10 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About The '90s Spider-Man Cartoon
3. Marvel Would Have Lost Millions If Hobgoblin Didn't Appear
Because Green Goblin is Spider-Man's nemesis, fans were perplexed that he didn't debut until halfway through the show.
Not only did Norman Osborn appear in early episodes, but Spidey was fighting a character who seemed nearly identical - only he was called Hobgoblin.
If Spidey is going to fight a Goblin character, why doesn't he just fight Green Goblin?! Even the story editor, John Semper, admitting that he didn't like the character.
So what gives?
Well, because Norman Osborn has a personal relationship with Peter Parker, the writers wanted to flesh that out before he became a supervillain. When Semper told the producer, Avi Arad, that he wanted to introduce Green Goblin immediately, his demand was rejected because Marvel had already made thousands of Hobgoblin action figures.
If the character wasn't in the show, nobody would buy the toy, causing the company to lose millions of dollars.
As a result, Semper was forced to make story after story about the Hobgoblin, even though "nobody really liked the character that much."
Because writers and crew members kept leaving the show, Semper had to do most of the Green Goblin story himself and was unable to introduce the character until Season 3.