Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
- FBI
- Toxin (Eddie Brock)
- Special Agent Claire Dixon
- Agent Hanks (Mentioned)
- Agent Wilkes (Mentioned)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Carnage (Cletus Kasady)
- Barry Gleason
- Darkholders (Merge with the Carnage Symbiote)
Other Characters:
- U.S. Air Force
- NYPD (Mentioned)
- Patrick Mulligan (Mentioned)
- Ancients (Mentioned)
- Chthon (Mentioned)
- Morgan le Fay (Mentioned)
- King Arthur (Mentioned)
- Merlin (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- West Virginia
- Grey Ridge Mine
- Chthonic Temple (First full appearance)
- Grey Ridge Mine
Items:
- Carnage Symbiote
- Darkhold
- Venom Symbiote (Mentioned)
- Toxin Symbiote
Vehicles:
Synopsis for 1st story
Trapped beneath the cave in, Manuela awakens next to John Jameson to hear Eddie Brock calling out to her. Eddie tells her that Dixon's alive but that the other agents didn't make it and that he was badly injured. Manuela tells him that she and Jameson are still alive, though he's unconscious. Eddie tells her that he saw her go after the symbiote activator and asks if she caught it.
Elsewhere, Carnage marvels at the Darkhold Cult's temple, while Barry Gleason tells him that his mining operation broke through the year before pursuing a coal seam. Gleason says he "rewarded" the worker who discovered the temple, before the lead cultist interjects and says that Gleason brought some artifacts from the temple to an expert, who in turn introduced them to each other. Carnage ponders this for a moment before threatening to massacre the group unless they give him a good reason as to why they tricked him and brought him to the temple. The lead cultist informs Carnage about a prophecy written in the Darkhold: "When the Red Slayer spills blood on sacred stone, he who sleeps shall wake and what walked once will walk again."
Eddie continues to ask Manuela if she caught the activator, and she eventually replies that she caught it. Eddie tells her the only way out of the situation they're in is to unleash Toxin, that the FBI injected him with a chemical designed to inhibit symbiotes, and that the activator releases an antidote. Manuela asks if freeing Toxin is what Agent Dixon would want, stating that she saw Carnage go down in the cave in, and that with him dead there's no reason to unleash another symbiotic monster when they just lost an entire FBI squad to one. Eddie admits that he understands that Agent Dixon doesn't trust him due to his actions as Venom, and that even before coming across the symbiote he wasn't the nicest person.
Eddie states that while Venom made him a monster, his relationship to Toxin is different, possibly because its previous host was a cop or because he had a chance to live without being bonded to a symbiote, and that he is the one in control. Manuela doesn't believe him, but Eddie says regardless of whether she trusts him or not, there's still the possibility that Carnage is still alive. Manuela reluctantly uses the activator, and Eddie cries out in jubilation. As she wonders what's going on, tentacles rip through the debris covering her and lift her and Jameson to safety, revealing Toxin with a new look similar to Agent Venom's.
Toxin informs her that she made a bet trusting him and now she gets to collect. Manuela sees Agent Dixon sitting against a boulder and tells her she needs a medic, but Dixon says she's fine before asking how Jameson is. Toxin reports that Jameson is better than he should be, but still unconscious. When Manuela insists on taking her to a medic, Dixon says the only way out of the mine is to head deeper, stating she saw Gleason leading Carnage further. Toxin reveals that the symbiote is in control, carrying them with tentacles and stating that they knew all along it would come down to a battle between him and Carnage.
In the Darkhold Cult's temple, the head priest shows Carnage the Darkhold and tells him about the Elder Gods, and how the greatest of these entities was Chthon, who was thought to be destroyed but merely slumbers. Carnage remarks he once read a book that changed his life, and the head priest says the Darkhold will change the world. Outside the temple, Jameson regains consciousness and wonders what happened, and Toxin informs him that he turned into Man-Wolf again, to Jameson's horror. Dixon interrupts, saying their mission is still to capture or kill Carnage.
Inside the temple, the head priest informs Carnage that he is the one who will awaken Chthon, and Carnage asks why they're so certain he's the Red Slayer they prophesied. The high priest shows Carnage an illustration of himself on one of the pages, and Carnage asks what he stands to gain by waking up Chthon. The head priest replies immortality, and Carnage asks who they want him to kill, remarking that Gleason looks expendable. The head priest replies that Carnage misunderstands, that his name will live on forever, but that his blood must be spilled and sanctified.
The cultists draw daggers and attack Carnage, spilling his blood onto the Darkhold. As the head priest chants to resurrect Chthon, the blood erupts into a flurry of tendrils, enveloping the cultists, and Carnage sneers that his blood isn't just blood anymore. Surrounded by an army of duplicates, Carnage remarks that the Darkhold reacted with his blood, granting him its power. As the Carnage-possessed cultists attack the head priest, the remnants of the FBI task force arrive at the door of the temple. Hearing screams, Toxin laments that the party started without him, opening the door only to be confronted by Carnage and an army of copies.
Solicit Synopsis
• The most spine-chilling comic of the All-New, All-Different Marvel line marches on!
• Carnage is still loose in an abandoned mine, and if that’s not bad enough, all isn’t as it seems!
• And TOXIN arrives for a symbiotic smackdown!
Trivia
- The summary on the inside of the cover misspells Carnage's name as "Carange".
See Also
- Write your own review of this comic!
- Discuss Carnage Vol 2 4 on the forums
- Images from Carnage Vol 2 4
Footnotes
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