The Best Venom vs. Carnage Comics

Warning: beware spoilers for Venom!

The Venom mid-credits scene introduces Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady and directly sets the stage for the rise of Carnage in Venom 2. While we wait for the sequel to take shape, now would be a good time to go back and read some of the classic Venom vs. Carnage stories from the comics. Here’s a little recommended reading to tide you over.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Carnage

Carnage made his full debut as a villain in The Amazing Spider-Man #361, which kicked off a multi-part storyline simply called “Carnage.” At the time, Spider-Man and Venom had reached an uneasy truce in their rivalry, mostly because Eddie Brock was stranded on a deserted island believing that he had killed his nemesis. Unfortunately, Spidey was forced to blow his cover and turn to Venom for help once the serial killer Cletus Kasady got his hands on a piece of the Venom symbiote.If you want to know exactly how the Venom/Carnage rivalry got its start, “Carnage” is the story to read. It features a fun team-up between reluctant allies Spidey and Venom and marks a key point in Venom’s transition from villain to “lethal protector.” It also features some terrific art by Mark Bagley, one of the artists who defined the look of the Spider-Man comics in the ’90s.

Maximum Carnage

Even if you’ve never read Marvel’s Maximum Carnage crossover, you might be familiar with the story from having played the SNES and Sega Genesis game of the same name. In either form, the story is essentially the same. Carnage breaks out of prison and recruits fellow villains Shriek, Demogoblin, Carrion and Doppelganger to begin a new killing spree. Spider-Man and Venom are again forced to put aside their difference to confront a common enemy, though they have a bit of help from other heroes like Captain America, Black Cat and Cloak and Dagger.

Maximum Carnage does have its storytelling problems. It’s an overly long story, unfolding over the course of14 chapters and including the entire Spider-Man line as it existed in 1993. However, it’s also pretty much the definitive Carnage story, with the villain holding an entire city hostage and pushing both Spider-Man and Venom to the breaking point. It taps into the same core confliuct that propels so many Venom/Carnage stories. Venom wants to use elthal force topo rid the world of Cletus Kasaday’s evil, while Spider-Man refuses to budge even for this mass-murderer.

Venom vs. Carnage

Part of the fun with many Carnage-centric stories is the way Spider-man and Venom are forced to stop fighting each other long enough to deal with Carnage instead. This 2004 miniseries shook up the formula by creating an even more unlikely partnership, with Venom and Carnage briefly on the same side after Carnage inadvertently spawn a new symbiote named Toxin. As it turns out, the only person who hates the prospect of a Carnage Jr. more than Eddie Brock is Cletus Kasady himself.

The title of the series is slightly misleading in that the Venom/Carnage rivalry isn’t the main focus. The book is more concerned with the new Toxin symbiote and its human host, Patrick Mulligan. But that’s part of the appeal of Venom vs. Carnage, ultimately. It’s not just a story about two super-powered villain punching each other. It’s also an exploration of what it’s like to be an ordinary person suddenly granted incredible power, and whether a creature spawned from someone as foul as Carnage can rise above that twisted influence.

Minimum Carnage

Marvel tended to go a little overboard with both Venom and Carnage in the ’90s, to the point where both characters had mostly fallen out of favor by the 2000’s. Carnage himself even got killed off in 2004’s The New Avengers. However, he got better, and 2012’s Minimum Carnage helped revive Cletus Kasady’s popularity.

A crossover between the ongoing series Scarlet Spider and Venom, Minimum Carnage managed to push its heroes and villain in some unexpected directions. Much of the conflict takes place in the Microverse, with Carnage literally going microscopic in order to resume his killing spree. This storyline also stands apart because it doesn’t focus on the usual Peter Parker/Eddie Brock dynamic. Instead, Spider-clone Kaine and Agent Venom Flash Thompson are the protagonists, allowing writers Cullen Bunn and Christopher Yost to establish a very different superhero dynamic.

Red Goblin

Red Goblin (originally titled “Go Down Swinging”) is the final chapter in writer Dan Slott’s decade-long run on The Amazing Spider-Man. Fortunately, it’s perfectly easy to follow for those that simply want to read about the latest major clash between Spider-Man, Venom and Carnage.

The big twist with this story is that Cletus Kasady is nowhere to be found. Instead, Norman Osborn willingly bonds with the Carnage symbiote in order to regain the madness that Peter Parker stole from him. The result is Red Goblin, a powerful hybrid villain with all the strengths of both Carnage and Green Goblin.

This story features two other selling points for hardcore Venom fans. For one thing, it features Flash Thompson in his new role as Agent Anti-Venom, the only hero capable of wounding the red Goblin. For another, it even has Peter reunite with the Venom symbiote for the first time in years, briefly taking Spidey back to those beloved black costume days. Red Goblin serves as epic, dramatic payoff to years of build-up.

Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

In This Article

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Check out the new, action-packed trailer for John Wick: Chapter 4, the upcoming movie starring Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, and Ian McShane.John Wick (Keanu Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating the High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes. John Wick: Chapter 4 will be available in theaters and IMAX on March 24, 2023 (or March 23rd in Australia/NZ).

The Little Mermaid – Official Trailer

“The Little Mermaid” is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. The youngest of King Triton’s daughters and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea and, while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy. The film stars singer and actress Halle Bailey (“grown-ish”) as Ariel; Jonah Hauer-King (“A Dog’s Way Home”) as Prince Eric; Tony Award® winner Daveed Diggs (“Hamilton”) as the voice of Sebastian; Awkwafina (“Raya and the Last Dragon”) as the voice of Scuttle; Jacob Tremblay (“Luca”) as the voice of Flounder; Noma Dumezweni (“Mary Poppins Returns”) as Queen Selina; Art Malik (“Homeland”) as Sir Grimsby; with Oscar® winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men”) as King Triton; and two-time Academy Award® nominee Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” “Bridesmaids”) as Ursula. “The Little Mermaid” is directed by Oscar® nominee Rob Marshall (“Chicago,” “Mary Poppins Returns”)with a screenplay by two-time Oscar nominee David Magee (“Life of Pi,” “Finding Neverland”). The songs feature music from multiple Academy Award® winner Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin”) and lyrics by Howard Ashman, and new lyrics by three-time Tony Award® winner Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film is produced by two-time Emmy® winner Marc Platt (“Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” “Grease Live!”), Miranda, two-time Emmy winner John DeLuca (“Tony Bennett: An American Classic”), and Rob Marshall, with Jeffrey Silver (“The Lion King”) serving as executive producer.

WWE 2K23 – Official Launch Trailer

Check out the WWE 2K23 launch trailer, featuring WWE Superstars John Cena, Cody Rhodes, Logan Paul, Bad Bunny, Rhea Ripley, and more.WWE 2K23 is now available in Early Access for Deluxe and Icon Edition players. The game’s official release date on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and Xbox One is March 17, 2023.

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