| "Absolute Carnage" | |
|---|---|
 Cover of Absolute Carnage #1 | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Publication date | August – November 2019 |
| Genre | |
| Main character(s) | Venom Cletus Kasady |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Donny Cates |
| Penciller(s) | Ryan Stegman |
"Absolute Carnage" is a 2019 comic book crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics, by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman.
The comic book event was first announced in March at the 2019 Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, followed by an online press conference. Donny Cates said that Carnage would be the main villain, and that the story involves all Marvel characters who have used a symbiote at some point and reference older stories involving Venom. He said that "Cletus Kasady is back, and he is deadlier than he's ever been. Absolute Carnage encompasses every single character who has ever worn a symbiote and every symbiote that has ever been, going all the way back to when Peter found the black suit. Going from there to Maximum Carnage to Venomized to everything... everyone is a target". [1] It was followed by several comics with variant cover arts with their characters reimagined with the Carnage symbiote. [2]
The tie-ins were announced in May. They feature Spider-Man, Venom, Deadpool, Miles Morales, Iron Fist and Scream, among others. [3]
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed.(December 2021) |
While walking to Times Square, Eddie Brock explains to his son Dylan about how the Symbiotes were created by Knull as well as the Church of the New Darkness having resurrected Cletus Kasady. Upon arrival, Eddie notices that there are wanted posters for Venom for the deaths of Lee Price and several inmates at Ryker's Island. When they flee into the subway upon being trailed by a man in a trenchcoat, they encounter Cletus Kasady who shoves them onto the subway tracks. They are saved by the man in the trenchcoat who is actually the Venom symbiote in disguise. The Venom symbiote re-bonds to Eddie where it states to him that it has fully recovered from the dark magic that it absorbed. A pair of police officers arrive and hold Venom at gunpoint. When the train explodes, Venom shields Dylan as Dark Carnage appears. The Dark Carnage stands at 13 ft., is colored black and red with a white spiral on its head, a gaping maw, a skeletal appearance, and a white dragon emblem on its chest. Venom tells the police officers to get Dylan as far away from here as possible while he confronts Dark Carnage where he notices that Cletus' body is bonded to the Grendel symbiote. As Dark Carnage tries to rip the Venom symbiote off of Eddie, he claims that Knull is coming to destroy everything. Eddie uses the electrical rails of the subway to disable Dark Carnage as it briefly separates to reveal Cletus' corpse. While recuperating at an apartment, Eddie and Dylan are visited by Robbie Robertson. He notices Eddie's condition and calls Peter Parker. [4]
Sometime later at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Spider-Man meets with Eddie and Dylan where he hears about Cletus being bonded to the Carnage symbiote, the approach of Knull as well as Eddie's encounters with Roland Treece and the Dinosaur People. Their discussion is interrupted by a news report about some bodies Angelo Fortunato, Carl Mach, Leslie Gesneria, and Thaddeus Ross where Eddie suspects that Anne Weying might be among the bodies in the pit. After thwarting a robbery, Spider-Man states to Eddie that he would ask Mister Fantastic for a solution that involves extracting the codices without killing people, but the timeline is unfeasible causing Eddie to take Spider-Man to meet with Maker. At the house of "Rex Strickland", Spider-Man and Venom meet Maker who is working on the S.C.I.T.H.E. (short for Symbiote Codex Isolation and Thermo-Heated Extraction) that was commissioned by Project Oversight. Normie Osborn was brought to Maker as he and Dylan get acquainted. When Spider-Man would not let the S.C.I.T.H.E. be tested on Dylan, Maker states that he wants to test it on Norman Osborn. [4]
Spider-Man and Venom head to Ravencroft where Venom recalls when Norman Osborn bonded with the Carnage symbiote. Arriving at the maximum security cell block, Eddie confronts Norman Osborn. Meanwhile, John Jameson meets with Spider-Man as he states that Venom is his ally. When they meet up with Venom near Norman Osborn's cell, Spider-Man and Venom notice John Jameson in pain as it is revealed that Dark Carnage has bonded to him. As John Jameson fully turns into Dark Carnage, he informs Spider-Man that Knull is coming. Elsewhere in Ravencroft, Cletus is walking through the halls as he exposes his ribs to unleash the maggots in order for them to have the inmates be bonded to the Grendel symbiote. The inmates are transformed by the symbiotes into creatures that resemble Doppelganger. As Spider-Man and Venom fight the symbiote-controlled inmates, Venom had wished that Sentry was here to rip Carnage again. Spider-Man is then told by Venom that the Grendel symbiote has a weakness to electricity. Norman Osborn is freed from his cell as he attacks Spider-Man and Venom. Using an offshoot of the Grendel symbiote, Dark Carnage bonds it with Norman Osborn to recreate his Carnage form. [4]
Dark Carnage has recreated Norman Osborn's Carnage appearance as he gloats that Knull will bring darkness and death to the universe. As Venom forms a wrecking ball to make a hole in the wall, Spider-Man wants to save Norman Osborn. Venom grabs Spider-Man as he carries him up the tower, creates dragon-like wings, and flies him away from Ravencroft. Dark Carnage tells Norman's Carnage form that there is nowhere that Spider-Man and Venom could escape to. After landing on a rooftop, Venom asks Spider-Man if they should go strolling up to Captain America and Wolverine, Spider-Man states that he would've handled them. After defeating Riot, Agony, Phage, and Lasher, Maker contacts Eddie and tells him that Dylan is fine. Maker informs Eddie about the grave that the Church of the New Darkness has made with the dead bodies. In addition, he also states that Anne Weying's body was never exhumed as he advises Venom to kill Dark Carnage before the situation gets worse. In his hideout beneath Grand Street, Dark Carnage is told by Norman's Carnage form that the murder pays in spades. Dark Carnage states to Norman's Carnage form that he is Cletus Kasady and not him. The hive is right now being amassed with Knull's powers. In SoHo, Manhattan, Miles Morales and Scorpion are fighting the Carnage Doppelgangers seeking to claim that Venom and Mania codex inside Scorpion. Venom catches up to them and advises Scorpion that they would set aside their grudge and save Miles. Venom throws him into the fray right into Norman's Carnage form. When he forms a blade to put into Scorpion's back, Miles uses his venom blast attack to fry part of the Carnage symbiote off of Norman's face enough for him to drop Scorpion. Venom has a horrified reaction when Miles is infected with a Grendel symbiote. [5]
Miles has been transformed into a six-armed Carnage Doppelganger. Lamenting that he wasn't able to rescue Miles, Venom fights him as Scorpion calls for help. Eddie and the Venom symbiote have a disagreement when it comes to the Venom symbiote wanting to have Norman Osborn killed after Venom mentioned Normie enough to briefly bring Norman to his senses. As the Grendel symbiote heals Norman, Venom brings Scorpion to the house of "Rex Strickland" since Scorpion would be in danger if he was sent back to prison. Venom finds that Spider-Man has called in Captain America, Thing, Wolverine, and Bruce Banner. As Captain America is handed Scorpion whose spine was broken in the attack, Venom is told that Maker fled when they showed up. As Venom gets fully acquainted with Bruce Banner, Dylan comes in where he has befriended a Sleeper symbiote that has bonded to a cat. Hours later, a storm rages as Bruce monitors the S.C.I.T.H.E. As Eddie is placed in a pod part of the S.C.I.T.H.E., the real Eddie Brock comes in and states his knowledge of Spider-Man being Peter Parker. It is then discovered that Eddie is actually Dark Carnage in disguise. When Spider-Man asks Bruce of Dark Carnage would break out, Bruce doubts it. Dark Carnage cracks through Captain America's pod as the Carnage Doppelgangers break into the building. The Venom symbiote leaves Eddie and engulfs Bruce Banner. As Dark Carnage stabs Bruce during the bonding process, he is transformed into a venomized version of Hulk whose punch nearly separates the Grendel symbiote from Cletus Kasady. It was also noted that the Venom symbiote couldn't cover all of Hulk as he introduces himself to Dark Carnage. [6]
While the Venomized Hulk fights Dark Carnage, Eddie Brock leads Spider-Man, Dylan Brock, and Normie Osborn to the door while assuring to Dylan that Sleeper can handle himself. Eddie asks Spider-Man to watch over Dylan while he gets the weapons that the Jury used on the Symbiotes. Eddie even equips himself with a Guardsman gauntlet and Captain America's shield. Eddie is then ambushed by the Carnage-possessed Miles Morales. Dark Carnage senses the power of the One Below All in Hulk where he plans to open it and paint it black like Knull's living abyss. When Dark Carnage tries to get the Venomized Hulk to side with him, Hulk punches Dark Carnage who sends tendrils into his head in order to mess with his mind. Using the cannon in the Guardsman gauntlet and charging Captain America's shield with it, Eddie Brock electrocutes the Symbiote on Miles enough to free him from its control. Afterward, Miles tells Eddie that he needs to get to the Venom Symbiote before Dark Carnage absorbs it and free Knull. Hulk regresses back to Bruce Banner and passes out just as Eddie and Miles arrive. Dark Carnage rips the Venom Symbiote off of Bruce as he assimilates it where he starts to grow horns, sharp spikes on his back, and black pauldrons and arm wraps similar to the ones on Knull. Captain America assures Eddie that he did all he can while punching a Carnage doppelganger. As Captain America takes back his shield, Thing and Wolverine arrive as the three of them charge towards Dark Carnage. Miles tells Eddie that the Carnage doppelgangers are attacking the S.C.I.T.H.E. and that Maker lied about destroying the Symbiote Codices. As Dark Carnage wipes the floor with Captain America, Thing, and Wolverine while Spider-Man fights the Carnage Norman Osborn, Eddie fights his way past the Carnage Doppelgangers to get to the S.C.I.T.H.E. Dark Carnage then turns his back spikes into wings as he plans to release Knull. Punching his hand into the S.C.I.T.H.E.'s container, Eddie becomes engulfed with the Symbiote Codices of Venom, Carnage, Riot, Agony, Lasher, Phage, Sleeper, Dreadface, Mania, Tyrannosaurus, and other unnamed Symbiotes which connects with the Venom Codex in his spine. While originally overwhelmed by the voices of the past Symbiote hosts, Eddie feels them melting together as the gestalt Symbiote transforms Eddie into a stronger, more focused version of Venom with powers of all the previous owners of the codices, not at one hundred percent though. Sprouting wings, Venom goes after Absolute Carnage and declares himself as the avenging fury of New York. [7]
The issue begins with a flashback of Eddie Brock first meeting Cletus Kasady in prison. In the present, while Eddie fights Dark Carnage, Cloak, Dagger, Iron Fist, Firestar, Morbius, Deathlok, Captain Marvel, Deadpool, and Scream arrive to help in the battle. Meanwhile, Spider-Man collapses during the fight with Norman, leading Dylan to somehow detonate him. Dark Carnage attacks Dylan, holding him hostage and reminding Eddie of his choice: to let his son die and let Dark Carnage awaken Knull or to kill Dark Carnage and take all of his codices, awakening Knull himself. Choosing to save his son, Eddie creates a Necrosword out of his combined symbiotes to kill Carnage, freeing Knull in the process, who sets off for Earth. As Spider-Man leaves to check on the others, Eddie is confronted by Dylan about them being father and son. [8]
The main storyline received overwhelmingly positive reviews, but the ending was criticized for its rushed pacing. According to Comic Book Roundup, the entire series had an average rating of 8.7 out of 10 based on 67 reviews. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
The events of Absolute Carnage culminate in an event series involving the coming of the Symbiote God Knull to Earth. This sequel series is called "King in Black" and began in December 2020.
| Title | Material Collected | Format | Publication Date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Carnage | Absolute Carnage #1-5, material from Free Comic Book Day 2019 (Spider-Man/Venom) #1 | Paperback | 30 January 2020 | 1302919083 |
| Absolute Carnage: Scream | Absolute Carnage: Scream #1-3, Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety #1 | Paperback | 28 January 2020 | 1302920154 |
| Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales | Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #1-3, Absolute Carnage: Weapon Plus #1 | Paperback | 28 January 2020 | 1302920146 |
| Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk and Other Tales | Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk #1, Absolute Carnage: Symbiote Spider-Man #1, Absolute Carnage: Symbiote of Vengeance #1, stinger pages from Symbiote Spider-Man #3 and Immortal Hulk #20 | Paperback | 28 January 2020 | 1302924486 |
| Absolute Carnage vs. Deadpool | Absolute Carnage vs. Deadpool #1-3, Absolute Carnage: Captain Marvel #1 | Paperback | 2 March 2020 | 1846533651 |
| Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors | Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #1-3, Absolute Carnage: Avengers #1 | Paperback | 28 January 2020 | 1302920138 |
| Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer Vol. 6: Absolute Carnage | Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #30-31 | Paperback | 30 January 2020 | 1302917277 |
| Venom Vol. 5: Absolute Carnage | Venom (vol. 4) #17-20 | Paperback | 30 April 2020 | 1846533805 |
| Absolute Carnage Omnibus | Absolute Carnage #1-5, Absolute Carnage vs. Deadpool #1-3, Absolute Carnage: Captain Marvel #1, Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk #1, Absolute Carnage: Symbiote Spider-Man #1, Absolute Carnage: Symbiote Of Vengeance #1, Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #1-3, Absolute Carnage: Avengers #1, Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #1-3, Absolute Carnage: Weapon Plus #1, Absolute Carnage: Scream #1-3, Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety #1, Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #29-31, Venom (vol. 4) #16-20, Absolute Carnage stinger pages | Hardcover | 8 September 2020 | 1302925296 |
| Venomnibus by Cates & Stegman | Absolute Carnage #1-5, Venom (vol. 4) #1-35 and Venom Annual #1, Web of Venom: Ve'Nam #1, Web of Venom: Carnage Born #1, Web of Venom: Wraith #1, King in Black #1-5, material from Free Comic Book Day 2019 (Spider-Man/Venom), Free Comic Book Day 2020 (Spider-Man/Venom),Incoming #1, Carnage: Black, White & Blood #2 | Hardcover | 26 July 2022 | 978-1302946418 |
Carnage is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as an adversary of Spider-Man and the archenemy of Venom, in particular the Eddie Brock incarnation of the character, although Carnage and Venom would join forces if their goals aligned. The character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #361, and was created by writer David Michelinie and artist Mark Bagley, although the first published artwork of Carnage was penciled by Chris Marrinan.
MacDonald "Mac" Gargan is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #19. Mac Gargan is a recurring antagonist of the superhero Peter Parker / Spider-Man. He debuted as a private investigator hired by J. Jonah Jameson to learn how Peter Parker took pictures of Spider-Man. In the following issue, Jameson decided to turn Gargan into a deadly adversary for Spider-Man through a barely-tested procedure, which left Gargan with an irremovable scorpion-themed armor and the predatory instincts of the arachnid. Driven insane by his mutation, Gargan instead turned to a life of crime as the Scorpion, and went on to menace both Spider-Man and Jameson, whom he held responsible for his transformation. Since then, having finally removed the armor, Gargan has also served as the third host of the Venom symbiote, and a member of the Dark Avengers as Spider-Man, but eventually returned to his Scorpion alias as it kept him alive due to the strain both the neural-armors and symbiote put on his body.
Edward "Eddie" Charles AllanBrock is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane, making a cameo appearance in Web of Spider-Man #18, before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #300 as the most well-known host of the Venom symbiote. The character has since appeared in many Marvel Comics publications, including Venom. He has endured as one of Spider-Man's most prominent villains, and is regarded as one of his three archenemies, alongside the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus. He later evolved into an antihero, slowly distancing himself from his initial goal to ruin Spider-Man's life to instead do good, even occasionally allying with Spider-Man.
Cletus Cortland Kasady is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer David Michelinie and artist Erik Larsen, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #344 as the first and most infamous host of the Carnage symbiote, an offspring of Venom. Originally a deranged serial killer, Kasady bonded with the symbiote while sharing a cell with Venom's human host, Eddie Brock, and broke out of prison using the super-human abilities granted by it. Since then, he went on to menace both Venom and Spider-Man, resulting in various unlikely alliances between the two to defeat him. Kasady and Carnage are a perfect match, as they both have sadistic personalities, and the symbiote only increases Kasady's already existent violent tendencies. After being separated from the redeemed Carnage symbiote in Absolute Carnage, Kasady nonetheless continued calling himself Carnage, bonding with Grendel, Mania and several other symbiotes to become Dark Carnage.
Shriek is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted as an enemy of Spider-Man, and the lover of Cletus Kasady.
Scream is a supervillainess and antiheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Scream symbiote has appeared in Spider-Man comics, as one of five symbiote spawns created simultaneously and has had four different types.
She-Venom is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is the ex-wife of Eddie Brock. She is the first character who goes by the She-Venom identity, and she is also colloquially referred to as the Bride of Venom.
The Klyntar, colloquially and more commonly referred to as symbiotes, are a fictional species of extraterrestrial parasitic life forms appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with Spider-Man. The symbiotes, as their alternative name suggest, form a symbiotic bond with their hosts, through which a single entity is created. They are able to alter their hosts' personalities and/or memories by influencing their darkest desires, along with amplifying their physical and emotional traits and personality and thereby granting them super-human abilities. There are more than 40 known symbiotes in the Marvel Universe.
"Maximum Carnage" is a 14-part comic book crossover published in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man family of titles in 1993. It featured Spider-Man, Venom, and a host of other superheroes teaming up to face Venom's murderous offspring Carnage and his team of supervillains.
Normie Osborn is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the grandson of Norman Osborn and the eldest son of Harry Osborn.
Venom is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a sentient alien symbiote with an amorphous, liquid-like form, who survives by bonding with a host, usually human. This dual-life form receives enhanced powers and usually refers to itself as "Venom". The symbiote was originally introduced as a living alien costume in The Amazing Spider-Man #252, with a full first appearance as Venom in The Amazing Spider-Man #300.
Sin-Eater is a name given to several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character usually appears in comics featuring Spider-Man and Ghost Rider.
Norman Virgil Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 as the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin. He has since endured as one of the superhero Spider-Man's most prominent villains and is regarded as one of his three archenemies, alongside Doctor Octopus and Venom.
"Planet of the Symbiotes" is a five-issue comic book story arc written by David Michelinie and published by Marvel Comics in 1995. The arc spanned the five "Super Special #1" editions of the Spider-Man titles available at the time: The Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Venom, and Web of Spider-Man. The plot continued a narrative first published in the four-part limited series Venom: Separation Anxiety (1994) where doubt is placed in the mind of Eddie Brock about who is in control of the relationship between himself and the sentient Venom symbiote that grants him his powers.
Venom vs. Carnage is a comic book limited series written by Peter Milligan with art by Clayton Crain published by Marvel Comics. It has a total of four issues and has been reprinted in trade paperback form under the title Spider-Man: Venom vs. Carnage. It features the first appearance of the Toxin symbiote.
The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. Since the introduction of Peter Parker as a character in 1962, with the superhero alter-ego, Spider-Man, a number of these locations have been prominently featured in connection with storylines specific to this character. These have then been carried over to depictions of Spider-Man in film, video games, and other media. There follows a list of those features.
Mania is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in Venom #1 and was created by Daniel Way and Francisco Herrera. Belonging to a race of amorphous extraterrestrial parasites known as Symbiotes, its hosts are Patricia Robertson, Andrea "Andi" Benton and Lee Price.
"Go Down Swinging" is a four-issue comic book storyline in The Amazing Spider-Man, first published by Marvel Comics between March and May 2018 and featuring the fictional superhero Spider-Man. The story overall received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the art, action, and the ending.
Knull is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Venom and Carnage, and later retroactively established as an unseen enemy of Thor and the Silver Surfer, as he was behind Gorr the God Butcher's mission to hunt down and kill various deities, in addition to having come into conflict with the Silver Surfer via a temporal black hole through time. The character is depicted as an evil deity who created the weapon known as All-Black the Necrosword and the alien races known as the Klyntar/Symbiotes and Exolons. The character would go on to play a more important role in the Marvel Universe.
"King in Black" is a comic book event written by Donny Cates with art by Ryan Stegman, and was published from 2020 to 2021 by Marvel Comics. It is a continuation to 2019's "Absolute Carnage", also containing fallout from 2020's "Empyre". In the story, Knull and his symbiotes invade Earth, leaving Eddie Brock / Venom, the Avengers, the X-Men, and numerous other superheroes to protect it.
