Over the years, Spider-Man has developed quite the family of supporting cast members, but he's not the only one in his circle to have such camaraderie. The evil symbiote Carnage has a family of his own, complete with maniacal matriarch Shriek. Carnage and Shriek have a mad love rivaling another notable villain couple, and this has seen the former turning Shriek into another villain entirely.
The Demogoblin is one of several Goblins that Spider-Man's fought over the years, one with a particularly devilish demeanor and origin. The demon within the goblin has recently sought out Shriek as a host, making the villainess even more dangerous than ever before. Here's how the Carnage Family has recently gotten a whole lot darker.
Who Is Shriek?
Created by Tom Defalco and Ron Lim, Shriek debuted in Spider-Man Unlimited #1. She was developed as a criminal with an incredibly loose (at best) grip on sanity, as well as the power to manipulate sound. She also had the power to manipulate other's fears and darl emotions, a macabre ability which fit her own appearance.Having experienced a traumatic upbringing made worse by early dips into criminality, Shriek, who had gone by both Sandra Deel and Frances Louise Barrison, would end up in the Ravencroft Institute.
There, she met the serial killer Cletus Kasady, who had become bonded with a remnant of the Venom symbiote and become Carnage. The flirtatious slayers would develop an intense attraction toward one another, and upon escaping their mental asylum, they formed a "family" of sorts with Carrion, Doppelganger and Demogoblin.
Who Is the Demogoblin?
Demogoblin, as his name would suggest, was a demonic entry in the Goblin legacy started by Norman Osborn. The character was created by Gerry Conway and Sal Buscema, debuting full-stop in Web of Spider-Man #86. The demon became bonded to the Jason Macendale version of the Hobgoblin when he requested more power from the demonic N'astirh. Macendale would later expel this force from his body, resulting in the similar looking Demogoblin have it own body.
This creature looked very much like the Green Goblin/Hobgoblin, albeit with a far more monstrous appearance. Claiming to be on a mission to cleanse the Earth of sin, his appearance and dubious morality fit in with both Venom and Carnage. Warring with the Hobgoblin would eventually see the physical form for his demonic mirror image killed, but this wouldn't be the end of the Demogoblin.
Shriek Becomes Demogoblin
In the recent Absolute Carnage storyline, Shriek returned as Carnage once again became a prominent villain. Part of the event had Carnage engaging in a grisly human sacrifice, albeit one that required a willing participant. Shriek, who truly did love Carnage in her own sadistic way, signed right up to be part of this event and be a host to the demonic entity that Carnage was trying to summon.
Upon having her spine ripped out, Shriek's body is overtaken by none other than the demon formerly known as Demogoblin. Now calling itself Demagoblin, the creature essentially combined two members of the Carnage Family into one, fighting alongside of Carnage and Doppelganger once again. Since then, the Demagoblin jumped right back into Shriek's role of locking grisly lips and vile tongues with Carnage, showing that the original woman is still in there somewhere.
Shriek is soon to make her live-action debut in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, where she's once again the love interest of the titular foe. Given the film's tenuous ties with any version of Spider-Man, the introduction of the Demogoblin or its female variant are currently slim. While sacrificing the woman he "loves" to make her a demon's host may be out of the question for now, Carnage in both the comics and the movies is sure to give love a bad name when it comes to his partner in crime Shriek.