Who is Carnage in the Spider-Man Universe?

The symbiote known as Carnage bonded with the serial killer named Cletus Kasady.

How did Carnage first appear in the comics?

Marvel was looking for another adversary for Spider-man but has also been an adversary to Venom, his father. Created by Mark Bagley and David Michelinie with some input by Stan Lee.

What Makes Carnage different from Venom?

The Carnage symbiote is the son of Venom. They are different in numerous ways especially when paired with their host.

Carnage is undetectable by Spider-Man’s spider sense. He has more strength than Venom and Spider-man combined, he also has shape shifting abilities and has a form telepathic ability when touching someone. The symbiote’s healing ability is far faster than the Venom symbiote.

Collecting Carnage’s 1st appearance!

Carnage first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man issue three sixty one. Carnage’s host, Cletus Kasady’s, first appearance can be found in ASM # 344. There were 5 variants of the #361.

The most expensive variant currently is an Australian variant. The rarest variant is distinguished from the others by the AUS cover price of 1.80.

The newsstand edition which is the second most valuable variant as is usually the case with all key issues. The 1st print can be purchased for around 100 USD. It is one of the more affordable keys in the Amazing Spider-Man run.

Key Carnage Issues

1. Amazing Spider-Man #410

This is the 1st appearance of Ben Rielly, a Peter Parker clone that merged with the symbiote known as Carnage. Known as Spider-Carnage for the time he was merged with Rielly.

1. Amazing Spider-Man #430

The 1st appearance of Carnage Cosmic. When the Carnage symbiote took over Norrin Radd, the Silver Surfer while he was on earth.

1. Amazing Spider-Man #795

Norman Osborn merges with Carnage, later to be known as the Red Goblin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was Carnage originally planned as Venom’s successor?

Due to the huge popularity of Venom, Marvel was looking to create a similarly popular character but that could both be an adversary for Spider-man but also Venom.

How did Spider-Man defeat Carnage in their first battle?

In order for Spider-man to defeat Carnage he realized he needed to team up with Venom. That only the two of them could defeat such a powerful enemy. Spider-man traveled with the Human Torch to an island that Spidey had left Venom on after their last encounter.

After a brief battle between Venom and Spidey, Venom acknowledged that he needed to help Spider-Man in stopping Carnage who was killing innocent people.

Spider-man promised to let Venom go but only after Carnage was defeated.

Once they had returned to New York they tracked Carnage down to a subway station after he had kidnapped J. Jonah Jameson. Venom and Spidey fought together to bring Carnage down but it required some deceit on Spider-Man’s part.

He was able to rig the subway sound system to the right frequency to disrupt the symbiotic relationship between Cletus and Carnage but it also affected Venom.

Spider-Man kept the sound system on and called the Fantastic Four to help capture Venom and Spider-Man broke his promise.

• Related: 7 Fantastic Four Key Issues Every Fan Needs

How has Carnage Changed since his first appearance?

There have been a number of hosts of the Carnage symbiote over the years. Including Ben Rielly, a clone of Peter Parker, Norman Osborn, Karl Malus and even a great white shark at one point was host to Carnage.

• Related: The 1st Appearance of Venom

Conclusion: Why Carnage’s debut still resonates today?

While not as popular as Venom, Carnage is still an important villain in the Spider-Man universe. Carnage routinely ranks in the top 10 villains in the Spider-Man universe.

He is one of the most violent villains in the Marvel Universe, killing indiscriminately. Given that his first appearance included the 2nd most popular character from the Spider-verse Venom it still is a fan favourite story today.