—Spider-ManOh no. Not him. Please, anything but him.
Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
- Kenneth Neely
- Jon Shayde (Main story and flashback)
- Spider-Man (Miles Morales)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Fantastic Four (Referenced)
- Dominic (First appearance; dies)
- Kurt Jensen (First appearance; dies)
- Larry (First appearance; dies)
- New York Jets (Mentioned)
- NYPD
- Detective Clyde Polk (Vision or hallucination) (First appearance)
- Detective Booth
- Sergeant Chloe Ahmed (First appearance)
- Kingpin (Wilson Fisk) (Vision or hallucination)
- Catherine Polk (Mentioned)
- God (Invoked)
- Jefferson Davis (Referenced)
- Rio Morales (Referenced)
- Scott Rawson (Referenced) (Deceased)
- Ganke Lee (Referenced)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth
- United States of America
- New York
- New York City
- Manhattan
- Brooklyn Bridge
- East River
- Fifth Avenue (Vision or hallucination)
- Fisk Towers (Vision or hallucination)
- Broadway (Mentioned)
- Long Island
- Brooklyn
- Crown Heights
- Todd's Diner (Destruction)
- Prospect Park (Referenced)
- St. Estes Home for Boys (Destroyed)
- Crown Heights
- Brooklyn
- Manhattan
- Hudson River (Mentioned)
- New York City
- New Jersey (Mentioned)
- New York
- Scotland (Mentioned)
- United States of America
- Hell (Invoked)
Items:
Events:
- Devil's Reign (Mentioned)
- Absolute Carnage (Referenced)
Synopsis for 1st story
At Todd's Diner in Brooklyn, Kenneth Neely watches as Cletus Kasady ravenously devours a plate of pancakes, a stack of empty dishes on the table between them. Cletus tells the server, Dominic, that he ordered a plate of steak and eggs twenty minutes ago, Dominic apologizing and saying he'll see what the holdup is. Kenneth notes that Cletus' metabolism is positively inhuman, Cletus smirking and saying Ken should order something himself. Kenneth notes that he doesn't have any money, Cletus ominously stating that their credit is good. Kenneth wonders if that's because Cletus intends to kill everyone else or because this is another illusion. Finishing the last of the pancakes, Cletus quips that Kenneth is still sore about his little prank, but Kenneth disagrees and says they don't have time for Cletus' games since Carnage is drawing ever closer to its goal. Cletus furiously snaps that the plan Carnage is following was his, as was the goal of usurping the throne of the King in Black. Kenneth apologizes but notes that Cletus seems awfully upset for someone who said he couldn't care less about what Carnage is doing, Cletus sneering that Kenneth's rudeness is what upset him. Turning to Dominic, who's serving some other customers, Cletus loudly and crassly demands to know where his steak and eggs are. Another customer tells Cletus to sit down and be patient, noting he's already eaten enough food to feed the Jets' offensive line. As Cletus seethes, Kenneth interjects and asks the man if he's heard of Cletus Kasady. Confused, the man asks if Kenneth is talking about Carnage. Snapping that he's getting tired of people confusing them, Cletus transforms into his Carnage-ized Symbiote-Armor and snarls that he's the nasty one. As Cletus rips the man apart, Kenneth notes that he's feeling hungry after all and could go for some French toast.
His consciousness dragged into the Symbiote Hive-Mind, Jon Shayde wonders if he's dead only for the Carnage symbiote's voice to reply that he is very much alive, that to be alive is to suffer, and that Jon's suffering has only just begun. Looking up at the apotheosized symbiote's demonic visage, Jon asks what it's doing, and Carnage replies that it's assessing his suitability as its host by making an accounting of his memories. The scenery resolves into an office in Manhattan, the Kingpin sitting at a desk as a younger Jon Shayde and his hot-tempered now-former partner Detective Clyde Polk confront him. Punching Fisk in the face to no effect, Detective Polk shouts insults at the crime lord as the younger Shayde tries to restrain him. As Fisk scoffs at the photographs of four state's witnesses murdered to prevent them from testifying against him, Jon tries to get his partner to leave. As Polk snaps that Fisk can't keep getting away with his sins, the Kingpin smirks and says that Polk should take that vacation his wife Catherine mentioned. Enraged by the threat to his family, Polk draws his gun but Jon wrestles it away before he can pull the trigger, telling his partner they have to trust in the system and that Fisk will get what's coming to him. Quipping that it always liked Fisk's tendency to play with his food, Carnage slips up and reminisces fondly of Cletus for a moment before catching itself. As the memory ends, Carnage mockingly notes that Shayde was proven wrong -- the Kingpin got away with those crimes and more, and for a time was even elected mayor of New York City despite his status as a crime-lord being public knowledge. As it asks what became of Detective Polk, Shayde glumly states he turned to alcohol to cope, was divorced by his wife, and ended up a broken man. Carnage jeers that if Jon hadn't stopped Polk from doing what needed to be done, Fisk's reign of terror would've been ended years ago and countless innocent lives would have been saved. Sneering that it's disappointed in him, Carnage wonders if perhaps he's unworthy of being its host after all.
At Todd's Diner, Dominic hides and watches in terror as Cletus butchers the patrons and other staff. Pulling out his smartphone he tries to dial 911 but fumbles the keypad, Kenneth swiping his phone before he can try again. Wryly apologizing, Kenneth calmly explains that Cletus has been housebound for some time and that the excitement of being out and about has gotten the better of him. As Dominic turns to watch Cletus devouring one of the patrons, Kenneth asks if he'd feel any better knowing Cletus is about to save the universe. Picking up a knife, Kenneth prepares to stab the smartphone, muttering to himself that he's finally figured both Cletus and Carnage out. Cletus swats Kenneth aside with a tendril, calling him a tapeworm and returning Dominic's phone to him, telling him to make the call. As Dominic stammers that Cletus is going to kill him too, Cletus briefly retracts the symbiote-armor's faceplate and says that he's going to let him live a little while longer... and still wants his steak and eggs.
At an NYPD dispatch center, a police officer takes the call, Dominic informing them of Cletus' massacre before noticing tendrils coiling around him and fearfully telling the dispatch officer that he's going to die now too. Outside St. Estes, Detective Booth comments on the gristly discovery inside and asks who called it in, an officer replying it was an anonymous tip from a kid who'll probably be in desperate need of therapy. As dispatch informs them of the hostage situation at the diner, Detective Booth says he'll handle St. Estes while the uniform officers save the day. Tailing after them, Spider-Man laments that he's going to be in a lot of trouble -- having been sidetracked from helping his parents move into their new house by bad guys crawling out of the woodwork, with the icing on the cake being his friend Ganke asking him to look for a missing livestreamer he's a fan of, leading to him finding a creepy ruined orphanage full of corpses. Miles notes that the hostage situation seems minor and that he could just head home to face the music with his parents, but there's always a chance it could be worse than anticipated.
As the NYPD surrounds the diner, Sergeant Chloe Ahmed calls out into the diner to ask if anyone is in need of medical assistance -- and if so to release them into police custody for medical treatment -- and if the hostage-takers have any requests. Cletus replies that he only has one -- catch -- and throws the mutilated corpse of one of his victims hard enough into Sergeant Ahmed's cruiser to pancake it. Arriving on the scene, Miles is horrified to recognize Carnage's handiwork, "CARNAGE RULES" carved into the victim's flesh. Looking out the window, Kenneth grimly notes that the NYPD never sent this many cars after him, and that they'll need an exit strategy since unlike Cletus he isn't bulletproof. As Kenneth admits Cletus certainly delivered on his promise of a spectacle, the new and improved Extreme Carnage says that the show is just getting started.
Solicit Synopsis
CLETUS KASADY IS BACK IN A BLOODY NEW VISION OF CARNAGE!
Spurned by its longtime host, the Carnage symbiote has undertaken a quest to push the boundaries of itself and its understanding further than ever before. But as seen in the visceral pages of CARNAGE #10, CLETUS KASADY himself hasn't been sitting idly by either. Bound to an all-new type of symbiote, the EXTREMBIOTE, Cletus has a whole new array of deadly abilities – that he's eager to put to a bloody and brutal test!