Warning: SPOILERS for Absolute Carnage #3
Today is the day, Avengers fans: Marvel has just transformed Hulk into the newest Venom. Donny Cates’ Absolute Carnage miniseries is already proving to be one of the darkest, most thrilling events in recent years. Bringing the famous supervillain Carnage back to Earth as a servant of the dark symbiote god, Knull, the psychopath is attempting to awaken his master… and slaughtering hundreds to make it happen.
The Marvel heroes have learned that symbiotes leave microscopic pieces of genetic material, called “codices,” in the bodies of their hosts. Carnage needs to slaughter everyone who’s ever worn a symbiote, which means many of Marvel’s greatest superheroes are in Carnage’s line of fire. Realizing this is a problem only smarts can solve, Bruce Banner has been recruited to help extract the codices without killing the likes of Captain America, Wolverine, and the Thing.
Unfortunately, in Absolute Carnage #3 the plan goes badly wrong when Carnage himself infiltrates the Avengers’ base. With most of the heroes anesthetized, only Venom and Spider-Man are left to take on Carnage - and the Venom symbiote is getting tired of Eddie Brock’s restraint. As a result, it takes on a new host, Bruce Banner. An unimpressed Carnage attempts to kill Banner, completely unaware who this really is - but he learns the truth the hard way.
The result is undeniably the most powerful symbiote warrior there has ever been, with the Venom symbiote and the Hulk persona united in their desire to beat Carnage. The current Immortal Hulk series has been stressing the Hulk’s ever-growing strength and power, and he’s proving to be literally impossible to kill. Carnage may have assembled an army of symbiotes under his control, but suddenly he’s dealing with a threat that outstrips anything he’s faced before. The last time Carnage took on a powerhouse on this scale, the Sentry took him into space and tore him in two; it will be thrilling to see how the Hulk deals with the sociopath.
It’s unclear how stable the bond is between the Venom symbiote and its new host, the Hulk. The Hulk is driven by rage, and as a result it’s quite possible his mind will rebel at being unwillingly united with the symbiote. That could mean the Hulk and the symbiote wind up at war with one another, proving once and for all whether the force of the Hulk’s mind is remotely equal to the unlimited strength of his Gamma-irradiated body.
- ABSOLUTE CARNAGE #3 Written by: Donny Cates Art by: Ryan Stegman Cover Art by: Ryan Stegman THE SUMMER OF SLAUGHTER CONTINUES! After the harrowing events at the end of ABSOLUTE CARNAGE #2, Venom and Spider-Man have to deal with the hard truth that not everybody will make it out of this conflict in one piece… if they make it out at all, that is. As Carnage continues to amass strength and allies, Venom and Spider-Man realize that the only way to beat him is to do the same…
Absolute Carnage #3 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
More: Carnage Claims Mary Jane in SPIDER-MAN Comic Cover
