Maximum Carnage may just be the most controversial Spider-Man story ever. There are plenty of fans who thinks it’s terrible, an example of the excesses of the 1990s, both in terms of format (a 14 issue crossover) and subject matter. But enough love it that the Trade Paperback is consistently in print, and it regularly appears on lists of the best Marvel comics ever.
Writers Tom DeFalco, Terry Kavanaugh, David Michelinie and Howard Mackie tried to use the crossover to showcase something special about Spider-Man.
Kavanagh: There was a big moment for Spider-Man late in the story about him holding his ground about not using lethal force, which was a bone of contention between him and some of the other characters. While the story may be a bit more villain-centric than hero-centric, for Spider-Man, Maximum Carnage was more about him holding his ground, which is an arc.
DeMatteis: I don’t know if Maximum Carnage changed Spider-Man as a character, but the story underscored Peter’s commitment to compassion and simple human decency, standing firmly on the side of the light. That simple decency is, I think, Spider-Man’s greatest power.
Video game producer Mark Flitman considered the impact the game has had on younger fans.
Back when I was making these games, I knew the numbers, so I knew if a game sold well, but it’s only been more recently that I’ve realized the impact the games have had on people. I’ve had people tell me that a game I made was “their whole summer” one year and that’s been very humbling for me. I think that’s why Maximum Carnage has stood the test of time so well — it captures a moment in their life.
Not everyone who worked on it cared for it.
Rick Parker, Marvel Comics letterer and artist from 1977 to 1996: I don’t remember working on Maximum Carnage. If I lettered it, it made zero impression on me.
He seemed to have fonder memories of work on Kraven’s Last Hunt.
The article is an interesting look behind the scenes of a blockbuster hit that was representative of the era. It was editorially driven, narratively messy, had more cooks than it needed, and required fans to buy a lot of comic books. It also included some really impressive moments and some serious commentary about culture and comics at the time, with heroes defending old-fashioned morals in an era of grimdark. Personally, I’ve got fond memories of trying to get each chapter as a back issue, the “Part X of 14” on each new cover I find in a dollar bin taunting me.
I don’t have as many fond memories of reading the actual story, although it’s obviously remembered by many fans nearly thirty years later.
What did you guys think of Maximum Carnage? Is there anything worth duplicating in it today? And are there any fans of the various adaptations: the video game, the toys or the amusement park attraction?
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I unapologetically love Maximum Carnage. It’s what a comicbook should be. It’s fun.
It’s not my favorite story, but it’s far from the worst Spider-Man story. It’s better than all of the BND era I read before I got fed up and left comics.
Maximum Carnage’s main problem is that it’s 14 parts and it should have been 10.
The artwork is first rate. Bagley/Buscema and then you’ve got Saviuk, Lim, and Lyle.
Spider-Man is acting like Spider-Man, and there is a moral message in the story: Don’t fight evil with evil.
I don’t believe Maximum Carnage is controversial so much as it garners divided opinions. There are those who enjoy it as a comic book and those who just dislike the symbiotes, fun, or the quality of the story.
But controversial? I don’t think so. OMD, Sins Past, BND were controversial.
I will say, Maximum Carnage does seem to have some inherent value in it. 30+ years later and we are STILL talking about it with 50% of the audience enjoying it. A video game, a theme park event, and the trade paperback is perpetually in print.
Not many 30 year stories can boast that many achievements.
“Almost thirty years ago”? Damn, I feel old… 🙁
The story itself is okay, just overly long, as others pointed out. I bought this as it came out, and for me, the worst thing it did was kill my excitement for both Venom and Carnage. I loved Venom in those first few appearances, I’d actually get excited for a new Venom story and I loved the first Carnage story, but I remember this story being the turning point where I didn’t care about either character any more.
To be honest MC gets a lot more flack than it deserves. It’s not a groundbreaking story, yes, but it’s nowhere near sin past or OMD level. And they really did god with making Spidey the one unflinching light of hope and decency in a sea of darkness (which is a very good metaphor of the industry then as noted). And that in the end, it’s Peter that was right and win with the power of love while violence and hatred lose against carnage (yes it’s corny but I like it)
One of the problems with MC (and there are many) is its length. It’s 14 issues, and the first and last are Unlimited issues, meaning they’re extra-long. This is way too long for any story.* And as the article points out, this was a planned 14-issue story – it wasn’t like the 90s Clone Saga which was originally planned to be 6 (?) months but because of sales kept getting extended indefinitely with no set end in sight.
Marvel basically came up with the idea and thought “Let’s premiere it in this new quarterly Unlimited title, and we’ll end it in the second issue!” Then they realized that would require 12 issues of the normal books in between, so they turned the padding machine on. And boy, was this thing padded out. As someone who read this in real-time, there were multiple points near the middle of this story where I legitimately forgot how it started – that is not a good sign.
* The exception to this rule is something like Crisis on Infinite Earths, whose universe-spanning range demanded a story of this length. Or Watchmen, but that had to introduce a world and its characters. I can’t think of any other 12+ issue stories where I thought “I’m glad this was this long – it needed it.”
“Maximum Carnage may just be the most controversial Spider-Man story ever.”
Unless MC included a scene where another love interest from Peter’s past had sex with a classic Spidey villain and had babies from that encounter (and I happened to block that out), then MC will be the “always a bridesmaid, never the bride” in the battle for most controversial SM story.