Carnage's minions. His doppelgängers. They aren't mindless. These are hosts within the symbiotes. But they are cruel and vicious and vile. They surrender themselves willingly to the urges of their master. They are complicit. We are not like them. We are more than host-flesh and symbiote. 
Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Mania (Andi Benton) (Main story and as Mania in recap)
- Scream Symbiote (Temporarily freed from Carnage's control)
Antagonists:
- Cult of Knull (Main story and recap)
- Carnage's Hive
- Carnage (Cletus Kasady) (Main story and recap)
- Carnage doppelgängers (Controlled by Carnage) (Main story and recap)
- Carnage's Hive
Other Characters:
- Scream (Donna Diego) (Mentioned) (Deceased)
- God (Knull) (Only in recap)
- Agent Venom (Flash Thompson) (Only in recap)
- Sarah (Andi's aunt) (Corpse in recap)
- Venom (Eddie Brock) (Only in recap)
- James Howlett (Earth-616)
- Steven Rogers (Earth-616)
- Thor Odinson (Earth-616)
- Numerous unnamed New Yorkers
- God (Yahweh) (Invoked)
Races and Species:
- Humans (Main story and recap)
- Symbiotes (Main story and recap)
- Alien Gods (Only in recap)
- Mutants (Only in recap)
- Asgardians (Only in recap)
Locations:
- Prime Marvel Universe (Main story and recap)
- Earth (Main story and recap)
- United States of America (Main story and recap)
- New York
- Pennsylvania (Only in recap)
- Philadelphia (Only in recap)
- Jenkintown (Only in recap)
- Sarah's house (Only in recap)
- Jenkintown (Only in recap)
- Philadelphia (Only in recap)
- Colorado (Only in recap)
- Doverton (Only in recap)
- United States of America (Main story and recap)
- Hell (Invoked)
- Earth (Main story and recap)
- Earth-14412 (Only in recap)
- The World of the Godbomb (Only in recap)
Items:
- Dark Carnage Symbiote (Main story and recap)
- Hellfire
- Hell-Mark (Main story and recap)
- Venom Symbiote (Only in recap)
- Mania Symbiote (Only in recap)
- Knull's Armor (Only in recap)
- Wolverine's Suit (Only in recap)
- Captain America's Uniform and Shield (Only in recap)
- Mjolnir (Only in recap)
- All-Black the Necrosword (Only in recap)
Synopsis for 1st story
Staring down Andi Benton, Patricia Robertson - bonded to the Scream symbiote and in the thrall of Knull - declares her intent to kill the one who stole her former symbiote. Dark Carnage commands Scream to bring Andi to him so that he can claim them both. Begrudgingly, Scream obeys -- the symbiote noting that its host wanted revenge on Andi but that they owe their master a tithe... though that doesn't mean they can't enjoy themselves maiming her first. As Scream and the Carnage doppelgängers accompanying her lunge with their fangs and claws bared, Andi blasts them with hellfire. Scream recoils, protesting that she can't fight Andi, but Dark Carnage commands her to obey. Roaring that she wants what's hers, Scream attacks Andi with her tendril-hair, Andi scrambling away and shouting that Carnage is just using Scream and will kill her too. Scream snares Andi with tendrils, but Andi sets them ablaze. Grabbing Andi, Scream snarls that she was dead before Knull resurrected her, and that resurrection has a price. Abruptly letting go of Andi, Scream clutches her head as Patricia fights against the dark god's control, ripping the spiral off her face and throwing it against a wall.
Her face exposed, Patricia tells Andi she didn't want this, but is taken over by the Scream symbiote again. Andi asks if Scream is going to try to kill her again, Patricia noting that while she'd researched Andi they'd never met in person before. Scream states that she was forced to attack Andi by the spiral emblem still attached to the chunk of symbiote oozing down the wall. Andi incinerates the spiral with hellfire, Scream warning Andi that it might reappear and take over her again. Andi retorts that Scream will have to fight its influence off or else she'll immolate her. Scream asks why this is happening, and Andi explains that Cletus Kasady is back and sees himself as the prophet to some kind of evil god and is sacrificing everyone who's ever bonded to a symbiote to said god. Andi laments that she came to New York to help stop him, but that it might be too late. Scream bitterly remarks that she's just another one of the monsters that Dark Carnage has unleashed on the city, Andi remarking that her fighting off his control once has to count for something, adding that she's no stranger to fighting off dark impulses. Agreeing to help fight Dark Carnage, Scream coils tendrils around Andi - who demands to be let go. Scream advises her to rethink that as she uses her hair to maneuver between skyscrapers, landing on the roof of an apartment and depositing Andi behind her. As Scream crouches and wonders what to do about Andi, Andi indignantly snaps at her to never do that again. Turning to look at her, Scream wonders if just keeping Andi away from Carnage would be enough, but is interrupted by screaming from the street below.
Spotting civilians about to be devoured by a horde of Carnage doppelgängers, Scream decides to take the fight to Carnage and leaps down into their midst, slashing one of the Carnage doppelgängers with her hair-tendrils. She urges the Carnage doppelgänger's host to resist Carnage's control like she did, but it attacks her. As Scream lashes out with her claws and tendril-hair, she laments that the Carnage doppelgängers' hosts are vicious and cruel criminals who are complicit in Dark Carnage's plot, but that she is not like them. As Andi lands beside Scream and sets the Carnage doppelgängers ablaze with hellfire, Scream scolds her for not listening when she was told to stay put. Andi retorts that she's always had issues with authority figures telling her what to do, and that this is her fight too. Their bickering is interrupted by the civilians they rescued panicking, and Andi tries to calm them down. Suddenly manifesting Knull's spiral again, Scream tells Andi to run for her life before she loses control. Andi urges Scream to resist it like she did earlier, but Scream snarls that Dark Carnage's influence is too strong. Landing before them, Carnage transforms his arms into blades and asks if he is interrupting something, Scream and Andi turning to fight him side-by-side as the Scream symbiote notes that Dark Carnage must be stopped and Andi Benton must survive.
Solicit Synopsis
• Patricia Robertson may know symbiotes… but nothing could have ever prepared her for their god, KNULL!
• With Carnage building strength to call the symbiote god to Earth, Patricia must harness the power of the Scream symbiote!
• Can Scream withstand the draw of Knull, or are they doomed to be another casualty?Notes
- Captain America is incorrectly shown with a version of Venom's spider-emblem while bonded to the Carnage symbiote in a recap.
- Dark Carnage is incorrectly illustrated with a version of Venom's spider-emblem, as his chest-emblem is supposed to be a white version of Knull's dragon.[1]
Trivia
- The Carnage seen at the end of the issue was originally drawn by Gerardo Sandoval as being Cletus Kasady as Dark Carnage, but this was changed to Norman Osborn as Carnage; however, the top of Dark Carnage's chest emblem can still be seen colored in black.[2]
See Also
Links and References
References
- ↑ Griffin Sheridan, Ryan Stegman (31 August 2019) ABSCARN BOIZ! w/Donny Cates: "Absolute Carnage" #1- Chapter One Director’s Commentary PodBean. Retrieved on 1 September 2019.
- ↑ Sandoval, Gerardo (10 September 2019) Gerardo Sandoval on Twitter: "@Bizarnage I will upload that original art image later. :)" Twitter. Retrieved on 10 September 2019.