10 Things Marvel Wants You To Forget About Green Goblin

6. That He's JUST A Spider-Man Villain

For the vast majority of fans the Green Goblin is a villain to Spider-Man and Spider-Man alone. However (and this only applies to Norman Osborn, by the way), that isn't actually the case; for the last decade, Norman Osborn has tormented the Avengers as much as he had the web-slinger.

It's a matter of opinion as to where the villain works best of course, but it would seem as though Marvel are keen on reminding everyone that Norman is as much a villain to the wider Marvel Universe as he is to Spidey specifically. That'll no doubt take some adjusting to from casual readers, but Osborn has been at the forefront of the Marvel Universe for years now, even founding his own group of Evil Avengers and ousting Tony Stark from S.H.I.E.L.D. at one point in time.

Perhaps surprisingly, it's been rumoured for a while now that Osborn will take a leading role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's fourth phase as an overarching antagonist for both Spider-Man and the Avengers. Given the bulk of the character's most recent material has repositioned him to fill that role, it would seem as though Marvel want to erode the notion that the Goblin is a Spidey villain and a Spidey villain alone.