first Spider-Man movie, with even the 1977 Spider-Man film coming out 15 years after the hero first debuted in the pages of 1962's Amazing Fantasy #15. With that said, there have been some consistencies throughout this time.
One of these is that of the famous "with great power" speech associated with Spider-Man, which first originates in Amazing Fantasy #15 itself, with the narration stating that, "with great power there must also come — great responsibility!" This lesson and quote have seen minor tweaks in the years since, known better as the straightforward "with great power comes great responsibility" line that crops up in comics, movies, and shows alike. Given the line's prominence in the Spider-Man mythos, one 2025's decision to change the message and messenger of this lesson is all the more noteworthy.
2025 Gives Green Goblin The "With Great Power" Speech & Warps It Considerably
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man episode 8 sees Norman Osborn - generally known better by his villain alias of Green Goblin, though the show character doesn't appear to have adopted this moniker yet - talk with Peter about his superhero career. The show's version of Norman has been a mentor of sorts for Peter throughout the story thus far, and so when Spider-Man begins to doubt himself and the impact he can have as a hero after being beaten by the Scorpion, the mogul is naturally the person he turns to, asking how he can get better and overcome the challenges he faces.
While Norman is ive of Spider-Man's endeavors, the conversation quickly starts to take an ominous turn that teases Osborn's questionable perspective despite his prior kindness. Norman's insistence that Spider-Man's issue is that he pulls his punches and holds back verges into far more troubling territory when the Oscorp head tells Parker that “with great power comes great respect - and if you don’t have respect, you have nothing. You need to give the world a reason to respect you.” The line is even backed with ominous music, just to underline to us that this is indeed supposed to sound off.
While others have imparted the "with great responsibility" wisdom to Spider-Man over the years - most famously Uncle Ben, who's associated most strongly with the line - giving the line to Norman and changing it so drastically seems to serve a very different purpose. Where the MCU gave Aunt May the original version of the quote in Spider-Man: No Way Home to add extra tragedy to her death and underline her role as a healthy role model and parental figure to Tom Holland's Peter Parker, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man appears to do the opposite here with Osborn's take on the line.
How Green Goblin's "Great Respect" Line Changes The Most Famous Spider-Man Quote For The Worse
Though Uncle Ben didn't say the first instance of the iconic Spider-Man line, in the years since its first appearance the dialogue has become associated with the crucial life lesson he taught his superpowered nephew. Peter's heroic outlook hinges on this idea in a major way, with Ben's wisdom teaching him that his superhuman abilities should be used to protect and help others, and that this is a responsibility that comes with them. Ben's death reinforces this, since living by his words is one of the ways Spider-Man chooses to honor his ing in most versions of his story.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man essentially flips all of this on its head. Norman Osborn's assertion that great power brings great respect - and that you need to give the world a reason to respect you - appears to be the character trying to reinforce his message that Peter should use his abilities without holding back to force them to respect him. In essence, this is the opposite of what Uncle Ben has taught so many versions of Peter, as the original message is about doing the right thing because it's the right thing to do, not because of how people will perceive you.
The show underlines beforehand that Norman's mindset is at odds with Spider-Man's goals and approach. Peter faces a range of human enemies who he'd probably outright kill if he didn't hold back, and helps contribute to what is hopefully at least one redemption arc when he convinces a pizza parlor owner to not have the down on their luck person who stole from him arrested after she appears to show genuine remorse for her actions. As such, Norman's statements seem directly shown to highlight the flaws in the ways he regards both Peter's powers and the concept of power itself.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man's Great Power Change Sets Up Green Goblin To Be A Villain More Than Anything Else
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man's Norman Osborn is a majorly interesting take on the character, since he's shown to have seemingly noble intentions, clearly wishing to help Spider-Man and protect New York. However, Norman imparting this deeply questionable lesson to Spider-Man is perhaps the biggest sign he could be well on his way to becoming Green Goblin yet, since it suggests the character has a "might makes right" mentality wherein power must be used to force others to respect you, rather than used to do the right and responsible thing even if others don't recognize or appreciate it.
The idea of holding respect over responsibility could well be what puts Peter and Norman against one another later down the line, as while Parker initially seems to take Norman's lesson on board, we already have a lot of examples of how he's not a hero who is doing it for respect or approval, but rather because he genuinely just wants to help others. Even Norman's son Harry suggests this isn't the approach Peter should necessarily be taking, telling his friend: "my dad has a lot of power... and he has a lot of respect. But he's not Spider-Man. So, what Spider-Man needs to do should be up to you."
The final 2 episodes of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season 1 release February 19, 2025.
Norman and Peter's values being at odds hasn't led to proper conflict between them yet, but it also doesn't seem impossible for it to eventually lead to a clash, as between all this and Norman's eccentric selection of superhero suits he has Peter try, he doesn't seem to really understand Spider-Man or what the hero stands for. Since episode 7 shows Norman has seemingly already made the goblin glider the Green Goblin notably employs, his idea that "you need to give the world a reason to respect you" looks like it could well be what motivates him to take a very different path depending on how the future unfolds.
- Created By
- Steve Ditko
- First Appearance
- Amazing Fantasy
- Alias
- Peter Parker, Ben Reilly, Otto Octavius, Yu Komori, Kaine Parker, Pavitr Prabhakar, William Braddock, Miles Morales, Kurt Wagner
- Alliance
- Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Secret Defenders, Future Foundation, Heroes for Hire, Mighty Avengers, New Avengers, Web-Warriors
- Race
- Human
- Franchise
- Marvel, Spider-Man
