Amazing Spider-Man #378
Demons On Broadway
Maximum Carnage continues from Web of Spider-Man #101...
Eddie Brock arrives at Laguardia Airport. There, he sees a newspaper concerning a headline involving Carnage. He speaks aloud concerning his intention to kill Carnage, and transforms into Venom. When Airport security clumsily attempts to apprehend him, but he flees. While he approaches the city, Venom laments how he feels responsible for Carnage, as his symbiote created him and vows to destroy him. Meanwhile, Cloak and Spider-Man are nursing their wounds in the Holy Ghost Church. Cloak is beside himself with grief from losing Dagger to a surprise assault by Shriek. He expresses grief and then rage, swearing to make Shriek pay. Spider-Man then leaves to pursue leads concerning Carnage. He thinks about how he can relate to Cloak, given the many people in his life he has lost because of his career as Spider-Man. Spider-Man, while searching, considers the fact that Carnage has teamed up with the Doppelganger and Shriek and how death and life work in a balance.
Halfway across the city, Carnage confronts Shriek and Doppelganger about their going after Spider-Man without him. Carnage effectively puts Shriek in her place, indicating that Spider-Man is his. "Every bone and sinew, every drop of blood or bile...MINE!" At that moment, Peter Parker's wife Mary Jane waits for her husband to return home. She is smoking again because she is worried about her husband. On the other hand, he thinks about those who he has recently discovered are still alive, like his parents. When she sees the beating that her husband has taken, she is angry that he went back on his word to stop being Spider-Man for a while. He tries to weasel around on this, Peter tells her that he said he would try. This makes Mary Jane even angrier, as she thinks he didn't try very hard.
At this time, believing Shriek to be in danger from Carnage, the Spider-Doppelganger attacks the symbiotic serial killer. Using a piece of the alien symbiote, Carnage easily knocks Doppelganger away. Carnage then informs Shriek that this "band" has one leader - him. Back at the Parker's Soho apartment, Mary Jane figures that Peter's enhanced healing will have his broken rib after a night's rest. Unfortunately, Peter explains that he can't rest while Carnage and his allies are still on the loose and intend to go back out hunting for them immediately. Simultaneously, in psychopathic fashion, Carnage and Shriek makeup, agreeing that if they are going to kill, they are going to kill together. Things are not quite so copesetic at the Parker household. Mary Jane refuses to let Peter go out and get himself killed, especially after they just recently lost Harry Osborn. However, Peter can't shirk his responsibility, especially since they killed Dagger. Unable to speak sense to her husband, Mary Jane breaks out into tears and turns away from her husband.
Meanwhile, in Central Park, a police patrol car is ambushed by Carnage and his twisted family. While Carnage rips the roof off a couple's car, and then viciously murders both. Shriek then eradicates the vehicle. This draws out a beat officer who comes to see what all the commotion is. Ambushed by the Spider-Doppelganger breaks the neck of the officer. Committing murder as a team comes as a delight to Carnage who suggests that they continue to spread their chaos and bloodshed to others. While near the Bowery, Spider-Man is searching for Carnage and his cohorts, although he can't keep his mind off the troubles his marriage is facing at this time. His thoughts are interrupted when he spots the Demogoblin. Remembering Demogoblin's ties to the Spider-Doppelganger, he hopes that the demonic creature can lead him to Carnage and his gang.
Spitting the wall-crawler, the Demogoblin doubles back and ambushes Spider-Man. The wall-crawler is struck by one of Demogoblin's black pumpkin bombs. The bomb discharges a liquid shadow, which clings to Spider-Man and causes him to feel immense cold and feel senses of hopelessness and loss. Demogoblin flaunts his success while Venom swings through the city looking for Carnage. Hearing a radio report from a nearby taxi cab, Venom is made aware of the altercation between Spider-Man and Demogoblin, but when he hears about a disturbance in Central Park. Correctly suspecting that Carnage is responsible, Venom decides to go there. As Demogoblin prepares to kill Spider-Man, a preacher approached the villain from behind. As Demogoblin turns his murderous intentions on the preacher, Spider-Man forces himself out of his despair and delivers a devastating blow to the villain. As the wall-crawler checks on the preacher, Demogoblin throws another pumpkin bomb. The web-head successfully dodges the explosion, but his actions inflame his broken rib. Before things can escalate any further, Demogoblin flees. Spider-Man feeling immense pain decides to cut his losses and go home. Venom arrives at Central Park and engages Carnage, Shriek, and Doppelganger.
That evening, while Peter recovers, he and Mary Jane are watching the news coverage of Carnage's mayhem and there's a knock at the door. Mary Jane answers it to find a severely injured Venom, barely conscious.
Maximum Carnage continues in Spider-Man #35..
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Venom, Carnage, Shriek, Demogoblin, Spider-Doppelganger, Cloak
Continuity Notes
Venom's symbiote gave birth to the Carnage symbiote in Amazing Spider-Man #344, it bonded with Cletus Kasady in Amazing Spider-Man #361.
Dagger was seemingly killed in Web of Spider-Man #101. However, she resurfaces alive and well in The Spectacular Spider-Man #203.
The people who Spider-Man mentions are his Uncle Ben (murdered by a burglar in Amazing Fantasy #15), Gwen Stacy (Killed by the Green Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #121). He also mentions Harry Osborn, who Peter believed had perished in The Spectacular Spider-Man #200 due to side effects caused by the Goblin Formula. However, the world was tricked into thinking Harry had died, as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #581. His father secretly brought him to Europe to cure him of the effects of the Goblin Formula.
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.
Mary Jane took up smoking in Amazing Spider-Man #361 to cope with the stress of being married to Spider-Man.
Peter's parents were killed in action during a mission for the US Government as seen in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5. At the time of this story, two individuals had recently surfaced in Amazing Spider-Man #365 claiming to be Peter's parents. These are imposters, as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #388.
Peter made this promise to Mary Jane after Harry's funeral in Spider-Man Unlimited #1.
Spider-Man recalls his last encounter with Demogoblin. That was during the Spirits of Venom event.
