Rogue's Gallery Green Goblin Bust
Everything has an opposite. The opposite of black is white, the opposite of dark - light. The opposite of good is evil, while the opposite of sex is marriage. The same yin-yang relationship exists in super hero comics, and Marvel's key symbol of Spider-Man is not immune. His nemesis comes on the wings of a bat - mechanical, and not organic - the guise of the grotesque Green Goblin.
Before he could glide around New York on a bat-glider, the Green Goblin has to emerge from his humble origins. He started out as Norman Osborn, head of his eponymous company Osborn Industries. Norman was a man driven to succeed, and when he found his business partner had borrowed money from the company for his own use (you might call it embezzling), he jumped at the chance to turn him in and send his partner up the river. An unforeseen benefit of his actions was that his partner was working on a way to increase the strength and intelligence of someone, and it wasn't working out and studying.
Norman used the notes and tried to duplicate the formula, but he was a little off and it exploded after turning green, keeping in mind this green color might be important later. On the plus side, the formula did work as promised and Norman got smarter and stronger. On the bad side, it drove him insane - a particularly nasty side effect. The nice thing about going insane though, is that you're usually too crazy to know it and so it's all good.
After creating a costume and a new name (Green Goblin - green because of the formula and goblin because it's alliterative and sounds better than grasshopper), he decided to enter the world of crime. Being a wealthy and powerful businessman, it probably wasn't that much of a change really. His first goal as a criminal mastermind would be to create his own gang because lackeys and underlings are what crime is all about. Besides hookers, that is. The Goblin worked long and hard to take over the gangs in New York, but time after time he was thwarted by one man, the one who does whatever a spider can.
Over the years the Goblin and Spider-Man became bitter rivals and fought almost constantly. They both learned each other's secret identities (which was a rare and wondrous thing when it happened in the 60's) and during a battle the Goblin's memory was lost and he returned to his previous life. But like a bad rash, his evil side returned and finally went off the deep end for good, going to the point of killing the love of Peter Parker's life - Gwen Stacy. Spidey didn't take it so well, and while he almost killed the Goblin for revenge he stopped himself before going too far. However, the Goblin had no intention of stopping without killing his foe and he used his glider to try and impale Spidey and missed. Well, he hit something - just not what he wanted (himself) and was killed.
It's an exciting tale and it has a great ending, but if you want to add in some cloning and a secret life the tale can go on. The question is, should it? We'll stop for now, at least for the purposes of this particular bust.
The version of the Green Goblin used for the inspiration of this bust comes right out of the comics and right from the original creators. Steve Ditko and Stan Lee brought the Goblin to life over forty years ago, and their first visions of the character were shrouded in shadow to keep the audience guessing. Steve and Stan differed in how they felt the character should be developed, and Ditko felt that he would be more interesting if the secret identity of the villain was simply an unknown person. Lee felt it had to be someone significant or the audience would be let down (and he chose the father of Peter's best friend). The saddest part of the story is that this rift between Lee and Ditko contributed to Ditko leaving Amazing Spider-Man, though his replacement (John Romita) would earn the title of legend on his own merits.
Okay, we can start with the ears. The huge, gigantic, green flowing ears. Even though Steve Ditko liked to draw the ears pretty large they weren't quite so big. Call it artistic license. Once you get past the ears, you have the majority of the six inch bust to appreciate. Starting with the head, you have an incredibly malevolent look on the Goblin's face, one that says he's not a nice guy. He has that cool cap on, with the trailing end wildly blowing in the breeze, and it reminds you of Venom's crazy tongue.
The base of the figure is a pile of pumpkin bombs, and the Goblin's logo appears on his ever-present satchel (loaded with other goodies). The bust has no arms, as is the aesthetic for the Rogue's Gallery and the sculpting and paint work are of high quality. This bust fits right in with the other busts in the line, and as good as they each look alone they look that much better as a group.
One of the cool things that this line of busts has used are parts of the bust suspended around the character in mid-air. Just look at Scorpion, Sandman, Carnage and the Mandarin, and you can see the same design ideas at work with the orange translucent trail from the a pumpkin bomb. The only down side to this look is that the balance of the bust has to be carefully worked out, and the Goblin is just slightly back heavy so you'll want to place him carefully. You'll also want to be careful with the flying pumpkin bomb because it has a translucent cover that sticks on with impressions and bumps. It would probably be best to either leave the cover off or ensure the piece is in a spot where if the cover falls off it won't break. Or you could always glue it on.
The Green Goblin is the second bust in the Rogue's Gallery line sculpted by the founder of Art Asylum, Digger. Digger created the Venom bust and now he adds another classic Spider-Man villain showing that he's definitely got a thing for Spider-Man (as if his Web Trap Spidey didn't give him away). You can catch a look at Digger's autograph on all 7500 certificates of authenticity, one included with each bust produced for the Goblin.
The Green Goblin is the eleventh bust in the Rogue's Gallery line from Diamond Select Toys, even though the package says thirteenth. The line is sculpted and designed with Art Asylum, known for their outstanding work on the Marvel Milestones statues and Marvel MiniMates, both produced with Diamond Select, and for their own Star Trek toys. The hallmarks of the Rogue's Gallery are great sculpting and paint, dynamic poses and innovative design with the base integrated into the piece. The line has a classical influence in the lack of arms on the busts and it only covers the bad guys of the Marvel Universe, finally giving them their due. The next bust in the line brings it to an even but dirty dozen, bringing Electro into the fold.
More Pictures of the Green Goblin
| Where to buy the Green Goblin Bust: This piece is limited to a run of 7500, and you can find it at your local comics shop and various online retailers for between $35 and $45 USD. |
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