Venomized is a 2018 Venom event written by Cullen Bunn, and the third and final part of the Poison War Saga — following Venomverse and Poison X. The Poisons, having raided the planet Klyntar, attack Earth and bond as many superheroes to symbiotes as possible; it's up to Venom and the X-Men Blue team to unite Earth and foil the Poisons' conquest once-and-for-all.
2019 comic event Absolute Carnage serves as a loose sequel.
Tropes:
- Back for the Dead: Eye Boy, Rage, D-Man, and Carnage are all consumed by Poisons — though the latter's bloodlust manages to subjugate the Poison. Carnage was later resurrected, while Eye Boy, D-Man and Rage turned up alive just months after the event with no mention of how they survived.
- Back from the Dead:
- Symbiote Thor is consumed by a Poison, but the ensuing Poison Thor proves unworthy of Mjolnir. Being disconnected from the hammer's divine magic reconstitutes Jane Foster's mortal body, which erupts from Poison Thor Chest Burster-style.
- In the final issue, Jean Grey destroys Poison Marvel Girl from the inside and reconstructs her body out of psionic energy, though she expresses concern that in doing so she's become some sort of Humanoid Abomination.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: Both Carnage 2.0 and Poison Carnage have scythe-like blades instand of hands.
- Continuity Nod: After bonding to a new symbiote, Spider-Man immediately goes to the Our Lady of Saints Church to dispose of it the same way he did the Venom symbiote and is very confused when it fails to work.
- Curb-Stomp Battle:
- Carnage 2.0 dices up every bound Poison sent in to restrain him until he's grabbed from behind by an unbound Poison and consumed.
- Poison Thanos easily hands Team B their asses until Kid Kaiju summons his monsters.
- The End... Or Is It?: The final issue reveals that while most of the Poisons are dead, Poison Ultimate Wolverine and Poison Carnage are still alive — raising the possibility of other, more dangerous foes survived the Queen's death and could reappear in the future.
- A God Am I: Poison Thor boasts that now the Poisons have a god to call their own, and that the puny mortals should just bow down and let themselves be consumed.
- It doesn't last long, as the Poison possessing Thor quickly discovers that being in control of her body doesn't mean they automatically become worthy of Mjolnir.
- Hijacking Cthulhu:
- A Poisoned incarnation of Shuma-Gorath makes a brief appearance.
- As with Poison Deadpool, Cletus Kasady's special brand of madness let his consciousness survive being consumed and hijack control of Poison Carnage.
- Hive Queen: The Poison Queen is a gigantic unbound Poison who assimilates the lifeforce and powers of those consumed by the lesser Poisons.
- The Immune: Agent Anti-Venom is unable to be consumed, causing any Poison that so much as touches him to die an excruciatingly painful death.
- Keystone Army: The Poison Queen is the keystone for the Hive. Once she's taken out, most of the Poisons die — with only Poison Jimmy Hudson and Poison Carnage being known survivors.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Spider-Man assumes Venom is responsible for an apparent second Symbiote Invasion and attacks him until Magneto breaks up the fight.
- Living MacGuffin: Kid Kaiju is sought after by the Poisons, as his Monster Progenitor abilities would provide them with a near-infinite supply of giant creatures to assimilate.
- Meanwhile, Back at the…: X-Men Blue #25-27 act as an interquel of sorts for "Poison-X" and this, containing cutaway scenes showing the Young X-Men and Venom's journey back to Earth.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Anti-Venom reacts this way when his touch kills a Poison instantly, as he had only intended to incapacitate it.
- Mythology Gag: After bonding to a new symbiote, Spider-Man strikes the same pose as on the cover of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8.
- Not Me This Time: When Spider-Man encounters Venom along with the X-Men, he assumes Venom is responsible for the sudden outbreak of symbiote bondings. Considering a similar thing happened during the Planet of the Symbiotes storyline, his suspicions aren't completely unfounded.
- Painful Transformation: When Cletus is forcibly bonded to a new symbiote, the remnants of the original Carnage symbiote in his blood fight back and try to expel the newcomer — causing him excruciating pain.
- The Power of Hate: As Carnage 2.0 goes on a rampage and dices up every Poison sent to restrain him, Poison Doom speculates that Cletus Kasady's insatiable bloodlust is what grants Carnage its abnormal power.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: Cletus is duped into bonding to a new symbiote, which turns black with red eyespots and markings. Carnage 2.0 doesn't last long before it's consumed by a Poison.
- Thrown Out the Airlock: Venom gets rid of Poison Carnage by getting the X-Men to make a hole in the Poisons' ship, blasting him out into space. Spider-Man is brought along for the ride, but his symbiote keeps him from suffocating in the vacuum of space.
- Touch of Death: Physical contact with Anti-Venom proves instantly fatal to bound and unbound Poisons alike. The affected Poisons effectively explode, leaving behind puddles of slime and fragments of exoskeleton.
- Uncertain Doom: Before arriving on Earth the Poisons massacred the Agents of the Cosmos. It's implied there were some survivors but it's unproven.
