Maximum Carnage

Maximum Carnage

Cletus Kasady. One of the Marvel Universe’s most dangerous serial killers. He doesn’t need a reason to kill. He doesn’t want to. He worships chaos. He’d murder anyone and everyone in his way just to for the hell of it. In fact, the only time he’s happy is when people erupt into full-tilt pandemonium. Obviously a very deranged person. Now combine Kasady with an alien symbiote granting superhuman powers to its host. You turn Kasady into Carnage. It’s like giving dynamite to a child who burns anthills with a magnifying glass: you know that he’s going to enjoy killing the ants. Only Carnage won’t stop at the anthill. As long as chaos reigns, he’ll never stop.

Which brings us to Maximum Carnage, 1993’s fourteen comic-book crossover event. It details Carnage’s greatest murder spree yet. It begins with Kasady’s latest escape. Kasady transforms into Carnage and does the usual: whole-scale slaughter of the facility. Just as Carnage is about to leave, he chances upon fellow supervillain Shriek. For some strange reason (remember Carnage is insane; reasons don’t apply to him), Carnage joins forces with her, and along the way, forms an alliance with numerous other Spider-Man villains on his quest to spread murder and mayhem on a helpless New York. It’s only when Spider Man forms his own team of superheroes that Carnage’s destructive quest is foiled.

The genius of Maximum Carnage is that it provides precedent for situations that would follow for years to come. For example, this is the first time Spider Man joins forces with the vigilante Venom (another symbiotically-augmented anti-hero whose symbiotic “partner” spawned the Carnage symbiote). Ordinarily one of Spider Man’s deadliest foes, Venom puts his deep-seated hatred for Spider Man aside for the greater good. Apparently the team-up was so popular that it inspired a series of novels by author Diane Duane, not to mention Venom’s eventual transformation from villain to good guy. I guess people like having a hero with a taste for brains and long, prehensile tongues.

Maximum Carnage also provides a bit of insight into the character of Mary-Jane Watson-Parker, Peter Parker’s wife. Like any policeman’s family knows, there is a constant worry that their loved ones will die in the line of duty. The same could be said for superheroes. In the aforementioned scenario, Mary-Jane is trying desperately to distract herself from the fact that Peter has been Spider-Man for a week straight (something he promised he would not do). The reader sees Mary-Jane’s anger melt into fear, revealing the collateral damage that Spider Man’s presence does on those around him.

Perhaps most interesting is the dynamic between Carnage and his cohorts. The symbiotic serial killer comes to regard his allies as a family, with him and Shriek as the parents. At first this association serves merely as an example of Carnage’s unpredictable nature. But after some time passes, Carnage takes his “family” to the orphanage where Kasady spent an abusive childhood. This, of course, is not an excuse for Carnage’s destructive acts over the years, but it does provide insight into where it started for the world’s most dangerous serial killer.

Comic books need high stakes to be compelling. Maximum Carnage certainly meets those requirements. Not only did it provide a heroic side to the Spider Man villain Venom, but it also spawned a popular video game (the first of many). I guess it proves the old maxim: put a group of heroes together, and the bad guys don’t stand a chance. Enjoy.

The Venom Factor

The Venom Factor

Of all of Spider Man’s villains, Eddie Brock/Venom is the biggest thorn in the webslinger’s side. He knows who Peter Parker is, he cancels out Spidey’s spider-sense (ESP-like sixth sense), and thanks to the alien symbiote he’s bonded to, he can shrug off whatever blows Spider Man throws at him. But in the Venom Factor novel by Diane Duane, Venom is something else: an ally.

It all starts with a mishap with a submarine. On-route with hazardous cargo, the submarine crew finds themselves at a loss when the containment cell is ripped to shreds. This is the state-of-the-art three inches thick steel. And it’s been torn apart like wet tissue. Something dangerous is free in New York. And the worst part: it looks a lot like Venom.

Only it’s not, at least according to Spider Man. That’s a twist I didn’t see coming. The creature has the color, the eyes, and the strength that makes Venom so dangerous, and yet Spidey has his suspicions. After all the pain and misery Venom has put the webslinger through over the years, Parker gives his old enemy the benefit of the doubt.

Of course Venom isn’t the sort to lie down when a creature is wreaking havoc in his name, so naturally the anti-hero returns to New York on the hunt. This allows the reader a rare insight into Venom’s mind. His hatred for Spider Man is as keen as ever – both Brock and the symbiote want revenge on the web-slinger’s role in “ruining” their lives – but the book goes deeper than that. It showcases Venom’s rationalization of the futility of prisoner rehabilitation, while at the same time reveals the pride Venom feels as the protector of a homeless community back in his native San Francisco.

But that’s not all. Venom’s chief quality is his strength: he has all of Spider Man’s abilities, he knows Spider Man’s secret identity, but the fact that Venom’s so much stronger is what gives him the edge in every battle. Spider Man’s speed against Venom’s brawn – not something I would put money on.

So when Venom finds the imposter, naturally the reader assumes that the anti-hero’s strength will put the odds in his favor. But no. The imposter kicks Venom’s ass throughout the New York sewers. This isn’t the nigh-invincible Venom the reader has been led to believe. This is a Venom who’s no longer the biggest shark in the ocean. It’s because of this re-evaluation that shows the depth of Venom’s inner hero: Spider Man gets to part ways with all limbs intact. It may not sound like it, but it’s a big improvement on the anti-hero’s part.

Aside from a side-plot involving Spider Man foe the Hobgoblin, this is clearly Venom’s book. But this isn’t the Old Testament Venom. This is a Venom that protects the innocent. This is a Venom that won’t stand by and allow his name to be tainted by a wannabe imposter. If Spider Man, his arch-nemesis, is willing to put aside his prejudices and give his most dangerous enemy the benefit of the doubt, then perhaps Venom isn’t such a lost cause after all. Enjoy reading.

Carnage – Avatar of Chaos

Cletus Kasady is one whacked-out sociopath. He once stuffed five dollar bills into a man’s throat just to see how many bills he could fit before the man suffocated. Then he beheaded a hapless philosopher who theorized life as a soup bowl because “the world would thank him.” For all of that aggressive nature, he is a nondescript man: lanky, rawboned, with a shock of red hair that’s eternally unkempt. He certainly doesn’t look like a slayer of millions. But Kasady’s human form just a disguise for the monster within: the symbiote Carnage, “spawn” to the infamous Spider Man villain Venom.

Carnage’s legacy begins in prison, when he is paired with Eddie Brock after one of the latter’s many fights with Spider Man. Separated from the Venom symbiote, the two merge once more after a rather violent breakout. However, what Brock didn’t know was that the symbiote was capable of reproducing (in fact it gave birth during the rescue). Angry, vengeful and insane, the new symbiote bonds with the nearest host body: Cletus Kasady. Thus Carnage, the superhuman serial killer, was born.

Let’s be clear. Venom, on his worst days, still had some redeeming qualities. The fact that he found a purpose beyond hunting down Spider Man and devour his organs (it seems the symbiotes like that sort of thing) is proof that deep down, beneath all the rage and the dissociative denial of responsibility, Eddie Brock is still a good guy.

Carnage is not a redeemable person. His idea of a good day is poisoning vats of food with a serum that would make his victims as crazy as he is. His idea of a good deed is promising not to kill a man if he gives up his boss and then lopping off his nose to make sure the victim can’t lie (a reference that would make Pinocchio sick). Kasady is an unreasonable agent of chaos. Carnage takes those qualities and brings them to new heights.

The worst part? He’s actually stronger than his “father” Venom. While the latter is capable of a limited degree of shapeshifting, Carnage takes this one step further: he can form axes, knives, and other bladed weaponry from his limbs. In fact he can sustain the formation of several different weapons simultaneously. He has an immunity to the fire and sound sensitivity that plagued Venom. Perfect.

But wait. There’s more. Carnage received an “upgrade” in the Maximum Carnage event when the symbiote bonded with Kasady’s DNA. No matter the pain (and Carnage has taken the brunt of thousands of electrical voltage), the symbiote cannot be killed. It just retreats within Kasady to rest and recuperate. So killing Carnage isn’t really an option. At best he can just be contained. (Did I say perfect sarcastically before? Never mind. I’ll say it again). Perfect. Just perfect.

Cletus Kasady is a murdering sociopath. He’s the kind of person the death penalty was invented for. And even then the needle is too good for him. All he has to do is scratch himself, and he becomes Carnage: a red-and-black monstrosity that will not hesitate to kill everyone in the room. Hell, he probably gets off from it. If there was ever a need for a hero to break his rule against killing, it would be Carnage.

Good luck falling asleep tonight. I know I’ll need it.