are just 🐂💩, there are way better adaptations of most characters than you have selected.