Venom War: Carnage #1: American Symbiote

Venom War: Carnage #1 infuses itself with a new satirically anti-capitalist edge a la American Psycho, an homage that is directly acknowledged within the issue’s narration. Given that previous entries in this series have been drawing elements from the serial-killer films of director David Fincher, the comic seems fully committed to presenting itself as a psychological crime thriller. And while this ambition certainly gifts the comic with a consistent tone and direction, it does not salvage it from lackluster execution.

The story opens on Carnage conducting horrific experiments in the damp depths of an abandoned New York subway tunnel, having stolen and deconstructed the weapon which nearly killed him at the end of issue #7. He exposes numerous hostages to the gun’s corrosive power source, of course not caring how it burns straight through his guinea pigs’ skulls. It becomes the symbiotes’ mission to uncover the mysterious origins of this deadly substance, and he knows the exact Alchemax employees to track down for answers.

Where this event tie-in truly falters is in the pure repetition of Carnage’s actions. The latest volume of his solo-series plateaued into a steady rhythm some time ago: Carnage hunts down his next victim, subjects them to some horrific violent fate, and then moving on to the next step in his quest for undefeatable power. The events here play out just the same, and it makes the comic as a whole feel like a rather quick read. Given that he’s an unstoppable force going up against measly humans, he gets the information he needs easily, and the ensuing slaughter isn’t particularly spectacular or memorable.

That is not to say the narrative lacks pros, as there is a compelling quality to the Patrick Bateman/Joe Goldberg-esque attitude with which Carnage deconstructs the shallow vapidness of his targets’ lifestyles. It is fascinating to see the civilians of the Marvel universe, who are often reduced to being entirely good or evil, written with a realistic moral grayness. This quality is much assisted by the stellar art of Pere Perez, who fully realizes the individuality of the two human characters through appearance and body language, making it feel as if they have lived full lives outside the panels of this one comic.