Norman Osborn is determined to settle his most personal vendetta even though doing so may cost him everything that he has worked so hard to gain.
The following contains major spoilers for Gold Goblin #3, available now from Marvel Comics.
Norman Osborn has gone through some truly remarkable changes over the past year. Ever since being cleansed of his malicious alter-ego, the former Green Goblin has embarked upon a campaign to better both himself and the lives of those around him. Of course, not everyone has had an easy time accepting the new Norman, least of all the Queen Goblin who haunts him. In fact, she is the key to determining which side Norman will end up on once the dust has settled, and his desire to remain good might just be what cements his place in history as a villain.
After Madelyne Pryor and Ben Reilly’s demonic invasion of New York City, Norman Osborn finds himself grappling with a whole different breed of demons in the pages of Gold Goblin #3 (by Christopher Cantwell, Lan Medina, Scott Hanna, Wayne Faucher, Antonio Fabela, Andrew Crossley, Dee Cunniffe, Pete Pantazis, and VC’s Joe Sabino). It seems as if he simply cannot escape the threat of the Queen Goblin even in his dreams. Of course, Norman has good reason to be wary of the Queen Goblin’s gaze, especially when it is intent on forcing him back into his role as the Green Goblin. Thankfully, Norman has come up with a solid hypothesis as to how he might prevent that from ever happening, although ensuring his new nemesis’ death hardly seems like something a superhero would do.
Norman Osborn Wants to Destroy the Worst Part of Himself
When Norman fell prey to the Sin-Eater, all it took was a single hit from the villain’s magic shotgun to turn his entire life upside down. As hard as it is to believe, Sin-Eater’s attack genuinely cured Norman of the evil that once boiled beneath the surface. The shock of the situation drove Norman to Doctor Ashley Kafka for assistance, yet it was she who would end up in desperate need of help.
Thanks to the machinations of Beyond Corporation, Ashley was imbued with Norman’s sins, transforming her into the menacing Queen Goblin she is today. This was also what kicked off her obsession with Norman and the subsequent revival of the Hobgoblins. Now that Norman knows not just who is behind his latest spate of trouble, but more importantly why, he can turn his attention towards quelling the threat for good. And, as far as he can tell, letting the Queen Goblin die would mean letting his sins die with her.
The Queen Goblin May Bring Back the Green Goblin
Norman is certainly on to something with his line of thinking, yet it begs the question of what the cost of following through with it would be. Destroying his sins once and for all is probably the only way that Norman will ever be free of the Green Goblin. The reality of the situation, however, is that doing so would mean bloodying his hands all over again, which is absolutely comparable if not worse than any of the sins that were stolen from him.
This isn’t to say that Norman’s past crimes don’t carry immense weight, but rather that the Green Goblin was in control when he committed them. The Norman today, on the other hand, is completely level-headed. He is in total control of his faculties, free of delusions and cognizant of his thoughts. If he were to kill the Queen Goblin, even if merely by failing to prevent her from coming to harm, Norman will have definitively proven that it isn’t the sins that make the man and cement his place as a villain even without his alter-ego.
