Green Goblin Is Better Nemesis For Tom Holland Over Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Spider-Man: No Way Home

Surprisingly, Green Goblin was proven to be a stronger nemesis and arch-foe for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home than he was in his original universe against Tobey Maguire’s Webslinger. While he was among the other multiversal villains who came to the MCU thanks to Doctor Strange’s broken spell, Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) was by far the most dangerous villain. By the film’s end, Green Goblin causes more lasting damage and suffering to the MCU’s Spider-Man than he ever did to the original Peter Parker from the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy.

Debuting as Tobey Maguire’s first villain in 2002’s Spider-Man, Norman Osborn transforms himself into the Green Goblin after testing experimental performance enhancers on himself, an act that splits his mind. After facing Spider-Man a few times and learning his true identity as Peter Parker, the Goblin attacked Peter’s Aunt May. However, she was only frightened enough to be taken to the hospital with no lasting injuries. Likewise, while Mary Jane Watson was kidnapped by the Green Goblin who threatened to kill her, his battle with Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man saw Norman impaling himself with his own glider, leaving MJ unharmed. The only lasting damage the Green Goblin truly caused was fracturing Peter’s friendship with his son Harry who believed Spider-Man killed his father only to realize the truth at the end of Spider-Man 3, teaming up and reconciling with Peter just before his own death.

In comparison, Green Goblin is a much darker and more dangerous threat in No Way Home, causing Tom Holland’s Peter Parker some incredible suffering with a permanence not seen with Maguire’s Spider. Not only did the Goblin initially sabotage Peter’s efforts to help the other villains before sending them home, but he also brutally murders Peter’s Aunt May. In a dark turn of tragic irony, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Men lost their Uncle Bens because those Peter Parkers ignored their responsibilities. In contrast, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker loses his Aunt because he did listen to her, only for the Green Goblin to punish him for it by killing her. For this reason alone, Green Goblin is already a stronger arch-nemesis for the MCU’s Spider-Man, pushing him to his breaking point where Tom Holland nearly murders him seeking revenge.

Green Goblin also unleashes the broken spell which then threatens the stability of reality, forcing Spider-Man to make the sacrifice to let the whole world forget about Peter Parker, including his girlfriend MJ and best friend Ned. As a result, the MCU’s Peter Parker endures far more loss and suffering at the hands of the Green Goblin, an indication that Norman Osborn is much more Tom Holland’s arch-foe than he is for the original live-action Webslinger. As such, it certainly speaks to the types of surprisingly dynamic stories that can be told through Marvel’s multiverse beyond simple cameos.

Rather than just regulating the Green Goblin to a brief appearance for fans service, Norman Osborn played an extremely major role in No Way Home, delivering consequences and loss that the MCU’s Spider-Man will carry on long into the future. At the moment, no other villain Tom Holland’s Peter has faced has been able to achieve what Green Goblin has, despite being a villain from another universe who has last seen 20 years ago. As a result, it’s safe to say that Norman Osborn is the MCU Spider-Man’s true arch-foe much more than Tobey Maguire after Spider-Man: No Way Home.