The new Red Goblin miniseries brings the "Goblin Mode" meme into the Marvel Universe.
Written by Alex Paknadel and illustrated by Jan Bazaldua, a preview of Red Goblin #1 shows Normie Osborn trying to do some good with his new symbiote, which he has named "Rascal." Normie combined with Rascal brings back the monstrous version of Green Goblin that writer Dan Slott, Stuart Immonen and Mike Hawthorne created in 2018's The Amazing Spider-Man #798, achieved by merging Norman Osborn -- Normie's grandfather -- with the Carnage symbiote. Although Rascal is not connected to Carnage, Normie explains in the preview that him and the symbiote are not fully bonded, causing it to sometimes take control and lash out in a rage that Normie has labeled "Goblin Mode."
RED GOBLIN #1
- ALEX PAKNADEL (W) • JAN BAZALDUA (A) • Cover by InHyuk Lee
- VARIANT COVER BY DERRICK CHEW
- VARIANT COVER BY TBA • VARIANT COVER BY TBA
- VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY INHYUK LEE
- WINDOWSHADES VARIANT COVER BY TOM REILLY
- THE NEWEST – AND DEADLIEST – RED GOBLIN!
- SPINNING OUT OF THE PAGES OF VENOM! Normie Osborn receives his own symbiote at last! As a new Red Goblin, will Normie fulfill his destiny as an Osborn – or will he and his symbiote be able to make a difference for the better?
- 40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
While it is said to have existed for over a decade, "Goblin Mode" is a meme that became more popular in 2022, and the term has been used to describe someone who is lazy and stays inside, or behaves ferally. In the preview, Normie and Rascal's goblin mode appears to take after the latter aspect, being that it causes their superhero appearance to transform from a smooth, Spider-Man-like look into the full, unhinged Red Goblin persona. Marvel's new Venom, Dylan Brock, is responsible for unleashing the Red Goblin onto the Marvel Universe once again.
Red Goblin and the Goblin Childe, Explained
When Norman Osborn became the Red Goblin, he used some of the Carnage symbiote to transform Normie into the villainous Goblin Childe, which had a lasting impact on the boy. During the brief time that Dylan lived with Normie and the Osborns while Dylan's father, Eddie Brock, was away, Dylan taunted Normie over his time as the Goblin Childe, but their relationship has since evolved into a friendship. In a scene first shown in Free Comic Book Day 2022: Spider-Man/Venom #1 and expanded upon in the later released Venom #15, believing that Normie can be a hero, Dylan asks him for help to save Eddie and gifts him with Rascal to become the new Red Goblin.
Get Ready for Marvel's Next Venom Event
Red Goblin will run for five issues total, and is one of the Venom-related titles that leads into Marvel's "Summer of Symbiotes" event launching in 2023. The ongoing Venom and Carnage series are also set to build to the event, as will the Extreme Venomverse miniseries contributed to by various writers and artists. Like Red Goblin, Extreme Venomverse will consist of five issues, but each will instead introduce different Venom variants, such as a samurai Venom and more.
Along with Paknadel and Bazaldua, Red Goblin #1 is colored by David Curiel and lettered by VC's Joe Caramagna. Main cover art for the issue is by InHyuk Lee, with variant cover artwork contributed to by Derrick Chew, Dave Rapoza, Alexander Lozano, Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Tom Reilly. The issue goes on sale Feb. 8 from Marvel Comics.
Source: Marvel