The following article contains spoilers from Red Goblin #1, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
The start of Marvel's newest symbiote hero's career has been a bit of a mixed bag. Aside from lacking full control over his powers, Normie Osborn is left grappling with the dark legacy that his family has passed down to him. Unfortunately, Red Goblin #1 (by Alex Paknadel, Jan Bazaldua, David Curiel, and VC's Joe Carmagna) only made matters worse when it brought back an unexpected character with deep ties to the history of the Green Goblin: The Goblin King, AKA Phil Urich.
While not an Osborn himself, the Goblin King is a representation of how the Osborn legacy can ruin the lives of others even when it isn't trying to. More than that, Goblin King has a deeply personal reason to hate the Red Goblin, meaning their inevitable confrontation will be brutal as he tries to get his revenge. Despite all this, Goblin King's presence does present a unique opportunity for Normie to triumph over the darkness his family has created.
Who is Marvel's Goblin King?
Phil Urich first debuted in Web of Spider-Man #125 (by Terry Kavanagh and Steven Butler). A character with extensive connection to the Goblins of the Marvel Universe, Phil has had many identities over the course of his life. Initially, the young man tried to be a hero. The nephew of the Daily Bugle's Ben Urich, Phil accompanied his uncle to Oscorp Tower one day to help him investigate for a story. The pair were attacked by criminals, and during the skirmish, Phil discovered a suit of Green Goblin armor and was exposed to the Goblin formula. Using his new powers to save his uncle, Phil then decided to try and reinvent what the Green Goblin stood for. Unfortunately, that was a task easier said than done.
Phil eventually suffered a mental breakdown, and became the newest Hobgoblin before Spider-Man exposed his identity. This forced him to take on a new identity, the Goblin Knight, to serve the Green Goblin. When Norman was once again defeated though, Phil assumed the mantle of the Goblin King and took to leading the remains of the Goblin Nation, the gang that was loyal to the Green Goblin. Unfortunately, his luck ended there. The last time Goblin King was seen, he was attempting to steal Alchemax's new energy source. When that plan was foiled, he retreated to one of Norman's old caches, only to encounter the Red Goblin, who was at the time Norman bonded with the Carnage symbiote. He promptly ripped out the Goblin King's heart, killing him.
Goblin King Is the Perfect Nemesis for Normie Osborn's Red Goblin
Like most Goblins though, death is rarely enough to keep them down for long. Through unknown means, Goblin King has been revived. While it possible that the goblin formula in his system was responsible, there is still much to be learned about his recent activity and his intentions. However, this isn't nearly so important as what he represents for Normie: a dark mirror of himself. These two characters have an eerie amount of similarities.
They both tried to do good with an identity that Norman Osborn once used, have a grudge against the Osborn name, and Goblin King clearly has enough hatred in his heart for whoever the new Red Goblin is. He is quite literally the perfect character to be Red Goblin's first enemy. Someone who not only is a manifestation of everything that Normie perceives as wrong about his family, but one with a connection to the Red Goblin itself. This means Normie's involvement in the conflict isn't simply a byproduct of right place, right time, but because he needs to set right what his grandfather did wrong.