Baby, Please Don’t Go!

Venom has tracked down Carnage as his symbiote is about to give birth. However, Cletus Kasady has no interest in allowing his symbiote to give birth. Venom has come to make sure the child is born, prompting a battle between the two wherein Carnage will be just as satisfied killing his “father” before the child is born.[1] With one of his tendrils, Carnage flings Venom away and then flees down to ground level in the hopes of losing Venom by hiding in the city below. Trying to ignore the changes going through his symbiote, Carnage then begins digging into the ground in the hopes of burying the infant symbiote that is growing inside him.

At that moment, Felicia Hardy is casing an art exhibit until her snooping around attracts the attention of Rothko, a chihuahua that is owned by one of the artists. Felicia scares the dog off and when the owner comes looking for it, she points Rothko out under a metal sculpture that she refers to as a chunk of metal. The artist takes offense to this, telling Felicia that while most of the patrons in the gallery are philistines, at least the attempt to hide it. That’s when there is an explosion outside that shatters the windows in the gallery. At that same moment, Spider-Man is comparing notes with a rooftop peeping tom and learns that Venom was battling Carnage in the area until he was flung into the river. That’s when the web-slinger hears the explosion and leaves to investigate it. Arriving on the scene of the blast is Office Pat Mulligan who begins telling people to keep their distance. Looking in the hole, he spots Cletus Kasady. As his symbiote reforms around him, Cletus can’t believe how painful the process of giving birth would be. Once he’s fully recovered, he decides to spare Officer Mulligan calling the officer his “host” for the evening. He decides to spare the officer since he is so drained but assures him that he’ll be able to find him and finish him off later. In all of this confusion, Felicia Hardy is able to steal the painting she has come for and is now fleeing on the rooftops as the Black Cat. Meanwhile, Venom emerges from the rive and can already sense that Carnage has given birth to the new symbiote despite his efforts to try and stop it from happening. He now has to find the newborn and protect it before Carnage comes back and tries to kill it.

Later, Pat Mulligan returns home to his pregnant wife, Gina, and tells her that he looked into the face of pure evil this evening. Looking at a photo of his father, also a police officer, Pat bets that his father didn’t have to face that kind of stuff in his day and hopes that his newborn son, whom he wants to named Patrick, won’t have to deal with this sort of thing when he grows up to be a cop either. Gina then reminds her husband that she wants to name their child Edward and wants him to grow up to be a lawyer, not a cop. Still, Pat insists on naming his son after himself, reminding his wife that he comes from a long line of police officers, saying its in the blood and family tradition. That’s when Gina points out that her husband just said things aren’t what they used to be. Instead of cops and robbers, it’s now cops and evil geniuses or cops and monsters.

That’s when Venom comes crashing into the window, telling the Mulligan’s not to panic as he is not there to hurt them. Pat pleads with Venom not to harm his wife as she is pregnant. This interests Venom who asks Pat if he love and protect it. When Pat confirms that he will do this, Venom then asks him what it’s like as he has never experienced that kind of love before. That’s when Spider-Man arrives to confront him, having followed his foe from the East River. However, Venom quickly explains that Carnage has given birth and that the new symbiote has bonded with Pat Mulligan. He goes on to say that by the one-thousanth generation of the symbiote race the chance for total psychotic break is great and Venom has come so his symbiote might teach the new symbiote the ancient ways of its race. However, Carnage wants to destroy the newborn and the host along with it.

Meanwhile, Pat and Gina are attempting to free own the stairs of their apartment when they are ambushed by Carnage. After throwing Gina over the railing, he grabs Pat and flees the scene only to be ambushed by Venom. As the two battle it out on the rooftops, Spider-Man has saved Gina from a deadly fall with a net of webbing. She thanks Spider-Man for saving her life, however he water just broke, prompting Spider-Man to rush her off to a nearby hospital. Meanwhile, Carnage has fought off Venom and is now preparing to kill Pat Mulligan. He assures Pat that although he intends on ripping him apart, he is only doing it to get after his “son” and that he can have whatever is left.

Recurring Characters

Venom, Carnage, Spider-Man, Black Cat, Pat Mulligan, Gina Mulligan

Continuity Notes

1. The father/son dynamic between Venom and Carnage is complicated to say the least. The original Carnage symbiote was born through Venom’s symbiote in Amazing Spider-Man #345. However, that symbiote was later consumed by Venom in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #10 and Cletus subsequently obtained a new symbiote in the Negative Zone in Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #14 Despite this, Venom still feels a familial bond with Kasady and his symbiote. Read more about the symbiote issue here.

Topical References

• References to Al-Queda and David Blane should be considered topical.