Welcome to the land of "reality", where scientific experiments, accidents, genetic heritage, and alien influences affect the lives of ordinary mortals. Join me as I observe the superhumans of planet earth and their struggles against equally powerful foes.
This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.
That said, on to the review!
We get to see Spidey again, and it's only natural that we see him squaring off against a foe whose murderous inclinations surpass even Venom's! Carnage isn't a great improvement on Venom--according to the text he worships chaos and goes on killing sprees just because; Eddie Brock has a much more interesting psyche profile--but he's much more versatile. Venom uses physical strength and numerous tentacles to clean Spidey's clock, but Carnage launches projectiles of and creates weapons from his symbiote's stuff. Also, if you've ever seen the way the artists draw Carnage as opposed to Venom, then you'll know what I mean when I say that Venom looks like a Spider-Man clone while Carnage looks like...well, Carnage!
Having encountered Carnage in the comics before, the high body count in the text was actually low by comparison. Still, it was more than died in Spider-Man: The Venom Factor and, unless I'm mistaken, Iron Man: The Armor Trap put together. What was really interesting was the side-plot involving the chemical weapon. I should say potential chemical weapon since the whole story centered on keeping it from becoming a chemical weapon. The basic low down is that it would cause ordinary people to out-Carnage Carnage...allowing, of course, for their not possessing Carnage's particular abilities. And of course, the cameo appearance by Reed Richards of the Fantasic Four was a pleasant surprise.
Some readers might think that comic characters like Spider-Man are all about having special abilities and doing something with them. Well, it does and it doesn't. Sure, Spidey's powers are cool, but it's his human-ness a la Peter Parker that is probably his biggest draw. He's the kind of guy everyone loves! Well, except for Carnage. And Venom. And...
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