The Green Goblin is one of Spidey's oldest and deadliest foes. He first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #14 (written by Stan Lee, illustrated by Steve Ditko) and has since continued to have an effect on Spider-Man and Peter Parker in ways that would push anyone else into quitting their superhero career. Among the worst things he's done, Norman Osborn has tricked Peter Parker into believing that his parents had returned, and seduced and impregnated Peter's girlfriend Gwen Stacy before killing her by throwing her off a bridge.
RELATED: Marvel Teases Dan Slott’s Final Amazing Spider-Man Story
Recently, following a brief reign of terror as the Goblin King, Norman went into hiding only to resurface in the country of Symkaria, though he remained stripped of his Goblin abilities and persona. He and Countess Karkov staged a coup and took over the nation, transforming it into a giant weapons manufacturer, filled with goblin serum-infected soldiers. Thankfully, Spider-Man and Silver Sable were able to free the country and defeat Karkov and Norman, but not before the latter underwent a botched operation that left his face warped and more goblin-like.
Norman was defeated and disfigured, but he escaped. Afterward, he embarked on a journey to regain the Goblin within him through mysticism, a journey that evidently didn't end well as we saw in Amazing Spider-Man Vol 4 #32 (written by Dan Slott with art by Greg Smallwood). Here, Norman was rejected by the monks of the temple due to the fact that he's pretty much evil incarnate.
While the Green Goblin was thought to have been well and and truly gone, a new event was recently teased by Marvel, one set to introduce a new threat. The trailer revealed the return of the Green Goblin and one final confrontation between him and Spidey before giving us a look at something more terrifying: The Red Goblin. We don't know much about this new character other than what we can gather from the fantastic image. It does seem pretty certain that there's clearly a supernatural element to him; after all, he's got a devilish tail and hellish red smoke spilling from between his jaws.
RELATED: Amazing Spider-Man: Marvel Announces Arrival of an All-New Villain - The Red Goblin
There are a few theories surrounding this new menace and since this is the world of comics we're talking about, they're all equally plausible. He could be a new villain entirely. He could be a combination of the Goblin and the Carnage symbiote. (Just look at that mouth!) Or -- and this is the most likely -- he could be the result of a pact of some kind between a desperate Norman Osborn and Mephisto.
Page 2:[valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Why%20Would%20the%20Green%20Goblin%20Strike%20a%20Deal%20with%20Mephisto%3F']
A deal with Mephisto would certainly explain the more devil-like features of the Red Goblin. it would also make sense, since Norman was last seen searching for a mystical method of regaining his insanity/Goblin persona. In fact, its supported by an accidental tweet (quickly deleted) by Dan Slott himself, in which he mentioned something along these lines. Could this actually be the story behind the Red Goblin, or is Slott just messing with fans and teasing us with that tweet?
Looking at the artwork, it's difficult to imagine the Red Goblin as anything other than the result of a deal with Marvel's favorite devil. If that's the case, and Norman Osborn really is going to strike an accord Mephisto, we need to know: What does Mephisto want in return?
RELATED: Amazing Spider-Man: The Most Controversial Moments of Dan Slott’s Run
Numerous Marvel characters have made pacts with Mephisto in the past. Among the most notable is Johnny Blaze, who turned to Mephisto in order to save his adoptive father, Crash Simpson, from cancer. Crash was cured of his illness, but perished shortly afterwards. Meanwhile, Johnny, still bound by Mephisto's contract, was forced into servitude as the Spirit of Vengeance.
Spider-Man infamously made a deal with the devil in Amazing Spider-Man #545 (written by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada, illustrated by Quesada, Danny Miki and others) to save his Aunt May from dying after a failed assassination attempt left her in critical condition. In return, Mephisto demanded an end to Peter and MJ's marriage.
The event, titled "One More Day" was a controversial tale, and one that many fans have wanted undone for a decade now. It's also something the Marvel Universe seems to be revisiting in recent years, starting with early issues of Spider-Man/Deadpool (written by Joe Kelly, art by Ed McGuinness and more), in which Mephisto taunts Peter about the ineffable emptiness inside of him in a clear reference (at least for readers) to Pete's lost love.
It's clear that everything Mephisto gives comes with a heavy price. It's almost certain that he would demand something close to indentured servitude from Osborn, so why would Norman desperate enough to turn to Marvel's lord of lies?
We've see how Osborn views the Goblin. His former alter-ego gave him power, and its loss clearly created a void in Osborn that he simply can't fill with anything else. This is why he was desperate enough to travel to the ends of the Earth in order to learn mystic arts in order to bring the Goblin back. The monks of one temple may have turned him away, but Osborn knows there's more than one way of acquiring mystic powers.
The Red Goblin is set to be introduced in "Go Down Swinging," a story arc rumored to be Dan Slott's last in the Amazing Spider-Man series. It begins in March 2018 with Amazing Spider-Man #797, written by Dan Slott with artwork by Stuart Immonen.