WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the after-credits pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #24 by Clay McLeod Chapman, Gerardo Sandoval, Nathan Fairbairn and Joe Caramagna, and Fantastic Four #11 by Chapman, Alberto Alburquerque, Roberto Poggi, Andres Mossa and Caramagna. Both issues are in stores now.
Cletus Kasady has taken his god complex to a whole other level. After being made aware of the all-powerful symbiote god Knull, he has begun to hunt down every living creature who ever bonded with a Klyntar symbiote to steal the codex left behind by the alien parasites. Unfortunately, it turns out there are a lot of Marvel superheroes who have bonded with symbiotes throughout the years.
Now, Carnage is nearly ready to declare war.
In May, Marvel announced several of its titles will feature the return of after-credits pages that serve as the build-up to the summer event Absolute Carnage. The after-credits scenes of The Amazing Spider-Man #24 and Fantastic Four #11 show us that, not only does Carnage have his targets well in sight, he is also more powerful than ever.
"Change Is Coming"
In The Amazing Spider-Man #24's after-credits scene, Peter Parker takes a quick break from swinging around New York to grab a slice of pizza on top of a building. A flock of pigeons approaches him, and Spidey is kind enough to hand his leftovers to one of the feathered visitors. However, this is no mere pigeon; it's actually infected and controlled by Carnage.
We saw in January's Web of Venom: Venom Unleashed #1 that Carnage is able to infect other creatures, causing them to become his obedient drones. Now, he has expanded his reach, and that he's keeping an eye on his targets. Obviously, Spider-Man, who has spent quality time with the Venom symbiote, ranks at the top.
But the wall-crawler is far from the only hero Carnage is keeping tabs on.
In Fantastic Four #11, another of Carnage's drones appears as a homeless woman carrying a "Carnage rules!" sign. When a man bumps into her, it isn't long before she shows her true nature. With horrifically sharp teeth and nails, she declares that change is coming -- specifically, for Ben Grimm, aka The Thing. He already appeared as one of the many people who previously bonded with a symbiote in last year's Web of Venom: Carnage Born #1.
There's no telling how many drones Carnage has out there, and who they are looking for. As the start of Absolute Carnage approaches, we get a sense of Cletus Kasady's machinations. The heroes of the Marvel Universe may be dealing with their own adventures, but Carnage has been working in the shadows, gaining power and locking down his targets.
Written by Donny Cates and illustrated by Ryan Stegman, Absolute Carnage #1 goes on sale Aug. 7 from Marvel Comics.