History Characters / Carnage

The first spawn of the Venom symbiote, left behind during the alien's jailbreak of Eddie Brock. Needing a host and sensing Cletus' jealousy of Venom's power, the infant symbiote entered the serial killer's body through a cut and bonded to his bloodstream. The Carnage symbiote was utterly subservient to him and fully embraced his nihilistic philosophy to the point where it functioned as an extension of Cletus' will. Fed up with Carnage, Venom [[OffingTheOffspring once devoured the symbiote]], leaving Cletus powerless for a time, though the serial killer somehow managed to obtain an exact duplicate of it in the Negative Zone that has since merged with the remnants of the original. Despite initially being disgusted at the notion of giving birth, Cletus came to consider the Carnage symbiote to be female, [[InterspeciesRomance causing his relationship with the creature to take on a new dynamic.]]

Despite supposedly being irremovable, the Carnage symbiote has been bonded to people other than Cletus over the years, usually for a short duration. These range from unwilling hosts whose dark tendencies it encourages, such as Ben Reilly, Silver Surfer and Normie Osborn, to willing hosts seeking its power, such as Karl Malus and and Norman Osborn.

* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: When Knull tries to take over his body, Cletus fights back and overcomes him by consuming Scorn's codex to restore the Carnage symbiote.

The first spawn of the Venom symbiote, left behind during the alien's jailbreak of Eddie Brock. Needing a host and sensing Cletus' jealousy of Venom's power, the infant symbiote entered the serial killer's body through a cut and bonded to his bloodstream. The Carnage symbiote was utterly subservient to him and fully embraced his nihilistic philosophy to the point where it functioned as an extension of Cletus' will. Fed up with Carnage, Venom [[OffingTheOffspring once devoured the symbiote]], leaving Cletus powerless for a time, though the serial killer somehow managed to obtain an exact duplicate of it in the Negative Zone that has since merged with the remnants of the original. Despite initially being disgusted at the notion of giving birth, Cletus came to consider the Carnage symbiote to be female, [[InterspeciesRomance causing his relationship with the creature to take on a new dynamic]]

* BroughtDownToBadass: According to the Maker in ''Venom''#20, the codices it had absorbed were lost following Cletus' death. While it lost its immunity to flames and sonics, it's still resilient enough to the former to chill in the wreckage of a burning Quinjet.

* MagicEnhancement: Bonding to Cletus imbued it with the power of the ''Darkhold'', making it immune to fire and sonics. Eating Alejandra Jones' spine temporarily imbued it with the power of her Spirit of Vengeance.

* AndIMustScream: After running afoul of the ComicBook/SilverSurfer, Carnage was imprisoned in a statue-like state - able to think, but in no way able to move or talk. He later got better, though.

* LegacyCharacter: It serves as the more-powerful successor to the original Carnage symbiote, inheriting its personality and memories.
* NotQuiteDead: Eddie assumed he'd put an end to Carnage by killing Cletus at the end of ''Absolute Carnage'', but the Dark Carnage symbiote survived and resurfaced a few weeks later.

* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Its eyes glow yellow, signifying how it's

* SemiDivine: As an offshoot of the Grendel symbiote, it inherited its progenitor's connection to Knull -- which empowers it beyond the abilities of a normal symbiote; and grows increasingly powerful by amplifying its connection to Knull through absorbing codices and other symbiotes.

-> '''Debut:''' ''Web of Venom: Carnage Born'' #1

* TheAssimilator: By absorbing codices and other symbiotes, its connection to Knull was amplified and it grew in power to the point of effectively becoming a god. Additionally, absorbing the codices of superhumans -- like the Ghost Rider Alejandra Jones -- temporarily imbues it with the powers of those hosts.

%%* DarkerAndEdgier: Knull tries to take over Cletus using the Grendel symbiote, taking on a black-and-red appearance similar to Venom's berserk form; but Cletus -- who's dealt with sharing headspace with eldritch gods in the past -- consumes the Carnage symbiote codex left in Scorn's body in order to restore his original symbiote, which assimilates the Grendel symbiote and turns back to its classic red-and-black appearance.

* AWolfInSheepsClothing: His day job is manager of a mining corporation, which he uses as cover for his night job is as a cultist to an evil deity.

* AGodAmI: After becoming the apostle of Knull, Cletus develops a god complex that escalates as the Grendel symbiote regains its full godly power.

* AGodAmI: At the end of ''Minimum Carnage'', Cletus complains that he wanted to stay in the Microverse and conquer it to become a god, then decides he'll settle for throwing away what little humanity he has left and assimilating the Venom symbiote to become the UltimateLifeForm.

** Thanks to his moral inversion, Alice Gleason pull's this on him at the end of his ComicBook/{{Axis}} tie-in [[ComicallyMissingThePoint not that he ever gets it.]]

* MakeWayForTheNewVillains: When Mac Gargan became a far more bloodthirsty version of Venom than Eddie Brock had been, Carnage was seemingly killed off by ComicBook/TheSentry and only brought back after the Venom symbiote had been given to the heroic Flash Thompson.
** Both he and the symbiote are KilledOffForReal in ComicBook/AbsoluteCarnage but in the process [[GreaterScopeVillain Knull]] is released from his prison.

* MakeWayForTheNewVillains: Was absorbed by the Grendel Symbiote at the start of ComicBook/AbsoluteCarnage.

[[folder:Sin-Eater II]]

* CharacterDevelopment: Following his return from space, Carnage started becoming increasingly megalomaniacal, taking over Doverton, Colorado and later trying to conquer the Microverse. This... didn't turn out so well for him, and in ''Superior Carnage Annual'' he decides to get back to basics.

* ComicBookDeath: [[spoiler:Meets his (temporary) end at the finale of ''Absolute Carnage'' by the hands of Venom.]]

* {{Domestic Abuse}}r: His relationship with Shriek. He enjoys hanging out with and doing horrible things with her and gets upset when other people hurt or try to kill her, but he's also perfectly fine with harming and trying to murder her himself whenever she starts to bore or annoy him.

** In ''Superior Carnage Annual'', Cletus decides that [[EvilPlan all]] [[GoalOrientedEvolution the]] [[TakeOverTheWorld character development]] he's undergone over the years just hasn't worked out and that he wants to [[StrawNihilist get back]] [[AxCrazy to basics]].
* StrawNihilist: Cletus doesn't believe in order and morality, and kills people for fun. He once argued with Demogoblin that God is probably a drooling idiot, if He even exists at all, and years later, he has a VillainousBreakdown when Deadpool convinces him that he's controlled by higher powers.

* {{Synchronization}}: In ''Superior Carnage Annual'', Cletus states that he can feel the symbiote getting weaker and dying.

* ThroatLight: As Dark Carnage, his mouth glows a sickly yellow.

* VilerNewVillain: While Venom was still a villain, Cletus was introduced to be even worse by comparison. Eddie Brock may have IrrationalHatred towards Spidey, but Cletus is a deranged SerialKiller who does things ForTheEvulz.
* VillainProtagonist: Of his own series, naturally.

* FanServicePack: Cletus disturbingly borders on MrFanservice when drawn by Clayton Crain.

* MultipleChoicePast: Carnage's backstory is... inconsistent, which he himself admits. The most frequently drawn on story is that he killed his grandmother by pushing her down a flight of stairs, tortured his mother's dog, and manipulated his father into killing his mother. When sent to [[OrphanageOfFear St. Estes Home for Boys]] he was bullied due to his [[TheSociopath antisocial behaviour]], and eventually murdered the disciplinarian administration and burned the place to the ground before becoming a full-time serial killer.

* PracticallyJoker: Clearly based off the Joker, with [[Film/{{Psycho}} a bit of Norman Bates in there too.]] Arist Erik Larsen even admitted to patterning Kasady's looks on the Clown Prince of Crime. Coincidentally, ComicBook/TheJoker was initially delighted to meet Carnage during a Franchise/{{Batman}}[=/=]Franchise/SpiderMan crossover, but they quickly had a falling out over their different opinions on how to kill people.

* StrawNihilist: Cletus doesn't believe in order and morality, and kills people for fun. He once argued with Demogoblin that God is probably a drooling retard, if He even exists at all, and years later he has a VillainousBreakdown when Deadpool convinces him that he's controlled by higher powers.

* VillainProtagonist: of his own series, naturally.
* VillainSong: ''Carnage Rules'' by Green Jelly, which was commissioned for the ''Maximum Carnage'' video-game.

** As a teen he pushed a girl he had a crush on in front of a bus when she refused to go out with him. This event, which had only been referenced once or twice in Carnage's early appearances, is revisited as a minor plot point in ''Axis''.

* ConvenientlyCellmates: The reason why Cletus Kasady acquired a symbiote to begin with was because he was sharing a cell with [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} Eddie Brock]].

** In ''Web of Venom: Carnage Born'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:when Cletus was a baby he was chosen by Knull -- the god of the symbiotes -- to be the symbiote version of TheAntichrist and bring about his revival]].

* {{Expy}}: His dark sense of humor make him a CompositeCharacter of both Carnage and Deadpool

* HijackingCthulhu: In ''Web of Venom: Carnage Born'', [[spoiler:the Carnage symbiote assimilates the Grendel symbiote -- an ancient and primordial symbiote connected to the dark god Knull]].

When the Poisons invaded Earth-616, they sent a strike team to retrieve Cletus and offered him the chance to become Carnage again if he allied with them. Thinking they would reunite him with his beloved symbiote, Cletus accepted... but was instead bonded to a new symbiote, causing him excruciating pain as it came into conflict with the remnants of his original symbiote. Furious over having been tricked and tortured, Cletus rampaged -- intent on escaping and reuniting with his original symbiote -- but was quickly ambushed by an unbound Poison, which consumed him to become '''Poison Carnage'''. However, Cletus' bloodlust let his psyche mostly-withstand being consumed, and he faked loyalty to the Hive -- ultimately being tossed into space by Venom. However, his body floated through the emptiness of space and returned to Earth -- shattering the Poison and restoring his human form in the process. The Carnage symbiote sacrificed itself to protect Cletus as they reentered Earth, but upon landing, Cletus died.

A psychopathic serial killer imprisoned for eleven consecutive life sentences, Cletus Kasady met Eddie Brock when the latter, separated from the Venom symbiote by the toxic touch of the supervillain Styx, became his cellmate. Learning of Brock's grudge against Spider-Man, Kasady tried to convert him to his nihilistic philosophy, mocking Eddie over his claims to have once been the supervillain Venom. Repeatedly rebuked, Kasady decided to murder his cellmate, but before he could the Venom symbiote entered the cell and rebonded to Eddie. Venom broke free, leaving the terrified and jealous Kasady behind. Sensing his desire for the power Eddie possessed, a scrap of the symbiote left behind dripped onto Cletus' hand and bonded with him, transforming him into the monstrous '''Carnage'''. As Carnage, Kasady proved stronger than Spider-Man and Venom combined, and his symbiote was not only less susceptible to sonics than its progenitor but infinitely more difficult to remove, having bonded to his bloodstream. In his first appearance, Carnage forced Spider-Man and Venom to [[EnemyMine call a temporary truce]] to defeat him.

Cletus' body was spirited away by the authorities, only to be grabbed by an apocalyptic cult who saw him as the key to contacting and awakening the symbiote god Knull. Thanks to a piece of the ancient Grendel symbiote they had stolen from the Maker, Cletus was [[RevenantZombie reanimated]] and restored to being Carnage by devouring Scorn's "codex" -- trace remnants of symbiote left in hosts' bodies. Wanting more of the experience he'd had, he was told that if he absorbed more "codexes" from other previous symbiote holders, he could even resurrect Knull.

The first spawn of the Venom symbiote, left behind during the alien's jailbreak of Eddie Brock. Needing a host and sensing Cletus' jealousy of Venom's power, the infant symbiote entered the serial killer's body through a cut and bonded to his bloodstream. The Carnage symbiote was utterly subservient to him and fully embraced his nihilistic philosophy to the point where it functioned as an extension of Cletus' will. Despite supposedly being irremovable, the Carnage symbiote left Cletus twice of its own volition, once to bond to Spider-Man's clone Ben Reilly, and the second time to bond to the ComicBook/SilverSurfer, but both times returned to its original host. Fed up with Carnage, Venom [[OffingTheOffspring once devoured the symbiote]], leaving Cletus powerless for a time, though the serial killer somehow managed to obtain an exact duplicate of it in the Negative Zone that has since merged with the remnants of the original. Despite initially being disgusted at the notion of giving birth, Cletus came to consider the Carnage symbiote to be female, [[InterspeciesRomance causing his relationship with the creature to take on a new dynamic]]

The Carnage symbiote has been bonded to people other than Cletus over the years, usually for a short duration. These range from unwilling hosts whose dark tendencies it encourages, such as Ben Reilly, Silver Surfer and Normie Osborn, to willing hosts seeking its power, such as Karl Malus and and Norman Osborn.