"We will all have our revenge. Small thinkers. We have an opportunity to make a mark on this world so inedible our names will be history itself. All humans are pestilence. We can create a new race, part human, part symbiote that will rule the world. A new breed. All else that is not of our blood must be expelled."
Carnage was a murderous red symbiote and the offspring of Venom. It was spawned from Venom and later bonded with serial killer Cletus Kasady. Cletus acquired the symbiote through biting a reporter's hand, leaking a tiny bit of Venom. At the moment of its birth, it despised its father Venom and sought to eliminate him with the help of Kasady, making a deal to free Kasady's lover, Frances Barrison, and then kill both Venom and Eddie Brock, Venom's host. After Barrison kidnapped Anne Weying and Patrick Mulligan and brought them to a cathedral to lure in Brock and Venom, Venom and Carnage fought each other, with Carnage gaining the upper hand, but just as he was about to kill Venom and Brock, Venom made Barrison scream one final time to separate the two Symbiotes from their hosts. Carnage attempted to bond again with Kasady, but Venom, who re-bonded much quicker, devoured it along with its host.
Cletus angrily taunted Eddie during their conversation by saying that he wishes heartbreak to him before his death, even mentioning Eddie's deceased mother, which provoked Venom to attack him. After this, Cletus bit Eddie's hand and instead of getting blood, the serial killer got an offspring of the Venom, that would later be known as Carnage.[1]
During the supposed final moments of Cletus Kasady, the Carnage symbiote suppressed the drugs he was being injected with for the lethal injection process. The symbiote then started to manifest itself through Cletus' body, much to the horror of everyone present. After a huge explosion, the symbiote and Cletus completely merged into one entity and quickly started to rampage across the prison.
Carnage starts his rampage on prison
Just as Carnage was about to murder the prison warden, an alarm disturbed the symbiote and let him escape. After destroying the alarm, Carnage killed multiple prison guards and freed all the prisoners from their cells. The psychotic symbiote killed everyone that was standing in their way to freedom until they eventually caught up to the warden and brutally killed him before escaping from San Quentin State Prison.[1]
Continuing the Rampage[]
Searching for Shriek[]
"You are real." "I am. And once I kill that thing that made me, we will be indestructible." "I know where to find him, but first, I need you to help me find something I lost." "Deal!" "Deal."
After Carnage killed another person so that Cletus could steal his clothes, Cletus found a car and took it while Carnage talked to its host, saying that they needed to kill Venom so they can be unstoppable, with Cletus agreeing to do it as long as Carnage helped him find Shriek. Both then drove to the Ravencroft while destroying many cars on their way.
En route, they eventually arrived at a gas station where Cletus brutally beat the worker to death and used the employee computer that was there so that Carnage could enter the Internet and search for the inmates in the top secret Ravencroft files, finding out that Shriek was indeed alive.[1]
Carnage managed to infiltrate the Ravencroft institute and enter Shriek's cell, the symbiote then brutally choked the head doctor, Camille Pazzo while Cletus reunited with his lover. Shriek was introduced to Carnage as the symbiote freed her from her cell and Cletus kissed her.
All of them then got in the car and escaped while being chased by the San Francisco Police, during the chase, Carnage used his tentacles to grab the car on the air during their escape as well as destroying the choppers and cars that were following them. However, Carnage was deeply disturbed when Shriek attacked the police with her sonic scream, until Cletus told her to stop, saying he's sensitive to sound, with Carnage threatening Shriek by saying that if she ever did that again the symbiote would "eat her face".[1]
The Red Wedding[]
Kidnapping the Guests[]
"A wedding?" "Three guests." "One for each of us." "The cop who took my eye." "Eddie Brock." "And Venom. A red wedding."
After Carnage helped Cletus and Shriek burn down the St. Estes Home for Unwanted Children, the symbiote then learned that his host wanted to marry Shriek at a cathedral and the three decided to get guests as gifts for each of them. Carnage went to kidnap Patrick Mulligan, a cop who shot Shriek's left eye years ago and was the guest that she chose for their wedding, while Shriek kidnapped Anne Weying to lure Venom and Eddie to them. They also kidnapped a priest to properly perform the ceremony. The two then presented their gifts to each other at the cathedral and prepared to get married.[1]
Just as Cletus' wedding with Frances concluded, Eddie arrived to stop their rampage, as Carnage reveals itself to its father, the Venom got scared and retreated into Eddie's body. After Eddie bribed Venom into transforming him again, Carnage tried to attack Venom but was blasted point-blank by one of Frances' sonic screams, Carnage backhanded her away and forcibly dragged the horrified Cletus back into itself when he tried to rush to his wife's side.
Carnage scaled the side of the church, leaving Venom crushed beneath a chunk of debris, Frances then accused Carnage of going too far and told Cletus to stop, but the symbiote attempted to throttle her which caused Cletus to attempt to break away from it. With Frances seemingly dead, Carnage forced Cletus back inside itself, but the distraction had caused Venom to escape the rubble and arrive to impale Carnage through the head with a broken piece of scaffolding while rescuing Anne. As Carnage declared his victory, Venom provoked Frances to unleash a final scream that separated both Symbiotes from their hosts and collapsed the cathedral. As Cletus and Carnage separated while falling to the ground, the symbiote tried to rebond with the incapacitated Cletus but it was grabbed by Venom and promptly eaten, much to Cletus' dismay who was also killed by the Lethal Protector.[1]
Legacy[]
Despite being killed, the massacre left by Carnage and Cletus, as well as their connection with Eddie Brock had caused the authorities to know of Eddie's connection with Venom and hunt him down which had resulted in Eddie and Venom becoming fugitives and running away to a remote island.[1]
Carnage is a sentient being of pure evil, seen by how moments after the Symbiote was born, he had wreaked havoc in prison during his escape. Carnage also has a deep hatred for his father, Venom, wanting to kill him so that he could be the only Symbiote on the planet and therefore unstoppable. It can be also assumed that Carnage's malicious nature could have been partly inherited from Cletus' own, but simultaneously devoid of the latter's restraints and likable qualities.
The Symbiote greatly had enjoyed watching other people suffer, which initially had coincided with his host Cletus Kasady, but they soon proved to not be a perfect match as the Symbiote had no problem attacking Shriek, something Cletus was against, although Carnage still had forced Kasady to stay with him. Despite their disagreements, the Symbiote still had seemed to latch onto Cletus and would do anything to stay with him, even if Kasady wanted to leave.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
"Oh, shit!" "Uh, where you going? What are you doing?" "This is much worse than I thought. That is a red one. Wow. Uh..." "Red one?" "We should leave immediately."
Symbiotic Physiology: Carnage is an amorphous, blood-red extraterrestrial symbiote born from a unique fragment of the Venom symbiote, transferred to Cletus Kasady and awakened during his execution via lethal injection. Unlike typical symbiotes with a goo-like consistency, Carnage exhibits a blood-like form and maintains a deep, invasive bond withKasadyās bloodstream. Upon achieving full symbiosis, Carnage dramatically enhances Kasadyās physical attributes, including strength, speed, agility, durability, reflexes, and regeneration, to extreme superhuman levels. These enhancements remain active as long as host and symbiote remain synchronized.
Possession: Carnage can phase into its host's flesh as if intangible in order to bond with it, enhancing its physical abilities to inhuman levels thus allowing them to overpower other humans with ease and heal from severe injuries such as broken bones and damaged tissue in seconds. Carnage can also suppress its host's consciousness in order to fully control it, especially if the host attempted to resist and proved incompatible. Due to its cross physiology, Carnage is internally connected to Kasady's bloodstream.
Superhuman Strength: After enveloping its host in its biomass, Carnage grants immense levels of physical strength that far exceed that of a typical symbiote host. During its awakening and escape from prison, Carnage effortlessly overpowered multiple humans, hurled heavy objects with ease, and generated powerful air currents by rapidly spinning its body, forming a destructive tornado-like vortex strong enough to damage the prison and facilitate its escape. It demonstrated further strength by breaking Shriekās confinement, coiling around the structure and crushing it with brute force. Carnage was also seen hurling cars and police vehicles with little effort, even slicing through them, and ultimately caused a helicopter to crash. In its battle against Venom, Carnage repeatedly overpowered him through sheer force, using haemokinetically-forged constructs to subdue and overwhelm him in direct combat. At one point, Carnage delivered a devastating kick with enough force to knock Venom back into Eddie Brock.
Superhuman Durability: Possessing absolute control over its own mass and that of its host, Carnage can enhance their shared durability to an exceptionally high level, allowing them to withstand intense physical trauma without being slowed or incapacitated. During its escape from prison, Carnage absorbed close-range gunfire without injury and even created openings in its body to allow bullets to pass through harmlessly, striking guards behind it instead. Throughout its battle with Venom, Carnage endured heavy strikes and powerful impacts, recovering almost instantly after each blow. Even when slammed or countered with its own constructs, Carnage showed no signs of lasting damage or physical fatigue.
Superhuman Speed: Carnage can enhance its hostās speed and agility to superhuman levels, enabling rapid movement across several feet per second, effortless scaling of buildings, and the execution of complex acrobatic and gymnastic maneuvers. During its prison break, Carnage spun at incredible speeds, generating a powerful tornado-like vortex. This remarkable speed, combined with its unpredictable combat style, makes Carnageās attacks extremely difficult to anticipate or counter, even for other symbiotes like Venom during their final battle.
Regenerative Healing Factor: Carnage possesses a highly advanced and near-instantaneous regenerative healing factor, allowing its host to recover from catastrophic injuries in seconds. This includes the rapid repair of broken bones, torn muscles, lacerations, and internal organ damage. The symbioteās blood-bonded nature, having fused directly with Cletus Kasadyās bloodstream, allows for constant regeneration. This regenerative capability was first demonstrated during Kasadyās execution, when the Symbiote instinctively awakened in response to the lethal injection. Not only did Carnage neutralize the chemical toxins entering his hostās bloodstream, it completely reversed their effects, violently erupting from within Kasadyās body and halting his execution mid-process.
Aerokinesis/Whirligigikinesis: During the prison breakout, Carnage demonstrated the ability to generate powerful air currents and a destructive tornado-like vortex by rapidly spinning his body.
Technopathy: Carnage possesses a limited technopathic ability, enabling him to interface with and hijack machinery or electronic systems through physical contact. He demonstrated this by starting a vehicle simply by inserting a tendril into the ignition.
Haemokinetic Shapeshifting:
Carnage's solid blood weapons
Due to the peculiar circumstances surrounding its birth, being a fragment of Venom that regenerated into an entirely new Symbiote upon exposure to Kasadyās biomass and awakened by lethal injection during his execution, Carnage emerged with a blood-like form, in stark contrast to the goo-like consistency of typical Symbiotes. Despite this difference in appearance, Carnage possesses the same level of mass control, capable of shaping constructs and appendages from its own body, which Cletus can exploit in combat. Carnage also demonstrated the ability to open a hole in its torso, allowing bullets fired by guards to pass harmlessly through its body and strike police behind it.
Haemokinetic Symbiotic Suit Manifestation: Carnage can fully emerge from the body of Cletus to envelop its host's body to form its own that akin to a malleable-yet-resilient sort of combat full-body suit that has eyes, claws, an extendable fanged mouth with a long, prehensile tongue. Unlike previous known Symbiote hosts, however, the transformation sequence involved Carnage rapidly manifesting like a rapidly growing tumor that warps Cletus' body from inside out, as opposed to fluidly emerging and wrapping itself about him.
Haemokinetic Construct Creation: In the same vein as Riot, but to a far more advanced degree, Carnage possesses exceptional control over its blood-like biomass, allowing it to generate a vast array of deadly constructs directly from its own body. These include bladed weapons such as swords, darts, spears, spikes, and tendrils, all of which can be formed simultaneously and used with precision and brutality. Unlike traditional Symbiotes, Carnageās constructs are noticeably sharper, more jagged, and more violent in design, reflecting its chaotic nature. During its battle with Venom, Carnage relied heavily on this ability to dominate the fight, using his constructs to pierce, impale, restrain, and overwhelm him with ease.
Haemokinetic Camouflage Capabilities: Carnageās advanced shape-shifting abilities also allow it to fully mimic any type of clothing or garment that Cletus desires, seamlessly disguising itself while remaining bonded to the host.
Haemokinetic Tentacle Extension: Carnage can also manifest multiple tentacles at will, using them to bludgeon, impale, grab, smash, or constrict and crush foes, as well as to rapidly traverse its surroundings. Combined with its ability to forge bladed weapons from its blood-like biomass, Carnage can launch these sharp projectiles as deadly long-range attacks.
Telepathy: Carnage can communicate telepathically with its host, which is inaudible to others.
Fangs: Carnage is granted a powerful jaw filled with fangs that can dismantle flesh and bones of any species.
Hunger empowerment: In addition to his starvation, Carnage can achieve more strength that enables it to easily outmatch his own kind and grow significantly several times the regular size of the Symbiote, allowing it to overwhelm and injure its parent.
Abilities[]
Genius-Level Intellect: To be added
Expert Tactician: As a tactician, Carnage was able to stab and wound his parent repeatedly, to the point of tiring him.
Sonic Vibrations: As powerful as Carnage is, he is vulnerable to extremely loud noise and even that of intense sonic vibrations, as it drives the symbiote crazy like his father Venom.
Intense Heat / Fire: Aside from the intense noise that causes Carnage to go crazy, he can also be injured through exposure to intense heat, such as from lasers, fire, etc. just like his father.
Desynchronization: Carnage and Cletus cannot function at their fullest if the duo are not fully in synch in mind as expected from those who hosted a symbiote in their bodies, even with their great compatibility. This proves to be their undoing as when Cletus and Carnage find themselves having a fallout due to the latter's attempts to kill Barrison, they unwittingly give Venom and Eddie the chance to defeat them once and for all.
Hostless: Carnage cannot use its powers or feed without a host and becomes vulnerable.
In the comics, Carnage is a symbiote that was created when Eddie Brock broke out of jail. However, there was still some of the Symbiote left and it bonded to Cletus Kasady, Brock's cellmate. He is also an enemy of both Venom and Spider-Man and is the reason why Venom became an anti-hero.
Carnage is also one with his symbiote in body and will in the comics, yet the film established Cletus and Carnage as two separate minds. For example, Carnage attempts to kill Shriek because of her sonic scream; which angered Kasady greatly.
Woody Harrelson was reluctant at first to voice Carnage and requested Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis to do the voice, but Serkis encouraged him to find the right tone for his performance, resulting in a voice with which Harrelson ultimately found himself pleased.[3]
