Image via Marvel
It was exciting enough to learn that Carnage, one of the most evil, sadistic villains in the Marvel Universe, would be the main villain of Venom 2; according to a recent report, the movie will open with him imprisoned in the Ravencroft Institute, awaiting his execution. But in November, sources reported that Shriek would be a secondary villain in the upcoming film, due out on October 2, 2020. Naomie Harris is currently rumored to be in talks for the role.
We've gotten more clues to the film's narrative in the months since. Hardy posted (and then deleted) a set photo showing the remains of the St. Estes Orphans Home for Unwanted Children. In the comics, Cletus Kasady (the human alter ego of Carnage) spent an abusive childhood living at this orphanage.
HN Entertainment reported some additional leaked plot details: working in his capacity as an investigative journalist, Eddie Brock / Venom will discover that Kasady started a massive fire at St. Estes, which caused the deaths of 12 people. Perhaps this is the inciting incident that drives both characters' hatred for one another?
For comic book fans, these are all very exciting development, because it means that finally, we might get to see the "Maximum Carnage" storyline on-screen. A massive crossover arc that featured many of Marvel's signature heroes and villains, "Maximum Carnage" still invokes fond, nostalgic memories of the '90s.
Here's everything you need to know about Symbiotes, the "Maximum Carnage" storyline, and how the Shriek announcement factors into all of this.
What is a Symbiote?
A Symbiote is a parasite alien that attaches itself to a human host; in the Venom symbiote's case, the primary human host is Eddie Brock.
A Symbiote, separate from its host, is a pile of sentient viscous, alien goo with eyes and teeth. A common misconception is that "Venom" and " Eddie Brock" are interchangeable, and that the teeth and tongue are a natural extension of Eddie's body. But this is not the case; the symbiote actually encases the host's body, from head to toe. So when you see the teeth and tongue, that's the symbiote, not the host (who's still a regular human underneath).
As shorthand though: when people talk about "Venom," they are usually talking about the Eddie Brock / Venom pairing. But the Venom symbiote can (and has) bonded to other individuals aside from Eddie; its first host was actually Peter Parker / Spider-Man.
What are the benefits of having a Symbiote?
The benefits are numerous. The Venom symbiote gives Eddie Brock superhuman strength and agility, and all the powers of Spider-Man, who was its first host. It is undetectable to Spidey Sense, which gives Venom a massive advantage in his battles against Spider-Man. And most convenient of all, the symbiote can mimic the appearance of a person's clothing. Thus, the symbiote can camp out on Eddie's body as a trenchcoat or other piece of clothing. And when Eddie needs to go into Kill Mode, the Symbiote simply forms around him. It's very convenient.
What are the drawbacks of having a Symbiote?
The drawbacks are also numerous. Symbiotes are typically averse to heat and sound waves; at high frequency, sound waves can cause the Symbiote to separate from the host. And at that point, the host and the Symbiote are vulnerable to any sort of attack.
A Symbiote has its own personality, which can directly influence the host. The Venom symbiote, for example, has a massive inferiority complex, because it first attached itself to Peter Parker. When Parker rejected the symbiote (it had violent tendencies and was trying to permanently meld with him), the Symbiote then attached itself to Eddie Brock. Brock was a disgraced Daily Bugle reporter who, conveniently enough, also hated Spider-Man.
Still, even if he was doing bad things, Brock tried to reign in the worst of the Symbiote's impulses—like eating people, for example. He didn't always succeed in doing so, however, and most times, they agreed anyway; Venom has a quirky habit of referring to himself as "we."
Is Venom the only Symbiote?
No. And that's where Carnage comes in.
Eddie Brock was in prison for his numerous crimes as Venom, and the Venom Symbiote snuck in and broke him out. But before the Symbiote left the prison, it spawned (Symbiotes are asexual) another Symbiote. And whereas the Venom Symbiote was savage, its offspring was even more dangerous and unhinged. It also retained the powers of Spider-Man via the Venom Symbiote and it added some of its own—the ability to heal itself, and the ability to turn its appendages into hard, sharp weapons.
Well that sounds terrible. Did this new Symbiote bond with a good host?
Of course it didn't.
It bonded with Eddie Brock's cellmate at the time: a psychotic, damaged serial killer named Cletus Kasady. And thus, "Carnage" was born. It was stronger than both Venom and Spider-Man, who felt a joint responsibility for this thing they both had a hand in creating. And that shared common enemy is what made them begrudging allies whenever Carnage caused mayhem.
The definitive Carnage story arc was the Maximum Carnage storyline, which took place over 14 comic book issues in the summer of 1993.
What was particularly notable or memorable about the "Maximum Carnage" arc?
First, it was a massive crossover story; it featured a wide range of major and minor heroes and villains. On the good guy team, aside from Venom and Spider-Man, was Cloak & Dagger, Iron Fist, Black Cat, Firestar, Captain America, Morbius the Living Vampire, Nightwatch, and Deathlok. It also managed to work in references to both the Fantastic Four and Tony Stark.
The scale and spectacle of the fight was incredible. There was also a sort of tourism-by-proxy; Carnage directed his rage and hatred at New York City, which meant that Spidey and Venom were fighting in famous locations, including the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, and Central Park.
What supervillains were fighting on Carnage's side?
Four super villains fought under Carnage; he referred to them as his "family." The "mother" of the family, and Carnage's romantic interest, was a villainess name Shriek, who debuted in the first issue. Like Carnage, she was imprisoned at the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane, and when Carnage broke out, she broke out too.
A drug addict who suffered abuse in childhood, Shriek (formerly Frances Louise Barrison) became mentally unhinged when Cloak put her in his cloak's "Dark Dimension." It also awakened her power over sound, which she could project as a bolt of energy.
There were three minor Carnage "family members," whom Shriek and Carnage referred to as their "sons." The Doppelganger was Spider-Man's evil duplicate from the Infinity Wars, who possessed long teeth and six arms, for a total of eight limbs. Demogoblin was a straight-up demon, obsessed with ridding the world of sinners (ie. everybody). And lastly, there was Carrion, an infected, floating spectre of a man, who made people waste, wither, and die when he touched them.
How did Marvel stretch this massive fight to 14 issues?
There were multiple, complicating factors and story twists.
First, Venom and Spider-Man sabotaged each other as often as they helped each other. Venom wanted to kill Carnage, but Spider-Man—in classic superhero mentality—wanted to bring him in alive. So midway through the arc, Venom and Spidey started punching each other instead of focusing on the guy who was killing innocent people. The villains, of course, took advantage of this; they beat up everyone and took Venom hostage in the Statue of Liberty's torch.
Around the same time, Shriek figured out that she could direct soundwaves at the New York populace and affect their state of mind. Random, otherwise well-behaved citizens started rioting, looting, and attacking our heroes in the city streets.
So not only did the heroes have to deal with Carnage and his family laying waste to the city, but they also had to stop innocent people from hurting each other, while also not hurting or killing them.
How did "Maximum Carnage" end?
There was a false ending and a real ending. The false ending went like this:
Doppelganger died in the 12th issue; Carnage killed him in a fit of rage. And then in the 13th issue, the heroes hit Shriek with a "good bomb" weapon, which (we're not making this up) filled Shriek with love and goodness. She then projected these emotions onto the rest of the villains. Carrion was apparently cured of his illness. Demogoblin collapsed. Shriek herself went unconscious but appeared moved by the experience prior to passing out. And Carnage resisted the feelings of love, and apparently died.
But he didn't, did he?
No. At the end of the 13th issue, Carnage rose from a Central Park lake, and commenced his final battle against Spider-Man and Venom. That battle lasted the entire length of the 14th issue.
The fight eventually led to the orphanage where Kasady was kept (and abused) as a child. And then, our heroes tracked Carnage to a cemetery, where Carnage dug up his mother's corpse. Carnage's subsequent emotional vulnerability gave the heroes the window of opportunity they needed. Venom tackled Carnage into an electric generator, which exploded, and incapacitated Carnage long enough for the Avengers to take him back to Ravencroft.
How does this series hold up today?
To be honest, it doesn't hold up particularly well. It suffers from a common weakness of many comics: the use of copious exposition, where the characters are essentially sitting around, explaining the plot to each other in blocks of text. To borrow an English teacher-ism, it "says" too much and doesn't "show" enough.
There isn't a lot of variance; the battle wages on and on. The interludes, like Peter's relationship arguments with MJ, aren't enough to break things up. And the 11th-hour twist of having a "love gun" defeat the bad guys feels contrived and forced.
What does hold up, however, is the pure chaos embodied by Carnage. We come away with a feeling of horror; this is an entity that cannot be reasoned with, cannot be bartered with, and simply doesn't care. Marvel usually tends toward moral complexity, but Carnage is a sadistic outlier, so repulsive (even with his abused background) that even villains feel disgust toward him. Other villains, like Thanos, do more damage on a cosmic scale. But there is no one as purely evil and unfeeling as Carnage.
I feel like I've heard about this story arc, even though I've never read the comics.
It's possible that you remember playing the tie-in video game as a child. Called Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage, this side-scrolling beat-'em-up was available on both the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo, and it came in a blood-red cartridge. It gave you the option of playing as either Spidey or Venom, which led you on two distinct paths. And if you got too overwhelmed, you could call in another hero, like Cloak or Iron Fist, to give you an assist.
What makes "Maximum Carnage" relevant today?
We knew that Venom 2, the sequel to Venom (2018), would feature Cletus Kasady/Carnage. Sony cast Woody Harrelson in the iconic role, and he'll no doubt excel at it. But the more recent rumor, of Sony wanting to cast Naomie Harris as Shriek, is cause for additional excitement. It means that Venom 2 will likely be a reimagining or abbreviated take on the "Maximum Carnage" arc.
It also sparks some interesting theory-crafting: what, if any role, will Spider-Man play in this?
He's already been written out of Venom's new origin story; thus, it's hard to see how they could shoehorn him into Carnage's origin. But Sony could definitely set up a Spidey appearance for an upcoming Venom 3. And now that Disney and Sony are back on speaking terms, it would be a pipe dream come true to see Tom Holland as Spidey, Zendaya as MJ, Tom Hardy as Venom, Naomie Harris as Shriek, and Woody Harrelson as Carnage—all on the same screen, kicking ass. Add to this Cloak and Dagger, who had their own series on Freeform, and Morbius, whose movie is currently in development? The potential for additional crossovers is huge.