Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Marvel Comics, Spider-Man, Stan Lee | Tagged: green goblin, jm dematteis

Before The Green Goblin, Norman Osborn Created a Proto-Goblin…

J.M. DeMatteis rewrites Spider-Man history for Marvel with Spider-Man: Shadow Of The Green Goblin #1., out in April 2024.

Published Wed, 13 Dec 2023 11:57:09 -0600

by Rich Johnston

Comments

Article Summary

J.M. DeMatteis returns to Spider-Man with a tale of the Osborns and Proto-Goblin.
New comic explores early days of Peter Parker and Osborn family's dark secrets.
Norman Osborn wasn't the original Goblin; meet the tragic Proto-Goblin.
Spider-Man: Shadow Of The Green Goblin #1 releases April 3 with art by Sta. Maria.

Modern-day writers have been rewriting scenes from J.M. DeMatteis' Spider-Man comic books of late, including Kraven's Last Hunt, which has seen J.M. DeMatteis have a go himself, including Ben Reilly: Spider-Man and Spider-Man: The Lost Hunt. Now he's going for the hat-trick with Michael Sta. Maria for a story set during the beginning of Peter Parker's adventures as Spider-Man. And retconning like he's never retconned before when it comes to the Green Goblin. Because, it seems, there was another… in Spider-Man: Shadow Of The Green Goblin #1., out in April 2024.

"Still finding his footing as a super hero and dealing with grief over Uncle Ben's death, Peter will find himself entangled in a dark drama involving his best friend's family—the Osborns. The saga will revisit the now classic Spider-Man -1 and tie up a plot thread that's been dangling since 1997 involving the tragic truth behind Norman Osborn's research assistant Nels van Adder, the first test subject for the "Goblin formula" which transformed him into PROTO-GOBLIN! NORMAN OSBORN WAS NOT THE FIRST GOBLIN! Norman Osborn is the Green Goblin you know. But he is NOT the Original Goblin! It's time to learn the shocking secrets of the Proto-Goblin, and its dramatic connection to the Osborn family! What role does a young Peter Parker, who has not yet understood his great power and responsibility, play in this unfolding of events? "I've always been fascinated with Peter Parker's early days as Spider-Man, a time before he fully understood what it meant to be a super hero," DeMatteis shared. "SHADOW OF THE GOBLIN allows us to take a deep dive into Young Peter's mind and emotions as he makes his way through this exhilarating, and sometimes terrifying, new world. We take an equally-deep dive into the dysfunctional dynamic of the Osborn family, seeing how that generational pain sowed the earliest seeds of Norman's Green Goblin identity and left its traumatic imprint on Harry. If you think you know everything there is to know about Peter and the Osborns, think again!""