The transparency with whichMarvel’s Spider-Manhas gone about its narrative framework, married withMarvel’s Spider-Man 2basically announcing that a third mainline installment would be its last, suggests that not much may come as a big surprise in terms of planned story beats within Insomniac’s series. Concerned more with tying loose ends in its overarching revenge plot with the ‘O’s’ Otto Octavius and Norman Osborn, Insomniac has big choices to make regarding who will appear in the main campaign and who will fill open-world side content. Insomniac has gone to great lengths toforeshadow a Green Goblin asMarvel’s Spider-Man 3’s lead antagonist, and what role Harry Osborn has in the upcoming game will be fascinating to behold.
Insomniac could’ve chosen to kill Harry inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2or write him out of the plot otherwise and didn’t. Therefore, it’s fair to assume Harry still has some part to play, whether big or small. It’d be quite absurd if his brief stint as Venom is followed shortly by him becoming the Green Goblin, for example, which would lend credence to the idea of Norman taking the G-SERUM himself for whatever reason. It’s unknown if Harry will be out of his coma come time forMarvel’s Spider-Man 3, let alone a possible Venom half-sequel, though there’s an opportunity laid bare for him to become Green Goblin anyway—not as the classic villain, but perhaps a crime-fighting companion of Peter Parker and Miles Morales.
At Least One Green Goblin in Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 is Inevitable
Green Goblin has been alluded to heavily and irrevocably throughout theMarvel’s Spider-Manfranchise and it’s without a doubt that he’ll either be the penultimate or final boss fight when the series eventually concludes. Doctor Octopus has been kept around, suggesting that he’ll either get his mechanical tentacles back or play an active role in scheming from the Raft.
Similarly, Harry is out of commission at the moment but will seemingly be experimented on with Norman’s G-SERUM and likely become Green Goblin.Norman becoming a Green Goblin might require him to take the G-SERUM, which could be more difficult to rationalize now unless Harry dies duringMarvel’s Spider-Man 3and provokes him to become a grief-stricken Emerald Elf to attack the wall-crawlers.
The G-SERUM is intended for Harry, anyway, and it not going to him initially would be perplexing. Thankfully, with the relationship dynamicMarvel’s Spider-Man 2established between Peter and Harry, as well as Peter and Harry’s relationship inJonathan Hickman’sUltimate Spider-Mancomic book run, there’s a contemporary and nuanced angle Insomniac may pursue that would allow Harry to don a Goblin mask as a supporting character.
How Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 Can Adapt Ultimate Spider-Man’s Green Goblin
In Hickman’sUltimate Spider-Man, Harry Osborn is a Green Goblin who happens to be a do-gooder companion of Peter’s, and there’s a possibility that Insomniac has already created foundations for like-minded character development with its own Harry.
Indeed, making Harry a villain again would be Insomniac needlessly double-dipping, but that doesn’t mean Harry must be benched altogether. He was already willing to battle Kraven’s hunters and rescue Tombstone alongside Peter as a symbiote-clad sidekick inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, for instance, and would now make for a perfect Green Goblin if he’s unwittingly given another experimental treatment from his desperate father. TheG-SERUM curing Harry of his ailmentcould allow him to suit up with Peter again with armor and equipment inspired by the technologyMarvel’s Spider-Manteased two installments ago.
Plus, this could make for a great dichotomy between Harry’s Green Goblin being armored and his father potentially becoming a Green Goblin more akin to theoriginalUltimatearc where Norman is a hulking brute hurling fireballs. In the meantime, only time will tell why Harry may have been kept around in theMarvel’s Spider-Manseries.
