Due to its ability to do 4 bonds, it forms such a variety of molecules that it stemmed its own branch of chemistry: organic chemistry. Some examples are graphite, graphene, fullerene and diamond. In the past years a plethora of new forms of C was found.
The tetrahedrons of diamond are way more resilient than the irregularly spaced hexagons of graphite. Follows a graph showing the relative conductivity of some carbon compounds.
Fullerene, Coal
Graphite
Carbon tubes