Comic Book / Red Goblin

The hero?

Red Goblin is a 2023 comic book series from Marvel Comics. The series is written by Alex Paknadel with art by Jan Bazaldua and color art by David Curiel.

Set in the shared Marvel Universe, the series stars Normie Osborn, young grandson of former supervillain Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin. It's positioned as part of the wider Spider-Man franchise, and follows on from events in the Venom series and the Dark Web crossover.

A long time ago, Norman fused with another notorious villain, the alien Carnage symbiote, becoming the Red Goblin. Normie was also transformed, becoming his grandfather's kid sidekick the Goblin Childe. But all of that was a long time ago, before Normie's father Harry died. Far more recently, Normie's friend Dylan Brock - himself bonded to another symbiote, as Venom - offered Normie a new symbiote of his own. Normie's named him Rascal. Together, they've become a new Red Goblin.

Normie's not yet sure who, or what, Rascal's going to become. He's not entirely sure who he's going to be himself. But in a city full of superhumans, with a notorious (if repentant) villain as his grandfather... he may not have much time to work it out.

The first issue was released on February 8, 2023.

---

Red Goblin contains examples of the following tropes:

• A Boy and His X: The big part of the first arc is Normie's relationship with Rascal, the symbiote he's linked to. He initially perceives Rascal as "an alien killing machine", but then starts to discover that it's his own mind that's influencing the symbiote's form and behavior.
  Rascal: Nnott mmmonsterrr! Rrrrascal learrninng... yooou deciiiide wwwhat Rrrrascal isss, Nnormmiiee.
• Ambiguous Situation: Rascal's origins are left unclear, as it's never shown where exactly Dylan got the symbiote from in the comics. The "previously on" summary for Venom (Vol. 5) #16 refers to Rascal as a piece of Bedlam lopped off during Dylan-as-Codex's fight with him,^note Which makes no sense since Rascal was given to Normie before Dylan's fight with Bedlam. while Alex Paknadel has stated in interviews that Rascal is the newly-spawned offspring of the Carnage symbiote. In Red Goblin #5, Cletus Kasady identifies Rascal as a "symbiote cocktail" partially comprised of the Carnage symbiote, but which other symbiote strains were added into the mix is unknown. Then Venom #25 reaffirms that Rascal is indeed an offshoot of Bedlam, that was given to Kang by a time-displaced Eddie Brock in exchange for a working time machine.
• 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.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Stanley, Normie's younger half-sibling, is spoiled, coddled, and bratty. Normie complains about how much Stanley is able to get away with compared to him, to which Norman replies that Stanley is an orphan.
• Ascended Fanboy: In contast to his hatred of the Osborn legacy, Normie openly admires both Spider-Men as a legacy to be proud of as do-gooders and superheroes. When Normie runs into Miles in the middle of the Carnage Reigns event, Normie is excited to both meet a Spider-Man and perform a tag-team clothesline on Ken, one of Cletus' puppets. When Miles tells him to run, Normie turns back to help because Spider-Man needs him.
• Ax-Crazy: Normie initially blames his violent tendencies on Rascal, but over the course of the series accepts that he's the violent one, not Rascal. Unfortunately, Rascal absorbing some of Cletus Kasady's Extrembiote and getting mind bombed during Carnage Reigns doesn't help matters either, as Rascal becomes increasingly feral.
• Back from the Dead: Phil Urich, the supervillain known as the Goblin King, was killed by Norman Osborn in 2018's Go Down Swinging Spider-Man arc. The first issue reveals that the regenerative Goblin formula in his veins wouldn't let him stay dead. Unfortunately, it couldn't fully heal him, either.
• Big Bad Wannabe: The Goblin King Phil Urich tries very hard to be a master manipulator like Norman, trying to oust Candra and steal the Red Goblin’s symbiote, but all of his plans backfire and he ends up dying by the Red Goblin’s hands again.
• Big Brother Mentor: After meeting in Carnage Reigns Miles Morales begins looking out for Normie whenever the two meet. In issue #7 Miles helps break Normie out of his Rage Breaking Point induced rampage, and promises to help him find his kidnapped friend.
• Bittersweet Ending: Issue #12 concludes the series with Normie finally getting Rascal under control to save lives that they ironically put into danger in the first place during their mutual meltdown, as well as reaffirm their initial commitment to being a hero in spite of their darker impulses. Normie also finally returns home to his mother and brother, but still gripes with the guilt of having killed Phil Urich and his goons which has likely scarred the kid for life.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: By virtue of being an infantile symbiote that bonded to a burgeoning Enfant Terrible like Normie, Rascal has gradually developed an incredibly warped sense of morality that ruthlessly prioritizes Normie's happiness above all else. Rascal even goes as far as to desecrate the grave of Harry Osborn because from its point of view, Normie being sad over the death of his father means that his father's corpse must be destroyed so Normie can be happy again.
• Bluffing the Murderer: Norman employs this technique to get Normie to expose his symbiote by throwing a fake bomb at him.
• Bullying the Dragon: What Normie’s conflict with the Goblin Nation and Phil Urich ultimately boils down to. Normie is desperately trying to hold himself back from maiming the other goblins that antagonize him, rarely ever being able to actually pose a threat to him due to the difference in power.
• The Bus Came Back: Tim Anders reappears for the first time since Iron Man #184, Gretl's child that Tony saves in the issue.
• Calling the Old Man Out: Normie is deeply critical of both his grandfather Norman, and his mother Liz Allan's actions. He tries to hold back from verbally voicing these opinions, but they occasionally slip through.
  Norman: Is that what all this is about? You're still jealous of your brother? Normie, he's an orphan.
  Normie: And whose fault is that?
• Children Are Innocent: Dylan explains that Rascal is a fresh, baby symbiote with no experiences or sins. This means that it's up to Normie to shape Rascal into a heroic or villainous figure. But due to his past experiences, Normie tends to treat Rascal gingerly as an "alien killing machine" and scolds it for acting out, putting a strain on their relationship. It's not until Normie meets a homeless lady who tells him that there's no such thing as a bad dog that he realizes he's been treating Rascal the wrong way.
• Classical Anti-Hero: Normie wants to do good, but he's impulsive, lacking in confidence, and scared of Rascal's potential for harm. He's also ashamed of the Osborn name and is well-aware of his Pop-Pop's many crimes. His journey toward becoming a hero involves overcoming his personal demons as much as overcoming his enemies.
• Continuity Nod:
  • This isn’t the first time a version of Normie Osborn has been a heroic symbiote user who didn’t get to pick his own code name. His Alternate Universe version in Spider-Girl did that as well.
  • In Red Goblin Normie is a Fan Boy of Gundam and Humongous Mecha. In the Alternate Universe story The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, that version of Normie pilots one.
  • In issue #7 Phil's old support group for former super heroes featured in Runaways is referenced.
  • When fighting the Gold Goblin in issue 9 the Red Goblin sprouts another pair of arms becoming Multi-Armed and Dangerous much like Normie's appearance as Venom in Spider-Girl and his later appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows.
• Covers Always Lie: The cover illustrations for the series show Normie's Red Goblin form as looking identical to Norman's, however in the series proper it doesn't. Most notably Normie's Red Goblin form lacks the white eyebrows and pupils from Norman's, and usually doesn't have a nose. Only the variant covers portray his design more accurately.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Once Normie gives in to the Rascal symbiote, he effortlessly decimates Phil Urich and his Goblin Nation army, and would have killed them all if Norman hadn't snapped him out of it.
  • In issue #6, when Normie’s up against the new Goblin Knight and her goons, they are unable to do any damage to him because he goes berserk, the only reason she survives is because, in a moment of clarity, Normie gave the Goblin Knight a chance to run away.
• Depending on the Artist: Rascal's eyes switch between yellow and orange depending on the colorist.
• Dissonant Serenity: Whenever Normie and Rascal go on a berserk rampage, Normie’s internal monologue is always eerily calm. While he violently tore through the entire Goblin Nation, he mused about joining The Avengers and what his hero name should be.
• Dog Got Sent to a Farm: Norman tries to assure Normie that when he removes the Rascal symbiote it will be sent to the Fantastic Four, when he actually intends to kill it.
• Evil Costume Switch: Initially Normie's design as Red Goblin didn't completely resemble Norman's Red Goblin design, but after he decides to embrace violence his design changes to be identical to Norman's but larger and more monstrous.
• Expressive Accessory: Rascal occasionally takes the form of a hat Normie wears when they're in public, as a hat Rascal sometimes still emotes when surprised.
• Fighting Back Is Wrong: Discussed, as Normie's schoolmate Tim Anders mistakenly thinks that Normie's not fighting back against school bullies because he thinks it would be wrong, or would lead to more trouble. It's actually that Normie's worried that Rascal will intervene, reveal his secret identity, and probably kill them all.
• Fluffy the Terrible: Phil Urich makes fun of Normie for naming his symbiote "Rascal" in issue 8.
  Phil: "Rascal"? That's what you named a Prince of the Void?
• Foregone Conclusion: We know that in the future, Normie as Red Goblin will fight along side Dylan Brock against the Kings in Black in Venom (2021), so no matter what happens in this series he will keep the Rascal symbiote in the end.
• Glowing Eyes: Normie’s Red Goblin design has glowing yellow eyes, the diamond on his forehead also glows. The Rascal symbiote also has glowing yellow eyes when not bonded to Normie.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: Normie gains these in a Partial Transformation during his Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
• Horrifying the Horror: In issue #6 Rascal has become afraid of Normie and avoids him due to his intense negative emotions cause by the aftermath of Carnage Reigns.
• Hulking Out: When Normie is in full control of the symbiote he looks like an all red version of Spider-Man with a pointed head, to avoid being mistaken as the Red Goblin. When he’s attacked or Rascal takes control he gets slightly bigger and changes into a more xenomorph-esque version of the Red Goblin.
• Hulk Speak: The Rascal symbiote talks this way combined with Sssssnake Talk, which helps convey how young it is compared to other symbiotes.
• I Am a Monster: Whenever Normie gives in to his and Rascal's violent urges he will immediately lament this in his internal monologue.
  Normie: Rascal isn't the monster here... I am.
• I Am Not My Father: Or grandfather in Normie’s case, he is desperately trying break free from his family’s legacy of villainy and corruption and do something positive with his life.
  Normie: Maybe it was inevitable. Maybe chaos really does cling to Norman Osborn like wet grass. But I’m not him. I don’t have to give up on people when it gets hard.
• In-Series Nickname: Norman Osborn is almost always called “Pop-Pop” in this series because of his relation to Normie. This cutesy nickname becomes ironic because Normie uses it while being hyper critical and insulting towards his Pop-Pop. Dylan also uses this nickname for Norman in a similarly insulting way while talking to Normie in Venom.
• Interspecies Adoption: Despite Normie's initial hesitation, both Normie and the Rascal symbiote refer to each other as family, and refer to other Osborn family members in the same way. When Rascal takes a human form inside Normie's memories it sports the signature Osborn haircut like Norman and Harry.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: After spending a majority of the series contemplating his own morality, in issue 8 Normie officially decides to give up and embrace his Ax-Crazy tendencies and slaughters a room full of Goblin Nation goons and Phil Urich.
  Tim: What's this about, man? You look...
  Normie: Tired, Tim. That's all.
  Normie: I'm tired of pretending to be something I'm not.
• Legacy Character:
  • Subverted, as (so far) Normie never actually calls himself the Red Goblin, and didn't set out to be the successor to the original for justified reasons. Despite this, everyone else calls him Red Goblin due to being visually similar.
  • In issue #6 Phil Urich makes his second in command Candra into the new Goblin Knight.
• Lonely Funeral: The only people who attended Phil Urich's were his uncle, Norah Winters, and Monet St. Croix (apparently standing in for Hollow).
• Mirror Character: Normie and the Rascal symbiote function as mirrors to each other since they are both young and inexperienced yet hold immense power. They are both emotional and depressive yet handle their feelings in vastly different ways: Normie hides his feelings and avoids confronting them, while Rascal is very vocal about it's feelings and takes direct action to resolve them. This difference in handling feelings is what causes a lot of conflict between them. To really hammer the comparison home the human form Rascal takes in Normie's mind is nearly identical to Normie but with his natural hairstyle.
• Mistaken Identity:
  • In issue #2 Normie is mistaken as being both Carnage and Spider-Man over the course of a few pages, which he lampshades.
  Normie: Two cases of mistaken identity in under a minute. That's gotta be a record.
  • Phil Urich mistakenly believes that Tim Ander’s is the new Red Goblin, since Normie was wearing Tim’s jacket while fighting Phil. This causes Tim to get kidnapped in an attempt to steal the Red Goblin’s symbiote.
• My Death Is Just the Beginning: Candra pulls this on Phil by in her dying moments bringing Tim Anders to the base where Phil was hiding to lure out the Red Goblin to get revenge on him.
• Neck Snap: Goblin Nation goon Tyler asks the gang's leader, the Goblin King, why a redeemed Norman Osborn would attack them - and, in response, he immediately gets his neck twisted 180 degrees. The boss does not appreciate awkward questions.
• Older Alter Ego: As Red Goblin, Normie's superhero identity appears as a muscular humanoid about as tall as a high-schooler like Miles Morales. This helps to conceal his identity and a delirious Norman mistakes Normie for Spider-Man.
• Parental Neglect: Normie's mom Liz is rarely present in his life, busy with constant business trips. He is usually left in the care of Norman, who isn't much better. It get's to the point where in issue 8 neither of Normie's guardians are even in the country when he goes missing.
• Protagonist Journey to Villain: Normie starts out the series trying his best to be a hero and use his symbiote for good, but starts to become increasingly violent and rage filled as the story progressed. Not helped by the fact that the Rascal symbiote gets corrupted by Cletus Kassidy half way through the run. This ultimately result in them killing Phil Urich and beating the Gold Goblin unconscious.
• Rage Breaking Point: Normie tries to heavily suppress his anger and negative emotions, both for his own and Rascal’s sake. In issue #6 he fully unleashes his rage when his only friend at school Tim is kidnapped by the Goblin Nation.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After the Goblin Nation repeatedly kidnaps his loved ones, Normie reaches his Rage Breaking Point and goes on a rampage, however it is also an excuse for him to unleash his pent up anger.
• Scarily Competent Tracker: A notable ability Normie has with his symbiote is to locate people either by codex or smell. He uses this to his advantage in issue 8 by deliberately giving Miles the wrong location where Tim is so he could go there by himself.
• Series Continuity Error: Venom shows the Rascal symbiote and Normie’s Red Goblin form as being just white and dark red, but in Red Goblin they are both shown to be completely dark red with glowing orange eyes.
• Shout-Out: Normie is portrayed as a fan of the Gundam franchise and makes numerous references to it throughout the series:
  • In Red Goblin #1:
    Normie: ...We were gonna build a destroy mode Unicorn Gundam over the holidays.
  • In Red Goblin #4:
    Normie: Rascal, hold it together! We can't go all Cyber Newtype on on Pop-Pop like we did on those guys down in the sewer.
  • His room has several shelves full of gunpla models, and multiple Gundam posters hanging up.
• Speech Bubbles: Rascal and the Red Goblin both speak in red speech bubbles with white text and slightly ragged black borders.
• Spikes of Villainy: Whenever the Red Goblin hulks out he gains spikes on his shoulders, and becomes much more Ax-Crazy.
• Stealth Pun: Normie’s fondness for the Gundam franchise is ironic given the situation he’s in: Gundam is about humans piloting killing machines to fight battles, while Normie himself is being piloted by an apparent killing machine given the nature of symbiotes.
• Sweet Tooth: Like all symbiotes, Rascal adores chocolate because it contains the chemical it needs to function. Normie tries to reward good behavior with Kit-Kats and chocolate bars and grows angry with Rascal for ransacking a candy store.
• Tail Slap: Red Goblin's preferred method of attacking when enraged is to use his tail to either slap or stab people.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Normie spends most of the series trying to avoid falling into this, again, despite his Lovecraftian Superpower and Dark and Troubled Past, he ultimate caves into his more troubling behaviors by ruthlessly slaughtering a room full of people.
• Uriah Gambit: A variation by the end of issue #6 (with some Frame-Up mixed in). Recognizing Candra's popularity and his own tenuous standing in the Goblin Nation, Phil Urich sets his new Goblin Knight on the 'Kidnap Tim Anders' plan — except Phil never had any intention of taking Tim alive. The real plan is that once Candra's team has their hostage, Crossbones will be sent in to hit their fallback point and kill everyone. Thus, the threat to Urich's political power is removed, Phil gets another chance to lure out Red Goblin and steal his symbiote, and everyone will believe it was a hostage situation gone wrong instead of The Purge.
• Variant Cover: The first three issues have some variant covers showcasing Normie's goblin form. The third issue also has two variants showcasing the classic Spider-Man villain the Sandman (who doesn't appear in that issue).
• 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: A defining characteristic of Normie throughout this run is how aware he is of his family's Villainous Legacy and how easy it would be for him to fall prey to it, again. He is also very knowledgeable of the symbiotes origins and how they function.
• You Are Grounded!: In the first issue Normie is grounded for having breaking into a bodega and eating all their chocolate while under Rascal's influence.