Do we like Green Goblin (Norman Osborn)?
A character from Spider-Man (2002)
Our score: 1 out of 10. No. He's a charming, brilliant businessman with a murderous side, and he hurts people for power and spite. Even the sympathetic moments don't make up for it.
Norman Osborn runs Oscorp, a weapons-technology company, and he is in danger of losing it to the board. He is brilliant, proud and used to winning. He also has a warm bond with his son's friend Peter Parker, a gifted science student who is secretly Spider-Man.
Under pressure to deliver results, Norman tests a performance-enhancing formula on himself. It makes him far stronger and sharper, but it also unleashes a second, ruthless personality: the Green Goblin, who flies around on a glider and uses weapons from Oscorp's own arsenal.
We score him a 1 because the Goblin's cruelty and his hunt for Spider-Man put many people in danger. Dafoe plays Norman's split mind as both pitiable and frightening, so there is some tragedy in him. But the story shows again and again that he picks power and revenge over doing right.