The Amazing Spider-Man #136
The Amazing Spider-Man #136 is the first appearance of Harry Osborn as the Green Goblin — establishing him as the second person to wear the mantle and cementing the Osborn family as the defining dynastic villain line in Spider-Man's mythology. Where Norman's vendetta was against Spider-Man the hero, Harry's hatred was aimed squarely at Peter Parker the person, introducing a uniquely personal dimension to the Green Goblin conflict that writers have revisited ever since. The issue is also the payoff of a multi-year slow burn Gerry Conway had been building since Norman's death in #122, drawing a direct line from Harry's drug addiction — first addressed as far back as #96 — to his psychological collapse and violent transformation. That narrative throughline, threading real-world consequences of substance abuse into superhero storytelling, gave the Bronze Age Spider-Man title a moral weight that stood apart from most of its contemporaries.
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Writer Gerry Conway conceived Harry's turn as the Green Goblin partly out of a desire to follow through on the consequences of Harry's hallucinogen use introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #96 (1971). Conway explained that his own familiarity with psychedelic drugs made him understand how residual hallucinogenic episodes, combined with the emotional fragility Harry would feel after his father's apparent death, could plausibly shatter his grip on reality. Conway also stated plainly that he never intended to retire the Green Goblin concept permanently, meaning Harry's adoption of the role served both a character-driven and a franchise-maintenance purpose simultaneously. The issue was produced during Conway's celebrated run alongside penciller Ross Andru, under editor Roy Thomas and editor-in-chief Len Wein, and went on sale in June 1974 with a September 1974 cover date.
Trivia · 9 facts
- First appearance of Harry Osborn as the Green Goblin — making Harry the second character in Marvel continuity to use the alias, after his father Norman.
- Story title: 'The Green Goblin Lives Again!' — script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Ross Andru, inks by Frank Giacoia and Dave Hunt, letters by Artie Simek.
- Cover by John Romita Sr.; editor Roy Thomas; editor-in-chief Len Wein; colorist Linda Lessmann.
- Plot: Harry rigs a bomb at the apartment he shares with Peter Parker, injuring Mary Jane Watson; Spider-Man deduces his roommate is the new Goblin and confronts him at Norman's abandoned warehouse, but pulls his punches — unable to fight his best friend at full force — allowing Harry to escape.
- Peter Parker quits his staff photographer job at the Daily Bugle in this issue, a notable status-quo change; Betty Brant appears as he storms out.
- Gwen Stacy appears in flashback only — a reminder of Norman's murder of her in #121-122, the trauma that drives Harry's vengeful transformation.
- Reprinted in Marvel Tales (Marvel, 1966 series) #113 (March 1980); the letters page contains Marvel Value Stamp Series A #95: Mole Man.
- Harry's Harry-as-Goblin arc directly inspired the storyline adapted in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy (2002–2007), where James Franco portrayed Harry across all three films, culminating in his 'New Goblin' role in Spider-Man 3.
- A Mark Jeweler advertisement insert variant of this issue exists.
