Story by Zeb Wells
Art by Clayton Crain
After freeing herself from the artificial arm that contained a portion of the Carnage symbiote, Dr Tanis Nieves watches as it attaches itself to Shriek and the pair begin a murderous, mind-control fueled riot. Meanwhile, Spidey and Iron Man must deal with Mass Carnage, a new, partially mechanized form that Cletus Kasady creates using a mishmash of Hall Industries symbiote-hybrid armor and the corpses of the soldiers once contained within.
Zeb Wells spins a terrific tale with Carnage, a character that has caught a lot of flak over the years. His characterization is still simplistic – let’s face it, Cletus is a psychotic moron with delusions of grandeur, made even more dangerous by the symbiote. The mega-Carnage is a nice twist on the character, however, and the inclusion of Iron Man in the fight makes for some interesting interactions with the Hall Industries technology.
The conflict between Tanis and Shriek actually steals the show in this issue, though. While the fight against Carnage is a fun, shallow super-fight, Tanis’s arc has a more personal air to it. Her struggle in this issue is entirely internal, and the choice with which she is faced an agonizing one. The resolution of that half of the story was by far more compelling than Super Hyper Mega Action Go-Go Carnage.
Clayton Crain’s art – while gorgeous – shows shades of a deadline crunch at points. It’s clear that less care was taken with some pages than others, which is generally more obvious with painted art. That being said, the overall look of the book is simply stunning.
This is a fitting wrap up to an entertaining Carnage mini-series, and bodes well for Wells & Crain’s next team up, Carnage U.S.A.
