Seeing that Comic-Con weekend just happened, I’m bringing it back to what started this whole thing: comics.
And Carnage is going to be changing up the comic scene next month.
Marvel teased a new arc in Absolute Carnage, a Marvel comics event where “everyone is a target.” Writer Donny Cates and artist Ryan Stegman are working on the series.
Marvel has been teasing the event in other titles. In Captain Marvel #8, the Flerkin Chewie gets attacked by a bunch of Carnage symbiote infested rats. Not to mention Invaders #7, where the final panels tease a horde of rats, snakes, and tigers with that Carnage symbiote burning in their eyes. Their/his target: Steve Rogers.
Regarding the upcoming comic book event, Marvel Editor C.B. Cebulski states that:
“It touches on almost every character in the Marvel Universe. No Character is going to be left untouched by Absolute Carnage.”
This Venom-centric arc will pit the symbiotes against each other as Carnage seeks to recover codexes left behind every character that has ever bonded with a symbiote. This in an attempt to summon the symbiote god Knull.
And in an interview with writer Donny Cates, he puts it plainly:
“We’ve given a serial murderer a nuclear bomb, essentially, and Cletus is gonna try and kill every single character that has ever worn a symbiote.”
Stegman chimes in:
“As a comic fan, this book has everything I’d ever want. The things I’ve drawn in this series are unlike anything I’ve gotten to draw before. I can’t wait for people to experience it.”
Past Carnage Crossovers
In 1993, Maximum Carnage was a title that put together many of the street level heroes of New York against a mishmash of villains under the auspices of Carnage. We saw Doppleganger, Shriek, Demogoblin, and Carrion team up against the web-slinger and go on a killing spree across New York City.
In that arc, Spider-Man is joined by Captain America, Black Cat, Nightwatch, Cloak and Dagger, Iron Fist, Deathlok, Morbius and Firestar. Venom is also a wild-card ally, who is sort of the anti-hero of the book.
I remember it vaguely only because I played the Super Nintendo game based on the arc.
This could change the position of Carnage in the comic book universe. If he’s attempting to tap into Knull the symbiote God, his threat level might become more than just city-wide as it was in Maximum Carnage.
Absolute Carnage comes out on August 7th.