Harry Osborn (Raimi)

Harry Osborn (Raimi)
Vital statistics
Names	Harold Theopolis Osborn, The New Goblin, Little Goblin Junior
Gender	Male
Race	Human Mutate
Occupation	Businessman, CEO of Oscorp Technologies
Origin	Spider-Man (May 3, 2002)
Alignment	Anti-Hero
Age	Early 20s
Created By	Sam Raimi, David Koepp
Height	1.8 m (5ft 11in)
Weight	76 kg (167.5 lbs)

Harry Osborn, also known as The New Goblin, is one of the primary antagonists in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, particularly in Spider-Man 3 (2007). Following the death of his father, Norman Osborn (the original Green Goblin), Harry becomes obsessed with avenging him. He wrongly believes that Spider-Man was responsible for his father's death, which fuels his desire for revenge.

Despite his growing hatred for Spider-Man, Harry remains friends with Peter Parker until he discovers that Peter is, in fact, Spider-Man. This revelation drives Harry to take the Goblin serum, which enhances his strength and abilities but also affects his mind. Harry upgrades his father's weapons and technology, becoming the New Goblin and setting out on a personal vendetta to kill Spider-Man.

Personality

Harry Osborn was a good-hearted and loyal friend, always considering the nerdy Peter Parker his best friend. Throughout high school, Harry protected Peter, never letting his wealth make him spoiled or arrogant. Despite his positive qualities, Harry was prone to stress, depression, and obsession. His deep desire to please his father, Norman Osborn, often clouded his judgment and strained his relationships, including his treatment of Mary Jane Watson, whom he sometimes viewed as a trophy to impress his father. This obsession also fueled his jealousy toward Peter, especially after Norman began admiring Peter's intelligence and work ethic.

After Norman's death, Harry's personality took a darker turn as he became obsessed with avenging his father's death. Believing that Spider-Man was responsible, Harry developed a strong vendetta against the web-slinger, which consumed much of his life.

When Harry eventually used a different variant of the performance-enhancing serum his father had used, he gained all of Norman's powers: superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and reflexes, as well as a low-level rapid healing factor that healed his head injury within a day. He also had access to all of the Green Goblin's weapons, though his arsenal was significantly improved. His glider, in particular, was much lighter and offered greater mobility.

Despite his newfound powers, Harry's insanity was much less severe compared to his father's, possibly because the variant of the serum he used was different. As the New Goblin, Harry embodied his hatred towards Spider-Man, existing solely to complete his vendetta. However, after coming to terms with his misguided hatred and recognizing the depth of his friendship with Peter, Harry reconciled with his best friend. This reconciliation allowed Harry and Peter to form an effective team, though it ultimately led to Harry's tragic death at the hands of Venom.

Biography

Early Life

Harry Osborn was born into a wealthy family, but his life was marked by tragedy early on, as his mother apparently died shortly after his birth. Raised by his father, Norman Osborn, a successful but distant industrialist, Harry struggled to gain his father's approval and affection. Norman was deeply invested in his work, leaving little time for his son, which contributed to Harry's feelings of inadequacy.

Throughout his childhood and adolescence, Harry attended several private schools, but his academic performance was poor, leading to his expulsion from multiple institutions. Eventually, Norman sent Harry to public school, where Harry attempted to downplay his wealth and privilege in an effort to fit in with his new classmates. Despite these efforts, Harry was constantly overshadowed by his desire to impress his father.

Harry's jealousy intensified when he saw how much Norman admired Peter Parker for his intelligence and work ethic. This envy grew even stronger when Harry began a relationship with Mary Jane Watson, someone he found attractive and knew Peter also had feelings for. Although Harry justified his actions by telling himself that Peter never made a move, he could not prevent Mary Jane from eventually falling for Peter. Over time, Harry managed to somewhat mend his strained relationship with his father, but their bond remained complicated.

Promising Revenge on Spider-Man

In 2002, after Norman Osborn's death as the Green Goblin, Harry was devastated. He believed that his father had been murdered by Spider-Man and became obsessed with avenging him, unaware that Spider-Man had actually tried to save Norman's life. Harry's grief and desire for vengeance consumed him, and he became determined to bring Spider-Man to justice, all the while ignorant of his father's secret identity as the Green Goblin.

Joining Oscorp

Following Norman's death, Harry inherited Oscorp, his father's company. He quickly took over the operations and invested significant resources into a project involving a sustainable fusion energy reactor invented by Dr. Otto Octavius. Harry believed that this project could secure his father's legacy and restore Oscorp's fortunes.

Finding Out Who Spider-Man Is

However, Otto Octavius' experiment ended in disaster, causing Oscorp to lose millions. Although Harry was saved by Spider-Man during the incident, his vendetta against the web-slinger only grew stronger. Harry's resentment toward Peter also deepened, as he blamed him for being the "son" that Norman truly wanted, for defending Spider-Man, and for stealing Mary Jane from him.

Desperate for revenge, Harry formed an alliance with Doctor Octopus, agreeing to supply him with tritium, a rare element needed for the fusion reactor, in exchange for capturing Spider-Man. When Doctor Octopus delivered Spider-Man to him, Harry eagerly unmasked the hero, only to be shocked when he discovered that Peter Parker was Spider-Man. This revelation left Harry conflicted, but he ultimately provided Peter with information about Doctor Octopus' whereabouts.

Afterward, Harry began experiencing hallucinations of his father's image in a mirror. Norman's reflection berated Harry for his weakness and demanded that he avenge his death. In a fit of rage, Harry smashed the mirror, only to uncover a hidden room behind it. The room contained all of Norman's Green Goblin equipment and the serum that had transformed him. This discovery led Harry to the horrifying realization that his father had been the Green Goblin all along, setting him on a path to become the New Goblin and continue his father's legacy of terror.

Becoming the New Goblin

Around six months after discovering that Peter Parker was Spider-Man—thanks to Doctor Octopus's capture—Harry Osborn began his transformation into the New Goblin. Haunted by another hallucination of his father, Norman Osborn, Harry decided to take revenge. Donning a modified version of Norman's Green Goblin suit and jet glider, Harry attacked Peter during a fierce battle. Despite Peter's attempts to explain that he was not responsible for Norman's death, Harry refused to listen, blinded by his desire for vengeance.

During their fight, Harry suffered a severe head injury, which caused him to develop amnesia. This condition temporarily erased his memories of the past traumatic events, including his vendetta against Peter. In this state, Harry reverted to his former self, as he was before his father's death, and even rekindled his friendship with Peter.

However, Harry's amnesia was short-lived. After regaining his memory, prompted by another vision of his father, he resumed his quest to destroy Peter. Harry's first act of vengeance was to sabotage Peter's relationship with Mary Jane Watson. He manipulated Mary Jane into breaking up with Peter, falsely claiming that she had left him for Harry. Enraged and influenced by the black suit (the Venom symbiote), Peter viciously attacked Harry in his penthouse, culminating in Peter throwing one of Harry's own pumpkin bombs back at him, leaving Harry with severe scars on the right side of his face.

Saving Peter Parker from Venom and Sandman

Later, when Mary Jane was captured by Venom, Peter, now free from the black suit's influence, approached Harry, pleading for his help to save her. Initially, Harry refused, still bitter and angry at Peter. However, after a conversation with his butler Bernard, who revealed the truth that Norman's death was caused by his own actions and not by Peter, Harry had a change of heart. Realizing the error of his ways and the depth of his friendship with Peter, Harry decided to help Spider-Man save Mary Jane from Venom and Sandman.

Death

During the ensuing battle, Harry fought alongside Peter against Venom and Sandman. In a tragic turn of events, Harry sacrificed himself to save Peter, taking a fatal blow when Venom impaled him in the back with his own glider. Peter was devastated by Harry's sacrifice, rushing to his side as the battle concluded. As Harry lay dying in Mary Jane's lap, he and Peter reconciled, with Harry forgiving Peter for the past and reaffirming their bond as best friends. Harry passed away with Peter and Mary Jane by his side, leaving both of them heartbroken.

Powers and Statistics

Tier: 8-C, High 8-C with special weaponry

Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Martial Arts, Weapon Mastery, Stealth Mastery (Remained hidden within Mary Jane's apartment before sneak attacking her), Flight (With his Glider), Enhanced Senses (Possesses greater enhanced hearing than his father, who could hear drop of blood fall onto a wooden floor. Even after losing his memory, he had no trouble catching a falling vase and basketball in reaction to his senses), Regeneration (Low; Healed on his own after receiving scars and a stab to the upper body), Acrobatics (Spun his body around in mid-air to position himself back onto his Glider as it returned to him), Explosion Manipulation (Pumpkin Bombs, Razor Bombs, and Missiles), (His Razor Bombs can track opponents the moment they're thrown), Electricity Manipulation (When in use, the blade of Harry's sword becomes electrified), Fire Manipulation (His Glider can be used to emit heavy flames offensively)

Attack Potency: Building level+ (Harmed Spider-Man. Took the full brunt of the Performance-Enhancing Serum in its entirety, which would put him above his father, whose procedure was abruptly stopped mid-way. (A single regular Pumpkin Bomb was capable of vaporizing Eddie Brock and the Symbiote), Large Building level with special weaponry (His Glider can utilize missiles not unlike those his father used to destroy Quest's bunker and create large explosions. Glassed Giant Sandman's arm using his Glider)

Speed: Massively Hypersonic+ combat and reaction speed (Landed multiple attacks on Spider-Man despite the experience gap)

Lifting Strength: Class M (Using a single arm, tore out a large chunk of a brick wall)

Striking Strength: Building level+

Durability: Building level+ (Tanked his own Pumpkin Bomb exploding in his face twice, only ending up with facial scars on the second occasion)

Stamina: Superhuman

Standard Equipment:

• New Goblin Armor: Harry utilised a light-weight, highly durable armour in his conflicts against enhanced individuals such as Spider-Man and Sandman. The armour appears to be flame retardant, as it survived the explosion from a Pumpkin Bomb, however the tensile strength of the armour has its limits; as it was ripped apart by Spider-Man. The armour also wasn't durable enough to endure the trauma of being impaled with the razor-sharp spikes from his Sky Stick by Venom.
• Glider: The New Goblin rides a hi-tech snowboard-shaped glider called the Sky Stick, which also goes unnamed in the film.
  • Rockets:
  • Flame-thrower:
  • Two razor-sharp spikes
• Retractable arm blades:
• Ionic Sword:
• Pumpkin bombs:
• Razor bats:

Range: Standard Melee Range; Extended Melee Range with his sword; Several Meters with grenades; Hundreds of Meters with rockets

Intelligence: Gifted (Was able to modify and upgrade all of the Green Goblin's advanced weaponry)

Weaknesses: Often saw hallucinations of his father in the past, although he overcomes them by the end of Spider-Man 3

Trivia

• Sam Raimi originally planned for Harry to become the Hobgoblin, as in the Ultimate Universe, but was dissuaded by Sony

• Harry with his New Goblin Suit and scarred face made a cameo appearance in This Is the End film as a promotional stand for Spider-Man 3, film that kept by James Franco in his basement.

• In the Xbox 360/PS3 versions of the Spider-Man 3 game, players can play as Harry Osborn as The New Goblin in free roam if purchased as DLC. In the PS2/PSP/Wii versions of the game, Harry's death is less gruesome and altered compared to the actual film. After Spider-Man places four gasoline drums inside a giant Sandman, Harry is about to throw a pumpkin bomb to finish him off, but Venom throws Harry into Sandman using his webs. The bomb goes off, detonating the gasoline drums inside Sandman, resulting in both Harry and Sandman being blown to bits.
• In the Spider-Man (2002) game, Harry Goblin is playable as the Green Goblin (using Norman Osborn's original suit), making him the only character to become both Goblins. However, this game isn't canon since Harry didn't discover his father was the Green Goblin until the end of the second movie.
• This version of Harry in the game is voiced by Josh Keaton, who was originally slated to voice Spider-Man in the game if Tobey Maguire had been unavailable.
• In the first and second films, James Franco dyed his hair from dark brown to light brown. However, in the third film, he kept his natural dark brown hair. Additionally, in the first film, in the scene where Harry meets Aunt May at the hospital, Franco's hair wasn't dyed and is his natural color, but it returns to light brown during the funeral scene.
• Along with Peter Parker, Harry is one of only two characters in the Raimi Spider-Man trilogy to survive being hit by a pumpkin bomb.
• Spider-Man 3 is the only installment in which Harry and Aunt May do not interact or appear on-screen together.
• Harry's New Goblin identity is never mentioned in the third film itself, but it is referenced in the credits.
• In the film's novelization, the practical snowboarder look of his costume/armor is eschewed in favor a more traditional goblin look, described as "demented"