MARCO SPEAKS SPIDEY: CARNAGE (2022) #2 REVIEW

I can’t say that I was totally satisfied with the latest outing of Venom and Carnage in their previous live-action film, but I am glad to say that our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man’s best friends are blooming in the pages of their own comic books. As we all know, the Venom symbiote’s offspring bonded to serial killer Cletus Kasady… and imbued with incredible strength, speed, endurance and powers similar to those of Peter Parker, Cletus and his symbiote have long shared a very special and intimate bond as Carnage. But after parting ways with its host, Carnage has now approached the Artist, a serial killer who has been attracting attention with a series of ritualistic murders, hoping to become one with the symbiote, himself.

OFFICIAL MARVEL COMICS DESCRIPTION:

Published:

April 27, 2022

Writer:

Ram. V.

Penciler:

Francesco Manna

Cover Artist:

kunkka

FOR YEARS, the only host the dangerous CARNAGE symbiote knew was CLETUS KASADY. Sharing a bond unique even among symbiotes and their hosts, the two were the most notorious and prolific serial killers in the Marvel Universe. But after the events of EXTREME CARNAGE, Cletus’ codex has found a new home, leaving the Carnage symbiote adrift, alone… and deadlier than ever before!

PROS:

• The dynamics between the Artist and Carnage are interesting and complex, and far more intriguing than just a symbiote needing another host to feed off on… as Carnage simply does not seem so interested. Instead, it led the Artist to a warehouse where the symbiote has trapped Hydro-Man after breaking him out of prison. At the end of the issue, it is actually revealed that the big, grand master plan of Carnage is to collect all of the super-powered individuals he can scoop up, and absorb their powers as his own… potentially making him the most dangerous force in the Marvel Universe. And it makes sense, really… why limit yourself to normal human beings, when Carnage can level up and become greater than he has ever been, with super-powers and all.
• Detective Jon Shayde arrived on the scene, just as Carnage began painfully pulling Hydro-Man apart, molecule by molecule, and towards the end of the issue, he was finally able to deduce what the creature is truly after… and that is to find all the powers he needs and take them for himself. The cat-and-mouse chase between detective and Carnage is one for the books, accompanied with mind games galore. The detective is being toyed and played with by Carnage, and is already seeing hints of the symbiote in himself… whether literally or figuratively, that is what we will have to discover in the coming issues. But the games that Carnage is playing with the detective and the Artist show just how truly threatening he is as a villain, and this comic book is a good reminder that in a world of super-villains, there truly is nobody as scary as Carnage. Bring on the psychological warfare!
• The creative team has done a very successful job, both in terms of writing and art, when creating the dark, bleak, and ultimately mysterious atmosphere for the new Carnage series. It is brutal and violent when it has to be… but underneath the viciousness of it all is a fascinating look inside the mind of symbiote, serial killer, and detective. The scary thought is not how they differ or how they clash… what is seriously unnerving is how they can all be so similar to one another.
• At the end of the chapter, we see Carnage’s next victim, and I felt like a proud father. It is fun to see the team giving spotlight back to the lesser-known or underappreciated villains in Spider-Man lore. At least Carnage sees the full potential in all these characters, as he is about to unleash the wrath of their powers unto the world as we know it.

CONS:

• Maybe the only aspect that is not too clear is why Carnage is still keeping the Artist around, and that may confuse some readers… but if you consider that he is a crazy alien playing games with all his victims, then you may soon learn not to care so much in the first place.

FINAL GRADE: A

This is really how the live-action movies should be… for future installments, maybe the studios can look at comics like this Carnage series for inspiration. This would be a good peg moving forward.