Spider-Man's Most Dangerous Villain Officially Returns With A Shocking, Upgraded Redesign

Spider-Man has no shortage of villains that make his skin crawl, but there are two that strike fear in his heart more than any other, and that fear is about to morph into outright terror. What Marvel just unleashed on everyone's Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is the stuff of nightmares.

Carnage remains atop the list of Spider-Man's most-feared supervillains, the murderous symbiotic having combined with serial killer Cletus Kasady in canon. Green Goblin, a sociopath with two distinct personalities, one of which is Norman Osborn's alter ego ready to kill Peter Parker/Spider-Man at a moment's notice.

And now ...thanks to The Amazing Spider-Man: Spider-Versity #4 ... they're one and the same. Having the ability to possess whoever he wants, Carnage is extremely selective in that the symbiote only wants the most demented host possible, and Green Gobling more than fits the bill.

Per the official synopsis: "CARNAGE ON CAMPUS! NORMAN OSBORN's training regimen takes its toll on the Spiders! As they pick up the pieces, another threat emerges — is there a killer loose on campus?!"

• Writer: Joe Kelly, Jordan Morris
• Artist: Pere Pérez
• Colorist: Guru-eFX
• Letterer: Travis Lanham
• Cover penciller, inker, colorist: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Lorenzo Ruggiero, Edgar Delgado
• Cover date: Sept. 2026
• Length: 32 pages
• Price: $4.99 US
• UPC: 75960621577500411

Green Goblin is Carnage's New Host in Terrifying Spider-Man Twist

Seriously, imagine Green Goblin's manic sociopathy and hi-tech weaponry combined with Carnage's powers and lust for blood, and Spider-Man is in for the fight of his life.

"Unlike Venom, who has liked the idea of being a Lethal Protector and collaborating with human hosts since the very start, Carnage has always embraced chaos without remorse," wrote ScreenRant's Nicholas Ayala in his review of The Amazing Spider-Man: Spider-Versity #4. "His recent attempt to correct course as an anti-hero by following Eddie Brock's orders and joining the New Avengers created the illusion that the red symbiote could change his morals, but this apparent change of heart rested on leverage."

He continued: "All along, Carnage has been waiting for the chance to unleash his bloodthirsty impulses with the help of a similarly ruthless human host like Norman Osborn."

Will Carnage Ever Face Off Against Tom Holland's MCU Spider-Man?

While it is wildly unlikely the world would ever see a Carnage-Goblin villain get the green light in the MCU, there's at least a chance Carnage could eventually find his way into one of the next two upcoming Spider-Man feature films involving Tom Holland.

Tom Hardy did what he could to introduce the iconic Marvel villain to the masses in Venom: Let There Be Carnage and, no knock to Primetime Emmy Award-winner and Academy Award nominee Woody Harrelson, but that was arguably a massive miscast, leading to many hoping the character gets another live-action chance down the road.

Also, the Venom symbiote, or at least a drop of it, did end up in the multiverse in Spider-Man: No Way Home's post-credit scene, and Hardy's Venom teased a battle with Holland's Spider-Man in a post-credit scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Rumor has it the Venom symbiote is in Holland's upcoming film and that means the door is open for a return of Carnage down the road, one would think.

Or, at least, one can hope.