Kill Carnage

This story continues from Venom (vol. 2) #26….

The Scarlet Spider is stranded in the Microverse in a life-or-death battle with Carnage. As the pair battle it out, Kaine has decided that no matter what happens, he intends to kill Carnage. Watching from the sidelines are Raidus, Katy Kiernan and the Redeemer. As the battle rages, the Redeemer denounces Carnage as a corruptor of his world and becomes violently ill.

Meanwhile, aboard the Microship Endeavor, the members of the Enigma Force are also fighting for their life. This is because the Venom symbiote has gone berserk and has started attacking them. Flash Thompson tries to get control of the alien creature but he cannot. Rann reminds his teammates that the Redeemer wants the symbiote alive and not to destroy it. That’s when Flare surprises all of them when she begins singing a song that sooths the symbiote and causes it to return to its passive state. That’s when their ship strikes another and something blasts open the air lock. Unable to move, Agent Venom wonders where his soul will go if he dies in the Microverse and his final thouhts before blacking out are of Betty Brant.[1]

Back at the scene of the battle between the Scarlet Spider and Carnage, Kaine begins giving in to his rage and continues to attack with more savagery. Meanwhile, Katy Kiernan breaks free from Raidus and checks on the Redeemer. The Redeemer is telling her that there is a cancer on his world when suddenly the rock formation they are standing on begins to crumble. Seeing this, Kaine breaks off his attack to save their lives. Before Carnage can attack the Spider, soldiers under the command of the Marquis Radu arrive to take him into custody. Out numbered, Carnage surrenders without further incident.

Later, the Enigma Force and Agent Venom have been taken prisoner by the Marquis and brought back to his hideout. The Marquis appears before them and explains how he intends to use the Venom symbiote to help him destroy the Microverse. That’s when Carnage and the others are brought in. Seeing Agent Venom prompts Carnage to break ot of his shackles and tries to kill the Marquis but is quickly knocked out. Radu then orders everyone but Katy Kiernan to be locked up in the dungeon. He has decided to take the reporter with him to chronicle his victory over the Microverse. He explain how symbiotes once came to the Microverse and began consuming it until it was driven back by the Enigma Force — the essence of the Microverse. He has brought the symbiotes back to this universe because he intends to destroy this dimension and ascend to godhood.

At that moment, back in the Obsidian Wastes, the Scarlet Spider pulls the Redeemer out of a trench and collapses from exhaustion. The Redeemer tells Kaine how the symbiotes are a cancer to the Microverse and if they destroy him, the Engima Force will die and so will the Microverse. He warns that this will have negative consequences for Kaine’s world as the Microverse is what holds the Macroverse together.[2]

Back on the Marquis Radu’s base, Venom and Carnage are being transported through the facility. Venom tries to get Carnage to understand the severity of the situation. That’s when he gets a good look at the Body Banks and realizes that their enemy intends on creating an army of cloned symbiotes using them for raw materials.

… This story continues in Venom (vol. 2) #27.

Recurring Characters

Scarlet Spider, Agent Venom, Carnage, Enigma Force (Arcturus Rann, Marionette, Bug, Flare, Quark), Redeemer, Marquis Radu, Katy Kiernan, Raidus

Continuity Notes

1. Flash Thompson and Betty Brant have had an on-again-off-again relationship dating back to Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #90. More recently, Flash broke up with Betty in Venom (vol. 2) #12.

2. The Redeemer refers to Earth’s dimension as the Macroverse. This should not be confused with the Macroverse visited by Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four in Amazing Spider-Man #590-591. However, from the perspective of the Microverse, Earth’s dimension would be considered a Macroverse.