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107-481: Although many people were involved in its creation, the Clone Saga is most closely associated with Terry Kavanagh , who proposed the idea; Howard Mackie , who worked on the majority of the smaller crossovers involved in the overall story arc; and Gerry Conway , who devised the original story. Executive editors on the storyline included Tom DeFalco , Bob Budiansky , and Bob Harras . There were two "Clone Sagas":

214-519: A three-act play. Act One would climax at or around Amazing #400—when we revealed that Pete was the clone and Ben was the real guy. Act Two would last around three months and follow Ben's adventures. In Act Three, Peter would triumphantly return as the one, true Spider-Man. Mark and I was hoping the Spider-crew could make Ben a viable character during his turn in the spotlight, and we planned to star Ben in his own monthly title after Peter returned. It

321-474: A 3-inch (76 mm) thick sheet of steel. The Goblin carries these and a variety of other weapons, such as razor bats (akin to bladed boomerangs) and miniature "Ghost Bombs", in an over-the-shoulder satchel he calls his "Bag of Tricks". The Green Goblin has a range of other "Pumpkin Bombs" and "Ghost Bombs" at his disposal, including smoke and gas-emitting bombs. Some release hallucinogenic gases, while others emit

428-595: A built-in gas filter to keep him safe from his own gases. In the Green Goblin's first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #14, he rides a steel rocket-powered wingless broomstick (not a glider). In his second appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #17, he changes to the familiar bat-shaped glider. The Goblin Glider's controls and microprocessor are located behind the head of the glider. The pilot

535-454: A desperate bid to find a cure for his condition, but is driven off by Spider-Man. During a second attempt to capture Liz, the Goblin unmasks himself in front of Spider-Man (shuffling through a variety of faces (with the most prominent being Harry Osborn) after doing so) and melts into a pile of protoplasm as he claims Norman would return. In his first appearances, the Green Goblin seems to be

642-475: A dramatic event that would help set up the saga's ultimate resolution. But then, Marvel Comics experienced a major financial crisis which nearly bankrupted the company. In consequence, editor-in-chief DeFalco was fired, and Marvel's comic line was broken into five separate groups each with its own editor-in-chief. Bob Budiansky became editor-in-chief on the Spider-Man line. By then, the writers had established

749-467: A father after the discovery that Mary Jane was pregnant; Peter even lost his powers for a time during his 'retirement', although they eventually came back after a near-death experience. The climax revealed that Peter, Ben, the Jackal, Judas Traveller and many others had all been manipulated for years by Norman Osborn, a.k.a. the Green Goblin , who had returned from the dead and had been secretly masterminding

856-442: A fictional character, the Green Goblin has appeared in a number of media, from comic books to films and television series . Each version of the character is typically established within its own continuity within parallel universes , to the point where distinct differences in the portrayal of the character can be identified. Various versions of the Goblin are depicted in works such as Marvel's Ultimate line and Earth X . In

963-660: A flying Goblin Glider, to terrorize New York City . Comics journalist and historian Mike Conroy writes of the character: "Of all the costumed villains who've plagued Spider-Man over the years, the most flat-out unhinged and terrifying of them all is the Green Goblin." The Green Goblin has appeared in numerous media adaptations of Spider-Man over the years, including films, animated television series, and video games. Norman and Harry Osborn were portrayed by Willem Dafoe and James Franco in Sam Raimi 's Spider-Man film trilogy (2002–2007), and by Chris Cooper and Dane DeHaan in

1070-587: A full load and a full fuel tank would deplete its fuel supply in about an hour. In the Goblin's later appearances, the glider possesses a wide array of armaments, including heat-seeking and smart missiles, machine guns, extending blades, a flamethrower and a Pumpkin Bomb dispenser/launcher. A grenade used by the Green Goblin, the Pumpkin Bomb resembles a miniature Jack-o'-lantern and, when thrown, ignites almost soundlessly and produces enough heat to melt through

1177-547: A life of his own. He adopts the identity of the Scarlet Spider and works at the Daily Grind. Ben, Peter, and Kaine reach the lair of the shadowy figure responsible for infecting Aunt May and Mary Jane with a genetic virus. The villain is revealed to be the Jackal, who captures all three and reveals that he plans to make an army of Spider-clones and take over the world. Since Ben was the only clone to turn out stable,

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1284-554: A man in a costume and glider, as well as taking partial inspiration from the live-action version of Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin . In the Spider-Man: House of M from the 2005 Marvel comics series House of M , there are two versions of the Green Goblin. In the Marvel 2099 setting, there are different versions of its Green Goblins. The Goblin is a radical trickster who wants to prove that Spider-Man (Miguel O'Hara)

1391-477: A mini-series showing a version that was truer to what the writers originally imagined. Tom and I remember certain story points differently. The goal with this mini-series was get back to basics, to strip away the extraneous stuff that got layered onto the original story, and to present the cleanest possible version of what was a pretty simple story at heart. It was decided that it would be best if only two writers collaborated on this mini-series." According to DeFalco,

1498-433: A mysterious figure with links to Peter Parker in the issues leading up to the story, the starting point for the second Clone Saga was the end of Spectacular Spider-Man #216 (September 1994), written by Tom DeFalco and Todd Dezago , in which Spider-Man was confronted by an exact look-alike of himself. In the following issues, the writers established the clone's backstory as a frightened, homeless outcast; and introduced

1605-571: A new Green Goblin, one slavishly devoted to help his case. Norman uses this Goblin as a bodyguard , to torment Spider-Man, and in ploys designed to draw public sympathy (such as kidnapping Normie Osborn for ransom). After Norman is incapacitated by the Gathering of Five , the Goblin is left alone and begins to degenerate due to no longer having access to the Goblin Formula required to keep him stable. The Goblin goes after Liz Allan in

1712-497: A new Spider-Man suit and develops a life of his own. More efforts were taken to solidify Ben as the new Spider-Man, such as establishing a supporting cast for Ben. However, there were many staff that had a hard time accepting Ben as Peter's replacement, such as the new writer of Sensational , Dan Jurgens . Jurgens wanted to work on the Peter Parker version of the character, and was disappointed to have Ben instead, and so he made

1819-453: A new villain, Kaine . To prove that he was dangerous, the writers had him killing classic Spider-Man foes, including Doctor Octopus , with his corpse shown to rule out any possibility that he would return. However, Kaine soon became another reoccurring character of unexplained origin and purpose, like Judas Traveller and the Scrier, whose roles would not be revealed for quite some time. Then,

1926-524: A normal man (albeit very nimble and athletic) who gets his powers from his many gadgets. In later appearances, it is established that due to the "Goblin Formula", Norman and most successors to the Green Goblin persona possesses superhuman strength (lifting nine tons under optimal conditions), increased speed, reflexes, endurance, intelligence and healing rate. Norman started with a portion of the chemical's power, because he only received an accidental splash in

2033-633: A number of Goblin Gangs sprang up across America. Composed mostly of white supremacists who agreed with his plans to remove the Asgardians from the country, they wear purple clothes, green face makeup and have goblin-based tattoos. Vin Gonzales was revealed to have received one of these tattoos while in prison passing a message from Norman to Harry about Stanley Osborn. The Goblin Nation, also known as

2140-419: A plea to Budiansky to bring back Parker, arguing that Ben confused new readers, and was a disappointment to long-time readers who had grown to love Parker. Budiansky was sold on the idea. The Spider-Man: The Final Adventure limited series was originally intended to end with the birth of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson's baby, and finally leave Ben Reilly as the sole focal point of the franchise. But Budiansky

2247-477: A powerful and influential figure who was controlling Seward Trainer and manipulating the lives of Peter Parker and Ben Reilly from the shadows. Forced to wear an environmental suit to maintain his life functions, he would eventually be restored to health by Seward, and at that point, we would reveal his identity." However, in July 1995 Tom Brevoort proposed a story in which Ben Reilly is sent five years back in time (to

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2354-490: A psychiatrist and Scrier, later revealed to be a cabal . The revelations made by the High Evolutionary were revealed to have been inaccurate, driven by a determination to discredit Warren, who had formerly worked with him. Medical tests indicated Peter was actually the clone and Ben the original. Peter temporarily retired as Spider-Man, leaving the mantle of Spider-Man to Ben while he prepared for his new role as

2461-403: A reverse statement, and then assessing them as both being clones of an original; because of this, the story was considered convoluted. In a 2008 interview, Glenn Greenberg recalled "It only made sense, from a dramatic standpoint. It was this story that kicked off what would become an increasingly tiresome stream of clones, lies upon lies, fake-outs, and convoluted twists and turns." At this point,

2568-423: A secret infatuation. As an expert on cloning , he creates clones of both Gwen and Peter, discovering Peter is Spider-Man as a result. The Jackal blames Spider-Man for Gwen's death and wants to kill him. The Jackal kidnaps Spider-Man and forces him to fight his clone. Both men believe they are the real Peter Parker. The two Spider-Men soon decide to work together, but one is seemingly killed by the same bomb that kills

2675-541: A specially-created mixture that neutralizes Spider-Man 's spider-sense for a limited period of time. Still others emit a flame-retarding gas, which the Goblin once used against the Human Torch . All of these are covered in a light plastic coating. Some time after Norman's death, Harry is abducted by a trio of mysterious female Goblins. With the aid of Ben Urich and Molten Man , Spider-Man discovers that these "Goblinettes" are robots created by Harry, and controlled by

2782-455: A straw dog. I just accepted the fact that it was going to be Norman Osborn when we plotted it. I had been following the last couple of issues and didn't think there was really much mystery about it. Looking back, I doubt the Goblin's identity would have been revealed in Amazing #39 if Ditko had stayed on. In the landmark story, " The Night Gwen Stacy Died " ( The Amazing Spider-Man #121–122),

2889-469: A supercomputer containing copies of Harry and Norman's minds. The Goblinettes are destroyed along with the computer, which had been programmed to expose Normie Osborn to the same version of Goblin serum that killed Harry, in attempt to create a new Green Goblin. An offshoot of the Scriers cult founded by Norman, consisting of only his most loyal followers. Following Norman's rise and fall from power,

2996-573: A superhero identity of his own as the Scarlet Spider after returning to New York City. A series of chaotic events followed, in which Peter and Ben were plagued by both a resurrected Jackal and by Kaine , who was an unsuccessful first clone of Spider-Man. In the process, another clone of Spider-Man became the villain Spidercide . Matters were further confused by the interventions of the mysterious and seemingly all-powerful Judas Traveller ,

3103-401: A way to restore the Spider-Man of old, in particular jettisoning his marriage to Mary Jane. Howard Mackie revealed "When the story was begun we knew it would be controversial, and that was part of the point." He also commented "The return to the single Spider-Man did enter the conversation eventually, but it was not the intent of the story when pitched." Bernardo added that the length of the arc

3210-703: Is accidentally killed by a bomb with which he meant to kill Spider-Man . Years later, there was speculation that Hamilton was the Hobgoblin but this is disproved. A Goblin that was presumably Hamilton appears as a member of the second incarnation of the Legion of the Unliving created by the Grandmaster . After being pitted against the Avengers , the group and their master are vanquished by Death . During

3317-639: Is also a founding member of the New New Warriors . In the universe where Marvel characters are animals, Norman Osbird, as he's called in this universe, is a crazy turkey who calls himself the Green Gobbler. Spider-Man: India features Nalin Oberoi , a ruthless businessman in Mumbai , who is ravaging villages for a mystical amulet to connect with evil, supernatural demons who once ruled

Clone Saga - Misplaced Pages Continue

3424-452: Is attached to the glider via electromagnetic clasps on the wings of the glider. It has great maneuverability and is steered mostly by leaning, but manual controls are available behind the head of the glider. The Goblin later added radio-linked voice controls to his mask. Its top speed is 90 miles per hour (140 km/h), and it can support about 400 lb (180 kg), though it could lift far more for brief periods. Flying at top speed with

3531-591: Is betrothed to Normie Osborn when she is just a baby because of her father's involvement with the Order of the Goblin. From then on, Élan learns the family business and eventually makes connections with the Black Tarantula . She grows up training to follow Norman Osborn's footsteps, and eventually becomes the leader of the Order of the Goblin. Following a near fatal attack on Normie, Élan returns to New York to follow through with their arranged marriage, but Normie

3638-400: Is in the pay of a megacorp like Alchemax . He has bat-like glider-wings and a bag of "tricks", similar to the 20th century version. He also has the ability to project illusions. He is eventually unmasked, and appears to be Spider-Man's brother Gabriel O'Hara , although it is later revealed, in a retcon , that he is a shapeshifter who took Gabriel's identity. Writer Peter David , who quit

3745-484: Is the first and most-known character connected with the Green Goblin alias who developed the equipment used by the others ever since he was exposed to the Goblin formula. Harold "Harry" Osborn is Norman Osborn's son and the second character who used the Green Goblin alias. Dr. Barton "Bart" Hamilton was a psychologist born in Scarsdale, New York and the third character to use the Green Goblin alias. When Harry

3852-408: Is the original Spider-Man or his clone who perishes in the bomb explosion. Conway said this ambiguity was unintentional, as at the time he took it as a given that Marvel would never replace the star of The Amazing Spider-Man with a clone. A few years later, Spider-Man encountered Carrion , who claimed to be a degenerated clone of Warren. The clone of Gwen Stacy reappeared many years later when she

3959-615: The "Goblin Underground" , is a group of organized crime composed of Goblin-themed villains led by the Goblin King against the Superior Spider-Man . In the eight-month ellipsis that occurred subsequent to the events of Secret Wars , a heavily bandaged arms dealer claiming to be Norman Osborn began selling Goblin-based costumes and equipment on the black market, establishing private armies of "War Goblins". As

4066-735: The Six Most Sinister . In 2023, Marvel announced that writer Jonathan Hickman would be rebooting the Ultimate Marvel universe, launching a brand new timeline beginning with the limited series Ultimate Invasion . This new Ultimate Universe, designated Earth-6160 will follow a married Peter Parker in his 30s. The Goblin will debut in the title's second issue, scheduled for release in February 2024. Unlike his previous Ultimate Universe counterpart , this version will take more similarities from his Earth-616 variant, such as being

4173-482: The " Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy " storyline, Bart's Goblin form is cloned by the Jackal 's company New U Technologies. Philip Benjamin "Phil" Urich is the nephew of Ben Urich and the fourth character to use the Green Goblin alias. Norman begins trying to convince the public after returning from the dead of never being the infamous supervillain, and conspired with associate Doctor Angst genetically engineer

4280-405: The "Time Loop" idea had won the approval of the editorial staff, the writers unanimously refused to adopt it, with the minimal role of Spider-Man himself in the storyline being the most troubling issue. The writers proposed alternative solutions, but none of them attained editorial approval the way the "Time Loop" idea had. As a result, the Spider-Man group was unable to proceed with any conclusion to

4387-513: The Clone Saga and disrupt Peter Parker's life to such a profound extent." The saga was resolved in "Revelations", which concluded in Spider-Man #75. To give Norman Osborn's return some credibility and link to continuity, Greenberg charted a detailed timeline to explain how Norman had survived his death and what he had been doing in the years he was believed to be dead. Though this timeline was originally intended only as an internal reference for

Clone Saga - Misplaced Pages Continue

4494-671: The Goblin Queen appeared as a member of a Multiversal group called the Sinister Squadron where they attacked the Spider-Society before it can be formed. Normie Osborn is the son of Harry Osborn and Liz Allan, and the grandson of Norman Osborn. In the alternative timeline of the MC2 universe he becomes the Green Goblin and battles Spider-Man's daughter, May "Mayday" Parker , before reforming and becoming her ally. In

4601-596: The Goblin is actually Father Jennifer D'Angelo, an undercover ally of Kasey. After receiving a message from the Sinister Six, Miguel and Kasey go to Alchemax to rescue Father Jennifer. Upon escaping, Spider-Man and Father Jennifer arrive at an area where the time door appears, but Jennifer is killed by Doctor Octopus. Élan DeJunae, daughter of the San Mardeo DeJunae crime family in South America,

4708-436: The Goblin uses include incendiary Pumpkin Bombs and Ghost Bombs, smoke- and gas-emitting grenades resembling jack-'o'-lanterns and ghosts, respectively, razor-edged boomerang -like throwing weapons called razor bats and gloves woven with micro-circuited filaments which channel pulsed discharges of electricity at nearly 10,000 volts . He wears a green bulletproof scale armor costume with an overlapping purple tunic. His mask has

4815-403: The Green Goblin kills Gwen Stacy and later perishes in a fight against Spider-Man. However, the story's writer, Gerry Conway , had Harry Osborn adopt the Green Goblin identity in that story's aftermath, later remarking that "I never had any intention of getting rid of the Green Goblin as a concept". Harry Osborn's becoming the Green Goblin was mostly well-received, with fans remarking that Harry

4922-426: The Green Goblin to be someone Peter Parker knew, while Ditko wanted his civilian identity to be someone who had not yet been introduced. Lee elaborated: Steve wanted him to turn out to be just some character that we had never seen before. Because, he said, in real life, very often a villain turns out to be somebody that you never knew. And I felt that that would be wrong. I felt, in a sense, it would be like cheating

5029-417: The Green Goblin was his idea or Ditko's. Ditko has maintained that it was his idea, even claiming that he had decided on it before the first Green Goblin story was finished, and that a character he drew in the background of a single panel of Amazing Spider-Man #23 was meant to be Norman Osborn (who is not introduced until issue #37). Ditko left the series with issue #38, just one issue after Norman Osborn

5136-424: The Green Goblin. He naturally came to life. On my own, I changed Stan's mythological demon into a human villain. The Green Goblin debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #14. At this time his identity was unknown, but he proved popular and reappeared in later issues, which made a point of his secret identity . According to both Stan Lee and John Romita, Sr. , who replaced Ditko as the title's artist, Lee always wanted

5243-459: The Gwen Stacy clone who had started the whole Clone Saga in the 1970s was to be killed to provide a fitting end. But impressed by the " Age of Apocalypse " crossover of sister Marvel Comics title X-Men , in which huge sales were achieved by long, spread-out story lines, Bob Budiansky ordered to duplicate this recipe for the " Maximum Clonage " project. Instead of tying up loose ends, the story

5350-404: The Jackal takes a sample of his blood to perfect his cloning technique. A mastermind over the Jackal wants the blood sample as well, for the body of Norman Osborn. The Jackal intends to clone Gwen Stacy and another unknown figure, and Kaine breaks himself, Ben, and Peter free. During the subsequent fight, the clones dissolve and the Jackal suggests that Ben is the original Peter Parker. Kaine kills

5457-405: The Jackal, Ben and Peter escape with the cure and save Aunt May and Mary Jane, who is revealed to be pregnant. Peter retires, saying Ben is the real one, so Ben creates a new costume. Peter and MJ begin planning for their baby with the support of Aunt May, while Peter focuses on acquiring a research grant. Ben battles Doctor Octopus, who escapes after knocking down debris. After Ben tracks him down,

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5564-422: The Jackal. The surviving Spider-Man determines he is the original because he is in love with Mary Jane Watson , which did not happen until after Professor Warren created the clone. Spider-Man drops the body of the clone into an incinerator. Gwen Stacy's clone disappears to find a new life for herself. The Amazing Spider-Man #149, the climactic installment of the original Clone Saga, leaves it ambiguous whether it

5671-623: The MC2 timeline, Phil Urich marries his girlfriend Meredith and is a forensic scientist and friends with Peter Parker. He is aware of both Peter and Spider-Girl 's identities. Phil Urich resumes the Goblin identity, first under the name of the Golden Goblin , then as the Green Goblin with the assistance of Normie Osborn (III). After Phil lost a long series of battles, Normie recreates Phil's original mask, which grants him superhuman strength and other abilities, greatly enhancing his effectiveness. He

5778-522: The Queen escapes. Because Normie spurned her and denied his place in the Goblin legacy, Fury crashes his wedding to Brenda Drago and forcibly bonds the Venom - symbiote to him in an attempt to corrupt him. This backfires, as Normie gained control of the symbiote and went on to become a hero. After Fury crashed Normie's wedding, Phil Urich (the good Green Goblin) defeats her and sends her to prison. Fury

5885-471: The X-Men's " Age of Apocalypse " story arc, with Web of Scarlet Spider continuing for an additional two months after the other titles returned. Special one-shot issues and miniseries: A third Clone Saga was published in mid-2021, starring Miles Morales instead of Peter Parker. The story arc ran from Miles Morales: Spider-Man issue #25 to #28, after being previously foreshadowed in issue #24, where Miles

5992-464: The alias of Goblin 2099 to fight Spider-Man and later allied with Vulture . In All-New, All-Different Marvel during a travel to 2099 which turned out to be different from the version that he knows, Spider-Man (O'Hara) is captured by that alternate 2099's era's Venom and Doctor Octopus . Miguel later wakes up in Alchemax, which is run by that era's Sinister Six . The Sinister Six discover that

6099-841: The basis of the " Clone Saga " which began in Web of Spider-Man #117 (Oct. 1994). Kavanagh's last new comics project was the Before the Fantastic Four: The Storms limited series in 2000–2001. In 2011, Kavanagh co-founded the Internet startup company www.mybeanjar.com. Green Goblin The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko ,

6206-437: The book between creating the character and the unmasking, has said that it was his intent for the Goblin to be a female Catholic priest named Father Jennifer, and for Gabriel to be a red herring . This Goblin was never called the Green Goblin, but instead simply Goblin 2099 . Jennifer D'Angelo is an ordained priest in each of the 2099 realities. On Earth-928, Jennifer D'Angelo is an ordained priest. She later took on

6313-437: The character Judas Traveller . The writers set up the possibility that the clone could be the real Spider-Man. The clone was then further developed editorially, and given the name Ben Reilly . Additionally, he became known as the superhero the Scarlet Spider , complete with a unique costume. According to established Spider-Man assistant editor Glenn Greenberg "No one—not the writers, not the editors—seemed to know who or what

6420-419: The creative staff brought back the Jackal, the original culprit of the clones. He was used as a plot device to explain the "clone degeneration" and also set up the possibility he was part of a greater plan by Judas Traveller and Scrier. In this plot developed by J.M. DeMatteis, and part written by Todd DeZago and Howard Mackie, Jackal gave readers doubt and suspicion by stating that Peter was the clone, followed by

6527-405: The creative staff, it became the basis for the follow-up one-shot The Osborn Journal . The issue revealed the details of the Clone Saga from Norman Osborn's perspective, and resolves many plot points, including the skeleton in the smokestack. Ex-editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco said that under him, the Clone Saga would have been resolved in a different way: "Our plan was to structure the clone saga like

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6634-401: The creative staff, seemingly without strict direction, inserted a lot of open plot points waiting to be resolved, such as Ben Reilly worrying about "degeneration" of his body due to cloning, why Kaine was protecting Spider-Man but preying on Ben Reilly, why Ben and Spider-Man shared dreams, why Kaine was foreseeing Mary Jane's death, who the mysterious new character Seward Trainer was as well as

6741-525: The current Peter. The Jackal would be responsible for convincing the Peter that was sent back in time that he was a clone, thus taking on the identity of Ben. The major selling point to this plan was that it would restore the memories of Ben (who was really Peter all along) and thus hopefully satisfy long-time readers. Budiansky and Greenberg fleshed out the storyline with plans for publication in April 1996. While

6848-427: The editorial team felt that Gwen had become stale as a character and they wanted to instill an additional element of tragedy into Peter Parker's life. In the follow-up arcs, Conway introduced a new villain called the Jackal and let Gwen Stacy seemingly return from the dead. The Jackal was the villain identity of Gwen and Peter's biology professor Miles Warren, who could not cope with the death of Gwen, with whom he had

6955-441: The end of the original Clone Saga) by the Scrier, as part of a contest between himself and Judas Traveller. The Scrier would be revealed as Mephisto , who would appear at the end of the "time loop" to give Ben the option of saving Peter's life in place of his own. This would eliminate the idea that either Ben or Peter was a clone, instead asserting that Ben was Peter from five years in the future, sent back by Mephisto to co-exist with

7062-492: The entire saga. Osborn said Peter was the original—having faked the evidence that revealed Peter's status as the clone as part of a plan to break Peter's spirit—a claim that was confirmed when Ben died saving Peter's life and his body degenerated like any other clone's. Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal (February 1997) explains the Green Goblin's role in the entire storyline. During the mid-1990s, Marvel consistently published four monthly Spider-Man series, roughly one every week. For

7169-409: The face at a time where one had to bathe in it long enough to get the full effect. Eventually a new version of the chemical was developed, which was suitable for directly drinking it. Though much slower than the likes of Wolverine , he can regenerate damaged tissue and organs. However, if seriously wounded, it would leave scars on his body. His intelligence has been enhanced to gifted levels, though at

7276-614: The film The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). Dafoe reprised his role as Norman Osborn in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) which used the concept of the multiverse to link the Raimi trilogy to the MCU. According to Steve Ditko: Stan's synopsis for the Green Goblin had a movie crew, on location, finding an Egyptian –like sarcophagus . Inside was an ancient, mythological demon ,

7383-515: The first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn , who is regarded as one of the superhero Spider-Man 's three archenemies , alongside Doctor Octopus and Venom . Originally a manifestation of chemically induced insanity, others would later take on the persona, including Norman's son Harry Osborn . The Green Goblin is depicted as a criminal mastermind who uses an arsenal of Halloween -themed equipment, including grenade-like Pumpkin Bombs, razor-sharp bat-shaped blades, and

7490-471: The hell Judas Traveller was. He was seemingly this immensely powerful, quasi-mystical being with amazing abilities, but what was the real deal with him? ... But to be honest, a character like Traveller didn't really fit into Spider-Man's world." As such, Traveller's role would remain a mystery to readers for a while, as writers dropped him in and out of this saga. Tom DeFalco came up with the idea of making Spider-Man's wife Mary Jane pregnant, feeling it would be

7597-407: The identity of the "Third Peter Parker", a.k.a. Spidercide . With a plethora of writers and editors, the storyline was initiated throughout all the regular Spider-Man series, but slowly grew out of control. The sales department requested extensions to the storyline, buoyed up by very strong sales on the book at a time when most other comics were experiencing a noticeable decline. With this extension,

7704-450: The latter defect from the company. The second Clone Saga sprang from Marvel Comics 's determination to produce a strong Spider-Man "event" story that would rival DC Comics ' " The Death of Superman " and " Batman: Knightfall ," both of which sold extremely well. Spider-Man editor Mark Bernardo said "Marching orders we were given by upper management to come up with something similar in scope to DC's "Death of Superman" storyline, which at

7811-554: The lead character "Spider-Armor". He wrote the Spider-Man/Punisher/Sabretooth: Designer Genes one-shot the following month. Kavanagh was one of the writers on the " Maximum Carnage " storyline which ran through the various Spider-Man titles in 1993. The first Black Cat limited series was co-written by Kavanagh and Joey Cavalieri in 1994. Kavanagh pitched a storyline involving the return of Spider-Man's clone , which then formed

7918-428: The master planner of the cloning. Glenn Greenberg recalled that "The reaction was not enthusiastic. I don't think ANYONE - from the writers to the editors to the assistant editors - agreed with Harras's idea, although his rationale certainly made sense to a certain extent. Harras felt that there was only one person who could have had the money, the resources, the connections, the knowledge, and the motivation to orchestrate

8025-469: The mastermind behind the saga was Harry Osborn . As a result of a downgrade, Marvel dissolved the five editor-in-chief positions, leaving only one: Bob Harras . Harras rejected the idea of Osborn being the villain and ordered the "Clone Saga"'s finale to be postponed six months to avoid competition with the crossover storyline " Onslaught ". Jurgens left Marvel in frustration at the postponement. Published issues had already dropped clues at Harry Osborn being

8132-455: The memo with "This proposal has holes. But I believe it serves as a general framework we can all work with to fill in as needed. This is my last shot. After this, I give up." In November 1995, a story outline drafted by Jurgens and Budiansky and titled "Blood Brothers" was distributed to the Spider-Man staff. It roughly followed the idea proposed in Jurgens' memo, but added in the revelation that

8239-630: The miniseries Avataars: Covenant of the Shield , which takes place in an alternative universe referred to as Eurth created by the Shaper of Worlds , the Green Goblin appears as the Goblin King . A small, nimble creature green in color and adorned in purple rags, the Goblin King is shown to speak solely in rhyme and runs a toll booth in the Webwood, extorting goods from travelers along with his henchmen

8346-579: The most part, the Spider-titles were treated during this storyline as a single weekly series, although occasionally they would separate, pair off, or have special anniversary editions. The Clone Saga ran through all four titles from October 1994 to December 1996, in addition to a multitude of spin-offs, one-shots, and ancillary issues. The relevant issues are: Ongoing series: Furthermore, all five titles were temporarily renamed with "Scarlet Spider" in place of "Spider-Man" for two months, in imitation of

8453-507: The original storyline in the 1970s and the second saga which consumed all the regular Spider-Man series, several limited series and one-shot issues between 1994 and 1997. Between the two, there were also two smaller storylines that dealt with elements from the original saga. In mid-1973, writer Gerry Conway made the decision to kill off the girlfriend of Peter Parker , Gwen Stacy , in The Amazing Spider-Man #121 because

8560-623: The price of his sanity. His involvement with the Gathering of the Five loosened his grip on reality, though he is able to maintain some semblance of his sanity via chemically treated dermal patches. When not impaired by mental illness, Osborn is a cunning businessman, masterful strategist, and highly skilled in electronics, mechanics, engineering and chemistry. The Green Goblin is armed with a variety of bizarre devices. He travels on his bat -shaped "Goblin Glider", an incredibly fast and maneuverable rocket glider equipped with various armaments. Other weapons

8667-425: The reader. ... if it's somebody you didn't know and had never seen, then what was the point of following all the clues? I think that frustrates the reader. However, Lee prefaced this statement by admitting that, due to his self-professed poor memory, he may have been confusing the Green Goblin with a different character. Moreover, in an earlier essay he had said that he could not remember whether Norman Osborn being

8774-405: The readers, the storyline "Return of Kaine" introduced a skeleton that was discovered in the original clone saga lab wearing a Spider-Man suit; however, none of the writers or editorial staff had a theory of what the skeleton's significance was. At this time, Greenberg recalled, the plan for the Clone Saga was: "A mysterious figure was intended to be the sole mastermind behind the entire Clone Saga,

8881-449: The saga was to "begin the new era of Spider-Man. Peter and Mary Jane would be written out of the books, and sent off to live in peace with their soon-to-be-born child. Ben would get the chance to establish himself as Spider-Man and move forward. Going into the planning stages for what would turn out to be 'Maximum Clonage', the intent was indeed to finish up the clone story line once and for all and quickly get Ben started as Spider-Man." Also,

8988-403: The saga, despite agreement among both writers and editors that it should end as soon as possible. Greenberg recalls that "Budiansky was mired in indecision, and it was hurting the entire line." Finally, Jurgens wrote a memo proposing that the saga end with Ben being revealed as a clone and dying in a climactic act of heroism, while Mary Jane has a miscarriage and separates from Peter. He concluded

9095-677: The same. Left to fight Miles alone, Selim creates a massive Venom Blast that kills him, as well as Mindspinner, leaving Shift as the only surviving clone. During the "Miles Morales: Beyond" storyline, it is eventually revealed that the cloning of Miles was actually a set-up by the Beyond Corporation , the same company who made Ben Reilly's new Spider-Man suit, contracting the Slingers to work for them, imprisoning one of Spider-Man's former and current rogues, hiring supervillains, and attempt to kill Peter Parker, Miles, and Ben Reilly should

9202-529: The series closely followed Mackie's notes, but necessarily filled out what was essentially a rough outline with details. In addition, they decided that Jackal and Kaine had to be included in the story to cater to fan expectations, even though neither character is mentioned in Mackie's notes. Ben Reilly and Peter bond after Kaine attacks them, and Ben stays in New York as Peter's blond-haired cousin so he can build

9309-434: The storyline outlived several key creative staff and many decisions on the eventual direction of the storyline were changed. With Amazing Spider-Man #400, in a controversial decision, the writers ended the life of Spider-Man's aunt May Parker , a major supporting character since 1962. The "Mark of Kaine" arc added still more clones of Spider-Man. With this arc, the sales of the Spider-Man comics skyrocketed, and therefore,

9416-443: The time was breaking sales records left and right. Thus, no outrageous idea was out of bounds. Terry Kavanagh was cajoled into blurting out his clone idea, which first met with groans and indifference, until someone (to my recollection, J.M. DeMatteis ) suddenly realized the radical possibilities of such a storyline." Several of the Spider-Man creators believed that the character had drifted too far from his original portrayal and sought

9523-468: The true Spider-Man without it seeming like a cop-out was daunting enough that Budiansky invited the whole of Marvel's staff to offer ideas. Greenberg recalled "I think even the janitor and the mail room guys weighed in at one point. It got a little out of hand, to put it mildly... the memos really started coming in at this point, fast and furious... and I've still got every single one of them, in one big, thick, hernia-inducing file." To provoke new interest from

9630-1098: The villain notes that the newly costumed Spider-Man seems to be an impostor. Kaine arrives and attempts to kill Octopus by asphyxiating him with some webbing and then escaping. Ben shreds the webbing off, saving his life. Terry Kavanagh Terrence " Terry " Kavanagh ( / ˈ k æ v ə n ɑː / KAV -ə-nah ) is an American comic book editor and writer. Kavanagh was a Marvel Comics editor from 1985 to 1997. Titles he edited during that time included Marvel Comics Presents and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D . Writer/artist Alan Davis , who Kavanagh edited on Excalibur , said "Terry Kavanagh spoiled me, gave me near total freedom, and encouraged me to experiment." In 1987, he began to write for Marvel with his first published story "Cry Vengeance!" appearing in Kickers, Inc. #4 (Feb. 1987). He later wrote such titles as Marc Spector: Moon Knight , Avengers : Timeslide , X-Man and X-Universe . In Web of Spider-Man #100 (May 1993), Kavanagh and artist Alex Saviuk gave

9737-476: The villain, and with him eliminated, Budiansky felt compelled to write a memo forbidding that Harry's father Norman take the role: "Norman's death should never be undone, in my opinion. It's too classic... Let him rest in peace." However, as part of a fresh wave of downsizing in Marvel's ranks, Budiansky was laid off. Harras replaced Budiansky with Ralph Macchio as editor, who declared that Norman Osborn would be

9844-494: The work to "writing chapter two of a multi-part story month after month". Greenberg recalled: "The idea was to have each Spider-Man book retitled so that the Scarlet Spider's name would replace Spider-Man's—Amazing Scarlet Spider, Spectacular Scarlet Spider, Ben Reilly Scarlet Spider, and Web of Scarlet Spider. We'd get four new number #1's out of it, and it would be a way to capitalize on the Scarlet Spider's popularity one last time before he became (the new) Spider-Man. What that meant

9951-410: The world. The process works and transforms Oberoi into "Green Goblin". He also transforms a meek doctor into "Doctor Octopus" and sends him to find Pavitar Prabhakar (Spider-Man). Oberoi later burns down Pavitar's village (branding it with his initials NO), and kidnaps MJ, and Aunt Maya ( Aunt May ). At Oberoi HQ, he tries to bring down the demons, until a reformed Octopus and Pavitar attack and rescue

10058-474: The writers were encouraged to keep the saga going even longer. At the conclusion of the story arc "The Trial of Peter Parker" in Spectacular Spider-Man #226, Peter is revealed by Dr. Seward Trainer as the clone of Ben. Peter retired as Spider-Man based on this premise and moved to Portland to live with Mary Jane, allowing Ben to take over as Spider-Man. Goletz said that the next chapter in

10165-620: Was another former student of Warren's, Malcolm McBride, who was infected with the virus and became the new Carrion. Many years after that in Scarlet Spider Unlimited #1, this story arc was molded to fit into the New Clone Saga. More years passed before Spider-Man's clone reappeared. He had survived the battle and for five years had lived an existence under the name Ben Reilly (a combination of Peter's Uncle Ben 's first name and Aunt May 's maiden name), and develops

10272-642: Was being pursued by the High Evolutionary , who was determined to discover how Warren had been able to perfect cloning. In the process, he discovered that Warren had not, but had instead created a genetic virus which transformed already living beings into supposed clones of other people. It was claimed that the Gwen clone was really a woman named Joyce Delany who was seemingly cured of the virus and left to lead her own life once more. Later, Spider-Man investigated Warren's old laboratory and discovered that Carrion

10379-400: Was born: "Somewhere along the line I discovered a notebook which contained the original notes from the very first meeting at which the clone story was discussed. The original notes showed that the story was planned as a three month event spread across the four monthly Spider-Man titles. At some point Ralph [Macchio] talked to Joe Quesada, and I got a phone call from Ralph asking if I wanted to do

10486-421: Was changed in such a way that practically every issue brought up new clones. Instead of being killed, the Gwen Stacy clone was allowed to slip away unnoticed. Following the end of "Maximum Clonage", the creative staff launched revamps of established villains (such as a new female Doctor Octopus ), without much success. DeMatteis resigned out of creative weariness with the saga's repeated extensions, later likening

10593-440: Was holding off Ben's debut as Spider-Man even longer." Though Budiansky and the rest of the editorial staff wanted the retitling to be a one-off for each series, the Scarlet Spider was popular enough for Marvel's sales and marketing to insist on four issues of each title. Ultimately, they compromised on two issues of each title. In the story "Return of Spider-Man", opening in the newest series Sensational Spider-Man #0, Ben finds

10700-491: Was initially planned to be short. "The whole arc was supposed to end in Amazing Spider-Man #400, and leave 'Ben Reilly' as the one and only 'original Peter Parker' and forge a new beginning," he noted, adding that the whole storyline was supposed to bring Spider-Man back to basics. Eventually, editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco gave the final approval to begin the story. Although the readers had been getting clues about

10807-431: Was introduced as the father of Harry Osborn . The first issue without Ditko saw the Green Goblin unmasked. John Romita, Sr. , who replaced Ditko as the title's artist, recalled: Stan wouldn't have been able to stand it if Ditko did the story and didn't reveal that the Green Goblin was Norman Osborn. I didn't know there was any doubt about Osborn being the Goblin. I didn't know that Ditko had just been setting Osborn up as

10914-697: Was kidnapped by a mysterious villainous known as Assessor to be used as a test subject for his cloning experiments. Assessor ends up creating three clones of Miles: Selim (a ruthless leader who wields pair of daggers and who perfectly resembles Miles, but changes his hairstyle to differentiate from the original Miles), Mindspinner (a deformed clone with six spider-like arms and six eyes with which he can disrupt people's mind, and who speaks in limited sentences), and Shift (a shape-shifting clone who not only also has Miles' default looks, but also inherit part of Miles' goodness). Miles eventually convinces Shift to reform and turn on his brothers, later inspiring Mindspinner to do

11021-513: Was kind of like what I had already done with Thor and Thunderstrike —two very different titles based on a single concept. Of course, our plan went into the trash the day I got fired." In September 2009, a six-part mini-series based on the outline of the original Clone Saga came out, written by Tom DeFalco and Howard Mackie, and drawn by Todd Nauck , titled Spider-Man: The Clone Saga and later collected as Spider-Man: The Real Clone Saga . Series co-creator Howard Mackie described how this project

11128-479: Was more menacing than his father had ever been. Several other characters would take on the Green Goblin identity, and writer Roger Stern later introduced the Hobgoblin to replace the Green Goblin as Spider-Man's archenemy. In addition, a retcon during the " Clone Saga " determined that the original Green Goblin survived the events of The Amazing Spider-Man #122 and had been playing a behind-the-scenes role in Spider-Man's adventures since then. Norman Osborn

11235-539: Was not aware of the betrothal. Meanwhile, Élan and the Black Tarantula plot to use Spider-Girl to destroy Lady Octopus and Canis so they can take control of the New York underworld. Following plans made by Norman Osborn before his death, the Queen of the Goblins tries to dose Normie Osborn with a new version of the Goblin Formula. Spider-Girl manages to defeat Élan, but in the battle, the formula explodes and

11342-435: Was now set on reinstating Peter Parker as Spider-Man, and felt that it would be implausible for him to resume that role if he were a father. So that the series would still have the appearance of a major impact, writer Fabian Nicieza replaced the baby's birth with the removal of Parker's powers, done in such a way that the writers of the regular titles could quickly reinstate them. The task of actually re-establishing Parker as

11449-453: Was put under medical care, Dr. Hamilton managed to make Harry bury the vendetta as the Goblin identity from Harry's subconscious via hypnosis . Dr. Hamilton uses these secrets to be the third Goblin. But since Harry has no knowledge of where Norman's strength-enhancing Goblin formula is, Hamilton is unable to locate it. He hatches an elaborate plot to kill Silvermane but Harry resumes the Goblin identity to stop him. They battle and Hamilton

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