Norman Osborn in the context of "Green Goblin"

Harold Theopolis Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965).

Harry is the best friend of Peter Parker (Spider-Man's alter ego) and Flash Thompson, one of the ex-boyfriends of Mary Jane Watson, the son of Norman Osborn, the husband of Liz Allan and the father of Normie Osborn and Stanley Osborn. He is the second character to assume the Green Goblin alias while one of his clones was amongst the many users of the Iron Patriot armor as the superhero American Son. An artificial intelligence (A.I.) copy, known as the A.I. Harry Osborn, is also the creator of the clones Gabriel and Sarah who are both later revealed to be operating as his demonic revenant Kindred under the Harry A.I.'s command.

Gwendolyne Maxine "Gwen" Stacy is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in those featuring Spider-Man (Peter Parker). A college student and the daughter of George and Helen Stacy, Gwen was the first romantic interest for Peter following his high school graduation before she was murdered by the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn). Her death has haunted Peter ever since, and stories published long afterwards indicate she still holds a special place in his heart.

Gwen was posthumously subjected to numerous cloning experiments by her former professor Miles Warren, Peter's clone Ben Reilly, and an A.I. of Harry Osborn, the latter resulting in the creation of the Kindreds, and Ben briefly resurrecting Gwen in "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" (2016–2017), with the embodiment of Death herself confirming in Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider (2017–2018) that all clones Ben created of deceased people had their souls intact on being brought back, while clones of living people (like Ben himself) had unique souls of their own. A flashback solo miniseries, Gwen Stacy: Beyond Amazing (2020–2024), was written by Christos Gage. In The All-New, All-Deadly Gwenpool (2025), she is again resurrected with Weapon X-like abilities under the designation X-31, teaming up with Peter, isekai protagonist Gwen Poole, and archer Kate Bishop against "The Great Architect". In the alternate universes of Ultimate Marvel, Spider-Gwen, and Ultimate Spider-Man, a still-living Gwen becomes their respective realities' versions of Carnage, Spider-Woman, and Mysterio.

Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #3 (July 1963). He is a highly intelligent, myopic, and stocky mad scientist who sports four strong and durable appendages resembling an octopus's tentacles, which extend from his body and can be used for various purposes. After his mechanical harness became permanently fused to his body during a laboratory accident, he turned to a life of crime, and came into conflict with the superhero Spider-Man. He has endured as one of Spider-Man's most prominent villains, and is regarded as one of his three archenemies, alongside the Green Goblin and Venom. He is the founder and leader of the Sinister Six, the first supervillain team to oppose Spider-Man.

While usually portrayed as a supervillain, Doctor Octopus has also been occasionally depicted as a conflicted antihero and ally of Spider-Man. Following Spider-Man's death in the 2012 storyline "Dying Wish", which saw a dying Octavius swapping bodies with the hero and letting him die in his original body, Octavius was motivated to prove he could be a better Spider-Man. As such, he adopted the Superior Spider-Man alias, introduced in Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 following a cameo in Daredevil vol. 3 #21 (both December 2012), as the fourth predominant main continuity Spider-Man. The Superior Spider-Man possesses all of the original Spider-Man's abilities, memories, and equipment, along with additional gadgets created by Octavius, though he often struggles to live up to his predecessor's legacy and seeks to turn his life around after being a villain for years.