Red Goblin
Normie Osborn
Normie Osborn
As Red Goblin
Click here to see him as Goblin Childe
Alter Ego: Goblin Childe, Red Goblin II
Host To: Norman Osborn's Carnage offshoot, Rascal
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #263; Amazing Spider-Man #799 (as Goblin Childe); Free Comic Book Day 2022: Spider-Man/Venom #1 (as Red Goblin II);
The son of Harry Osborn and Liz Allan, Norman "Normie" Harold Osborn idolized his grandfather, resented his father's apparent preference for his younger son Stanley, and hated Spider-Man. Normie was bonded to a piece of the Carnage symbiote by his grandfather, taking up the alias Goblin Childe, but ultimately turned against Norman when he saw how much of a monster his grandfather really was. Dylan Brock later recruits Normie to assist him in saving his father Eddie, giving him a symbiote —that Normie later names Rascal— to become the second Red Goblin.
- Angel Face, Demon Face: When trying to act as a hero and do good with the symbiote Normie’s Red Goblin form resembles an all red version of Spider-Man with a pointed head and glowing orange eyes. When he or the Rascal symbiote are angered and lash out their appearance changes to look more like Norman’s Red Goblin design minus the white eyebrows.
- Attack Drones: His "bombs" are actually drones that ruthlessly attack the target rather than exploding.
- Ax-Crazy: Due to the symbiote's influence, he's very eager to kill not just Spider-Man — who he's always seen as a villain out to ruin his family - but people in general. He gets better post Heel–Face Turn as Red Goblin, but will relapse into this if he gives in to his and the symbiote's urges.
- Curb Stomp Cushion: The Superior Octopus catches him off-guard and smashes him around until he transforms into his monstrous form. Even then, Otto holds his own until the Red Goblin shows up.
- Depending on the Artist: His eye and hair color regularly changes appearance to appearance.
- Disappeared Dad: Twice over, originally his father Harry died in an explosion he caused, but was supposedly revived post One More Day. This version of Harry abandoned him and had another son named Stanley, which became a source of Normie's resentment and what allowed him to become corrupted by his grandfather into Goblin Childe. After Harry proved he did care for Normie, the boy had a Heel–Face Turn, and shortly after his father died again which sparked Normie's disdain for the Osborn legacy.
- Evil Me Scares Me: After being divested of the Carnage symbiote, in Web of Venom: The Good Son he's terrified of Dylan turning him into the Goblin Childe again.
- Fanboy: The Red Goblin series portrays Normie as a huge fan of the Gundam franchise, having him make frequent references to it, as well as his bedroom being full of Gundam merchandise.
- Heel–Face Turn: He realizes his father loves him and sees just how much of a monster his "Pop-Pop" really is when Norman tries to do to Liz Allan what he did to Gwen Stacy; turning on his grandfather and helping his dad and Spider-Man fight him. In Web of Venom: The Good Son, though, he blames his grandfather's villainy on the Carnage symbiote. By the time of Red Goblin he no longer blames the his grandfather's action's on the symbiote, and has become completely aware of his family's Villainous Legacy.
- Kids Are Cruel: Normie was always an arrogant, resentful brat; but under the Carnage symbiote's influence he says that baking cookies with raisins in them is a valid reason for Aunt May to deserve to die.
- Kid Sidekick: Ms. Marvel refers to Normie as Dylan’s kid sidekick, initially unaware that the two are roughly the same age. He was previously the kid sidekick to his grandfather as Goblin Childe.
- Legacy Character: Subverted, Normie never actually calls himself “Red Goblin” and didn’t intend to take on the mantle. Other people call him Red Goblin due to looking visually similar to the original.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Is generally neglected by his family.
- Mistaken Identity: As Red Goblin he is mistaken as being both Carnage and Spider-Man in the same issue.
- Named by Democracy: Much like in Spider-Girl as Red Goblin he refused to pick a name for himself as a hero, causing everyone else to settle on calling him Red Goblin since he looks similar to the original.
- Non-Indicative Name: Both of his codenames have “Goblin” in them, despite this Normie lacks the traditional goblin serum and gadgets, being a pure symbiote user. Normie instinctively emulates goblin like abilities and appearance with his symbiote due to having grown up with the Osborn legacy.
- Not Quite Back to Normal: While Dr. Steven seemingly removes the Carnage symbiote from Normie, a small amount still remains bonded to him. This remnant is eventually extracted in Absolute Carnage.
- Older Alter Ego: It’s less blatant compared to Dylan or Bren, but as Red Goblin Normie is approximately the size of Spider-Man.
- Only Friend: Considers Dylan to be his, despite their rocky relationship.
- Overlord Jr.: Both as Normie Osborn and as the Goblin Childe, he's Norman Osborn's chosen successor and idolizes his grandfather until seeing just how much of a monster he really is. To sell this, as the Goblin Childe he looks like a miniature Red Goblin, but lacks his grandfather's Jagged Mouth.
- Partial Transformation: When attacking May Reilly, he sports fangs, yellow sclera, and tendrils but is otherwise human. Later as Red Goblin he gains another partial transformation giving him Glowing Eyes of Doom.
- Redeeming Replacement: To his grandfather as the second Red Goblin, although he didn't intentionally take on Red Goblin legacy. Normie uses his symbiote for good, and does his best to avoid succumbing to his symbiote's violent urges.
- The Resenter: He despises his infant half-brother Stanley, who he sees as stealing his father's affection. After his Heel–Face Turn he is much less resentful of Stanley, but still dislikes how much more coddled he is.
- Scarily Competent Tracker: A notable ability he has as Red Goblin is tracking people either by codex or smell.
- Trauma Conga Line: This kid has gone through a lot over the course of a few years: both his dad and grandfather are super villains, his dad dies/abandons him, his dad comes back with a new son, he is forcibly bonded to Carnage and made his grandfather's pawn, Carnage tries to kill him, his only friend tortured him, his dad dies again, he is bonded to another symbiote, and he is mind bombed by Carnage.
- Vague Age: Web of Venom: The Good Son establishes him as being younger than Dylan by an unspecified number of years, but whenever the two appear together they are the same size and maturity level, making them seem the same age.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Deep down he just wants his father's love and approval, which Norman pretends to fill while trying to twist him into his successor. Realizing that his dad does care for him is part of what causes him to turn on Norman.
- What You Are in the Dark: Realized that it wasn’t the Rascal symbiote that caused him to violently lash out, but his latent desires.Normie: Rascal isn’t the monster here… I am.
- Willfully Weak: Normie heavily suppresses his symbiote and avoids using any of it’s abilities out of fear. This causes criminals to underestimate him, mistaking him for just a weak Spider-Man knock-off. When he lets the symbiote loose, he can easily curb stomp opponents.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Despite being about ten he realized the true nature of the symbiotes, and is generally very aware of his family’s legacy. Prior to Go Down Swinging he gleefully embraced the Osborn legacy and idolized his Pop-Pop, but by the time of Red Goblin it's something he's deeply ashamed about.
- Xenomorph Xerox: As Red Goblin Normie’s design leans much more heavily in the xenomorph direction rather than being a Big Red Devil. His eyes are less prominent, doesn’t have a nose to emphasize the elongated head, and is usually hunched over.
Rascal Symbiote
Hosts: Normie Osborn; Norman Osborn
First Appearance: Free Comic Book Day 2022: Spider-Man/Venom #1
A newly-spawned symbiote given to Normie Osborn by Dylan Brock, turning him into the Red Goblin.- Assimilation Backfire: Absorbing pieces of the Extrembiote — indwelled by Cletus Kasady — has a corruptive effect on Rascal.
- Depending on the Artist: When Rascal first appeared in Venom (Vol. 5), it was red and white. In Red Goblin, however, it's red and black — looking almost identical to Norman Osborn's Red Goblin form.
- Hulking Out: While Normie prefers to have use a sleek form resembling an all-red Spider-Man with yellow eyes and a pointed head, Rascal is prone to going berserk and transforming into a monstrous form resembling Norman Osborn's Red Goblin form.
- Modified Clone: In Carnage Reigns, Cletus Kasady dismisses Rascal as being a "symbiote cocktail" partially comprised of "offcuts" of the Carnage symbiote — indicating it's part of Alchemax's symbiote weaponization experiments. Venom #25 reveals some of the offcuts also come from the Bedlam version of Eddie, who gave a sample to Kang the Conqueror.
- To Serve Man: On one of its and Normie's first outings, Rascal tries to eat a Goblin Nation soldier, only to be distracted by a chocolate bar.
