Writer: Ram V
Artist: Rogê Antônio
Color Artist: Dijjo Lima
Cover Artist: Kendrick “Kunkka” Lim
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
Carnage is on the loose, and without Cletus Kasady, the symbiote itself is calling the shots now. It’s teamed up, sort of, with a new serial killer called The Artist, has taken on Hydro-Man and is now facing off against the Spider-Man supervillain The Spot. Readers will see just what plans are going on in the alien’s head in Carnage #3!
Review:
Things are ramping up in Carnage as we finally get a clearer idea on what exactly the Carnage symbiote is trying to accomplish here. But first things first, the comic picks up where it left off with Carnage facing off against The Spot. Now, the Spot is one of those villains who if he was given the time of day, a talented writer could turn him into a formidable villain just based on his powers alone and we get that version from time to time. But, that’s not what we get here. We get the jokey Spot going up against Carnage.
The art is without a doubt the best part of this comic as the fight between Carnage and The Spot is pretty cool as Roge Antonio and Dijjo Lima deliver some excellent artwork that brings out the cool and macabre side of Carnage pretty well. Just going on the fight between the two villains alone is evidence of that, especially with how the fight ends and seeing how they get away with it. Readers will know what I mean when they read the comic.
The story doesn’t wholly center on Carnage vs. The Spot and shifts to Detective Jonathan Shayde. Now, Shayde’s portions of the comic feel more like a psychological thriller story as Shayde has to deal with the dark reality that comes with having a minuscule bit of the Carnage symbiote inside you. There are physical side effects obviously, nothing too extreme, but the most challenging aspect is the mental changes that Shayde must contend with.
The story sees him forced to adapt to such changes as a dark influence – familiar to fans – starts to take hold in his mind. By the end, the stories between Carnage, the serial killer Kenneth Neely, and Detective Shayde, all converge by the end. Now, what Carnage plans to do is something that will intrigue Venom fans, especially those who liked Donny Cates’ run, as well as confuse readers. At the very least, we do have an inkling of an idea of what Carnage actually wants to do. So, we’ll see what actually comes of it.
SPOILERS:
Side note, the fight between Carnage and Spot ends with the obvious winner, but Spot isn’t dead. Like Hydro-Man, his body has unique properties, so he’s not dead just in a very, very, very bad state because of Carnage.
Final Thoughts:
Carnage #3 has the crimson alien face off against the supervillain The Spot. The fight between Carnage and the Spot is well illustrated by Rogê Antônio with Dijjo Lima’s colors, as both villains get to show off their stuff in excellent art. It ends with the obvious winner but the story doesn’t stop there as we finally get a glimpse of Carnage’s plan and what we might see explored in the next issue.