Warning: The following contains major spoilers for “Carnage Shark,” part of Carnage: Black, White & Blood #2, by Donny Cates, Kyle Hotz, Rachelle Rosenberg and VC’s Joe Sabino, and for King in Black #5, by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin and VC’s Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Over the past few decades, Carnage has stood as Venom‘s worst enemy. Carnage was also the biggest supporter of Knull, the symbiote god, who pushed Eddie Brock to his limits. But in the aftermath of Knull’s defeat in King in Black, Carnage had a rude awakening when he resurfaced in Carnage: Black, White & Blood #2.
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Recently, Carnage has undergone some drastic changes. At the end of 2019’s Absolute Carnage #5, by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman and Mark Bagley, Eddie Brock killed Cletus Kasady, releasing Knull but seemingly ending Carnage’s threat. During the subsequent “Venom Island” storyline from 2020’s Venom #21-25, by Donny Cates and Mark Bagley, the threat of Carnage re-emerged.
Eddie had re-bonded with the Venom symbiote, which had combined with the Carnage symbiote, almost turning Eddie into the new Carnage. After a long battle on a deserted island, the Carnage symbiote almost succeeded in corrupting Brock and overpowering the Venom symbiote. Yet, thanks to Eddie’s son Dylan, the Carnage symbiote was expelled from Eddie’s body. In the aftermath, the Carnage symbiote was seen bonded to a shark.
Carnage’s story picks up during “Carnage Shark,” in Carnage: Black, White & Blood #3, by Donny Cates and Kyle Hotz. In this short King in Black epilogue, the Carnage Shark stumbles upon a boat full of whalers. Seizing the opportunity, Carnage catches one of the whalers and bonds to him, intending to slaughter the rest of the ship’s crew. At this moment, however, Carnage sees the symbiote dome that Knull erected around the globe as it falls from the sky.
This tale follows up on King in Black #5, by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, where Venom has killed Knull and become the new symbiote king. In his new role, Venom has taken over a hive-mind of symbiotes, including the Carnage symbiote. With his power, Venom mentally attacks Carnage, telling the symbiote that he’s in control now. Venom’s attack on Carnage follows up on years of antagonism between the two symbiotes, determined to end Carnage’s threat once and for all.
An entire hive-mind of symbiotes declares itself Venom, overwhelming Carnage with sheer numbers and physical force. Carnage is clearly distraught over this turn of events, trying to fight Venom on a mental and physical level. Yet, no matter what it tries, the Carnage symbiote is outgunned and outmatched. In the end, a swarm of symbiote sharks tears Carnage to shreds, as Venom says the symbiote is part of his kingdom now.
Ultimately, this story demonstrates how cheated Carnage was during King in Black. Ever since 2018’s Web of Venom: Carnage Born #1, by Donny Cates and Danilo Beyruth, Carnage faithfully served Knull and dedicated himself to the symbiote god’s cause. Throughout Absolute Carnage, Cletus Kasady did everything he could to ensure that the symbiote god made his way to Earth. While Kasady did make this happen, he also had to die so that Knull could be freed. As a result, Kasady never got to be a real part of Knull’s army during King in Black, and Kasady’s symbiote didn’t get much of a chance to be part of Knull’s invasion either.
During King in Black, the Carnage symbiote was bonded to a shark in the middle of the ocean, missing out on the big invasion which it so greatly anticipated. By the time the Carnage symbiote bonded with another human, it was too late, since Knull had been defeated. To make matters worse, Eddie Brock, the Carnage symbiote’s worst enemy, had taken over the symbiote hive. Years of planning and violence only led to Carnage’s quick demise at Venom’s hands. After all of the effort that both Cletus Kasady and the Carnage symbiote put forht, there was little reward for their efforts.
Of course, Carnage probably missed his big moment because he was serving a terrible evil like Knull. The fate of Cletus Kasady and his symbiote both illustrate that it doesn’t pay to be a villain. But with Extreme Carnage on the horizon, Carnage will have plenty of opportunities to make up for lost time.
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