Maximum Carnage

This article is about the comic book story arc. For the video game, see Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage.

"Maximum Carnage"
Cover of Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage  (2004).Trade paperback collected edition.
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Publication date	May – August 1993
Genre	Superhero Crossover
Title(s) The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1, #378-380 Spider-Man #35-37 The Spectacular Spider-Man vol. 1, #201-203 Spider-Man Unlimited vol. 1, #1-2 Web of Spider-Man #101-103
Main character(s)	Spider-Man Venom Carnage
Collected editions
Maximum Carnage	ISBN 0-7851-0987-0

"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.

Plot

During the first Carnage arc (The Amazing Spider-Man #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.

Publications

Reading order

Chapter I - Spider-Man Unlimited #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!"

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 LJN's 1994 video game, Spider-Man & Venom: Maximum Carnage, which was published for both the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo game systems.
• An action figure line was released by Toy Biz to capitalize on the crossover's success. The line featured Spider-Man, Venom, and Carnage.^[1]
• During Halloween Horror Nights at the Islands of Adventure, 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.

References

1. ^ [1]

External links

• Maximum Carnage at the Comic Book DB
• Maximum Carnage at the Marvel Universe