At a roadside diner along the Kansas state line, a state trooper reads the front page news about Carnage’s escape from prison and subsequent murder spree across the country.[1] He thinks they are treating the mass-murderer too gingerly and knows what he would do if he were face-to-face with Cletus Kasady. What he doesn’t know is that Kasady is sitting right next to him at the lunch counter and hearing this, murders the state trooper right where he is sitting. Transforming into Carnage, Kasady then slaughters a bunch of local toughs. When the other patrons try to flee, Carnage seals the door and asks who is next.

Soon, Carnage’s latest slaughter becomes national news. In New York City, one of these reports is being watched by Deadpool.[2] The lead FBI investigator tells the viewing audience that it is hard to track Carnage down because his movements appear to be random. Deadpool then decides to do some channel surfing and as he does it seems as though the TV is telling him that he can find Carnage if he follows the wave of insanity. He asks the TV if it is telling him to use his own madness to track down Carnage and bring him to justice. That’s when the channel changes to a game show just as a contestant wins the grand prize. This solidifies the idea in Deadpool’s mind, he agrees that his own brand of madness will make it easy for him to find Carnage. He then begins to think about how people will watch him as he goes and as he thinks about what he is going to do to Kasady a bird flies into his window, taking the words right out of Deadpool’s mouth.

Deadpool goes out into the street and looks for another sign to tell him where he might find Carnage.[3] A sign comes when he witnesses a man walking down the street with a box that is dripping blood. He follows the trail back to a butcher shop where one of the butchers quits. Deadpool then follows him to a local grocery store. There, he gets distracted by a kid playing a bloody arcade game called Fatality Fighters. His eye is then drawn to an issue of “Tour America” on the magazine rack.[4] It has a cover story about America’s newest ghost town and deduces that this is where Cletus Kasady would go to hideout.

Outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Cletus Kasady has holed up at an abandoned farmhouse. Walking out onto the porch in nothing but his underwear, he breaths in deep the fresh air and enjoys the smell of freedom. He enjoys it and believes that no prison can hold him, except for the prison that is his disturbed mind. He then begins thinking his next move when he notices a rocket flying right toward him. Cletus barely manages to change into Carnage when the rocket hits. As he recovers from the blast, Deadpool gets close enough to start shooting Kasady with a pistol. However, the symbiote makes Cletus bullet proof and he launches into an attack. Carnage knocks Deadpool to the ground and gets on top of him. However, before he can attack, Deadpool shoves a grenade into Carnage’s mouth.

This costs Deadpool a hand, but it instantly begins growing back due to his healing factor. He then prepares to cut off Carnage’s head but he is hit in the face with a sonic blast. This was fired by Shriek, who tells Deadpool to that nobody lays a finger on her man.

Recurring Characters

Deadpool, Carnage, Shriek

Continuity Notes

1. Carnage broke out of prison in Superior Carnage Annual #1.

2. A poster on Deadpool’s wall is of the Wasp in a bikini. This is taken from the Marvel Swimsuit Special #1.

3. A person on the street has a copy of Savage Wolverine #4.

4. Comic books on the rack include Wolverine: Season One #1, Uncanny X-Men (vol. 2) #15, and Black Widow (vol. 4) #1.