Carnage (character)

For Carnage's first host, a serial killer who also independently operates under the "Carnage" name apart from the symbiote, see Cletus Kasady. For the symbiote also known with Kasady as "Dark Carnage", see Grendel (Marvel Comics).
Carnage
Interior art from The Amazing Spider-Man #361 (April 1992) depicting Cletus Kasady as Carnage.
Art by Mark Bagley.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceCameo appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #360 (March 1992)
Full appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #361 (April 1992)
Created byDavid Michelinie (writer)
Mark Bagley (artist)
Chris Marrinan (artist)
Stan Lee (name and conceptual input)
In-story information
Alter egoVarious hosts
SpeciesSymbiote
Place of originRikers Island, New York
Team affiliationsCarnage's Family
Astonishing Avengers[1]
Frightful Four
Goblin Nation
PartnershipsShriek
Chthon
Knull
Maker
Magneto
Notable aliasesSpider-Carnage, Carnage Cosmic, Superior Carnage, Red Goblin, The Red Slayer, Goblin Childe, The Crimson Leviathan
Abilities
  • All powers of the predecessor's first human host, Spider-Man
  • Limited shapeshifting and camouflage
  • Symbiote's autonomous defense capabilities
  • Undetectable by Spider-Man's spider-sense

Carnage is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as an adversary of Spider-Man and the archenemy of his father Venom, in particular the Eddie Brock incarnation of the character, although Carnage and Venom have joined forces when their goals have aligned. The character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #361 (April 1992),[2] and was created by writer David Michelinie and artist Mark Bagley, although the first published artwork of Carnage was penciled by Chris Marrinan. Stan Lee would also have some input in the character's name and attributes, pushing for a character who would be far darker and more vicious than Venom, due to the latter's more scrupulous character development.

Carnage belongs to a race of amorphous parasitic extraterrestrial organisms known as Symbiotes, which form a symbiotic bond with their hosts and give them super-human abilities. Originating as an offspring of Venom, Carnage is much more powerful than its parent symbiote because of the symbiotes' biology, and is in many ways a darker version of him. Like Venom, Carnage has had multiple hosts over the years, but its most infamous one remains its first – killer Cletus Kasady, whose sadistic personality perfectly matches that of the symbiote. Other notable hosts include Ben Reilly, Karl Malus, and Norman Osborn, as well as Gwen Stacy in the alternate Ultimate Marvel continuity. The Carnage symbiote gave birth to its first significant offspring, Toxin, in 2004.

Since its original introduction in comics, the character has been adapted into other forms of media, such as television series and video games. Woody Harrelson voiced Carnage in its first live-action appearance in the film Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), set in Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU), as well as portraying Cletus Kasady, reprising his cameo role from Venom (2018). Lava, a symbiote based on the Ultimate Marvel version of Carnage, appears in Venom: The Last Dance (2024). In 2009, the Cletus Kasady version of Carnage was ranked as IGN's 90th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.[3]

  1. ^ Avengers & X-Men #6
  2. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  3. ^ "Carnage is number 90". Comics. IGN. Archived from the original on July 15, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2020.