Since its release in the 1980s, Venom became one of the biggest archenemies and reluctant allies of Marvel‘s Spider-Man. At first, seemingly only a typical alien, Venom is anything but an ordinary villainous comic book villain who drives their enemies insane every time they oppose them. However, Venom is not the only known alien symbiote in Marvel Comics, there is Carnage as well. If you thought Spider-Man is Venom’s biggest enemy, well you were wrong – Carnage surpasses Spider-Man in that regard. But why? In this article, we will write about if Carnage is Venom’s son, and what the comics say.
Carnage is Venom’s son. According to the comic canon, alien symbiotes are genderless and can carry offspring. When Venom came back to attach to Eddie Brock once again, before escaping the prison, Venom dropped its “offspring” in the prison because it did not have an emotional bond with it, and marked it as insignificant. The abandoned symbiote then attached itself to Brock’s cellmate, a serial killer Cletus Kasady, who coincidentally cut his hand. The symbiote entered the killer’s bloodstream and deemed him as its host.
We will discuss Carnage more, its relationship with Venom, other bonds, why is it red, and more. If you are interested in this article, stay with us until the end of the article.
Carnage’s Origins and “Birth”
As we already mentioned, Carnage is the supervillain in Marvel comics, which first appeared in the Amazing Spiderman #359 comic book issue in 1992. The inspiration for the character came from Eddie Brock’s Venom, who after its first appearance became an instantly popular Marvel character. The creators David Michelinie and Mark Bagley thought they needed a similar character to Venom but much darker that its predecessor.
Most of these new characters are created because the comic book writers feel that stories need more fresh faces, but in the case of Venom, Carnage was never supposed to be a replacement for Eddie Brock’s symbiote – Venom was just too popular at the time. Carnage is first and foremost Venom’s villain, and here is why.
As we saw both in the movie and the comics, Eddie Brock ends up in the prison – the movie suggests that Brock comes to the prison to interview Kasady, but in the comics, Kasady is actually Brock’s cellmate. In the comics, after being separated, Eddie Brock ends up in prison and shares the cell with the convicted serial killer, Cletus Kasady.
Kasady is a sociopath and a homicidal sadist – he was born in the psychiatrist prison at Ravencroft, whose heart stopped and was revived by Knull to be one to free Knull from Klyntar. Even as a boy, Kasady killed his grandmother, and tried to kill his mother, and her dog, until he was sent orphanage where he killed even more people. Cletus Kasady is a clinically deranged murderer, and if given the power, a man would be chaos to society. Of course, during his time in prison, Kasady meets Eddie Brock, his cellmate.
When Venom came back and attached to Brock once again, the duo escaped the prison but unbeknownst to them, they left something behind them in the cell. You see, alien symbiotes “give birth” to their offspring and are genderless – any of the symbiotes can “carry” the offspring and give birth to them. According to Marvel comics, when escaping the prison Venom unknowingly left the offspring in Brock’s and Kasady’s cell, which basically meant that the symbiote did not feel any emotional attachment to its offspring.
Marvel comics also state that the “children” of the symbiotes are stronger than their parents. Of course, Kasady was at the right place at the right time and attached to Kasady immediately. The really interesting part is that Carnage amplified his psychotic nature making him even less sane, which marked the creation of a new villain in the Marvel Universe, this time Eddie Brock’s Venom.
Besides Carnage, Venom has a few other symbiotes “children” in the Marvel Universe – Scream, Lasher, Agony, Riot, Mania, and Sleeper.
Why Is Carnage Red?
Now, one more interesting fact about Carnage. According to comics, Venom’s first host was actually Spider-Man, which after acting out and being under the influence of the evil alien symbiote and eventually getting rid of it, took over some of Spider-Man’s powers. That means when Venom attached to Eddie Brock, the creature lent the famous web-slinger’s powers to Brock.
Because the creature already has acquired some of the Spider-Man powers, when it left its offspring in the cell, Venom actually transferred its powers to the offspring, which, according to lore, is stronger than its parents.
Now, the reason Carnage is red is also explained in the comics. When Venom attached itself to Eddie Brock and Spider-Man in the comics, it used the hosts’ molecular cells – hence why Venom is black, and can heal Brock pretty fast.
When Carnage attached itself to Kasady, the serial killer cut his hand, and the symbiote used the host’s blood to merge with him. This is why Carnage is red, which is quite a convenient way of saying it is a villain.
Moreover, you probably noticed that Venom always refers to itself as “we”, always including its host, which points out the fact that Venom is both Brock and the symbiote. Carnage is a singular entity that is attached to the host’s bloodstream and refers to itself as “I” – hence why Kasady is essentially a tool for the symbiote.
