Based on the comic book character of the same name created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he is portrayed by James Franco.

Upon finding out his best friend is actually the web-slinger, Harry, despite being reluctant at first, vows revenge on him, taking on the New Goblin[a] mantle and utilizing the technology his father left behind.

[1] Harry and Peter Parker gradually become close friends after meeting in college, despite initially not getting along and battling over girls such as Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson.

Since dying in The Spectacular Spider-Man #200, Harry, like his father and Gwen Stacy, has since been resurrected or re-adapted into different forms in the comics.

But after Harry comes to terms with his misguided hatred and his friendship with Peter, with no more doubts, he reconciles with his best friend and the two form an effective team fighting against adversaries.

In an analysis of the leading male figures in Spider-Man, including Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker and Willem Dafoe's Norman Osborn, James Whitbroook of Gizmodo writes that Harry is initially reluctant to bask in the Osborn name, hiding from public view while riding with his father in their limousine and resisting the urge to become spoiled by his inheritance, though he almost immediately takes advantage of Peter's bookish nature to flirt with Mary Jane, his best friend's crush, using a trivia bit that Peter brings up to impress her.

At the same time, Harry notices that Mary Jane Watson, Peter's childhood crush, had broken up with her ex-boyfriend Flash Thompson.

Harry starts a relationship with Mary Jane, initially without telling Peter, who later finds out from MJ that the two are dating but hides his disappointment.

The couple, along with the whole Oscorp board, are suddenly attacked by the Green Goblin, a homicidal criminal who, unbeknownst to Harry, is actually Norman with an insane second personality due to an experiment gone wrong.

Harry pleads with him to stay for dinner with him and Mary Jane, but Norman uncharacteristically insults MJ, ordering his son to dump her as soon as he is satisfied with her, and then storms off.

With his feelings hurt, Harry goes to his father, telling him he was right about everything, MJ included, and unwittingly reveals to the Goblin Spider-Man's true weakness: Mary Jane.

However, during a live demonstration of the fusion, the experiment fails and despite Harry's warnings Otto refuses to shut down the machine and the resulting explosion permanently attaches four extendable robotic arms onto Octavius, who is taken to the hospital and later escapes, becoming the villainous "Doctor Octopus".

He is shocked when he realized that his worst enemy was actually his best friend, but he reveals Doc Ock's whereabouts to Peter, who leaves to rescue Mary Jane.

After Peter leaves a date with Mary Jane, Harry ambushes him as the New Goblin, intent on exacting revenge for his father's death.

Harry, having forgotten taking the Goblin Serum, is surprised by his enhanced physical capacities, such as his incredibly sharp reflexes.

When Peter is overtaken by an alien symbiote which affects his personality and thus starts distancing himself from his friends to focus on his late uncle's recently revealed killer, Mary Jane is depressed over her lost acting career and finds solace with Harry.

After she unwittingly kisses him and rushes away regretting it, the sudden surge of familiar stress unlocks Harry's memories and restored his vendetta.

After Peter realizes the symbiote's effects on him and his relationships, he gets rid of the suit, only for it to fall onto his rival at the Daily Bugle, Eddie Brock, and create a new enemy, Venom.

Peter finally manages to defeat Venom, and after coming to a truce and understanding with Sandman, finds a mortally wounded Harry down below with Mary Jane.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and its second season, will explore an alternate universe version of Peter Parker's origin story (voiced by Hudson Thames) and early days using the Spider-Man persona as he is befriended by an alternate version of Osborn (voiced by Zeno Robinson) in his freshman and sophomore years of high school.

His portrayal in Spider-Man 3 has been generally considered as a good conclusion to his arc and that Franco finally looked comfortable in his film role.