Superior Carnage #2 Review
rating: 3
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Carnage events aren't for everyone, because Carnage isn't a character for everyone. There are those that love "Red Venom" and those that consider him nothing more than a remnant of 90's comic trends. In a world where it seems like every villain has a motivation, or justification that can have them be viewed in a somewhat sympathetic light, sometimes you just need a straight up sociopath to challenge the good guys. Strip away tragic backstories, never establish any real sort of pathos, just a despicable human being who has been granted super powers because of an alien symbiote. That's what Carnage is. Now, some might try to point to Marvel's intentions to bring in a villain (Kasady) to rival the Joker of DC, but 1992 was a long time ago and Carnage will come up short in that argument every time. After the events of the last Carnage mini-series, Minimum Carnage, the Scarlet Spider attempts to kill Kasady via a blade through the eye. He doesn't succeed, and Kasady is left comatose, having been lobotomized by Kaine's attack. Does this stop the murderous Carnage from ever being a threat? Of course not. In fact, it just sets up the premise of Carnage being more powerful than ever because Kasady has been taken out of the picture. This is where the set up for Superior Carnage started to fall a little flat. Sure, the idea of the symbiote having absolute control over the host, and thus being completely unrestrained and more violent makes for an interesting set up. The problem? This isn't Venom. It's not Eddie Brock, or Flash Thompson, or anyone like that. It's Cletus Kasady. If you want to explore the possibilities and powers of an unrestrained symbiote, unhindered by its host's inhibitions, then using arguably the biggest sociopath in the Marvel universe doesn't deliver the full impact.