Carnage is returning to Marvel Comics, and it looks like no one is safe.
“Cletus Kasady is back, and he is deadlier than he’s ever been,” writer Donny Cates revealed in a video announcement that kicked off Marvel Comic’s C2E2 panel.
“Absolute Carnage encompasses every single character who has ever worn a symbiote and every symbiote that has ever been, going all the way back to when Peter found the black suit,” he continued, “Going from there to Maximum Carnage to Venomized to everything…”
Even the series’ preview page on Marvel.com is teasing that “This summer, no Super Hero is safe…everyone is a target!” and it’s kind of true. After all, most of Marvel’s hit characters have bonded with a Klyntar symbiote at some point or another, including Deadpool, Captain Marvel, and even the Guardians of the Galaxy.
After the success of Sony’s Venom film last year, Absolute Carnage sounds like a great way to generate interest in older symbiote-focused series amongst newer fans. Maximum Carnage, this series’ spiritual predecessor, is often ranked among one of the best Spider-Man stories and solidified Carnage as more than just an uninspired copy of Venom. The character, who was portrayed by Woody Harrelson in Venom‘s post-credits scene, has been confirmed to return as the central villain in the forthcoming sequel, so it makes sense that Marvel is shining a spotlight on Carnage now.
From what we understand, Cates will handle the series’ story, while Ryan Stegman and Frank Martin will handle the art and color, a creative team known for their work on Marvel’s recent bestselling Venom run. Absolute Carnage will kick-off with a prologue in Marvel’s Free Comic Book Day release Spider-Man/Venom No. 1 before the series officially debuts in August, about a month after the Thor-centric War of the Realms 50-issue event comes to an end.
