This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home
Now thatSpider-Man: No Way Homeis officially here, there are a few things we can pull from the latest addition to the MCU. Right at the top of the list is that Tom Holland is the best Spider-Man. A very close second is that the Green Goblin is the best villain in the MCU and Spidey’s ultimate nemesis.Spider-Man and Green Goblin have long been intertwined. There’s a reason why he was one of the first villains when Spider-Man first hit the big screen when Tobey Maguire was playing the webhead. There’s also a reason why the character made another appearance in the Andrew Garfield reboots. And of course, there’s a reason why he’s one of the most beloved villains among comic book fans.
However, it wasn’t until this version ofSpider-Manthat the Green Goblin really lived up to its billing. Yes, technically this version of Green Goblin is a rehash of the first. Willem Dafoe played both versions of the multiversal Norman Osborne, but there was something a bit different about him this time. He was even a bit more sinister inNo Way Homethan he was the first time around. The character was a little darker and a little more dangerous and it totally worked. This could have been a boring rehash that made fans want to see some new baddies instead of ones they’ve already seen on the big screen. To some degree, that was absolutely the case with The Sandman, Electro, The Lizard, and even Doctor Octopus (though he also added something from his previous appearance). But Norman Osborne ended up stealing the attention whenever he was on screen. In the end, he absolutely proved the Green Goblin is spidey’s ultimate nemesis for a couple of different reasons.
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Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Green Goblin Is The Joker … But Different
There are times when the Green Goblin and DC’s Joker seem interchangeable. Done right, as they were with Willem Dafoeand Heath Ledger did them, the characters are just a blast to see operate on screen. Their origin stories are actually surprisingly close as well. Of course, considering that DC and Marvel have seemingly copied certain characters off one another for decades, maybe it’s not all that surprising that the Joker and Green Goblin are similar. After all, when it comes to the most well-known origins, both characters were relatively normal guys, maybe not always on the up and up but not totally evil. Then they ran into a chemical compound that turned them into their supervillain selves.
Of course, there is one big differencebetween the Green Goblin and Joker. While Batman’s big nemesis is certainly not afraid to pull out all the stops to kill anyone and everyone, he doesn’t have superhuman strength. The Green Goblin’s chemicals did in fact give him the strength to match Spidey and it helps him be a very imposing enemy. It’s worth pointing out that in the first two Tom HollandSpider-Manmovies, he went up against enemies that used technology in order to level the playing field when it came to their fights. Osborne and Parker went punch for punch. In fact, Spidey was on the ropes for much of that fight.
One of thebest touches inSpider-Man: No Way Homeis that there’s a moment when you can tell Parker has just about had enough. He’s tired, he’s in quite a bit of pain and there’s a look of worry in his eyes because he can’t just slug the Green Goblin and end the fight with one punch. The Joker is similar in that he always keeps coming back. Batman can never keep the villain down for long. But when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, there’s really no match. Bruce Wayne can outbox the Joker in a fair fight every single time.
Green Goblin Can Catch Spider-Man Unawares
There is, of course, another big difference between Joker and Green Goblin. Joker is always a bad guy. He’s never really trying to hide who he is or what he wants. He never pretends to be a victim of the chemicals he was exposed to way back when. If anything he always sees it as only a gift. The opposite is true of Norman Osborne and the Green Goblin; especially theNo Way Homeversion of Gobbey. While he first enters the MCU as the imposing figure that he is, the second time audiences run into Osborne, he’s the mentally disturbed scientist who very much doesn’t want to do what his alter ego is forcing him to do.
Having what amounts to a split personality would be dangerous enough, but this villain has an added ability for a sneak attack. Marvel has plenty of characters that actually deal with some kind of split personality, but most of them have physical changes that come along with them. The Hulk - for instance - turns into a giant green man when he goes from mild-mannered to ready to smash. TheGreen Goblin’s changeis entirely inside his own head. No one can see him go from the helpful and good Norman Osborne into the destructive alter ego. He has to tip them off. And inNo Way Home,he does a fantastic job of hiding that just long enough for his change to be catastrophic.
There’s also the fact that when he does make that change, he’s all in. Just when it seemed like everything was going to be hunky-dory, Green Goblin manages to turn several of the baddies who were attempting to turn over a new leaf, back into super-powered villains. In doing so, he showed that he’s not only a powerful foe, but he’s seductive when it comes to other villains who might have been on the fence. And finally,when it comes toSpider-Man: No Way Home,he does have another thing in common with the Joker. He doesn’t care who he hurts. In fact, if he causes some collateral damage, that’s likely a bonus. When you balance that against Spidey’s desire to help everyone, it’s no wonder why the Green Goblin is such a powerful foe.
