Venom vs. Carnage #2
Cops and Monsters
Officer Pat Mulligan has become the host for a new symbiote birthed by Carnage. However, Carnage wants nothing more than to kill his offspring and now has the officer at his mercy. Pat pleads for mercy as he has a pregnant wife and unborn child to look after. This doesn’t concern the symbiotic serial killer who pushes Pat over the side of a building. Luckily, he is able to grab a ledge where he cries for help. Not far away, the Black Cat is returning a painting that her client sold to a crooked art dealer. When she spots Pat Mulligan holding on for dear life with Carnage bearing down on him, the Cat climbs out her client’s window to save him. Although Felicia manages to save Pat, Carnage quickly catches up to her and both Cletus and his symbiote agree that they should kill her as well.
As she fights for her life, the Black Cat figures she is dead meat and unironically wonders how the romance novel she was reading will end. Luckily, she’ll be able to find out as Venom arrives on the scene and attacks Carnage. The Venom symbiote is seeking to save the life of the newborn symbiote so it can properly train it and prevent it from going insane.[1] While Venom and Carnage battle to the death, the Black Cat recovers Pat Mulligan who suddenly remembers he last saw his wife after she was pushed over the railings in the stairwell of their apartment building.[2] Watching the Black Cat and Pat flee the scene, Carnage tries to follow after them but is stopped by Venom. As they continue to slug it out, Venom reveals that he has given his “grandson” a name, Toxin. Carnage retorts by saying that the child’s only name will be “dead” once he’s done with them. Venom intends to raise Toxin to be an ally. The battle abruptly ends when Venom lures Carnage into a subway tunnel and throws his foe in front of one of the oncoming trains.
The following morning, Pat Mulligan is meeting his newborn son, Edward, for the first time. He and his wife Gina are plenty happy that they were saved by both the Black Cat and Spider-Man the night before. Watching his son sleep, Pat wonders what kind of world the baby will grow up in. While outside, Venom watches over Pat and his family as he instinctively knows that Carnage wasn’t killed during their last encounter and he will return to try and harm Toxin. Meanwhile, Carnage is burrowing under the city in an attempt to track down his offspring undetected. Knowing that Venom is watching over Pat Mulligan, he knows that he can’t watch all the time and that he just needs to bide his time for the right moment to strike. At that same moment, Spider-Man is swinging across the city. He doesn’t know if what Venom says about a new symbiote is true or not, but he intends to keep an eye on Pat Mulligan just the same.
Two days later, Pat is back on the job and finds himself caught in a shootout with a street gang. After they deal with the crooks, Pat’s partner notes that he seems to be quicker on his feet. Pat has noticed this himself as well as hearing a voice calling out to him, calling him Toxin, and wonders if he’s starting to crack up. Back at the station, Pat sits in on a police brief about an art theft from the night below. They don’t have a lot to go on other than a frame of secuity footage that shows the Black Cat fleeing the building with the painting. Pat recognizes her instantly but decides to say nothing.
However, he pays a call to the owner of the artwork, an artist named Randolph Z, and forces him to call the Black Cat back to his apartment. Pat tells Felicia that despite the fact that she saved his life the night before he has to take her in for robbery. She refuses to surrender and asks him to let her off since she did save his life. Unfortunately, Pat sees that as a bribe and refuses to accept. The Cat then tries to attack him but, amazingly, Pat is able to block the blows with. When she remarks about how good he is, Pat is just confused by his sudden speed and agility. He then decides to ask to tell him everything he knows about Venom and Carnage. Felicia says she doesn’t know much and tells him that he’d better arrest her or let her go.
That’s when Cletus Kasady comes crashing through the door with Randolph as his prisoner. Although Felicia doesn’t recognize him, Pat does. But when they try to attack him, Cletus transforms into Carnage and throws the Black Cat against a wall. When he tries to attack Pat, he tries shooting Carnage, but the symbiote easily deflects the bullets with its tendrils. Suddenly, before Carnage can strike, the Toxin symbiote suddenly springs to action enveloping itself over Pat Mulligan’s body. Revealing itself for the first time, the orange and black symbiote tells Carnage not to blame it for fighting back as it is in its genes.
Recurring Characters
Venom, Carnage, Toxin, Black Cat, Gina Mulligan, Edward Mulligan, Spider-Man
Continuity Notes
The Venom symbiote refers to the Toxin symbiote as its grandchild. However, this is not entirely accurate. While the Venom symbiote birthed the original Carnage symbiote in Amazing Spider-Man #345, it later consumed its offspring in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #10. It was later replaced by a nearly identical symbiote that lived in the Negative Zone in Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #13. Read more about the symbiote issue here.
The Black Cat asks who these creatures are, which is odd since the Cat has met both Venom and Carnage on numerous occasions. She first met Venom in Amazing Spider-Man #316, while she first encountered Carnage in Spider-Man #35. Perhaps she doesn’t recognize them because this is the first time she’s heard the symbiotes speak?
