Venom is one of Spider-Man’s most dangerous enemies, a sentient alien Symbiote that bonds with a host and grants them superhuman abilities. Venom first appeared in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man and was originally conceived as an upgraded version of Spider-Man’s black costume. After being rejected by Spider-Man, the Venom symbiote merged with disgraced journalist Eddie Brock and became a villain.
One of Venom’s most infamous offspring is the murderous symbiote Carnage. Born from the Venom symbiote and serial killer Cletus Kasady, Carnage is an evil and powerful creature that has plagued Spider-Man and Venom many times over the years. But how exactly did Venom give birth to Carnage in the first place?
The Origin of the Venom Symbiote
To understand Carnage’s origins, we first need to delve into where Venom came from. The Venom symbiote is one of many alien life forms from a planet called Klyntar. The Klyntar symbiotes feed on adrenaline and other chemicals generated by heightened emotions in their hosts. They also have a hive mind and a shared collective memory across the species.
The Venom symbiote as we know it was part of a Klyntar exploration party that crashed on Battleworld, the planet created by the Beyonder during the original Secret Wars event. Spider-Man damaged his costume in the fight against the villains, and when he stumbled upon the symbiote machine, it sensed his need and bonded with him, creating a sleek new black and white costume for him.
At first, Spider-Man enjoyed the costume which responded to his thoughts and could change form on command. But soon it became clear the symbiote was alive and attempting to permanently bond with him. When Spider-Man realized the symbiote was altering his personality and making him more aggressive, he rejected it. The symbiote bore a grudge and soon bonded with Eddie Brock to become the villain Venom.
Eddie Brock Becomes Venom
Eddie Brock was a journalist who exposed a man as the Sin-Eater, only for Spider-Man to then reveal the real Sin-Eater. Disgraced and suicidal, Eddie went to a church to pray for forgiveness. This was the same church where Spider-Man had used the church bells to reject the alien costume. The symbiote sensed Eddie’s hatred for Spider-Man and bonded with him, creating the villain Venom.
Venom and Eddie were a perfect match, as both harbored a deep hatred for Spider-Man. Venom became one of Spider-Man’s most formidable foes, using the shared hive knowledge of the symbiotes to exploit Spider-Man’s weaknesses. Venom could also avoid his spider-sense due to their shared history. Eddie and the symbiote worked in unison, making Venom a smart and strategical villain in addition to his imposing strength and stamina.
How Venom First Met Carnage
The first interaction between Venom and his offspring Carnage took place in Amazing Spider-Man #344 in February 1991. In the lead-up to this issue, Venom had been imprisoned at Ryker’s Island after a battle with Spider-Man. There, he shared a cell with notorious serial killer Cletus Kasady.
Even as a child, Kasady had exhibited homicidal tendencies by killing his grandmother and torturing his mother’s dog. As an adult, he became a serial killer known as “The Carnage Killer” with a body count of at least 11 victims before being arrested and imprisoned. Despite his madness, Kasady was intelligent and cunning enough to elude authorities for years.
During his time with Eddie Brock, Kasady learned of the alien symbiote and plotted to use it to his advantage. One day as guards were escorting Brock back to his cell, Kasady stuck his hand out through the bars and slit Brock’s uniform, causing the symbiote to bleed onto his hand. The small piece of the symbiote quickly bonded with Kasady, entering his bloodstream through the cut. It used the red blood cells it found there to regenerate itself into a separate symbiote entity that called itself Carnage.
Kasady soon broke out of prison and went on a homicidal rampage as Carnage. The new symbiote amplified his psychotic urges and lust for chaos. Carnage saw himself as the offspring of Venom, but lacked the moral code and desire for justice that Eddie Brock’s influence imparted on the Venom symbiote. He sought only to spread mayhem and destruction.
Venom vs. Carnage: Their First Battle
In Amazing Spider-Man #344, Venom and Spider-Man were forced to team up to stop Carnage’s ensuing murder spree throughout New York City. This first clash highlighted just how deranged and bloodthirsty Carnage was compared to Venom. The two symbiotes fought viciously, but in the end Carnage proved too unstable and dangerous.
To stop him, Venom formed a temporary truce with Spider-Man to drive Carnage into a sonic weapon trap. The high-pitched sonics were able to disable Carnage despite the symbiote’s efforts to block it out. In the aftermath, Carnage was sent back to Ryker’s Island while an uneasy Spider-Man let Venom go free.
This first battle established Carnage as more than a match for Venom and Spider-Man individually. Teaming up reluctantly proved the only way to stop Carnage’s rampage. It also created an animosity between Venom and Carnage that would only grow fiercer over time. As Carnage himself has said, “I’m what you get when you scrape off all the weak, human parts of you.” Venom would continue to take offense at Carnage’s existence as a corruption of the symbiote lineage.
Carnage’s Hatred for Venom
As an offspring of Venom’s symbiote, Carnage harbors an intense hatred for his generational parent. Venom represents everything that Carnage despises – a symbiote softened by emotional attachments to its human host. Where Eddie Brock’s influence curbs Venom’s violence, Cletus Kasady only encourages Carnage to further madness.
On a psychological level, Carnage resents any authority figure that tries to impose rules on his unfettered chaotic evil. He sees Venom as arrogant, acting superior and trying to limit Carnage’s “freedom.” This resentment is amplified by the symbiote’s shared hive mind across generations. The Carnage symbiote inherited Venom’s genetic memory and emotions, which it then twisted into sociopathy and rage.
Beyond this rivalry, Carnage knows that other symbiotes consider him a “broken” offspring. His symbioteipython shell is extremely mutated compared to others of his kind. Carnage lacks the innate moral compass and empathy of the Klyntar race. And while Carnage is extremely powerful, he is also erratic and difficult for other symbiotes to control. This makes Venom and their ilk regard Carnage as a dangerous aberration they must quash or cure.
Key Differences Between Venom and Carnage
| Venom | Carnage |
|---|---|
| Black and white color scheme | Red and black color scheme |
| Strong moral code due to Eddie Brock’s influence | No morality, only chaos |
| Tries to protect the innocent | Will readily kill anyone |
| Skilled fighter who uses strategy | Unpredictable and reckless |
| Bonded with Eddie Brock | Bonded with Cletus Kasady |
This makes any team-up between them extremely unstable. Venom and Carnage harbor only animosity for one another, even when they share a common foe like Spider-Man. Carnage cannot rein in his homicidal urges even for tactical reasons, while Venom tries in vain to make Carnage embrace a more disciplined approach befitting a symbiote. This core philosophical difference makes their alliance doomed to fail.
Later Battles and Uneasy Team-Ups
Despite their mutual hatred, Venom and Carnage have been forced to team up on occasion when facing major outside threats. Maximum Carnage was a major crossover during the 90s in which Carnage took over New York City to make it a haven for supervillains. Venom joined Spider-Man’s ragtag team of heroes and super-criminals to stop Carnage’s plot.
During the Planet of the Symbiotes arc, Venom and Spider-Man had to make a truce with Carnage to stop an invasion of Earth by the symbiote homeworld. A similar dynamic occurred in the limited series Venom vs. Carnage, where the two anti-heroes united to prevent Carnage from unleashing a symbiote army.
In Venom: Carnage Unleashed, Carnage tried to destroy his “father” by uploading his mind into an advanced cybernetic compound called the Mesh. This nearly killed Venom, but Spider-Man managed to free his nemesis so Venom could defeat Carnage once more. These battles showcase the tension when Venom and Carnage reluctantly join forces, creating an uneasy alliance plagued by betrayal and in-fighting.
How Did Venom Give Birth to Carnage in Other Media?
Beyond the comics, the most iconic retelling of Carnage’s birth is likely the animated series Spider-Man (1994). In the two-part episode “Venom Returns,” Eddie Brock again bonds with the Venom symbiote after escaping from Ryker’s Island. When Spider-Man tries to stop Brock at an abandoned rocket assembly complex, Venom flees inside a rocket ship’s fuel tank. The caustic chemicals inside weaken the Venom symbiote, causing it to bleed. The spill seeps into Cletus Kasady’s cell through a pipe, allowing the Carnage symbiote to bond with him.
In the film Spider-Man 3, Eddie Brock comes into contact with a symbiote piece containing Peter Parker’s DNA. Once bonded, this new Venom symbiote propagates from a piece left on Eddie’s jacket in the church. This piece bonds with Cletus Kasady off-screen, transforming him into Carnage.
In both cases, the Carnage symbiote spawns as an offshoot of Venom’s, though the circumstances differ. The films adapt the idea of the symbiote reproducing asexually to create offspring as an extension of itself. Overall, the core theme of Carnage emerging as a darker twist on Venom remains consistent across mediums.
Conclusion
The origin of Carnage as an evil spawn of Venom’s symbiote made him one of Spider-Man’s deadliest villains. Venom’s accidental breeding of Carnage during their prison stint created a deadly new foe. Carnage’s hatred of Venom is both psychological and physical, stemming from their blood relationship and oppositional personalities. Though they’ve had uneasy team-ups, the two remain lethal enemies thanks to their morally opposed hosts and symbiote lineage. Carnage’s birth proved that Venom’s corrupted symbiote could breed something even more dangerous, adding a murderous new foe to Spider-Man’s rogues gallery for decades to come.