Tag Archives: Venom

The Sinister Origin of CARNAGE!

Welcome back webheads! I hope you’re ready for the grand finale of the three-part look into some of the most dangerous aspects of the Spider-Man comics. We’ve already spent some time speculating on what wonderful villainy we could expect from the fast-approaching VENOM film! Today we’ll be overtaken by the blood-lusting symbiote better known as Carnage!

As his name alone suggests, this is a very violent character and one I’ve waited years to see come to the big screen. Fittingly, the gnarled roots of his twisted backstory are found deep in a cell within Rikers Prison. Here we meet Cletus Kasady, a leering madman with a sick grin as if he alone knows the punchline of a secret joke no one else can guess, one that always ends in bloodshed and carnage. The notorious serial killer was already serving eleven-consecutive life sentences when he was introduced to his newest cellmate – Eddie Brock.

Little did either of them know how destiny would lock the two together in a frenzy of ongoing mayhem with enough behemoth power to rip the city of New York to bleeding shreds! Or at the very least leave New York’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in tatters every time he rushed out to face whatever chaos these two could accomplish.

Marvel Database
image via Marvel Database

Eddie and Cletus were not friends and never became chums. Cletus was a total metal head with one goal – murder. Eddie was likewise driven by a singular focus – revenge! Having had enough of Brock’s bullshit, Kasady planned to shiv his cell-buddy right in the goddam throat… but we’ll cover that in more detail here in a bit.

What Makes Kasady Work?

Cletus Kasady is the lethal combination of what we all fear – the serial killer. Men who walk behind a mask of ordinary, regular faces. They fit in as our neighbors, our coworkers, or our church brothers. They are BTK, Dahmer, and Albert Fish. They remind us of one gravely sobering fact: the devil walks safest behind human eyes.

Kasady is a man who loves to kill and is Marvel’s closest answer to DC’s Joker. He kills without prejudice and relishes the agonized sobs of his dying victim’s slow death. He is the psychopath, without sympathy and certainly void of any remorse, a perfect host to an outside alien mind with a taste for mayhem. Kasady was born in the grimmest alleyways of Marvel.

Bloody Disgusting
image via Bloody Disgusting

Kasady already made up his mind to kill Eddie and bided his time for the right opportunity. However, before he could strike, out of the dark of night the symbiote returned for Brock, melded once again with him, and Venom was newly reborn!

No bars could hold the monstrosity back and Venom was free to haunt New York all over again. However, and possibly the cruelest act Venom has ever done, a small piece, a dribble, of the symbiote lingered behind and melded with Cletus Kasady giving birth to the entity Carnage, son of Venom!

Marvel Database
image via Marvel Database

Straight away Carnage set about killing everywhere he went, random people, victims picked here and there just for the sake of staining the streets with their blood and scarring the very soul of the city.

Carnage single-handily turned Marvel’s comics into a Mature-rated exploitation field of murder and left Spider-Man sick as he followed the gruesome crime scenes left in the psychopath’s wake.

comicvine

That was the Marvel universe I grew up with, not the Disney stuff out there now. I’m talking about spines being torn out, mangled limbs and body parts used as decorations. Signatures left in the blood of the innocent. At one point Carnage announces he’s going to turn a mother into cold-cuts right in front of her children. This was hard-gore stuff and why I’m a 90’s era Marvel fan.

This was right on the verge of the big Marvel breakup, just before McFarlane and Jim Lee left to form Image comics – along with fellow artists, but I’m showing my favoritism here – and we saw the birth of Spawn. Marvel was dark. Marvel was gritty. It was ultra-violent and far removed from what we see today. And leading the blood-soaked parade was Carnage.

Maximum Carnage is a good place to start if you’re curious to see some of the maniac’s greatest hits.

It’s already been announced that Woody Harrelson (Zombieland, Natural Born Killers) is cast for the role of Cletus Kasady in VENOM.

Will Eddie be locked up at some point in the film? Will he be cell mates with Cletus Kasady? Will the events of the comic come to life as a massive prison break gives wake to Carnage?
Be free to share your thoughts with us.

Could Both of VENOM’s Origins Be Featured in Upcoming Movie?

Hey, comic fans! True believers know the iconic badass VENOM has two origin stories. Could the upcoming movie give us both?

First off, this is only friendly speculation because nothing concrete has been announced – yet. Nevertheless, the geek in me can’t help but wonder what all might be in store for us given what we’ve already seen from the teaser.

Naturally, this is an origin story about how Eddie Brock came to inherit the symbiote and together with it became the entity we know as Venom. The interesting thing is though Venom has two different origins in the comic books, and, if I’m correct, they possibly may be in play here.

Alpha Genesis

In the beginning, there was space. That’s where Spider-Man first came in contact with the symbiote and changed to the black Spidey suit. The symbiote bonded with both Peter’s flesh and mind granting him accelerated abilities in strength and speed such as he’d never known before. He was tougher, stronger, and meaner, making him a through and through greater superhero…so we would think at least.

Hollywood Reporter
image via Hollywood Reporter

The suit proved to have a will of its own and began to slowly poison Parker’s psyche for its sinister purposes. Peter was changing due to the symbiotic influence, and became increasingly more reliant on the suit to an unhealthy degree, as though he was an addict. At last, and realizing the deadly impact the poisonous symbiote had over him now, he tore the thing from himself. And after a great struggle was released from the toxic co-existence. The suit hated Spider-Man for being rejected.

That’s the interesting thing about the symbiotes – they are in fact living entities. They have a mind and will they exercise, not to mention they have a telepathic voice that drives (intoxicates) their chosen host. That’s the other thing, they choose which vessel will better accomplish their purpose.

Meanwhile, Eddie Brock, a former employee at the Daily Bugle, had been fired and blamed his misfortune on Peter Parker. Together, one hating the Spider and the other hating the man, the symbiote untied with Brock and became Venom, Spider-Man’s most dangerous foe. Venom knew everything about his enemy and swore to kill Parker for the troubles he’d brought upon both Eddie and the symbiote. Worst of all, Venom shared Peter’s memories, and, you guessed it,  no one in Peter’s life was safe.

Greenscene
image via Greenscene

It was only after Spider-Man saved Eddie’s ex-wife that Brock finally realized perhaps Parker wasn’t entirely his villain. Now, wait: is Venom a supervillain or antihero? He has killed, but only killed those he felt were guilty and deserved to die. The Punisher does that much. The reason why Venom was so Hell-bent on killing Spider-Man was because he truly did believe Spidey was the bad guy. Anyway, a truce was made and Venom went on to star in his own mini-series where he battled other symbiotes.

Second Genesis.

In the Ultimate Spider-Man comic series the superhero enjoyed a successful reboot. In this version, Peter was still in high school and he and Eddie Brock were friends. The Venom symbiote was grown in a laboratory and was meant to be a secret weapon, that and their father’s both had something to do with its creation. Tracking the notes of his father, Peter discovered the experiment and bonded with the black suit. The outcome was very much the same as in the original storyline. The suit proved too great a threat for Peter and he shed himself ofit. The rejected symbiote bonded with the other son of the man who helped grant it life and Venom came into existence once again.

Admittedly there was a more epic tone to the original and I liked that it was from space, but getting Parker into space may be a complication for the story. And no, Infinity War is not connected to Venom according to my source, although it is somehow part of the current Spider-Man Homecoming storyline. So…???

So what can fans expect? What do we know so far?

From the trailer, we see a crashed ship, and things being extracted from the crash site. We then see Eddie (Tom Hardy) snooping into a high-security lab where he (I mean he has to) get in contact with the writhing black essence of the symbiote. The teaser perfectly shows how the symbiote whispers to Eddie’s mind and begins to meld with him into a dual entity, a fact proven in how he addresses himself at the end. “We are Venom” because the two have perfectly become one.

So I’m supposing the crashed ship carried some alien thing back to earth, a thing gets harvested and tested in shady experiments in hopes of perfecting the ultimate weapon. Already we know that Venom is set to fight other symbiotes in the movie, something like the comic miniseries aforementioned. We also know that Cletus Cassidy has been cast and Venom’s main threat will be Carnage! Fucking holy shit really?! Venom and Carnage in one cinematic explosive fight?! Listen, this is going to be intense, I just have a feeling. Fans have been waiting for this ever since Sam Raimi first directed Spider-Man. So yeah, I’d be cool with both origin stories in play here.

Weekly Planet Wikia
image via Weekly Planet Wikia

Now as for the beginning of Carnage and his dark origins, well let’s save that for next time. Until then, check out the trailer and let us know what you think.  This has been Manic Exorcism. ‘Nuff said.

New VENOM Pic Has Fans Drooling For More! The Comic’s Coming to Life!

Time to discuss one of comic-book history’s most beloved super-antiheroes – VENOM!

A brand new Venom pic has just surfaced and is taking fans by storm. Comic book licenses have never been hotter than they are now. The world we were introduced to by Dick Donner’s Superman and Tim Burton’s Batman has opened up in ways fans never dreamt of. We all wanted to see our favorite heroes and villains match off in colossal battles across land, sea, and air; battles brought to life from page to theater screen. We find ourselves in that age.

Sam Raimi hurled the Marvel property into unexplored territory with his fantastical take on some high octane web-slinging action in Spider-Man! The comic world of the web-head came to life as Spidey (Tobey Maguire) faced off against the malicious might of Green Goblin (Willem DaFoe) and Doc Oct (Alfred Molina). In the first couple of movies, fans pissed and cheered with inhuman rapture as the comic battles of old raged before our wet eyes. The sky was the limit, so where would we go from there?

Bloody Disgusting
image via Bloody Disgusting

To everyone’s sheer delight, it was announced that Spider-Man would face off against his most cherished foe, Venom! Fans dropped their drawers and shat with excitement right as they heard the news. At long-fucking last! VENOM! He was coming to goddam life and people were ready to sacrifice babies to Baal to see this happen.

Then they ruined it by casting Topher Grace in the monster’s role. Cheers turned into jeers as hearts blacked with pustule cists of anger. What in the hell did we just watch? That wasn’t Venom! That was a disgrace. Excitement for the character died an ugly death and the character lost his lethal charm among many.

CinemaBlend
image via CinemaBlend

Not all though. I still loved the character. He’s the reason I began to read the comics back in the 90’s. Marvel will never be as great as it was in that glorious decade. We had the talents of Todd McFarlane and Jim Lee illustrating some of the darkest, most savage, and eye-exploding depictions of our superheroes, the likes of which we’d never seen before. All of a sudden Spider-Man was more bestial, more arachnid than he’d ever been. His body posture was extraordinary, and it felt as if he was literally whipping by as he swung page to page. McFarlane’s Torment still stands as one of the most widely loved Spidey storylines to be published.

nerdtrip
image via nerdtrip

In came Venom, the dark and brutal antagonist to Spider-Man. An alien entity, a vicious symbiotic mastermind who sought to possess the mind and body of the right host. He found his mark with Eddie Brock, and the two of them became Venom! And they hated the Spider-Man with a passion.

With a maul like a cavern of dripping teeth and a taste for Parker’s flesh, Venom haunted the darkened places of New York as a nightmare reflection of the city’s most favored protector.

We wanted him to come to life. Some still had hopes that day would come, and it seems to be finally dawning upon us. Spidey has had two reboots and – now that he’s at home with Marvel – seems to be on the right track, although I did really enjoy the first Amazing Spider-Man. With new praise over the super-hero, it seemed to be the perfect time for his greatest threats to have a revival. The symbiotes have awakened.

Movie Web
image via Movie Web

My sources claim that this Venom movie does tie into the current Spider-Man series, but is not part of the larger MCU. Right now it’s unclear if the two will ever cross into one another. So fans shouldn’t expect any answers or tie-ins with the events of Infinity War.

Venom will be facing off against fellow symbiotes, and this has me very excited! Not long ago the teaser dropped and people lost their heads with excitement! Just from what little has been shown already this movie looks like a superior improvement over the last cinematic incarnation of the character.

The latest pic is keeping that flame of expectations glowing. Look at him! The veins, the teeth, and those eyes! Here’s hoping the movie lives up to the name.

VenomTom Hardy
image via IGN