This article contains spoilers for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man showrunner Jeff Trammell unpacked the Marvel series’ approach to Spider-Man’s most bitter enemy, Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. Voiced by Colman Domingo, this animated Norman is seemingly more friendly to Peter Parker/Spider-Man, with the series substituting him for the mentor role that Tony Stark/Iron Man played for the young hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In an interview with Collider, Trammell acknowledged the elephant in the room: “Yeah, so when you hear Norman Osborne is Peter Parker’s mentor, your mind immediately goes, this ain’t good.” The writer explained that “in crafting [Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s] Norman,” he sought to “fight” the “the preconceived noton of […] who Norman is.” According to Trammell, the show’s take on the character is distinct from other iterations “from the second you meet him.” He stated that “there’s 60 years of character that says this is who Norman is,” but the series’ “Norman has different nuances.”
Trammell clarifies that this new adaptation of the character “still [has] that kind of commanding presence and the power of a Norman Osborn, but, you know, in a different way.“ Additionally, the writer explained that he wanted to play with audience expectations in order to keep them guessing abotu Norman’s motives. He continued:
“I want to make sure that, like, when you meet Norman… In the back of your mind, even if you’re 100% sure, I know where this is going, there’s part of you that’s like, but do I? Do I fully know? Because this is a different guy. So if this is different, he’s different maybe.”
Of casting Domingo in as Norman, Trammell said his goal “was always kind of like finding someone who” could “express that with the character.” He then added: “What Colman does is so incredibly well is like adding a level of nuance to Norman to where everything he says. You’re like, ‘oh, he means that,’ and in the back of your mind you’re like, ‘but does he?’” The writer concludes by saying that Domingo “has the character down in such a great way that it allows us to play with, you know, everything he says can have double meanings.“
Norman Osborn is an interesting character in that he has close ties to Peter Parker, but Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man doubles down on this by making the hero have a mentor-mentee relationship. While this has been done before, it differs here in a few key ways. Firstly, Peter did not meet Norman through his son, Harry Osborn. Secondly, Peter basically works for Norman. Thirdly and most importantly, Norman discovers that Peter is Spider-Man very early on, and both parties know he knows.
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Trammell’s comments tease an interesting dynamic between Norman and Peter moving forward. At this stage, audiences have no real reason to be wary of Norman. He has not yet taken on his villainous Green Goblin persona, and aside from having footage of Peter as Spider-Man, there is no strong threat in his knowledge of the web-slinger’s dual identity. However, Trammell’s writing takes full advantage of fans’ knowledge of Norman’s villainous potential, intentionally setting off the viewer’s spider-sense.
GIven the many iterations of Norman that have made it to the screen, it is refreshing to see his relationship with Peter be given a new spin. Additionally, using the audience’s expectations to heighten the drama of the series is a fun way to build tension. Just like Peter doesn’t know if he can trust Norman, the viewers are in the dark about his motives in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which is heightened by having an actor of Domingo’s caliber in the role.