What if ... Green Goblin was a nobody?

[Triniking1234]

Well, to answer the OP's question, it would've affected the character's importance to the mythos. At most, Doc Ock would've had a greater lead than Spidey's greatest foe than him.

[TheRay]

Well it wouldn't have had that much of a huge impact on Peter, personally. Especially if we're telling the story Death of the Green Goblin.
If he were truly a nobody, then you would probably only be able to tell one story with him.

[Vegeta]

I guess it would be like the Crime Master reveal, someone seemingly important in the early part of the run, but pretty much forgotten in later years. He wouldn't have Harry to carry on his legacy and create the whole emotional drama that we saw with his former friend and roommate as his greatest enemy. Goblin would probably just end up as another B or C lister like Jack O'Lantern and the Brothers Grimm, where a variety of nobodies can assume the identity and be killed off with little fanfare.

So whether it was Stan or Steve who decided it should be Harry's father Norman Osborn as the Goblin, it was certainly (imo) the right decision to make.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I guess it would be like the Crime Master reveal, someone seemingly important in the early part of the run, but pretty much forgotten in later years. He wouldn't have Harry to carry on his legacy and create the whole emotional drama that we saw with his former friend and roommate as his greatest enemy. Goblin would probably just end up as another B or C lister like Jack O'Lantern and the Brothers Grimm, where a variety of nobodies can assume the identity and be killed off with little fanfare.

So whether it was Stan or Steve who decided it should be Harry's father Norman Osborn as the Goblin, it was certainly (imo) the right decision to make.

See, in this case, there's not much reason to argue that there is an "or". All the hard evidence suggests that Ditko created the Green Goblin, who created his secret identity, and who decided Norman was the Goblin.

There isn't much real sense in believing the rumor that this was some dispute between Ditko and Lee.

[Voices From the Eyrie]

See, in this case, there's not much reason to argue that there is an "or". All the hard evidence suggests that Ditko created the Green Goblin, who created his secret identity, and who decided Norman was the Goblin.

There isn't much real sense in believing the rumor that this was some dispute between Ditko and Lee.

Eh, sometimes people just want to believe things. It was an urban legend for so long...

[TheRay]

I think Norman is the perfect choice. But, I'm sure there are alternate Earths where Green Goblin is someone else.

[Lukmendes]

What if Green Goblin was Noah Boddy?
https://marvelanimated.fandom.com/wi...er-Man_(1967))

Imagine that, Spidey would unmask Green Goblin and be like like "I can't see his face! That must mean Green Goblin is the Invisible Girl!" .

I guess it would be like the Crime Master reveal, someone seemingly important in the early part of the run, but pretty much forgotten in later years. He wouldn't have Harry to carry on his legacy and create the whole emotional drama that we saw with his former friend and roommate as his greatest enemy. Goblin would probably just end up as another B or C lister like Jack O'Lantern and the Brothers Grimm, where a variety of nobodies can assume the identity and be killed off with little fanfare.

So whether it was Stan or Steve who decided it should be Harry's father Norman Osborn as the Goblin, it was certainly (imo) the right decision to make.

Also worth pointing out that Big Man, while he was revealed to be Foswell, the new guy nobody cares about, he did return later on to created some drama with Crime Master as a prime suspect, and then Foswell stayed around as Patch while using his criminal connections, meaning that Ditko didn't really mind using familiar faces and then developing them, he just didn't overdo it, since villains like Electro and Looter are characters Spidey didn't know previously.

So Green Goblin being Norman isn't far fetched at all.

Kinda funny Big Man was drama related to JJ, and Green Goblin being Norman was planned to created drama around JJ (As ASM#37 establishes they're friends), so I guess Ditko liked JJ to be in the middle of drama lol.

I think Norman is the perfect choice. But, I'm sure there are alternate Earths where Green Goblin is someone else.

I don't think so, the closest we had of that happening was Spectacular cartoon implying so aggressively that Harry is GG, but turns out it was Norman after all.

Norman is the most iconic GG, as far as I'm aware he's always the first, often the only one, the only cartoon that really messed with this is 90's cartoon, where Macendale was made into the first Goblin, and he was Hobgoblin there.

Anyways, the thing about Ditko not liking the idea of GG being someone Peter knows is dubious at best, 'cause if you read his run, and pay attention to Norman, then you'll notice he only shows up twice before ASM#37, had no dialogues in one scene, and has a generic line in another, it's only ASM#37 that starts to develop his character and shows him as a villain, and ASM#38 continues that, and by that point, the only reason Peter would have an idea who Norman is is that he'd know that Harry has a father, then ASM#39 happens and he mentions he only knows who Norman is because he looks like Harry, so Norman is a character the readers are barely familiar with, and Peter was even less.

[charliehustle415]

Wouldn't he just be the Joker then?

I think it's cool we know who he is.

[Hypestyle]

an intriguing what if story for another day, alas.

[Mistah K88]

I don't think so, the closest we had of that happening was Spectacular cartoon implying so aggressively that Harry is GG, but turns out it was Norman after all.

Norman is the most iconic GG, as far as I'm aware he's always the first, often the only one, the only cartoon that really messed with this is 90's cartoon, where Macendale was made into the first Goblin, and he was Hobgoblin there.

The 2017 Marvel's Spider-Man animated show also had Harry become the Hobgoblin before Norman decides to dress up as the same... It goes to show that if Hobgoblin makes it to an animated adaption, he comes before Norman even gets the idea to put on a suit...both times using the Hobgoblin's gear at that.

When it comes to Green Goblin's unmasking being some rando that Peter doesn't know, I remember we've had a few masked villains who Peter commented "I don't know this person" after unmaking them. I want to say Crime Master, Electro, and Shocker had that reaction.

[TheCape]

The 2017 Marvel's Spider-Man animated show also had Harry become the Hobgoblin before Norman decides to dress up as the same... It goes to show that if Hobgoblin makes it to an animated adaption, he comes before Norman even gets the idea to put on a suit...both times using the Hobgoblin's gear at that.

When it comes to Green Goblin's unmasking being some rando that Peter doesn't know, I remember we've had a few masked villains who Peter commented "I don't know this person" after unmaking them. I want to say Crime Master, Electro, and Shocker had that reaction.

Electro is like the biggest example of that in Dikto's run, he is also the main reason for why i don't buy the theory of GG just being a nobody, i feel that Dikto wouldn't had use that same trick twice.

[Lukmendes]

The 2017 Marvel's Spider-Man animated show also had Harry become the Hobgoblin before Norman decides to dress up as the same... It goes to show that if Hobgoblin makes it to an animated adaption, he comes before Norman even gets the idea to put on a suit...both times using the Hobgoblin's gear at that.

Oh, didn't know about that, thanks.

When it comes to Green Goblin's unmasking being some rando that Peter doesn't know, I remember we've had a few masked villains who Peter commented "I don't know this person" after unmaking them. I want to say Crime Master, Electro, and Shocker had that reaction.

Peter never got to unmask Crime Master, and he was believing it was Foswell being "Big Man" with another name.

Electro is a case like that yes

Shocker debutted in Romita's run, not Ditko's.

Looter is also a villain Spidey didn't know, but both him and Electro, the story showed who they are before Spidey unmasked them, so that shows that whoever they are isn't really a mystery, only Big Man, Crime Master and Green Goblin had a mystery around their identities, and Big Man is the new guy the issue just introduced, Crime Master used Foswell as a Red Herring and it turned out he was a random nobody, and Green Goblin, we never get to see it in Ditko's run, but he does say it was planned to be Norman.

Electro is like the biggest example of that in Dikto's run, he is also the main reason for why i don't buy the theory of GG just being a nobody, i feel that Dikto wouldn't had use that same trick twice.

Honestly, Crime Master could be evidence of this, not Electro, Electro had a flashback showing who he is even before Spidey unmasked him, so there was no mystery around it, while there was some mystery around Crime Master, and he turned out to be a nobody.

Spidey also says in ASM#27 that the villain can be someone you don't know in "real life":



Which I guess can be used to say that GG could be a nobody but, it'd be really lame if so, 'cause Crime Master was around for only two issues, and him being a nobody works because Foswell was setup as possibly being Crime Master, but it was a red herring, and Foswell had the secret of being "Patch" anyways, so he wasn't a red herring for the sake of it, he had his own secret, he just wasn't Crime Master, so, repeating the same thing with GG, who by ASM#38, the mystery was going on for 24 issues, it would be really dumb if GG ended up being a new character, if Spidey doesn't know who the character is, that's fine, if the reader doesn't, then it's lame lol.