The 5 Best Carnage Storylines in Spider-Man Comics

While seen on a creative level slightly below his “father” Venom, Carnage has remained one of Marvel Comics’ deadliest villains since his debut in 1991. Carnage made his debut in Amazing Spider-Man #345 in 1991 from the creative team of David Michelinie and Mark Bagley. He was the offspring of Venom, left behind in a prison when Venom rescued Eddie Brock and helped him break out. However, Carnage found a convicted serial killer named Cletus Kasady, and that man’s sociopathic tendencies is what taught Carnage to become the deadliest serial killing symbiote ever to step foot on Earth. However, not all his storylines remain equal.

Here is a look at the five best Carnage stories in Marvel Comics that prove that this symbiote is just as engrossing as his more famous father.

5) Maximum Carnage

Maximum Carnage was a 14-part crossover event from 1993 that ran through Spider-Man comics, which at that time included Amazing Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man, Spider-Man, and Spider-Man Unlimited. This story begins with Carnage escaping from prison and forming a new “family” to terrorize New York City. This included villains like Shriek, Doppelganger, Demogoblin, and Carrion.

This really showed Carnage at his strongest, as it took Spider-Man and Venom teaming up with other heroes, like Captain America, Black Cat, Iron Fist, Cloak and Dagger, and more just to have a change to stop him. If the story did anything, it showed that it took the ideals of love and hope to beat Carnage’s hate-fueled rampage that led the city to rioting in response. This was Carnage’s first real storyline centered on him, but it wasn’t anywhere near his best.

4) Venom vs Carnage

Venom vs. Carnage was a four-issue miniseries published in 2004 with the creative team of Peter Milligan and Clayton Crain. This was the series that introduced Toxin to the world as the 1,000th symbiote in the Venom bloodline, born from Carnage as the offspring. While Carnage tried to kill the symbiote, Venom tried to save it to help train it to become an ally and partner. Toxin then attached itself to a New York City police officer named Patrick Mulligan and became the first genuine symbiote hero.

That was an interesting idea itself, but the fact that Toxin was stronger than Venom and Carnage combined made him someone that neither symbiote was sure they could trust to survive. It also showed that the later in the bloodline, the stronger the symbiotes would become, and with Carnage and Venom spending four issues trying to kill each other while also watching Toxin rise in power, this was a storyline that showed the connection between all these alien beings.

3) Death Spiral

“Death Spiral” has a chance to rise up this list because it is still ongoing. However, the 2026 crossover event by Joe Kelly and Al Ewing shows how dangerous and deceptive Carnage really is. This storyline crossed over from The Amazing Spider-Man and Venom titles, and at this time, Eddie Brock was the host of the Carnage symbiote, believing he could jeep the killer under control. He was wrong.

Carnage used the time Eddie was sleeping to work with a new villain known as Torment, revealed Spider-Man’s secret identity to him, and then helped Torment on a serial killing cycle that targeted anyone close to their main victim before killing them. He started with Eddie Brock’s bloodline before also looking to Mary Jane Watson’s (who is Venom) and Peter Parker’s. The storyline has had lots of twists and turns and seeing Spider-Man and Venom forced to work with Eddie Brock to stop Carnage and Torment has been highly entertaining.

2) Carnage (first appearance)

Carnage made his debut as Cletus Kasady in The Amazing Spider-Man #361 in 1992. Kasady was a serial killer who had gone on a monstrous killing spree before he was finally arrested and imprisoned. He was in the same prison as Eddie Brock, who had previously been arrested and stripped of the Venom symbiote. When Venom showed up to rescue Eddie, it left behind its offspring, which bonded to Kasady and became Carnage.

Created by writer David Michelinie and Mark Bagley, this introduced the world to Carnage and showed that, while Venom was powerful, he wasn’t anywhere near the deadliest symbiote in Marvel Comics. The storyline ran for three issues and established Carnage as a threat not only to Venom and Spider-Man, but the entire world since he only existed to kill.

1) Carnage U.S.A.

Carnage U.S.A. is easily the best Carnage storyline in Marvel Comics and nothing else comes close. This was a five-issue miniseries published in 2011 from Zeb Wells and Clayton Crain. It opens with Carnage (Cletus Kasady again) heading to the small town of Doverton, Colorado, with the plan to infect the entire population there with symbiotes and start his own community/army. Once again, this showed when Carnage is at his full power, especially when he was at his most deranged, it takes a lot more than Spider-Man and Venom to stop him.

Carnage U.S.A. brought in everyone from Captain America and Wolverine to Hawkeye and The Thing to contain the threat, while also bringing in the Mercury Team, which were special ops soldiers with weapons made from the Hybrid symbiote components (who Carnage slaughtered). This was the one Carnage storyline where he came closest to winning.

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