Why did the main antagonist truck in “Maximum Overdrive” (1986) have a Green Goblin mask on its front grille?

Question

Stephen King’s 1986 film Maximum Overdrive—which was an adaptation of his 1978 short story, Trucks—featured a killer truck that had a Green Goblin mask on its front grille; see screenshot below.

Apparently, Marvel comics approved of the Green Goblin imagery being used this way, so this was not accidental. But is there any explanation as to why the Green Goblin mask was used to begin with? Yes, the truck is supposedly a “Happy Toyz” truck, but still that Green Goblin mask being used on an “evil” truck is a bit over the top in-universe; out of universe was there ever any reasoning or logic behind this production design decision?

Answer 1

Stephen King actually directed Maximum Overdrive and he himself is critical of it. This article here explains a lot of the choices Stephen King made. It doesn't specifically say why Green Goblin, but it does say it was on purpose.

Mental Floss article about the movie Maximum Overdrive

3. THE HAPPY TOYZ TRUCK IS MODELED ON THE GREEN GOBLIN. The film’s main villain is the ironically named Happy Toyz Truck, a tractor trailer with a (homicidal) mind of its own. If the goblin-esque mask that sits on the front of the truck looks familiar, that’s because it’s modeled after Marvel’s Green Goblin.

A lot of his directions for this movie do seem to be enforced by his own love of things. Like getting AC/DC to do the soundtrack or insisting that Bruce Springsteen be the star of the movie.