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If you didn’t know, my name’s Jack Finch, and today we’re going to be tucking back
into the Marvel Universe, and taking a look at 10 Characters That Wore The Carnage Symbiote.
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Now the symbiotes add an interesting, amorphous dimension to the Marvel world - as if something
conjured straight up by H.P.
Lovecraft himself, these space-faring sentient parasites have had their fair share of screen
time - jumping from host to host in an effort to augment our canonical cast.
Venom, Riot, Phage, Scream, Agony - and Carnage, that crazy son of a gun.
Kicking off at Number 10 - Cletus Kasady.
We couldn’t start this list without jumping off at the point of origin.
The original, most famous - and favourite host of Carnage, the deranged serial killer
Cletus Kasady.
Back in 1993 - Venom had accrued such popularity with fans, that Marvel refused to let him
be killed off by writer David Michelinie.
So, he decided to create a new character - a complete and utter psychopath, who, unlike
Venom - had no sense of morality.
Enter this guy.
While Eddie Brock was held in prison, fate decided that Cletus Kasady would be in the
same jail cell.
Eventually, Venom regained his power and broke out - but not before leaving behind a small
piece of itself that entwined with Kasady’s insanity and spawned the first version of
Carnage.
A non-stop frenzy of blood-red tendrils that upped the stakes quite a bit for the symbiote
race.
Coming in at Number 9 - Dr. Tanis Nieves.
After Cletus Kasady ended up ripped in half by Sentry during the events of 2004’s New
Avengers, after Matt Murdock, Foggy and Jessica Drew are making moves to save the world - the
Carnage symbiote was in dire need of a new host, after falling to the Earth from outer
space.
Well, it ends up with industrialist Michael Hall - who charmingly uses the organism to
create prosthetic limbs.
It doesn’t end up well though, and Carnage corrupts a psychiatrist named Dr. Tanis Nieves.
Long story short - In the 2010-11 mini-series, aptly titled Carnage, the symbiote learns
that Cletus Kasady is actually still alive - and rapidly causes a wake of destruction
to get back to his first love.
Cyber legs.
And next up at Number 8 - Carla Unger.
Carla Unger was a minor side character that really didn’t have a whole lot of luck in
the series.
While researching some of the strange Carnage alien goo that had been conveniently collected
after the events of Superior Carnage - Dr. Unger falls prey to the sneaky symbiote, after
it leaps up through a microscope and into her eye.
Unbeknownst to her, she returns home - where her abusive husband starts beating her.
Well - this stirs up some anger, which helps the symbiote take over her body and unleash
the Carnage.
It kills her husband, which she’s absolutely fine with - but that’s where her good fortune
stops.
The symbiote ends up eating Unger from the inside out, in an effort to make itself bigger.
Yikes.
Coming in at Number 7 - Canice Cassidy
Let's take a little sidestep - into the strange world of Earth-311 - which is exactly the
same as Earth-616, just 400 years in the past.
Same heroes, same villains - just oldy-timey-and-stuff.
It was created in the Marvel 1602 series, when good old Steve Rogers travelled back
through time and messed a whole lot of stuff up.
Well - the 1602 universe also has its own Carnage - an English guy named Canice Cassidy,
who believed that his symbiote was a demon, and led to the creation of an evil group of
villains called the Sinister Sextet.
Unfortunately for him, though - the Warriors of the Great Web soon foiled their plans - before
Spider-Man soaked him with some weird symbiote-suppressing acid.
It’s a tangent, for sure.
Rolling on in at Number 6 - Karl Malus.
We covered it a little bit with Carla Unger, but throughout the Superior Carnage series
- first published in 2013, we begin to understand the lengths that certain villains would go
to get a chance to contain the Carnage symbiote.
It revolves around The Wizard - and his long-standing, villainous supergroup - The Frightful Four
- consisting of Klaw, Himself, Carnage and Dr. Karl Malus - who he intends to inject
the symbiote into, and then use his mind-control powers to keep it under control.
It kind of goes to plan - and Karl Malus sports a new Superior Carnage look, with a newfound
love of guns and a fully functioning brain under The Wizard’s control.
Well - soon turns out that The Wizard’s got a brain tumour, and his impending death
means he soon loses control over Carnage.
Which then goes on to kill Klaw - the Murderous Master of Sound - and his death results in
a supersonic explosion that blasts the symbiote from Karl Malus’ body …
And onto our Number 5 point - The Wizard.
After the new Carnage, via The Wizard, gobbles up poor Dr. Karl Malus and causes a hell of
a lot more - well, Carnage - things are looking pretty bleak.
Well - Spidey swings in - tempting the symbiote with Cletus Kasady’s unconscious body, enticing
it to abandon its new home and leave The Wizard high and dry.
The plan works - and the alien creature goes back to its first love - intentionally making
the removal from The Wizard as painful as possible.
But - like God from the Machine, Klaw comes back from the energy dead and focuses his
remaining life force into a powerful blast of light and sound - separating the Carnage
symbiote for long enough for it to be contained.
Oh - also, because he melded with the symbiote, The Wizard is cured of his brain tumour - and
gets slapped up back in jail.
Nice.
Coming in at our Number 4 spot - John Jonah Jameson III
John Jonah Jameson the Third, the son of the infamous Daily Bugle editor - has a series
of strange incarnations throughout his run as a Marvel denizen.
Colonel Jupiter, Man-Wolf, Stargod - but his most unfortunate role was in the 1996 Web
of Carnage storyline.
Throughout the plot, there are concerning reports of a Carnage-esque figure terrorizing
the streets of New York.
Everyone’s pretty perplexed, because Cletus Kasady is locked up at the Ravencroft Insane
Asylum - with a cell specifically designed to contain the symbiote.
Well - turns out that it’s good old John Jameson - who works as the chief of security
at Ravencroft Asylum - and his one and only responsibility was to make sure that nothing
got out of Cletus Kasady’s cell.
Great stuff, John.
You had one job.
Which leads us to our next spot ... Number 3 - Peter Parker/Ben Reilly - kinda.
In actuality - Peter Parker has actually been corrupted by the Carnage symbiote on quite
a number of occasions, alternate dimension pending.
They’re attracted to him like a mosquito to a lantern, and he can’t help but end
up covered in their evil goo.
In the 1996 run of Web of Carnage, where a genetic clone of Spider-Man - named Ben Reilly,
eventually becomes host for the corrupted symbiote after leaving John Jameson’s weak
and feeble body - and sparks the bright idea to obliterate the entire multiverse.
And yeah - eventually, a load of time-stuff happens and an entire squadron of Spider-Men
from different version of Earth end up saving the day.
The 90s, eh?
And also - in the Ultimate Spider-Man series, when the Green Goblin injects Peter with the
Venom serum, reacting poorly to his spider-radiation biology - and mutates into a crazy, chaotic
spiky version - more akin to Carnage.
It ends well, though - don’t worry.
Swinging in at Number 2 - Silver Surfer.
Ah - what a guy.
Serene.
Metallic.
In the early Adam Warlock and Fantastic Four series, the Silver Surfer actually stumbled
upon the Carnage symbiote while hurtling along the cosmic highway.
When the former herald of Galactus sees the monster fighting Spider-Man, he figures he
can step in to lend a helping hand.
After taking one look at the Surfer’s incredible power though, Carnage turns tail and flees
into deep space.
Eventually, a little bit of cat and mouse plays out - and Carnage engulfs him.
Turns out - back when the Silver Surfer was still scouting worlds for Galactus to chomp
on, he’d managed to mark the symbiotes home planet for consumption.
Well - they didn’t forget, and their entire species retained a genetic memory of the event.
Carnage was out for revenge.
It proved too weak to corrupt the Silver Surfer though, and he returns to Earth to give the
alien back to Cletus Kasady once again.
Not before encasing him in an unbreakable shell of pure energy, though.
And finally, coming in at our Number 1 spot - Doverton, Colorado.
To be honest - we could probably make an entire other list after the events of Carnage, USA
- first published in 2011 - but that would be cheating.
Cletus Kasady returns, and descends on the small meatpacking town of Doverton, Colorado.
He chows down on a bunch of cattle to power himself up, and then travels through the water
system in an effort to corrupt the towns population.
Well - it all goes badly, and a team of Avengers swoop in to save the day - Spider-Man, Cap,
Hawkeye, Wolverine and The Thing - who, all but Petey Parker end up under Carnage’s
control.
Eventually - a crack squad of symbiote-enhanced soldiers try and clean up the whole mess,
and do quite a good job of it - until the Carnage goo seeps into a zoo, and creates
an entire army of symbiote lions, giraffes, zebras - and even a gorilla.
It’s pretty crazy.
Well - what do you guys think?
Who do you think would make the best Carnage host?
Who would make the worse?
Why don’t you let us know in the comment box down below.
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