AXIS #8: Explosive Carnage

If you have been paying attention to the current Marvel event, AXIS, then you would know it has been filled with ups and downs of characters and inversions of villains you would have never expected to see turn face. Carnage recently became one of these new "heroes" and his witty comments and actions have lead him down the path of what most of us Venomaniacs love to see as a new form of the Lethal Protector. The vibe that Cletus gives puts us back into the '90s nostalgia that the limited series with Eddie running around in San Francisco made us grow to love. In my opinion, I hope they keep this inversion for Cletus for a while and we could possibly see a Venom and Carnage team up once again, or even better: a Toxin and Carnage team up.

Page from Axis #8

After considering the events in AXIS #8, I have become worried about the future of our friendly neighborhood Carnage-man. In the comic, Carnage sacrifices his life for Peter Parker—who saw this coming?—by smothering a bomb that would have caused much harm and devastation. It looks like it is the end of Cletus after the panel as Spider-Man only makes one or two comments about the incident. On the cover of the upcoming AXIS #9, we see Carnage once again which leads me to believe he somehow survived the blast. With his new, stronger healing powers, it feels as though Carnage would be one hard foe to take out. After surviving being ripped in half and thrown into space and returning, to becoming lobotomized, and even dying, the symbiote keeps re-emerging and bringing Cletus back to life.

One can only hope that this isn't the end for our symbiotic maniac. The death of Cletus would go on to hurt a lot of our fans, but with the switching of characters as of late with Wolverine, Captain America, and Thor, it wouldn't be a surprise to see a dramatic change of character in a symbiote as well.

Check out AXIS #9 next Wednesday to find out the fate of the friendly neighborhood Carnage-man.