'Marvel's Spider-Man' Could Be Teasing Green Goblin Origin

Spoilers for late-game and end-game sequences of Marvel's Spider-Man are included in the article below.

Marvel's Spider-Man seems to be setting up for a Green Goblin origin story with several teasers towards the end of the game hinting at Mayor Norman Osborn's future.

Towards the end of the game — again, this will spoil late-game sequences for players who haven't reached them yet — players have to control Mary Jane Watson again as she sneaks into Osborn's penthouse apartment to find the antiserum for Dragon's Breath, the biological weapon that Doctor Octopus unleashed on the city. By using a similar mechanic to Spider-Man's Spider Senses, players can locate objects of interest throughout the apartment. One of the first ones that's spotted in MKIceAndFire's full game walkthrough above is an armored mask that looks out of place among Osborn's other valuables.

"Schematics for a prototype combat mask," she says when picking up the plans for the helmet. "Looks like it can reveal structural weaknesses."

While it might look like the mask is similar to the ones that Sable agents wear seeing how they work for Osborn, they're only hired by Osborn and don't actually use his gear. It also has the official "Oscorp Industries" name on it to show that just like the Dragon Breath, it's something that Osborn and his workers are creating themselves.

Putting on the mask reveals the clearest indicators that this is an early version of the Green Goblin's mask. At the top of the mask HUD seen at 11:26:23 in the video, there are a series of numbers that appear to indicate which prototype version this helmet is. Preceding those numbers are two letters: "GG," perhaps the most direct reference to the Green Goblin. In the top-left corner of the HUD, there's also an image of what appears to be the pointed glider that the Green Goblin uses with the text "Glider Tech Sync" next to it and a percentage indicating the progress of the helmet syncing to the glider.

Adding to the Green Goblin teasers, grenades are also found on the table when exploring the apartment, a Green Goblin weapon of choice. Players also pointed out that the blueprints for the project say "AS 14" on them, a reference to Green Goblin's first appearance in the Amazing Spider-Man comics. There's even a mention of the glider hinted at in the helmet HUD when players come across some Oscorp inventions, one of which says that it's a medical drone used to evacuate people, as one player recalled.

While all the pieces are there for the Green Goblin's origin, the final end credits scene sets up a motive for how the villain could come to be. With progress halted on curing Osborn's son, Harry, we see a moment shared between the two where Harry appears to be affected by a Venom-like entity. Osborn vows to continue doing whatever it takes to save Harry from his sickness, a cliffhanger that leaves the door wide open for the Green Goblin in the sequel that the ending clearly set up.

Marvel's Spider-Man is now available for the PlayStation 4.