Appearing in "Symbiosis Necrosis (Part 1): Like Father, Like Son"
Featured Characters:
- Venom (Dylan Brock) (Loses the Venom symbiote) (Death)
Supporting Characters:
- Venom Symbiote (Main story and recap)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Jack Jr. (First appearance; dies)
- Jack Sr. (Mentioned) (Deceased)
- Jack's Mother (First appearance)
- Mr. Gunderson (First appearance; dies)
- Dylan's Coworker (First appearance; dies)
- Mrs. Mitchell (First appearance)
- Roscoe Kasady (Mentioned)
- Louise Kasady (Mentioned)
- She-Venom (Anne Weying) (Only in recap)
- King in Black / Venom (Eddie Brock) (Only in recap)
- Eventuality (Eddie Brock)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth-616
- Manhattan
- Unnamed warehouse (Destruction)
- Our Lady of Saints Church
- Manhattan
- Symbiote Hive-Mind
- Heaven (Referenced)
Synopsis for "Symbiosis Necrosis (Part 1): Like Father, Like Son"
NYPD officer Jack Jr., the spitting image of his late father,[Continuity 1] bids his mother farewell as he exits their brownstone apartment to go on patrol. As he walks down the street, a red-haired man wearing a brown trench coat remarks that he looks just like his father did. Confused, Jack asks if he knows the man, who says that it's just a memory he inherited from his own "father" before calling Jack his burning bush. Confused, Jack asks if he can help the man with anything, and the man--Cletus Kasady--grins and says that he can die.
Later, at a warehouse, Dylan Brock sits through a job interview as his prospective boss, Mr. Gunderson, raises an eyebrow at the young teenager claiming to be twenty-one on his application. Trying to ignore the Venom symbiote's mental voice ranting that they should throw the manager out the window and eat his brains, Dylan says that he's stronger than he looks and that all he wants is a chance to prove himself. Mr. Gunderson remarks that he can give Dylan a trial run but doesn't want to go through the effort of filling out all the paper work if it doesn't work out, asking if Dylan can work nights. Dylan says he can work any time, and twenty-seven minutes later is stacking heavy boxes onto shelves as the Venom symbiote whines about how boring this is. As one of his coworkers comments that he's stronger than he looks, Dylan's phone goes off and he sees a text message from an unknown caller asking where Eddie is and saying he has fifteen seconds to reply. Dylan's coworker opens the door to back of the warehouse only to recoil in horror before being speared through the head by a projectile of symbiote biomass. Dylan rushes to the back room to see everyone at the warehouse has been butchered, his school backpack sitting on the ground. Alarmed that someone's broken into their apartment, Dylan transforms into Venom and opens it to find a bomb counting down from fifteen seconds. Deducing that Carnage is responsible, Venom tosses the backpack away and runs outside, sprouting symbiote-dragon wings and taking off as the warehouse explodes. Confused and distraught, Dylan wonders how Carnage could have killed everyone without them noticing given they were in the next room, but the Venom symbiote doesn't have any answers. Landing on the roof of the brownstone apartment where they've been living, Venom notes that someone is inside and Dylan wonders if it's Carnage. Assuring Dylan that it isn't, the Venom symbiote tells Dylan that it needs to deal with Carnage by itself and that Eddie wouldn't want it to involve him, but Dylan refuses to separate from it--snapping that Eddie isn't there.
Venom finds the landlady Mrs. Mitchell taped to the door of the rooftop access stairwell. Assuring her that she's safe, Venom asks what happened and Mrs. Mitchell replies that a handsome young man came to the apartment looking for a man named Eddie, so she let him inside. Entering their apartment, Venom finds the corpse of Jack Jr. suspended from the ceiling, a recording playing "Innocent death is always unpleasant. But nothing must stand in our way. Nothing must block our righteous vengeance." on repeat. Confused, Dylan notes that innocent death doesn't sound like Carnage, but the Venom symbiote grimly replies that those are its and Eddie's words from their first tenure as Venom. Deducing where Carnage is, Venom travels to Our Lady of Saints Church, the place where the symbiote first met Eddie. As they approach the door, the Venom symbiote reluctantly tells Dylan that when it first met Eddie they were both in a dark place, and that between his misery and its predatory instincts they did some horrible things before finding new purpose as an antihero; Dylan noting that he already knows this.
As Venom opens the door, Cletus Kasady asks to speak to Dylan, but the Venom symbiote refuses until Dylan tells it to do so. As the symbiote retracts from his face, Cletus -- sitting on a table at the front of the church, notes that he thought Eddie would've come running to save his son. Passing pews full of corpses, Dylan bitterly retorts that he didn't; Cletus comparing Eddie to his own father, Roscoe.[Continuity 2] Commenting that there comes a time when every child discovers their parents are just people, Cletus sneers that his father was an abusive half-wit who couldn't even get away with murder. As Cletus demands to know where Eddie is, Dylan angrily retorts that he doesn't know; Cletus suggesting he use whatever bond remains between the Venom symbiote and Eddie to contact him. Dylan demands to know what Carnage wants, Cletus smirking as he says that he's a god of simple desires and that all he wants to do is kill, and that Dylan should know all about how fun it is to take a life. Dylan retorts that he doesn't kill, but Cletus chidingly says that the Venom symbiote has and that if they're truly bonded he can look into its memories to find out. Emerging and engulfing Dylan, the Venom symbiote grimly remarks that Cletus is right, Cletus mocking it for hiding the worst of its blood-soaked past from its latest host. Up above, a man hanging from the church bell struggles as the noose around his neck throttles him, the bell ringing as he thrashes to escape. Spotting the man, Venom leaps into action and saves him despite the sound of the tolling bell being excruciating for the symbiote. Quoting John Donne's famous "No man is an island" sermon, Cletus transforms into Carnage and slashes Venom from behind, wondering if Eddie will come to save Dylan if he bleeds, and mockingly asking who is going to save Dylan from the Venom symbiote. Asking why the Venom symbiote is lying to Dylan, Carnage wonders if it's because it's afraid he'll reject it like Eddie had done,[Continuity 3] or because it's afraid it will corrupt him like it did the rest of his family. Carnage mockingly asks the Venom symbiote if Eddie would've become a killer without it, and gleefully remarks that Anne Weying would still be alive if its bloodlust hadn't driven her insane. Enraged, Venom lunges at Carnage, who grabs onto them and melds their symbiotes together. Rifling through the Venom symbiote's memories, Carnage revels in making Dylan relive its worst acts while bonded to Anne Weying, Eddie Brock, and its other hosts. Disgusted and hurt, Dylan doesn't resist as Carnage tears him from the Venom symbiote and tosses it aside. Holding Dylan by the head, Carnage notes that he really doesn't know where Eddie is, sneering that Eddie abandoned him with nothing. As the Venom symbiote calls out to Dylan, Carnage states that he usually kills for pleasure but that murdering Dylan will be a mercy killing. As Carnage impales Dylan through the heart, the Venom symbiote lets out a scream of anguish and grief.
Instead of being lifted into Heaven as he dies, Dylan finds himself sinking into the depths of the Symbiote Hive-Mind until he arrives at the Un-Beyond, where he is greeted by the Eventuality, who says it took him long enough.
Solicit Synopsis
NEW VENOM/CARNAGE CROSSOVER BEGINS HERE!
CARNAGE IS BACK! Born anew in symbiote goo and blood, Cletus Kasady is more dangerous and violent than ever before – and he has his sights dead set on the unsuspecting VENOM! Untested against the might of his symbiotic sibling without his father by his side, will Dylan Brock be able to hold the sadistic serial killer at bay? Or will Carnage live up to its namesake and leave another brutalized symbiote host in its wake?!Notes
Continuity Notes[]
- ↑ Jack Jr. is revealed to be the son of the NYPD officer who Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote killed in Amazing Spider-Man #300.
- ↑ Cletus tells Dylan that Roscoe murdered his mother Louise when she intervened attempting to save him from being beaten, referencing the version of events relayed in Carnage (Vol. 2) #12; but that Roscoe lied and claimed that Cletus had set him up, referencing the version of events relayed in Venom: Carnage Unleashed #1.
- ↑ During his tenure as Venom, Eddie Brock had rejected the symbiote over its bloodlust and corruptive influence on several occasions, including Amazing Spider-Man Super Special #1, Venom: The Hunger #1, Peter Parker: Spider-Man #9, Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #1, Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #6, and Venom (Vol. 4) #12.
