Maximum Carnage
Encyclopedia
"Maximum Carnage" is a fourteen-part comic book
crossover
published in Marvel Comics
's Spider-Man
family of titles in 1993
. It featured Spider-Man and Venom
teaming up to face Venom's murderous offspring Carnage
.
#361-363), the alien symbiote
that gave Eddie Brock
the power of Venom spawned a child. This creature bonded to a deranged serial killer called Cletus Kasady, and the two began a blindly murderous path through New York City
as the monstrous Carnage. Carnage was swiftly defeated, however, his symbiotic suit was reborn.
The insane Kasady was jailed at Ravencroft Asylum. However, his visit was short-lived as he revealed that the alien had mutated his blood, and he could generate a copy of the symbiote (this was later ret-conned so that the alien had survived, and bonded to his head and blood). Kasady escaped, freeing other superhuman inmates and assembling a "family" of killers around him. They set their sights on New York.
During the murderous onslaught that followed, Carnage recruited Shriek
, Doppelganger
, Demogoblin
, and Carrion
to do his bidding, terrorizing New York City with their twisted "family values." Hundreds of innocent people were murdered. Due to the laws of escalation
, Spider-Man and Venom were forced to join together to stop Carnage and his followers. They required the assistance of such disparate heroes as Captain America
, Black Cat
, Nightwatch
, Cloak and Dagger
, Iron Fist, Deathlok
, Morbius and Firestar
, although there was a great deal of conflict within this group, both sides polarized between Venom's desire to stop Carnage for good and Spider-Man's refusal to allow any more life to be lost.
However, both infighting between the villains and a successful rout from the heroes contributed to Carnage's defeat. Faking his death by covering a victim in a mock symbiote costume, he threw all of the heroes off his trail except for Spider-Man and Venom. The two tailed Carnage all over New York until they cornered him in a graveyard. Weak from days of combat, Spider-Man was saved from Carnage by Black Cat. Taking advantage of the Cat's return, Venom took on Carnage and tackled him into an electrical generator before disappearing from the scene, leaving Carnage to be incarcerated.
#1 - "Carnage Rising!"
Chapter II - Web of Spider-Man
#101 - "Dark Light"
Chapter III - The Amazing Spider-Man
#378 - "Demons on Broadway"
Chapter IV - Spider-Man
#35 - "Team Venom"
Chapter V - Spectacular Spider-Man #201 - "Over The Line!"
Chapter VI - Web of Spider-Man #102 - "Sinking Fast"
Chapter VII - The Amazing Spider-Man #379 - "The Gathering Storm"
Chapter VIII - Spider-Man #36 - "Hate is in the Air"
Chapter IX - Spectacular Spider-Man #202 - "The Turning Point"
Chapter X - Web of Spider-Man #103 - "Sin City"
Chapter XI - The Amazing Spider-Man #380 - "Soldiers of Hope"
Chapter XII - Spider-Man #37 - "The Light!"
Chapter XIII - Spectacular Spider-Man #203 - "War of the Heart!"
Chapter XIV - Spider-Man Unlimited #2 - "The Hatred, The Horror & The Hero!"
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
published in Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
's Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
family of titles in 1993
1993 in comics
-January:* Doom Patrol #63: " The Empire of Chairs," Grant Morrison's final issue as Doom Patrol writer.-February:* Action Comics, with issue #686, suspends publication following "The Death of Superman."...
. It featured Spider-Man and Venom
Venom (comics)
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
teaming up to face Venom's murderous offspring Carnage
Carnage (comics)
Carnage is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . The character first appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #344 , and was created by writer David Michelinie and artist Mark Bagley. The character is frequently depicted as an enemy of Spider-Man...
.
Plot
During the first Carnage arc (The Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#361-363), the alien symbiote
Symbiote (comics)
In the Marvel Comics universe, The Symbiote is a specific parasitic species of extraterrestrial organism...
that gave Eddie Brock
Eddie Brock
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
the power of Venom spawned a child. This creature bonded to a deranged serial killer called Cletus Kasady, and the two began a blindly murderous path through New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
as the monstrous Carnage. Carnage was swiftly defeated, however, his symbiotic suit was reborn.
The insane Kasady was jailed at Ravencroft Asylum. However, his visit was short-lived as he revealed that the alien had mutated his blood, and he could generate a copy of the symbiote (this was later ret-conned so that the alien had survived, and bonded to his head and blood). Kasady escaped, freeing other superhuman inmates and assembling a "family" of killers around him. They set their sights on New York.
During the murderous onslaught that followed, Carnage recruited Shriek
Shriek (comics)
Shriek is a fictional character, a supervillainess in the Marvel Comics universe. She is an enemy of Spider-Man. She was created by Tom DeFalco, Mike W...
, Doppelganger
Doppelganger (comics)
The Doppelganger, also called the Spider-Doppelganger, is a fictional character and supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. It first appeared in The Infinity War #1.-Fictional character biography:...
, Demogoblin
Demogoblin
Demogoblin is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared as Demogoblin in Web of Spider-Man #86 , and had previously appeared as an unnamed demon in Spectacular Spider-Man #147....
, and Carrion
Carrion (comics)
Carrion is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in the Marvel Comics universe, in which he is an enemy of Spider-Man. He first appeared in The Spectacular Spider-Man #25....
to do his bidding, terrorizing New York City with their twisted "family values." Hundreds of innocent people were murdered. Due to the laws of escalation
Escalation
Escalation is the phenomenon of something getting more intense step by step, for example a quarrel, or, notably, a war between states possessing weapons of mass destruction. Compare to escalator, a device that lifts something to a higher level...
, Spider-Man and Venom were forced to join together to stop Carnage and his followers. They required the assistance of such disparate heroes as Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
, Black Cat
Black Cat (comics)
The Black Cat is a fictional character, a superheroine in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Keith Pollard, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #194 ....
, Nightwatch
Nightwatch (comics)
Nightwatch is a fictional super hero who has appeared in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics. He exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:...
, Cloak and Dagger
Cloak and Dagger (comics)
Cloak and Dagger are a fictional comic book superhero duo in the . They were created by writer William "Bill" Mantlo and designed by artist Edward Hannigan.-Publication history:...
, Iron Fist, Deathlok
Deathlok
Deathlok is a fictional cyborg published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Astonishing Tales #25 , and was created by Rich Buckler and Doug Moench...
, Morbius and Firestar
Firestar
Firestar is a fictional mutant superhero in the . Debuting in 1981 on the NBC animated television series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, she has the ability to generate and manipulate microwave radiation, which allows her to generate intense heat and flames, and to fly...
, although there was a great deal of conflict within this group, both sides polarized between Venom's desire to stop Carnage for good and Spider-Man's refusal to allow any more life to be lost.
However, both infighting between the villains and a successful rout from the heroes contributed to Carnage's defeat. Faking his death by covering a victim in a mock symbiote costume, he threw all of the heroes off his trail except for Spider-Man and Venom. The two tailed Carnage all over New York until they cornered him in a graveyard. Weak from days of combat, Spider-Man was saved from Carnage by Black Cat. Taking advantage of the Cat's return, Venom took on Carnage and tackled him into an electrical generator before disappearing from the scene, leaving Carnage to be incarcerated.
Reading order
Chapter I - Spider-Man UnlimitedSpider-Man Unlimited (comic book)
Spider-Man Unlimited is the title of three comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The first series began in 1993 and was named in its indicia as Volume 1. It was set in the main Marvel Universe. The second series was based on the animated TV series Spider-Man Unlimited, and was not set in...
#1 - "Carnage Rising!"
Chapter II - Web of Spider-Man
Web of Spider-Man
Web of Spider-Man is the name of two different monthly comic book series starring Spider-Man that have been published by Marvel Comics since 1985, the first volume of which ran for 129 issues between 1985 and 1995, and the second of which ran for 12 issues between 2009 and 2010.-Volume 1:The first...
#101 - "Dark Light"
Chapter III - The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#378 - "Demons on Broadway"
Chapter IV - Spider-Man
Peter Parker: Spider-Man
Peter Parker: Spider-Man is the name of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics, both of which feature the character Spider-Man.-Volume One :...
#35 - "Team Venom"
Chapter V - Spectacular Spider-Man #201 - "Over The Line!"
Chapter VI - Web of Spider-Man #102 - "Sinking Fast"
Chapter VII - The Amazing Spider-Man #379 - "The Gathering Storm"
Chapter VIII - Spider-Man #36 - "Hate is in the Air"
Chapter IX - Spectacular Spider-Man #202 - "The Turning Point"
Chapter X - Web of Spider-Man #103 - "Sin City"
Chapter XI - The Amazing Spider-Man #380 - "Soldiers of Hope"
Chapter XII - Spider-Man #37 - "The Light!"
Chapter XIII - Spectacular Spider-Man #203 - "War of the Heart!"
Chapter XIV - Spider-Man Unlimited #2 - "The Hatred, The Horror & The Hero!"
Collected editions
This arc was collected as a trade paperback in September 1994 (ISBN 0-7851-0038-5), and a new edition was released in January 2005 (ISBN 0-7851-0987-0).In other media
- This storyline inspired LJNLJNLJN was an American toy company and video game publisher. It created toy lines and video games based on movies, television shows, and celebrities. It was headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and later in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.-Founding:...
's 1994 video game, Spider-Man & Venom: Maximum Carnage, which was published for both the Sega Genesis and the Super NintendoSuper Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
game systems. - An action figureAction figureAn action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
line was released by Toy Biz to capitalize on the crossover's success. The line featured Spider-Man, Venom, and Carnage. - During Halloween Horror Nights at the Islands of AdventureIslands of AdventureUniversal's Islands of Adventure is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened May 28, 1999 as part of an expansion that, along with CityWalk Entertainment District, the Portofino Bay Hotel, and Hard Rock hotel, converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort...
, Marvel Superhero Island was converted into a scarezone based on the story arc, and a full haunted house called Maximum Carnage was created. In this version, Carnage has killed all of the Marvel Superheroes that came after him, resulting in criminal gangs running the streets. Certain items gave the island the appearance that famous superheroes fought (and lost) on the scenery, resulting in their death.
Reception
The series was very poorly received by critics for its over-reliance on guest stars and the deus ex machine at the end. Even within the Marvel offices, the series was referred to as "Maximum Garbage".External links
- Maximum Carnage at the Marvel Universe