Comics are a great way to introduce fans to new characters after the movie focuses on the main character. With the Absolute Carnage event kicking off, let’s talk symbiotes and just how Marvel is starting to focus on them. I fell in love with Venom and Eddie Brock and their strange co-dependent relationship in the movies, but I’ve since become invested in the comics. The broader world of the symbiotes is fascinating and it’s going to be re-invented with Absolute Carnage.
Venom’s corner of the Marvel universe is full of broken yet powerful characters. It’s a dark sort of mirror to Spider-Man’s ‘clean’ universe that people can relate to. People can relate to Venom too, but there’s an undercurrent of darkness in Eddie and the rest of the people who have worn symbiotes that writer Donny Cates, artist Ryan Stegman, and a rogues gallery of talent that includes Saladin Ahmed, Frank Tieri and more have tapped into. Absolute Carnage is going to reshape Venom’s world – something both Venom and Carnage need as Eddie inches toward change – be it good or bad.
Marvel promoted Absolute Carnage heavily at Comic-Con. The Absolute Carnage logo was a big part of the Marvel booth and Cates guested on a panel to promote Absolute Carnage. There’s even a trailer for the comic book event. In Absolute Carnage, Carnage, aka Cletus Kasady, is wearing the symbiote God Knull and planning murder – and everyone in the MCU is a target. Check out the trailer below!
While this may seem on the surface just more graphic violence (everything we’ve seen is great and violent though and that looks awesome.) Cates and his team have crafted a story that plays a part in one of my favorite comic runs. Venom talks about Eddie Brock and the Brock family – addressing the man’s demons in depth. There’s Dylan Brock, a new character who’s all kinds of adorable (a kid dealing with symbiotes? We haven’t seen this since Andi and even then Andi wasn’t – well. That young.)
Absolute Carnage is violent and creepy but it’s crafted in the wake of a lot of love for Eddie and Venom. There have been some ups and downs but the Venom verse has been much more than just gratuitous violence. Cates’s deep dive into Eddie’s mind is an important perspective on the world today. The isolation that many folks feel, especially those who deal with codependency, struggle with addiction to everything from people to power, and those who feel unseen – Cates’s Venom run has it all and it’s all coming to a head with Absolute Carnage.
Eddie is poised to reconcile with creating Carnage – an evil he helped unleash on the world. Marvel’s 616 universe is poised to shift in its understanding of symbiotes and those who wear them while fighting for their lives. Venom has developed his own following, his own cult following if you will, and Absolute Carnage is poised to spotlight that following and put it in the center of Marvel Comics. Get excited!
While everyone should continue to investigate Eddie’s comics, as far as I’m concerned the best place to start and the only place to start is with Cates’s Venom run. You can pick up Vol 1: Rex on Amazon as well as Vol 2: The Abyss. You can also jump into Maximum Carnage – the premiere Carnage event where Spider-Man and Venom team up against Kasady. They’re must-reads before catching up on the Carnage arriving this August with spin-off titles to follow!
The symbiotes are returning to earth and Cletus Kasady is poised to bring Absolute Carnage to Marvel’s comic universe! Are you prepared? #GodisComing
Absolute Carnage #1 hits comic book stories August 7, 2019