| Carnage | |
|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Carnage_(Marvel_Comics_character).png) Interior art from The Amazing Spider-Man #361 (April 1992) depicting Cletus Kasady as Carnage. Art by Mark Bagley. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Cameo appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #360 (March 1992) Full appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #361 (April 1992) |
| Created by | David Michelinie (writer) Mark Bagley (artist)<be />Chris Marrinan (artist) Stan Lee (name and conceptual input) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Various hosts |
| Species | Symbiote |
| Place of origin | Rikers Island, New York |
| Team affiliations | Carnage's Family Astonishing Avengers[1] Frightful Four Goblin Nation |
| Partnerships | Shriek Chthon Knull Maker Magneto |
| Notable aliases | Spider-Carnage, Carnage Cosmic, Superior Carnage, Red Goblin, The Red Slayer, Goblin Childe, The Crimson Leviathan |
| Abilities |
|
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). In 2009, the Cletus Kasady version of Carnage was ranked as IGN's 90th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.[3]
- ^ Avengers & X-Men #6
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Carnage is number 90". Comics. IGN. Archived from the original on July 15, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2020.