Eddie Brock is a Perfect Carnage (& This is Why)

In February of this year, the series Eddie Brock: Carnage debuted putting Venom’s most notable host in the driver’s seat of fellow symbiote Carnage. Due to the nature of how Venom and Carnage act with other, it was a surprise to see the two disbanded with each host. For fans those who hadn’t been keeping up with the Venomverse, this dramatic shift coming out months after the previous Carnage title had ended was a huge surprise but a welcome one. What was once thought to be something fans would never see is now currently one of the biggest surprises from Marvel on the symbiote front. Pair that with the wonderfully talented Charles Soule on writing duties fans are in for a good time.

After the events of Venom War #5, Eddie and Carnage bonded together, changing up the formula for both characters. Previously, Carnage almost exclusively bonded with serial killer Cletus Kasady and Eddie Brock is the first in a long line of hosts for Venom. Eddie, been a prominent anti-hero wanting to keep on the good path, clashes with Carnage who by nature want to kill everyone he sees. When Carnage and Kasady were together they helped each other out with their urges to kill, but this new pairing is a real challenge for Eddie. He knows that by holding onto Carnage he must kill, so he decided to go after serial killers. Meanwhile, Carnage has his own goals of wanting to take down the heavy hitters of the Marvel Universe as his search for blood grows. With the two sharing one body, the story feels similar to the Dexter novel series as well as it’s television adaptation of the same name but might also be the best pairing for Carnage ever.

Eddie and Carnage Make for an Odd but Fascinating Couple

In the debut issue, the two take down an airplane pilot revealed to be a serial killer wanting to kill all the passengers, Carnage saves everyone inside except the pilot of course. Unknown to Eddie, the victims saved by Carnage were hidden while Eddie blacked out and he has no idea where Carnage hid them. Pleading to find answers as to where they are, Carnage reveals his plan to take out some of the worlds supervillains in return for a few passengers at a time.

This is where the major drama between the two start. Carnage doesn’t want to just kill bad people, he wants to bring Eddie over the edge. While Carnage whispers in his ears at every moment, Eddie shows restraint trying to make the best of the situation. This rift makes Carnage feel more like a character rather than a weapon like he’s been written previously. Cletus would always just go after people with the goal of having a higher kill count, but by having this disonance between Carnage’s bloodlust and Eddie’s moral compass makes things much more nuanced and interesting and the result is that the conflicts that are on the inside between symbiote and host end up spilling over to the outside as Eddie ends up hunting down serial killers as well as trying to coexist with one within his own mind. It makes for the best Carnage has ever been written and makes both the symbiote and the host feel fresh and different.

There’s also how this presentation of Carnage prompts some real questions about the nature of the character. Carnage feels more cunning than he’s written typically now that Eddie is his host, and sometimes very clearly gets full control of Eddie. It’s something that makes the reader wonder how much control Cletus Kasady ever really had and that in turn prompts a new appreciation for and a fresh perspective on previous Carnage stories, too.

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Sadly, This Probably Won’t Last

The only drawback of this pairing is very simple and is looming on the horizon: it won’t last. With how much of the status quo break for these two characters are, they will eventually be back to their previous hosts. Carnage will be back in someway or another with Cletus and Eddie with Venom. It’s a ticking clock that feels faster and faster by each issue. However, there is always the possibility that both Carnage and Eddie will emerge changed in ways that will carry forward into their separate stories in the future and part of that is likely to come in with the threats the oddball pairing will face between now and the end of their time together — something the current book has already somewhat teased.

A big surprise is that this book marked the return of Muse from Daredevil. Hinting that it was either a ghost or an imposter, the Inhuman serial killer has returned. Carnage and Eddie barely survived Bushwacker so who knows how the duo will fair against Muse. If they survive him and make it to the other targets Carnage has, it will be interesting to see how that impacts them. All I know is, it won’t be pretty in the slightest but it will be an incredible read. Have you read Eddie Brock: Carnage if so, what do you think of it so far? Let us know down in the comments.