WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story “You Are Carnage” from Carnage: Black, White & Blood #1 by Al Ewing, John McCrea, Mattia Iacono and VC’s Joe Sabino, on sale now.
The names Cletus Kasady and Carnage are rarely associated with virtuous motives, unlike their fellow Marvel symbiote icon Venom,. But while Carnage is usually associated with chaos and death. Carnage: Black, White and Blood #1 offers a look at how Carnage could follow the footsteps of his predecessor, Agent Venom.
The story “You Are Carnage” puts the decision-making into the reader’s hands, presenting the premise as a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-style story. In various pages or panels, Carnage is faced with choices that will impact the overall willpower the host has over the symbiote, showing how difficult it would be to steer the deranged symbiote into the heroic spotlight. The story shows various outcomes to Carnage’s actions while demonstrating his potential for good with a mentally stable host at the wheel.
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At the outset of the story, Carnage’s handler explains how his willpower determines the amount of control the host will have over the symbiote. Certain decisions will make it harder to fight the temptation for blood, so the handler recommends taking the symbiote out for a pilot run and looking for potential crimes to stop.
In the main portion of the story, Carnage is forced to face off against three of the Ani-Men who are in the process of robbing a bank, and dispatching anyone who stands in their way. Regardless of the choices made, Carnage’s desire to kill becomes increasingly harder to keep at bay. As a result, he becomes distracted, slowed by the internal combat going on between the host and symbiote. Using the Choose Your Own Adventure approach, we see the various outcomes firsthand with many resulting in the failure of the program and the demise of the host. That said, one result that ended with Carnage being seen as a hero, but required an extreme amount of willpower to keep the bloodlust at bay.
As subsequent stories revealed, the concept of weaponizing a symbiote for more advantageous purposes started much earlier than Agent Venom. Danny Cates and Ryan Stegman’s Venom run revealed that there was a small cell of soldiers during the Vietnam War who bonded with symbiotes to determine their potential. One, in particular, recounts how difficult it was to control the alien parasite, leading to a lot of unnecessary deaths. Flash Thompson’s Agent Venom seemed to be an exception, which could have been due to Spider-Man’s influence on both the man and the symbiote throughout their lives.
This also isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Carnage filled with honor and virtue. During the Axis event, an inversion spell changed the moral axis of those in range, leading the bloodthirsty villain to look for ways to be a heroes. In order to protect the reputations of the heroes affected by the inversion, he and the rest of the villains selflessly took the blame for the heroes’ actions during the events. During a conflict with inverted X-Men, Carnage sacrificed himself by containing a bomb’s explosion. He survived, although he was disgusted by his actions when he returned to his usual self.
While it was interesting to see Carnage follow Agent Venom’s footsteps, the story acts more as a cautionary tale for those tempted to use the symbiote as a weapon. Due to the prolonged time with Cletus, Carnage is innately psychopathic, making him extremely difficult to control. Still, it brings to light the question of if there is a part of Carnage that yearns for redemption for the years of death and destruction he’s caused.
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