Web of Carnage #1: Goodbye, Detective

With all focus on Cletus Kasady for Carnage Reigns, Web of Carnage #1 is assigned the challenge of recapping the other half of the narrative. Left on the back burner for a lengthy period, Detective Jonathan Shayde’s incarceration within the symbiote’s blood-red tendrils is a scenario that requires reintroduction. For those who have not been actively following this tale since the beginning, Carnage operating as a free agent might be a shocker. Both halves of the once inseparable serial killers have outgrown the need for one another. Since Reigns offered insight into how this separation and newfound freedom affected the villainous philosophy of Cletus Kasady, Web attempts to do the same for Carnage. The comic’s efforts, unfortunately, fall short due to the meddling of superfluous extended universe tie-ins.

On his journey to grow powerful and battle Dylan Brock, Carnage encounters one of the Inheritors, abandoned in the subway tunnels of New York following the latest Spider-Verse event. The two take a field trip to an alternate Earth, where Cletus Kasady becomes Venom, and Kraven the Hunter is imbued with spider-themed mystical abilities.

There is ample quality design work here, as the alternate Venom is a perfect amalgamation of the red and black symbiotes’ recognizable features. Kraven also sports a stylish outfit incorporating the motifs of his web-slinging nemesis’ costume, accessorized with an eight-eyed, fuzzy tarantula vest.

However, some continuity discrepancies accompany the midway switch between Francesco Manna’s and Ze Carlos’ pencils. The inheritor, introduced with a sophisticated, Draculaesque appearance, turns gray and haggard between pages with no well-conveyed explanation. Cletus-Venom gets his inexplicable, lightning-quick makeover from straight black hair to wild, ginger curls. Carnage no longer has the armored, demonic appearance he earned alongside the necrospear, speaking to a more significant problem; the comic’s action sequence does not depict him with any significant difference in power level, despite supposedly being a demigod now. 

Web stumbles the most in its execution of Jonathan Shayde’s rushed departure. Present from the very beginning, Shayde was an ordinary man in over his head as he attempted to battle gods and monsters. He added an excellent sense of humanity to a grim storyline and seemed destined to play a pivotal role, but that potential has been cut short. Carnage has a moment of realization, deciding that he no longer wants to consume alternate versions of Venom, scrapping the plan that has driven this entire saga so far. The symbiote becomes uncharacteristically merciful, freeing Shayde and providing him with a convenient portal home. 

The detective falls back into the swing of his regular life, once determined to stop Carnage, but now content with leaving the monster to its own devices. There is an ominous stinger that implies more to come with the character, but it is ultimately a strange way to exit him. Shayde’s internal monologue frames the issue, valiantly attempting to condense the conclusion of his character arc and work on a theme about perseverance through trauma. It’s not enough to quell suspicion that the original plans for this character were hastily reworked, lost amidst the subplots that are beginning to tangle.