Although Osborn sometimes works with other supervillains such as Doctor Doom and Loki and groups like the Sinister Six and the Dark Avengers, these relationships often collapse due to his desire for unbridled power.

Osborn's largest overarching story came during the line-wide "Dark Reign" and Siege comic book events, in which he served as the main antagonist; during this time, he became the original iteration of Iron Patriot.

Although the dark turn at the end was always part of the plan for the storyline, Brian Michael Bendis, Secret Invasion's writer, says that Osborn was picked for the leading role because of the changes implemented by Ellis.

While he lies in the morgue, it is revealed that the Goblin formula gave him a previously unknown healing factor which restores him to life; he also murders a homeless man and plants the disfigured body in his costume to feign his death.

[57] Most significantly, however, he utilizes his fortune to build a vast network of criminals, spies, dupes and co-conspirators to help engineer what would be an almost impossibly complex and meticulously planned plot to destroy Spider-Man's life.

Mary Jane was the only person who knew of their encounter and their children's existence prior to Gwen's death, despising Osborn for his immoral behaviors long before discovering he's the villainous Goblin.

[87] At Loki's suggestion, Osborn creates a rationale to invade Asgard, claiming the world (which was, at the time, positioned at the outskirts of Broxton, Oklahoma) poses a national security threat, by sending the U-Foes to attack Volstagg in Chicago, leading to the destruction of Soldier Field.

[91] Using his staged persona as a voice for the 'disenfranchised', Osborn plans to regain the Iron Patriot armor and creates a new team of Dark Avengers, this time substituting June Covington for Scarlet Witch, Ai Apaec for Spider-Man, Barney Barton for Hawkeye, Skaar for Hulk, Superia for Ms. Marvel, Gorgon for Wolverine and the A.I.M.-rebuilt Ragnarok for Thor.

[105] In the duel that follows, Spider-Man unmasks Osborn, learning that he has undergone plastic surgery to change his appearance, acting as Alchemax's CEO and intending to re-establish himself as businessman Mason Banks, now that his true likeness is too publicly known as a supervillain during his stint as Director of H.A.M.M.E.R.

In hiding once again, he reflects that the various heroes will be unprepared for him when he returns with a new identity and approach as a businessman, seemingly no longer afflicted by the bombastic mental illness associated with the Goblin Serum that he surmises wasted time on theatrics at the cost of practicality and thus less effective villainy.

[107] During the 2015 "Secret Wars" storyline, the Kingpin hosts a viewing party for the incursion between Earth-616 and Earth-1610 where his guests include Absorbing Man, Bullseye, Norman Osborn, Sandman, and Scorpion.

Managing to escape while Peter is distracted, Osborn resolves to find a means of restoring his powers and resume his mantle of the Green Goblin, concluding that he has only ever held the edge against the webhead when allowing himself to draw on his inner demons.

This statement allow Norman to remember that Spider-Man's true identity as Peter Parker, which in the past had always been the edge he held against the hero, as he now knew to target his loved ones and friends.

When Norman moves against the Osborns and proves immune to Carnage's traditional weaknesses of Human Torch's fire and Clash's sound devices, Peter is forced to step back into action despite the injured leg, with Agent Anti-Venom sacrificing a chance to get back into action himself to heal Spider-Man's injury as Osborn merges a part of the Carnage symbiote with his grandson Normie turning into a miniature version of Red Goblin.

However, the Carnage symbiote was attached to Norman when Peter destroyed it, which causes a psychic backlash from the trauma of dying that devastates Osborn's own psyche and finally defeats him.

[134] Prior to the confrontation with Kindred, Norman Osborn spoke to Mayor Wilson Fisk about Project Blank which was inspired by the Darkforce Dome that Hydra used during their takeover of the United States.

The Glider allowed the Goblin to carry a wide array of armaments, including heat-seeking and smart missiles, machine guns, extending blades, a flamethrower and a pumpkin bomb dispenser/launcher with him as he flew and had much greater speed and mobility than the Broomstick.

The armor featured superhuman strength, enhanced durability, flight, magnetic impact blasts, heat seeking missiles, miniaturized lasers, flamethrowers, and a communications system housed in his helmet which allowed him to interface with any U.S.-controlled satellite or computer network.

[144] Following his time in prison, A.I.M scientists converted Osborn into a Super-Adaptoid, capable of absorbing the abilities of any mutant, mutate, alien, android or other such superpowered being by touching them.

His durability was sufficient to withstand the combined attacks of all the Avengers, and he demonstrated remarkable healing abilities, recovering in seconds after Daisy Johnson used her powers to make his heart explode.

[citation needed] Although the stress caused by his son's failing health as Norman helped to provoke his transformation back into the Goblin,[154] this supposedly separate and more compassionate side of him never reappeared after he was believed dead.

[156] At the apex of his mania, he is paranoid, delusional, and suffers from visual and auditory hallucinations, including hearing the voice of his Green Goblin persona and seeing its face in the mirror rather than his own.

[171] His Goblin persona vied for control of his body, as depicted in the January 2010 issue of Dark Avengers, where he is shown writhing on the floor and imploring, apparently to himself, "Why won't this face come off...?

Years prior, Goblin killed Nighthawk's sidekick, Falcon, by throwing him off of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in a similar fashion to Gwen Stacy's death in the main continuity.

[volume & issue needed] Two years later, Norman would attempt to gain incredible power through the Gathering of Five, but in a final battle with Spider-Man, Osborn is slain in an explosion that also severely injures Peter, costing him one of his legs.

When Danielle Cage's group arrive in Osborn Country, Green Goblin led Absorbing Man, Enchantress, MODOK, Shocker, and Wild Child in attacking them.

But his experiment goes wrong,[225] and he himself is transformed into a muscular, grotesque, goblin-looking monster, granting him superhuman strength, reflexes, stamina, speed and durability, and enabling him to leap great distances.

While an ongoing comic book storyline during the time of the list, they praised his depiction in the "Dark Reign" saga stating that while he was once a great villain in his Green Goblin persona, he evolved past that when briefly being successful taking over S.H.I.E.L.D.

[234] Wizard magazine also ranked Norman's Green Goblin persona as the nineteenth greatest villain of all time with Galactus, Magneto and Doctor Doom being the only Marvel Comics characters higher on the list.

[235] They also placed him twenty eighth on the greatest comic book character list being the fifth highest supervillain only lower than Doctor Doom, Magneto, Joker and Luthor.