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Spider-Man: No Way Home’s finale confirmed Green Goblin is a better villain than the Joker when it comes to breaking a hero.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home, now playing in theaters.
In the Batman Universe, Joker has constantly tried to break the Dark Knight’s symbol, whether it be in the comics, cartoons, video games or movies. He’s been obsessed with their never-ending dance. In film, this was exemplified by Heath Ledger’s depiction most of all, as the Clown Prince of Crime kept trying to get the Bat to go past the limit and break his one rule because once the hero violated that no-kill policy; he’d become the very monster he hated. Thankfully, the Bat, in general, hasn’t fallen prey to this, but while Joker continues to plot, Spider-Man: No Way Home just showed us a better version of that plan, which confirmed Green Goblin is indeed a better villain than the clown.
Now, apart from Batman: The Killing Joke, Bruce Wayne hasn’t succumbed to Joker’s wiles, knowing he’d stain the legacy of his parents, the Bat-family and Justice League. He needs to set the best example for his charges too. Given his experience, the veteran has done a remarkable job despite Joker killing Jason Todd, crippling Barbara Gordon and damaging other allies, including Alfred, repeatedly.
In short, Bruce wouldn’t let Joker corrupt him; thus, the clown’s never been able to take away the Bat’s world. Even in the “Superheavy” arc, while Bruce lost his memory, the foundation remained with his family and friends waiting to help heal and take him back in.
Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, though, made even more sadistic moves against Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home. First, he pretended to be an ally in Norman Osborn and wanted to get the villains cured and back to Sony’s original Spider-Verse. However, he reverted to his evil ways, brutally killing Aunt May and kickstarting dominoes that’d crumble Peter’s life even further.
Goblin pushed Peter with his taunts to the point that the teen was close to murdering him with his glider in the finale. If it weren’t for Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man and Andrew Garfield’s wall-crawler, the Avenger would have done just that. Still, Goblin succeeded as he poisoned the teen, who now has this venom in his soul that won’t go away. More so, Goblin’s scheming led to Peter begging Doctor Strange to mind-wipe the multiverse so that no one knows his secret identity.
As such, Peter didn’t just lose May — he lost MJ, Ned, Happy, the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and ultimately, his entire world. Pete was left empty and lost with an identity that no longer had the heart and soul he once shone with — something Joker hasn’t been able to do with Batman permanently.
Bruce always managed to keep pieces of himself and had supporting systems in case he failed, but Peter has more or less been left defeated, both outside of and under the mask. It proved how merciless Goblin could be, even after Norman erased him. And so far, Peter doesn’t seem able to recover as seen when he couldn’t face MJ and Ned again in No Way Home‘s final moments, realizing his old MCU life was shattered and that Goblin had won.
To see Green Goblin succeed where Joker failed, Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters.
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