Norman Osborn might be better known as Green Goblin among fans, but he recently debuted a new heroic identity in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man. After creating a new costume for Spider-Man, Osborn reinvented himself as the Gold Goblin. Of course, this wasn’t the first time he altered his Goblin identity over the years.
Gold Goblin may strive to be a hero, but Osborn’s Red Goblin persona was the extreme opposite. He bonded with the Carnage symbiote to become one of Spider-Man’s deadliest enemies. They became a unique symbiote pairing that developed enhanced abilities. Red Goblin combined Osborn’s usual gimmicks with the murderous impulses and capabilities of Carnage.
10 Norman Osborn Agreed To Teach The Carnage Symbiote How To Be A Better Killer
Spider-Man seemingly ended the threat of the Green Goblin forever when he injected Osborn with nanobots. They negated the Goblin Formula in his bloodstream that enhanced his strength and caused some of his mental instabilities. He decided to seek out a new edge that would help him defeat his old enemy. He had a sample of the Carnage symbiote stolen from a research facility.
He hoped to reason with the symbiote and form a partnership instead of serving as a possessed human host. If the Carnage symbiote removed the nanites in his bloodstream, Osborn would teach it entirely new ways to kill its victims. It was a dark bargain that worked well for both parties, leading to a strong bond between them that not every symbiotic host of Carnage enjoyed.
9 Osborn Had His Own Unique Carnage Form Before He Became The Red Goblin
When Norman Osborn first bonded with the Carnage symbiote, his final Red Goblin form had yet to develop. Instead, the symbiote formed a unique take on Carnage's usual look that featured some interesting alterations. Carnage’s first design with the new bond was entirely the symbiote’s creation, as Osborn lost control during their initial bond.
The Carnage symbiote formed its usual red and black look, complete with the vicious grin of black jagged teeth. However, this version also featured a dark black spider insignia on the chest similar to Spider-Man and Venom. Carnage planned to use its new body to carry out a brutal massacre, though Osborn was eventually able to make his deal.
8 His Bond With The Carnage Symbiote Was Enhanced By The Goblin Formula
The Carnage symbiote held up its end of the bargain with Osborn. It managed to burn the nanites in his bloodstream that prevented the Goblin Formula from repowering him as Green Goblin. While he was already at a new level of power thanks to the Carnage symbiote, he juiced them both up a bit further with a new advanced Goblin Formula.
Osborn's strength was enhanced once again, which also increased the power of the Carnage symbiote. It developed powerful new abilities that allowed it to fully take on a deadly new form. Osborn also regained the insanity that he felt gave him the edge he needed to be Spider-Man’s opposite number. Carnage and Green Goblin then officially merged to become Red Goblin.
7 Osborn Lost Control Of The Carnage Symbiote When It Was Lusting For Blood
The deal they made gave Osbon control of their Red Goblin form. However, he soon learned that Carnage could take over whenever he felt the urge. The Carnage symbiote grew restless during Osborn's planning stages for his attack on Spider-Man. Osborn agreed to go out in secret as Red Goblin for a single kill to satiate the symbiote’s murderous urges.
They eventually agreed on killing a drug dealer, though the symbiote’s impulsiveness in the kill led to quite a few witnesses. Knowing Osborn wanted to keep their new form secret, Red Goblin launched a vicious massacre in an apartment building that he ultimately burned down. The senseless deaths initially horrified Osborn, though he quickly accepted the mayhem.
6 Red Goblin Was Capable Of Generating Fiery Carnage-Bombs And A Glider
The symbiote’s reaction to the Goblin Formula enhancements not only removed its usual weakness to fire but actually weaponized it. Red Goblin developed a powerful pyrokinetic ability that allowed the symbiote to generate flames like a few Marvel superheroes who controlled fire. This was constantly displayed by the flames that spewed out of Red Goblin’s mouth.
However, Red Goblin could also create incredibly destructive Carnage-Bombs. These weapons featured Carnage’s grinning face and burned hot with flames before they exploded on impact. Red Goblin could also generate a fiery Goblin Glider that produced intense flames. This pyrokinetic ability was unique to Red Goblin due to the Goblin Formula enhancement.
5 Osborn Infected His Grandson Normie With A Symbiote Called Goblin Childe
Norman Osborn’s bond with the Carnage symbiote also impacted one of his closest family members. Red Goblin attacked Alchemax in order to get his grandson, young Normie Osborn. He displayed another new ability when he willfully spawned a symbiote. It bonded with young Normie to become one of the most powerful members of the Osborn family, Goblin Childe.
Goblin Childe worked alongside his grandfather as his villainous sidekick. However, the new Carnage symbiote was largely calling the shots. Normie was eventually freed from Goblin Childe’s control when his symbiotic codex was removed during the Absolute Carnage event.
4 He Could Also Create Symbiotic Needles That Targeted His Victim's Brains
Red Goblin also displayed another new and dangerous ability during his final battle with Spider-Man. After hurting and humiliating the wall-crawler, Osborn threatened to go after his loved ones if Spider-Man ever returned. When Spider-Man inevitably returned to stop Red Goblin, he launched his attack against Spider-Man’s closest by stabbing them with symbiotic needles.
These needles stayed inside the body until Red Goblin sent out a mental command. The symbiotic needles began to dig into the body and work their way toward the brains of their host bodies. Red Goblin would have been able to kill every ally and loved member of Spider-Man’s family if not for the intervention of Agent Anti-Venom.
3 The Anti-Venom Symbiote Was Lethal To Red Goblin's Carnage Symbiote
Flash Thompson was no stranger to Venom’s powerful family of symbiotes. He had spent a large amount of time bonded with a symbiote to become Agent Venom. While the Venom symbiote eventually returned to Eddie Brock, Thompson gained a powerful new form as Agent Anti-Venom when he bonded with a new symbiote.
As Agent Anti-Venom, his symbiote had incredible healing properties. It also had a caustic reaction to other symbiotes, making it lethal to characters like Venom and Carnage. These two abilities combined to help save the heroes and civilians infected with Red Goblin’s symbiotic needles. Unfortunately, healing everybody weakened his own symbiote, and he ended up sacrificing his life.
2 His Fractured Mind Believed He Was Cletus Kasady After Losing The Symbiote
Almost every time Spider-Man fought Norman Osborn, they were evenly matched. Spider-Man rebonded with the Venom symbiote to even the odds with Red Goblin. He was able to stoke Osborn’s ego by claiming the recognition for his death would go to the Carnage symbiote. Osborn rejected the Carnage symbiote to claim his victory, allowing Spider-Man to get the upper hand.
Osborn was almost able to rebond with the Carnage symbiote. However, Spider-Man destroyed it just as they made contact. The trauma of the symbiote’s death fractured Osborn’s mind. This allowed Cletus Kasady’s disembodied psyche to take over. With Kasady in control, he was imprisoned and lost his knowledge of Spider-Man's secret identity.
1 Osborn Rebonded With A Symbiote But In A More Familiar Carnage Form
During the Absolute Carnage event, Norman Osborn was once again bonded to a powerful symbiote. One of the best versions of Carnage used his Grendel symbiote to create new possessive symbiotes to gather soldiers for his army. Osborn bonded with the new symbiote, though Kasady’s influence on his mind formed the more familiar Carnage suit.
This version of Carnage didn’t have the enhanced pyrokinetic abilities of Red Goblin. It was also enslaved by Dark Carnage, which forced Osborn/Kasady to follow the orders of the Knull-possessed villain. The new Carnage symbiote eventually left its host body, and Norman Osborn was able to escape with his mind fully restored.