The Green Goblin is one of Spider-Man's most iconic and cruel villains. A handful of people have used the Green Goblin name and costume over the years, but Norman Osborn is considered the true Green Goblin. He first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #14 back in 1964 and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.Other Goblins have shown up over the years, most notably Hobgoblin and Demogoblin. Both of these characters have also proved to be a deadly thorn in Spider-Man's side. However, a scant handful of Goblins have turned over a new leaf, and a few have even become heroes.
6 On One Earth, Peter Parker Became The Goblin And Sacrificed Himself
On one of the alternate Earths revealed during the Spider-Verse event, Peter Parker made different choices after the death of Gwen Stacy at the hands of the Green Goblin. This was revealed in Spider-Verse Team-Up #2 by Gerry Conway and Steven Saunders. This Peter Parker killed Norman Osborn and abandoned the Spider-Man identity, becoming the crazed Goblin.
This didn't stop the Goblin from being targeted by the Inheritors, and Spider-Woman/Ghost-Spider arrived to recruit the Goblin to fight the Inheritors. He refused until he realized that this Spider-Woman was Gwen Stacy. This prompted him to make a sacrifice play against the Inheritors to buy Spider-Gwen some time.
5 The Black Goblin Died Saving Peter Parker And Ben Reilly
The Harry Osborn of Spider-Man: Life Story by Chip Zdarsky and Mark Bagley never became the Green Goblin. Instead, he took the identity of the Black Goblin and tried to retrieve a clone of Norman Osborn that Miles Warren had created. There, Harry found clones of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, and this drove the unstable Black Goblin into a frenzy. He ended up killing the Gwen Stacy clone, only for Miles to reveal that this was the true Gwen Stacy. This caused Harry to retreat.
Years later, Doctor Octopus kidnapped Peter Parker and Ben Reilly, but Doc-Ock had his own fit of rage due to the clone confusion. He tried to destroy both Peter and Ben, but Harry stepped in the way to save them, sacrificing his life.
4 The Goblin Childe Turned On The Red Goblin
When Norman Osborn became the Red Goblin, he used a small part of the Carnage symbiote to convert his grandson, Normie Osborn, into the Goblin Childe. Together, they sewed havoc across New York City and made life hell for Peter Parker and his friends.
However, when the Red Goblin threatened Normie's mom, Liz Allan, the Goblin Childe turned on the Red Goblin. Norman almost killed his grandson in retaliation until Spider-Man saved Normie Osborn. Since then, Normie has been an understandably troubled child. In one future (the future of Spider-Girl) he does become the Green Goblin like his father and grandfather. However, even here Normie breaks free of the Osborn curse and becomes an ally of May Parker, aka Spider-Girl.
3 The Gwen Goblin Created The "Ticket To The Multiverse" For Spider-Gwen
On one Earth, Gwen Stacy uses the Goblin Formula to become a heroic Green Goblin to fight alongside Spider-Man, who is Harry Osborn on this Earth. However, Harry and Gwen's father, Captain Stacy, were one day killed while trying to apprehend Sandman. This caused something in Gwen to snap, and she became the Green Goblin permanently.
During the Spider-Geddon event, Ghost-Spider arrived at the Gwen Goblin's Earth in Ghost-Spider #1 by Seanan McGuire and Rosi Kampe. While there, the Peter Parker and Mary Jane of this world convince Ghost-Spider to help cure the Green Goblin. Together, they manage to break the Gwen Goblin out of her mania, and she actually creates the "Ticket to the Multiverse" to help Ghost-Spider in her new fight against the Inheritors.
2 The Iron Goblin Went Out In A Blaze Of Glory
During the 2015 Secret Wars event, there were several new Earths introduced as part of Doctor Doom's Battleworld. Among them was an Earth undergoing a different version of the Spider-Island event, this time from creators Christos N. Gage and Paco Diaz. In this world, almost everyone had been infected by the Spider-Queen's virus and converted into mind-controlled spider-people. Among them was Iron Man.
However, Agent Venom and a group of resistance fighters managed to spray Iron Man with the Goblin Formula. This freed Tony Stark from the Spider-Queen's control, but it also made him a ticking time bomb to become a crazed Goblin himself. When the Spider-Queen found the resistance's base of operations, Tony, now calling himself the Iron Goblin, used the Ebony Blade of the Black Knight to hold off the Spider-Queen's army so that the rest could escape.
1 Phil Urich Was A Heroic Green Goblin Before Becoming Goblin King
Phil Urich has a complicated history in Marvel Comics. He is the nephew of reporter Ben Urich, and he is most well-known for becoming another Hobgoblin and later the Goblin Knight then the Goblin King. He is currently deceased, as he was killed by Norman Osborn as the Red Goblin.
Before any of this, Phil Urich was a heroic Green Goblin. He was exposed to the Goblin Formula, but it didn't corrupt him in the way it had so many others. This heroic Green Goblin even got his own solo series under creators Tom DeFalco and Scott McDaniel. Phil would retire from the hero game and the Green Goblin persona for a time after being almost killed by Onslaught.