The following contains major spoilers for Carnage #13, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
In the past few years, Cletus Kasady has fallen from what felt like the height of his power to the lowest of lows, only to rocket beyond anything he ever dreamed of in grisly fashion. Worse still, the rise from rock bottom to towering behemoth is only the beginning for Marvel's foremost serial killer symbiote, and it might already be too late to stop him from extending his reach throughout the Big Apple.
After nearly being destroyed by Miles Morales, Cletus Kasady has realized the extent of what his currently mechanized form can do. As seen in the pages of Carnage #13 (by Alex Paknadel, Fran Galán, Erick Arciniega, and VC's Joe Sabino), Cletus has taken Stark Unlimited and its scientific minds hostage in a bid to expand upon the powers he currently commands. Unfortunately, that means more than simply stepping into a shiny new Sentinel body. Rather than simply transforming into a horrifying new form, Cletus is injected into the grid itself, and that is all it takes for him to begin infecting the entirety of New York City.
Cletus Kasady Has Pushed His Powers Beyond Their Limit
Since his introduction in 1990's Amazing Spider-Man #344 (by David Michelinie and Erik Larsen), Cletus Kasady has held the title of Marvel's most sadistic serial killer, yet it was his reintroduction as Carnage two years later that cemented his place as a full-fledged supervillain. During his initial outing, he cut through anyone who got in his way before being taken down by the combined might of Spider-Man and Venom. Over the years, Cletus' goals have only gotten bigger, even without his longtime symbiote to help him achieve them.
Apart from attempting to create its own Hell on Earth, the Carnage symbiote evolved from its original form to the Red Goblin, Dark Carnage, and the Extrembiote amalgamation, all while its host came into a better understanding of their existences both together and separate. Ultimately, it was the realization that neither of them truly needed the other any longer that saw Cletus and Carnage part ways under disastrous circumstances. While both have spent their time apart amassing power in their own ways, Cletus' latest accomplishment may be what sees him surpass his symbiotic other in every way that counts.
Cletus Kasady is Headed For a Confrontation With Carnage
Taking over an entire populace isn't anything new for either Cletus Kasady or Carnage, nor is stepping into a completely different plane of existence. Yet what Cletus has accomplished now goes beyond either of those and into a previously unimaginable realm of terror. Not only does he have control of countless pieces of Stark tech and the means to possess anyone within his reach, but he has also found another way to make himself effectively immortal.
Besides almost turning into a symbiotic being, Cletus has reduced himself to what is for all intents and purposes a string of living code. As such, he has gone from being a Codex of himself to a figurative one which could potentially be replicated endlessly even if it doesn't spread across the globe before it can be stopped. At that rate, it is only a matter of time before Cletus gets to show the world what true carnage looks like on a global scale, assuming the King in Red doesn't show up to beat him to it.