(Image Source: Marvel / Iban Coello)
The Venom War did not end well for Eddie Brock or the Carnage symbiote. Both were fatally wounded by the conflict and left on Death’s Door. This led to a most unlikely pairing, as the mortal enemies bonded in a desperate effort to survive. Thus does the former Venom host start a new life as Eddie Brock: Carnage.
Written by Charles Soule, with art by Jesús Saíz, Eddie Brock: Carnage #1 opens with the titular duo on an airplane. To keep his new “other” under control, the former Venom is hoping to point it at other serial killers. He cannot hope to control the symbiote’s blood lust, but may be able to direct it toward taking the lives of the truly evil. This pleases the symbiote, as it dislikes competition. However, it is also impatient, and fights Eddie for control, threatening to kill innocents if no evil-doers can be found.
The first six pages of Eddie Brock: Carnage #1 may be viewed below.
Eddie Brock: Carnage puts a new spin on symbiote horror
The core concept of Eddie Brock: Carnage is familiar yet novel. As the Lethal Protector, Brock spent several years trying to save his soul while reigning in the Venom symbiote. However, for all its alien ways and violent methods, Venom at least shared the goal of protecting innocent life. The Carnage symbiote has no such desires.
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A larger issue is that the Carnage symbiote is effectively more powerful than the Venom symbiote by most metrics. Venom required a host to function, while its “child” eventually evolved to operate independently of its original host, Cletus Kasady. While weakened by the Venom War, the young symbiote is still more powerful than its parent. This leaves it up in the air who will triumph in this battle of the wills; the most experienced human symbiote host or the ultimate evolution of the aliens.
Eddie Brock: Carnage #1 arrives in comic shops everywhere on February 12, 2025.
