The Return of the Green Goblin

The Return of the Green Goblin (Spider-Man: The Animated Series)

The Return of the Green Goblin was the eighth episode in Season 4 for the Spider-Man Animated Series. It first aired Saturday July 12 1997.

Plot

The episode begins with Harry Osborn running from the Green Goblin where he is grabbed by him and pushed into green water. Harry looks up and sees his father floating away from him and into an open Goblin mouth which looks like it is an entrance to a ride. Harry runs into it, saying not to leave him again. Once he falls into it by the time he entered it, he lands his back on webbing made by Spider-Man. Harry begs Spider-Man to save his father but he immediately turns into Man-Spider and picks him up. Then Harry is seen grabbed by the Green Goblin, grabbing him by his shoulders, saying he's next and throws him into a dark pit where Harry falls into a giant Green Goblin's mouth. Harry then wakes up in his bed, sweating and breathing very hard, calming down when he realized it was all a dream. He then goes into his bathroom, turns on the water in his sink, looks at his eyes and begins washing his face. He turns off the water and dries his face off with a towel. But by the time he's finished drying his face off, he then surprisingly sees the Green Goblin in the mirror, taking his place from where he is. The villain greets him hello, puts away the towel, says it's about he got up and there's a lot they have to do together. He then laughs maniacally.

As Harry is driving, the Green Goblin, through his rear-view mirror, tells him to turn to the path where OsCorp is. Harry goes to the ground-floor janitor's closet by the Goblin's orders. Harry says he's going crazy and the Goblin can't be real. But by the time Harry gets to the closet, the Goblin says when Harry sees his father again, Harry will know just how real the Goblin is. Then the Goblin tells him to turn the spigot all the way around at the closet sink. Once Harry does, the ground he is stepping on sinks real quickly down many feet, carrying Harry. The Goblin then sees if he was merely a part of his imagination then how would he know about this room that when the ground stops, Harry sees a mechanical room. He goes in it and asks the Goblin where is he and how is he communicating with him. The Green Goblin's face appears on a reflection of a gas chamber and the villain says what Harry asked was a good question. The Goblin says that he wished he had an answer but it is all Spider-Man's fault. We then see flashbacks of Turning Point in which Spider-Man attacks the Goblin to get revenge when Mary Jane Watson was presumed dead (as mentioned numerous times before, she fell into a dimensional portal by the Time Dialation Accelerator) and the villain tried to escape Spider-Man's murderous rampage directed at him. So he created a dimensional portal by the Time Dialation Accelerator but it was unstable and he couldn't turn it off. He then runs in the name of fear but Spider-Man tries to push him in to get revenge on what may have happened to MJ. He hangs to the bottom of ladder, his mask is sucked in and begs to be helped. When the glider the villain activated to push both him and Spider-Man into limbo missed Spider-Man when he dodged it, it pushed the villain in. The Goblin continues, saying that he thought he'd be trapped and alone. He searched desperately for someone who could hear him. And he found Harry. Harry is surprised and asks why him. The Goblin says that maybe consciously, Harry was looking for him. All the villain knows is that he needs someone to get him out of this limbo and for Harry to turn the lever. Harry said he won't and why should he do anything for the villain. The Goblin replies that he knows where Harry's father is and he'll tell him once he turns the lever. Harry is appealed to and a whole ton of gas is released, turning Harry more muscular and and it rips his clothes.

As Anna Watson gets off a bus and visits a cemetary. The Punisher is seen at the grave of his wife, stating to her grave that night after the night, it's the same thing - he "gets one punk crook off the street and ten more take his place". He states after he lost his wife, he vowed that he would make the world a better place. Then he wishes to make one good thing out of an innocent person's life. He then hears Anna Watson crying as she is sitting in front of her deceased husband's tomb. Punisher then walks towards her and Anna notices his movements. Punisher states that it's very dangerous to be out here this late and he should get her a cab. Anna gets off the groun once the Punisher helps her up and says she doesn't need any help. She just needs to be here with her late husband. She feels so alone and so helpless. She states that she knows a crime has been commited but she can't prove it. Punisher suggests she talks about it with him.

Anna invities Punisher back home and joins him for a cup of tea. She states that her friend, May Parker, is upstairs sleeping, being a dear for staying. Now, she states that she's convinced May's nephew, Peter Parker, knows where Anna's niece, Mary Jane Watson, is. Punisher asks what he's like. Anna calls him he's very secretive and had brought so much misery to May. Anna states she wouldn't be surprised by anything Peter would do. But she can't actually accuse him of anything - without proof. Punisher says he'll see what he can do. But before he could leave to find Peter, Anna asks him to wait and asks why is he helping her. Punisher says that is because he needs to (since he wants to make a big difference in at least one good person's, like Anna's, life).