Proto-Goblin

Proto-Goblin is an early experimental subject tied to the formula that would eventually create the Green Goblin, appearing in a flashback story involving Norman Osborn and the dark origins of one of Spider-Man's most notorious villains.

A sinister piece of Green Goblin mythology, Proto-Goblin clawed into Marvel continuity in 1997's Spider-Man #-1 — one of that era's inventive "Flashback" issues, crafted by Howard Mackie and Dan Fraga — casting a long shadow over the origins of one of Spider-Man's most iconic rogues. Sharing pages with Norman Osborn, Peter Parker, and Gwen Stacy, this character is woven into the darkest threads of early Goblin lore, and their most substantial spotlight comes in Spider-Man: Shadow of the Green Goblin. With only a handful of catalog appearances across nearly three decades, Proto-Goblin is a rare, tantalizing figure — the kind of deep-cut discovery that reminds you just how much unsettling history Marvel has buried in the shadows of its most legendary villains.