10 Unbelievable Marvel Plot Twists That Shocked The World
3. Norman Osborn Is The Green Goblin
When the Green Goblin first flew his way into Spider-Man's world, it didn't take long for fans around the globe to start wondering who he was. Marvel played a hand in this as well, leaving clues littered throughout the comic that he was someone that Peter Parker knew, and knew well.
When a sick Spider-Man is put to the test by a group of criminals, little does he know this is all part of the Green Goblin's masterplan to unmask him. By exposing him to a new bomb, called the gimmick, that strips away his spider-sense, he can follow him and watch as he changes (which isn't creepy in the slightest).
In doing so he discovers Peter is the boy behind the mask and, after following him home (again, not creepy at all), he attacks and eventually renders Spidey unconscious.
Waking up in Green Goblin's secret lair, Peter is subjected to the classic bad guy monologue that culminates with him removing his own mask, revealing that he is Norman Osborn, Harry's father.
There is confusion over whether or not this was the plan from the beginning, as both Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. said that Steve Ditko was against it, wanting the Goblin to be a random nobody, which Ditko repeatedly denied.
Whatever the truth, it doesn't detract from what an obviously brilliant twist this was.