Before Tom Holland took up the Mickey Mantle as Peter Parker for the MCU , both anterior springy - action Spider - Men   had come up against Harry Osborn during their respective franchise , with James Franco playing the character during   Sam Raimi ’s trilogy of moving-picture show and Dane DeHaan taking on the role in 2014’sThe Amazing Spider - Man 2 .

Updated on January 24th , 2022 by Mark Birrell : WithSpider - Man : No Way Homeproving that there ’s room enough for more than one live - natural process Spider - Man , not to mention   a boniface of live - action villains cohabitating the same picture show , it raises the interrogative sentence of whether fan will be ensure the takings of Harry Osborn any time soon .

Willem Dafoe ’s Norman Osborn has already returned for the MCU , so could a version of James Franco ’s Harry Osborn be close behind ? likewise , fan seem   more ready for an Amazing Spider - Man 3 to come to realisation than ever , so could Dane DeHaan ’s Green Goblin get a chance to finish their electric discharge ? Which would be more deserving ? have ’s look at the well qualities of each iteration of the iconic character .

Spider-Man Noir

Dane DeHaan Was The Best Harry Osborn Because

He Looked Awesome In The Goblin Suit

Not everybody was a buff of the way DeHaan ’s Harry looked as the Green Goblin inThe Amazing Spider - Man 2 . or else of donning unripe armour and a majestic hat like in the comics , he instead more literally resembled a goblin because of a degenerative disease called " Retroviral Hypodysplasia " , which Harry inherits from his father .

However , it was a fresh and unique take on the character . DeHaan looked terrible in a monstrous way , and the detail in the more epitome - looking lawsuit intend that there are always interesting thing that fans can notice upon re - watching .

He Oozed Villainy

Given thatThe Amazing Spider - Man 2was released just seven year afterSpider - gentleman’s gentleman 3 , fans wanted something different from DeHaan ’s Harry and he ’s the exact opposite to what Goblin Jr. was during Raimi ’s trilogy , oozing villainy even before undergoing a drastic transformation .

He lay waste to no time repose down the practice of law to room members at Oscorp . Harry is unpitying as he set about making his crisscross and is desperate enough to bolt down – or suffer by while Electro kills for him – long before getting on the glider . Changing physically was just the last composition of the Goblin scroll saw in this version of Peter Parker ’s story .

He Had Good Chemistry With Other Bad Guys

Everyone lovesa good villain team - upand fans dumbfound plenty of that inThe Amazing Spider - Man 2 . Harry ’s story runs   in tandem with Electro ’s , with the twain   teaming up about halfway through the movie .

DeHaan also had good chemistry with Chris Cooper , who play Norman , and the mysterious Gustav Fiers , who imply that Harry would dwell at the center of a Sinister Six team - up in the franchise ’s future tense before Spider - Man entered the MCU and plan alter once again .

There Was More Story To Tell

The arc of James Franco ’s   Harry Osborn was in spades terminate by the sentence of his   expiry inSpider - Man 3but the same ca n’t be say for Dane DeHaan ’s .

With Harry not featuring inThe Amazing Spider - Man , his show in the sequel was stand for to be the showtime of a long tale . He ’d already team up up with Electro , andThe Amazing Spider - Man 2ended with him instruct Gustav Fiers to muster in the Rhino , while hints were devolve that Vulture and Doctor Octopus would be appearing further down the line . talking of a Sinister Six moviehas never really gone away and fans seem as excited about the aspect now as they did back in 2014 .

He Had A Killer Instinct

While Norman and Harry Osborn are both villainous in the Sam Raimi trilogy , Dane DeHaan ’s Harry Osborn   is virtuous evil once he transforms into the Green Goblin inThe Amazing Spider - Man 2 . He does n’t just go after Peter ’s erotic love interest , he actually follow in defeat her .

Gwen Stacy ’s demise was pretty inevitable pay that this face of her character is what most rooter know and expect , but by make Harry Osborn the one who ’s straightaway responsible , it flipped the tables of the rivalry between Harry and Peter in the Raimi sequels , where Spider - Man belt down someone that Harry loves . It was a big setup for more intense dramatic play down the road .

James Franco Was The Best Harry Osborn Because

He Was Easy To Sympathize With

The Amazing Spider - Man 2shows very minuscule fundamental interaction between   Norman and Harry Osborn before Norman ’s sudden death and it ’s possible that , like with J. Jonah Jameson , this is because the producers knew that this was one aspect of the Raimi films that was unlikely to be top off .

Norman is such a cold and restrain presence in Harry ’s life in Raimi ’s originalSpider - Manmovies   that it ’s hard not to finger a lilliputian sorry for him . But it ’s Franco ’s performance as Harry that really tap into the more ridiculous side of the role , make the consultation feel the pain and humiliation of his weaknesses and overall childishness .

His Arc Was Well-Planned

Dane DeHaan start off at the showtime ofThe Amazing Spider - Man 2as Harry before changing into the villain   everyone knows and sleep together but Franco ’s   Harry Osborn had his bout to villainy played out over several flick in the Raimi trilogy .

It was carefully plan and took its time . For the bulk of the first two movies , Franco ’s variation of the character get more and more angry and disenchant with the Earth . When he   comes across his father ’s old armor   at the close ofSpider - Man 2 ,   it was one of the best subsequence set - ups that comic Bible movie fans had ever assure .

His Chemistry With Tobey Maguire Was Brilliant

While Dane DeHaan had superb chemistry with villains such as Electro , Norman Osborn , and Gustav Fiers , Franco had a superb on - concealment relationship with Maguire during the Raimi trilogy . They were believable as polarized best Friend during the first movie , their antagonism arising made gumption in the second , and there was definitely an zephyr of catastrophe before Harry ’s death in the third .

The graphic symbol ’s expiry brought a immense amount of closure to the end of the moving picture ,   helping Raimi ’s 3 films stand up as a everlasting trilogy as opposed toa enfranchisement that end too betimes due to insurmountable creative differences , which some rooter also view them as .

He Had Awesome Gadgets

Norman Osborn had some pretty incredible appurtenance when was the Green Goblin and Harry inherit all of this inSpider - human being 2before putting them to utilise in the following film . He ’s mystify pumpkin bombs , a snowboard - like glider , and a sword that total precariously close to cutting Peter in half when they face off .

If anything , it was too powerful . Harry actually dies because of his own equipment . Venom picks up his glider when he ’s criticize off it and , as he aim to toss off Peter , he drives it through the New Goblin alternatively . This echoes what happened with Norman , who accidentally stabs himself in the first installment of the Raimi trilogy .

He Was Slicker And Cooler

As a son of a millionaire , Harry is intend to be rather   arrogant   and confident . Franco nails this , specially inSpider - Man 2when he ’s head of Oscorp and savor the luck to work with Doctor Octavius , who is poised to make him a important amount of money .

Harry walks with a swagger , wearing dainty suits and giving off a immense atmosphere of confidence . It ’s the same inSpider - Man 3when his memory return , with the New Goblin loving the chance to meddle in Peter and Mary Jane ’s kinship , thrust the brace to break up . He actually seems happy when his male parent dies , but that does n’t stop him from keep abreast in his villainous footsteps further down the line .

NEXT : Ranking Every Villain In Sam Raimi ’s Spider - Man Trilogy

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Split image of James Franco and Dane DeHaan as the Green Goblin

Dane DeHaan as The Green Goblin in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 scowling

Harry Osborn walking through NYC in The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Harry Osborn and Electro talking in The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Vulture and Doc Ock suits in The in Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Gwen Stacys Death in The Amazing Spider-Man

Norman Osborn telling Harry to avenge him Spider-man 2

James Franco as Harry Osborn holding a knife in Spider Man 2

James Franco and Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man

harry osborn on his new glider in Spider-man 3

James Franco as Harry Osborn in Spider-Man 3

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