Spider-Man has had a lot of Goblin-themed enemies over the year. From the very first Green Goblin Norman Osborn to his equally deranged sons Harry and Gabriel (if you’d like to consider Sins Past to be canon) to the original Hobgoblin Roderick Kingsley. But there is one member of the Goblin family that really sticks out was the once heroic one; Philip Benjamin Urich.
Phil Urich was the nephew of the Daily Bugle’s investigative journalist; Ben Urich. As he went to investigate the Oscorp Tower with him for an assignment, they had been attacked by several thugs. In an attempt to find and get help, Phil had been doused with the Goblin Formula and had then donned a new experimental Goblin Armor. After scaring them off while wearing the armor, Phil had made good use of it and became a heroic version of the Green Goblin. After a heroic act of saving his uncle from a corrupt judge, he gained a small following of fans and would eventually receive the blessing of Harry Osborn’s widow; Liz Allan, to redeem the Goblin Legacy after he had saved her and her son. This wouldn’t last though as his armor was damaged from an attack and forced to retire, then working as a simple full-time reporter for the Bugle.
He would later leave to Los Angeles and forming a team/support group consisting of former heroes, but suffered a mental breakdown and would come back to New York; now working for the new updated version of the Daily Bugle. In an effort to impress a co-worker named Norah (typical), he went to an old Goblin hideout to find something to show and impress her with. It was there he encountered Daniel Kingsley; who was masquerading as his brother and the Hobgoblin. Phil would then kill him and take on the moniker of the Hobgoblin. From there on, he would be working for the Kingpin while doing his own nefarious deeds to more or less get his crush. Phil slowly gained a degree of notoriety for his evil deeds and engaged in fights with various heroes from Spider-Man to Agent Venom.
Unfortunately, Phil would find himself in trouble when he came to blows with the original Hobgoblin; Roderick Kingsley. Even after a truce was called between them, things would quickly go downhill from there. Ty Stone, who was an apprentice to the Tinkerer and creating gear for him, decided to mess with him, which grabbed the attention of the Superior Spider-Man (actually Otto Octavius aka Doc Ock using Spidey’s body; please read). This caused him to eventually be publicly outed as the Hobgolbin in front of his uncle and his co-workers. After being arrested, the original Green Goblin offered to take him in as his subordinate. This wouldn’t last too long, as Phil would take over what was left of Osborn’s Goblin Nation upon his disappearance and decided to take up the name of the Goblin King to become a crime-lord and quickly rose to prominence.
Later on, Phil would search for new weaponry in one of Osborn’s old caches, and happened to break into Norman’s abandoned Upper East Side club, where he was holding J. Jonah Jameson hostage. Osborn caught notice of Urich’s presence in the lower levels of the building, and confronted him. Not knowing that Norman had bonded with the Carnage symbiote and the return of his goblin powers, Phil attacked him with his sword. Norman stopped the attack and killed Phil by impaling his chest with his symbiote blades. And that was the end of Phil Urich. The once heroic Green Goblin, the ever-villainous Hobgoblin and the nefarious Goblin King.
Many fans would say that Phil deserved to die. Norman himself had stated that Phil had never really made a name for himself. He used the names of the Green Goblin, Hobgoblin and the Goblin King. But there was a lot of potential in Phil that could have been brought out.
1: It is clear that he is Spider-Man’s (one of many) foils/evil counterparts. Both of them had jobs in the Daily Bugle, both have an Uncle Ben, and Norman had a interest in them. But Phil’s story is more reminiscent to Peter’s younger days. Compared to Peter’s initial start as Spider-Man to modern day, Phil is more insecure, less intelligent and less lucky with the ladies in spite of the infamous “Parker Luck” as Spider-Man has often referenced from time to time. Peter used his powers responsibly and heroically whereas Phil uses his powers for his own selfish gain and exploits. Norman had interest in Peter and Phil with the notion to make one of them his heir; but where Peter rejected his offer, Phil was quick to accept it.
2. One could easily see him as a foil to Harry Osborn as well. Both of these men are rather down on their luck no matter what, and have a legacy to live up to. For Harry, it was being the eventual heir to OsCorp and being the son of Norman Osborn. For Phil, it’s being the nephew of a noted gritty journalist; Ben Urich. Whereas Harry had a strong support system with friends and a family of his own to eventually break away from Norman’s grasp, Phil didn’t really have anyone and was kind of a loner to be frank.
3. Even though Norman was right that Phil hadn’t really made a proper name for himself, Phil was making a name for himself. Even after being outed publicly, he rose to prominence as a crime-lord. He clearly must have learned something from both of his predecessors. And he had excellent leadership, strategy and organizational skills. For all we know, he might have learned something from Kingsley and had used a body double in place (I hope).
4. Villainous romance? I know, it’s weird and shocking but bear with me. There was a certain interest between Phil and Harry’s ex-baby mama; Lily Hollister. And she does have a thing for Goblins. Even though, she seems to have been redeemed, it would have been an interesting take to have Phil trying to pursue a romance with her. Or Phil trying to lull her back to crime, which would take a different approach to Spider-Man’s on-off romance with Black Cat. Or maybe Phil having a romance with some other villainess?
5. Villainous team-ups. There’s no doubt there could have been room for an amazing villainous team-up with some other villains. And it would be a rather interesting take as Hobgoblin would ally himself with others if only temporarily, and Green Goblin would deceive others into doing his own bidding. It would take another creative spin to have a Goblin legitimately partnering up with someone and treat said partner like an equal (or close to it).
