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Carnage U.S.A. #1-5
Carnage U.S.A.
Collects Carnage USA #1-5. Carnage's maniacal reign of terror continues! The Avengers must go on a brutal hunt to capture Cletus Kasady before a small town in the American heartland falls under his mass-murdering spell! But when Carnage defeats the Avengers, only Spider-Man remains. Can he stop him?
106 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 27, 2012
110 people are currently reading
291 people want to read
About the author
Zeb Wells
708 books72 followersZeb Wells is an American comic book writer known for his work at Marvel Comics, as well as his work on the animated TV series Robot Chicken.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
February 23, 2022
This was a fun read!
Carnage has taken the town of Doverton hostage and well he targets everyone and transforms the entire populace to carnage parts and well Avengers on the scene but most of them under his control except his mortal enemy: Spider-man! He teams up with townspeople to knock down this monstrosity and then also comes Scorn and other military symbiotes and in one final push they fight the biggest battle vs Carnage and will they be able to rescue the people of the town but at what cost? Plus Agent Venom and the shocking ending and a bloody one at that.
Such a great story and omg its dark like wow particularly some scenes that got even Spider-man to shut his mouth which was rare but wow. Just great stuff. I am not a big fan of the art as it was unclear most of the times but the fight scenes were great particularly of Carnage wreaking havoc or Spider-man or Venom fighting him. One of the best Carnage stories!
Carnage has taken the town of Doverton hostage and well he targets everyone and transforms the entire populace to carnage parts and well Avengers on the scene but most of them under his control except his mortal enemy: Spider-man! He teams up with townspeople to knock down this monstrosity and then also comes Scorn and other military symbiotes and in one final push they fight the biggest battle vs Carnage and will they be able to rescue the people of the town but at what cost? Plus Agent Venom and the shocking ending and a bloody one at that.
Such a great story and omg its dark like wow particularly some scenes that got even Spider-man to shut his mouth which was rare but wow. Just great stuff. I am not a big fan of the art as it was unclear most of the times but the fight scenes were great particularly of Carnage wreaking havoc or Spider-man or Venom fighting him. One of the best Carnage stories!
June 22, 2020
So this deep into a catch up on all things Carnage (since the zany 90’s, yo), somehow I still missed the debuts of at least two of the symbiotes that the US government have ready to bring down Carnage in his campaign to take over some shitstain Colorado town...wait, so there’s Venom, Toxin (who I just learned about in Venom vs Carnage), Hybrid?, Scorn (I maybe saw her a few trades back) and Anti-Venom (I could swear I saw in Slott’s ASM run but I am now officially lost, so this one counts as new to my sieve of a brain).
Oh wait there’s more: Special Forces with non-bonded symbiotes named Lasher, Agony, Phage, Riot. Completely unnecessary to the plot or to the victory it seems. Feels like me at work some days.
Carnage plays an entire town like marionettes, kills surprisingly few of them, and gets to play Avengers when he takes over Thing, Hawkeye, Cap and Wolverine (would that make a cool boy band? I think so)
Coolest part of the book was Scorn, whose symbiote...oh man, the explanation was pretty weak but basically she gets to play with tech and reformulate it because her symbiote somehow adapted the power to. It’s cool, even if more ridiculous than usual. Reminds me of The Engineer from The Authority.
This book is probably a complete miss for those of us catching up ahead of Absolute Carnage, but a pretty looking diversion along the way. Like popcorn, or a one-night fling with another pretty, oh so pretty human.
Oh wait there’s more: Special Forces with non-bonded symbiotes named Lasher, Agony, Phage, Riot. Completely unnecessary to the plot or to the victory it seems. Feels like me at work some days.
Carnage plays an entire town like marionettes, kills surprisingly few of them, and gets to play Avengers when he takes over Thing, Hawkeye, Cap and Wolverine (would that make a cool boy band? I think so)
Coolest part of the book was Scorn, whose symbiote...oh man, the explanation was pretty weak but basically she gets to play with tech and reformulate it because her symbiote somehow adapted the power to. It’s cool, even if more ridiculous than usual. Reminds me of The Engineer from The Authority.
This book is probably a complete miss for those of us catching up ahead of Absolute Carnage, but a pretty looking diversion along the way. Like popcorn, or a one-night fling with another pretty, oh so pretty human.
December 1, 2012
Serial killer Cletus Kasady is the host of the evil symbiote Carnage and together the two set up shop in a small mid-western American town and wreak havoc. Enter Spidey and the Avengers!
“Carnage USA” had a lot of good moments. Zeb Wells is a former writer of the animated comedy TV series “Robot Chicken” and it shows in the early scenes where he has Hawkeye become very tired of the Thing’s catchphrases. Thing: “It’s clobberin’ time!” Hawkeye (rubbing temples, sotto voce): “Of course it is...”. Marvel continues to show that they are the most equal opportunity storyteller in mainstream comics by ending the book in a fight between two double amputees. It’s pretty brilliant and far more interesting than having two super-powered muscle-men punching each other. Oh and the Venom gorilla - nice.
I disliked the stasis of the book. It remains in this one small town where Carnage takes it over and sits around waiting for the Avengers to show. It’s not clear what his goals are and the book felt a bit contrived. I mean, he wants to have a family?! What the... Also, I don’t know much about Carnage or the other symbiotes in Marvel besides Venom but there seem to be quite a few of them and in “Carnage USA” they all come out to play. And they all seem to have limitless powers which make them a bit boring.
Clayton Crain’s artwork is fantastic. This is a guy who does incredible work with all these gloopy symbiotes meshing and merging with various people while slithering across surfaces, looking like liquid tar with the ability to morph into frightening grotesques. As most of the story takes place at night, the book has a darker palette giving it a horror vibe rather than the brightly coloured adventures usually seen in superhero comics. Crain’s art was very impressive and definitely elevated the story dramatically. And the covers are particularly brilliant with Carnage in various classic American images like the Uncle Sam poster or posing in 18th century clothes setting foot on the new land from a boat.
While the story is fairly insubstantial, I still thought it was an enjoyable and interesting foray into a dark corner of the Marvel Universe with some fun and imaginative scenes and excellent art throughout. “Carnage USA” is a solid and entertaining book.
“Carnage USA” had a lot of good moments. Zeb Wells is a former writer of the animated comedy TV series “Robot Chicken” and it shows in the early scenes where he has Hawkeye become very tired of the Thing’s catchphrases. Thing: “It’s clobberin’ time!” Hawkeye (rubbing temples, sotto voce): “Of course it is...”. Marvel continues to show that they are the most equal opportunity storyteller in mainstream comics by ending the book in a fight between two double amputees. It’s pretty brilliant and far more interesting than having two super-powered muscle-men punching each other. Oh and the Venom gorilla - nice.
I disliked the stasis of the book. It remains in this one small town where Carnage takes it over and sits around waiting for the Avengers to show. It’s not clear what his goals are and the book felt a bit contrived. I mean, he wants to have a family?! What the... Also, I don’t know much about Carnage or the other symbiotes in Marvel besides Venom but there seem to be quite a few of them and in “Carnage USA” they all come out to play. And they all seem to have limitless powers which make them a bit boring.
Clayton Crain’s artwork is fantastic. This is a guy who does incredible work with all these gloopy symbiotes meshing and merging with various people while slithering across surfaces, looking like liquid tar with the ability to morph into frightening grotesques. As most of the story takes place at night, the book has a darker palette giving it a horror vibe rather than the brightly coloured adventures usually seen in superhero comics. Crain’s art was very impressive and definitely elevated the story dramatically. And the covers are particularly brilliant with Carnage in various classic American images like the Uncle Sam poster or posing in 18th century clothes setting foot on the new land from a boat.
While the story is fairly insubstantial, I still thought it was an enjoyable and interesting foray into a dark corner of the Marvel Universe with some fun and imaginative scenes and excellent art throughout. “Carnage USA” is a solid and entertaining book.
May 20, 2020
3.75 stars. This was pretty dope. Carnage has popped back up and has to decided to take over this entire small town. A small group of Avengers is sent to the area. Things go from bad to worse as the team is over run and taken over by Carnage. Only Spider-Man escapes. This gives him time to regroup and for the military to send their back up plan. This was a very fast pace quick read which is really it’s only downfall. Clayton Crains art perfectly fits this dark tale and I wish this could have been just a few issue longer. Maybe like an 8 issue mini series to really dig in and raise the stakes a little higher. But even as it stands, this was pretty good and worth checking out.
June 6, 2016
What is up with enjoying all these Carnage stories as of late? First Axis and now U.S.A.? Maybe I should read more.
This little town is quickly taken over by Carnage. Cassidy is a piece of shit seriel killer and he has no problem using people as his weapons. A team is sent to take him in including Spider-man, The Thing, Cap, and Hawkeye. Sadly that doesn't work out too well and Carnage soon has control of most of our heroes.
The story plays out like a horror thriller in a lot of ways and I guess I just really dug it. I also love the part when a certain friend of Peter's comes in to save the day. Their fight is pretty epic way to conclude it all.
Yes, it's a bit too fast paced and things could have been better detailed, give more of a edge, but as it is I enjoyed the story quite a bit. 3.5-4. Check it out!
This little town is quickly taken over by Carnage. Cassidy is a piece of shit seriel killer and he has no problem using people as his weapons. A team is sent to take him in including Spider-man, The Thing, Cap, and Hawkeye. Sadly that doesn't work out too well and Carnage soon has control of most of our heroes.
The story plays out like a horror thriller in a lot of ways and I guess I just really dug it. I also love the part when a certain friend of Peter's comes in to save the day. Their fight is pretty epic way to conclude it all.
Yes, it's a bit too fast paced and things could have been better detailed, give more of a edge, but as it is I enjoyed the story quite a bit. 3.5-4. Check it out!
May 13, 2023
This was better than the other Zeb Wells Carnage story, but it still had issues with the dialogue and pacing. Seems to be a theme for Zeb Wells since I’ve also had this problem when reading any ASM issues written by him.
My biggest problem with this was the hype of bringing in Agent Venom only for him to barely do anything. He shows up has a short fight then it gets interrupted and has another small fight. It was all so rushed.
My biggest problem with this was the hype of bringing in Agent Venom only for him to barely do anything. He shows up has a short fight then it gets interrupted and has another small fight. It was all so rushed.
June 11, 2018
If I am being honest then I will admit that when it comes to the Spider-Man universe I am completely oblivious. I know who is Spiderman thanks to the films and cartoon shows I grew up watching as a child but now that they are making a
Venom
film with Tom Hardy (epic Man-Candy) I want to broaden my knowledge of Peter Parker's world especially in reference to Venom and the other symbiotes. Even a newbie like me was thoroughly entertained by this graphic novel and definitely check out Sam Quixote's review who is the sole reason why I checked out this graphic novel from my local library!
The symbiote known as "Carnage" is the epitome of evil and it is not shocking that the man who possesses the symbiote is a serial killer named Cletus Kasady. Spiderman thought that he had destroyed Carnage (which is partly correct) except due to some engineering and maneuvering Carnage survived and now wants revenge. So why not take matters into your own hands and go on a killing spree in Doverton, Colorado. Carnage has attached himself to the local civilians making them now as its minions and what he considers now one big happy family.
Spiderman, Captain America, Wolverine, The Thing, and Hawkeye come flying in to save the day and Carnage is quick to think two steps ahead and wraps his symbiote unto all of them with only Spiderman as the only escapee. Now Spiderman and a crew of other symbiote need to work together before sunrise in order to save the small town from being burned down to the ground. What I really loved and I wished other comics could follow suit is every time the reader is introduced to a certain super hero, you get their name printed in bold letters so you know who they are. Sometimes whenever I read a Marvel comic, some character will make a special appearance and for the life of me I am lost s to who they are and why they are important. I know all these superheroes by heart but still it was refreshing to see their name written in the background.
I still do not know exactly what it is whether it be the ending or during the key elements of this graphic novel where I felt like Zeb Wells could have gone the extra mile to blow this graphic novel out of the water and instead went a different route that sizzled and became anti-climatic. The illustration and the artwork for this graphic novel is incredible and Clayton Crain deserves a round of applause. Overall I think this story is completely different from the typical Marvel comics I have discovered and having that dark aspect was intriguing and look forward to discovering more about these symbiotes.
The symbiote known as "Carnage" is the epitome of evil and it is not shocking that the man who possesses the symbiote is a serial killer named Cletus Kasady. Spiderman thought that he had destroyed Carnage (which is partly correct) except due to some engineering and maneuvering Carnage survived and now wants revenge. So why not take matters into your own hands and go on a killing spree in Doverton, Colorado. Carnage has attached himself to the local civilians making them now as its minions and what he considers now one big happy family.
Spiderman, Captain America, Wolverine, The Thing, and Hawkeye come flying in to save the day and Carnage is quick to think two steps ahead and wraps his symbiote unto all of them with only Spiderman as the only escapee. Now Spiderman and a crew of other symbiote need to work together before sunrise in order to save the small town from being burned down to the ground. What I really loved and I wished other comics could follow suit is every time the reader is introduced to a certain super hero, you get their name printed in bold letters so you know who they are. Sometimes whenever I read a Marvel comic, some character will make a special appearance and for the life of me I am lost s to who they are and why they are important. I know all these superheroes by heart but still it was refreshing to see their name written in the background.
I still do not know exactly what it is whether it be the ending or during the key elements of this graphic novel where I felt like Zeb Wells could have gone the extra mile to blow this graphic novel out of the water and instead went a different route that sizzled and became anti-climatic. The illustration and the artwork for this graphic novel is incredible and Clayton Crain deserves a round of applause. Overall I think this story is completely different from the typical Marvel comics I have discovered and having that dark aspect was intriguing and look forward to discovering more about these symbiotes.
January 10, 2018
Some very cool characters are brought in, all centered on the symbiote theme. Cletus' mania is more obvious in this story whee he doesn't shy away from killing women and children. His plan for world domination will have to account for superheroes who will risk their lives to stop him.
Cletus resurfaces in a small Colorado town where he worked to regain his strength by killing and enslaving the locals. He demands that a sovereign state be instituted with him as leader. The Avengers try to stop him, but all except Spider-Man are possessed by the symbiote. Also there is a deadline until Cletus must be secured, otherwise the whole town will be bombed by the army.
Cletus resurfaces in a small Colorado town where he worked to regain his strength by killing and enslaving the locals. He demands that a sovereign state be instituted with him as leader. The Avengers try to stop him, but all except Spider-Man are possessed by the symbiote. Also there is a deadline until Cletus must be secured, otherwise the whole town will be bombed by the army.
April 17, 2022
3.5 stars. This was an interesting read! Catching up on Carnage stuff has made me realize that this is the first time that I’ve gotten the chance to really dive into the insanity that is Kasady. It was truly interesting and intense watching him takeover an entire town and then control every single individual. It’s definitely not related, but it reminded me of Wanda’s takeover of the town in WandaVision but this was definitely more brutal. The fight scene between Venom and Carnage was interesting but not as intense as I wanted it to be. It was great seeing a little bit of the dynamic between Thing, Hawkeye, Spider-Man, Captain America, and Wolverine. There was also the introduction of other symbiotes but it was rather confusing because I don’t feel like we got enough backstory. Some of them were really cool though especially Dr. Tanis Nieves as Scorn. The artwork was okay in this. Still shots worked really well but I still struggled with Crain’s action shots. It’s always difficult to tell exactly what’s going on. Overall, a solid read. Worth checking out if you’re into Carnage.
February 17, 2024
Very nearly gave this a 4 star, but there were a few things that took it down a notch.
Most of the art was great, but there were a couple characters that looked off. Spider-man’s head was one of these, it looked very ugly.
Felt like there was maybe a bit too much going on character wise for what the story was. There’s 5 avengers, 7-ish symbiotes, bunch of town people, and additional scientists/military. It was just too much and not enough attention given to any of them.
Writing was good, plot was okay.
This is a pretty small self-contained story that any fan of spidey or symbiotes should check out. But if you’ve read a summary of the plot, you might as well pass since it is fairly basic.
Most of the art was great, but there were a couple characters that looked off. Spider-man’s head was one of these, it looked very ugly.
Felt like there was maybe a bit too much going on character wise for what the story was. There’s 5 avengers, 7-ish symbiotes, bunch of town people, and additional scientists/military. It was just too much and not enough attention given to any of them.
Writing was good, plot was okay.
This is a pretty small self-contained story that any fan of spidey or symbiotes should check out. But if you’ve read a summary of the plot, you might as well pass since it is fairly basic.
September 29, 2021
Really liked this one, and even though I prefer Crain's artwork strictly for covers only. Because it's not suited well for interior art in general (in my opinion) here, he's making that exception and the artwork looks awesome inside too.
Fun story of Carnage taking hostage a town and Spidey with a team is going to confront him about it! Lots of things happen and even though it gets a bit tedious with all the symbiotes around towards the end, I still liked it.
Fun story of Carnage taking hostage a town and Spidey with a team is going to confront him about it! Lots of things happen and even though it gets a bit tedious with all the symbiotes around towards the end, I still liked it.
November 6, 2018
Çizimler güzeldi. Hikaye iyi gidiyordu. Son kısımda her zamanki gibi yine sıçış. Yok yani. O kadar otur oku, bu nedir? Şimdi tamam, sonda o kadar da bir problem yok ama bu kahramanlığın “gereksiz kahramanlığa” götürülmesi beni cidden bayıyor ve o dünyadaki gerçekçiliğini de benim için yitiriyor.
Sırf son kısımdaki Spider-Man’in o gereksiz konuşma sahnesinden dolayı bütün keyfim kaçtı, daha fazla düşürmeden puanı burada bırakıyorum.
Sırf son kısımdaki Spider-Man’in o gereksiz konuşma sahnesinden dolayı bütün keyfim kaçtı, daha fazla düşürmeden puanı burada bırakıyorum.
January 14, 2020
3.5*
Although Wells and Crain, again, didn't use all the pieces they put on the table, "Carnage, USA" is way better than "Family Feud". Maybe it's because I prefer small-town horror to immoral experiments in a secret lab. But it's probably due to the focus on action rather than underdeveloped characters.
Although Wells and Crain, again, didn't use all the pieces they put on the table, "Carnage, USA" is way better than "Family Feud". Maybe it's because I prefer small-town horror to immoral experiments in a secret lab. But it's probably due to the focus on action rather than underdeveloped characters.
September 9, 2025
Carnage USA: 9.5/10
Issue #1:
In Doverton, Colorado it seems like a peaceful little town. At Ralsby meat packing plant a supervisor notices the meat is gnarly and says to sharpen the blades. Suddenly, Carnage appears with blood all over him. He calls for the police but Carnage kills him. Four days ago an officer storms into his home and tells his wife it’s coming from the water and to step away. He rushes upstairs to find his son and daughter consumed by the symbiote. Sheriff O’Neil stumbled into a town neighboring them yesterday and said he was carrying demands from Cletus Kasady. They quickly realized the list was carved onto him. The US emergency response center is thinking of the next steps of how to stop Kasady. O’Neil cannot form a statement and keeps muttering that’ll do pig that’ll do. They have sent Spiderman, Wolverine, Hawkeye, and Captain America on it. Spiderman calls the thing to assist. Kasady is with an older couple he demands to do things for him. He calls for Martha to get him lemonade and setup the table because company is coming. The avengers arrive on the plane to find everyone saying big smiles over and over. Kasady is holding a baby and Hawkeye goes to take a shot but Cap tells him to stand down. Kasady then consumes all avengers besides spiderman with the symbiote and says it’s between them. The response center loses signal with spiderman and they have 5 reinforcements.
Issue #2:
Spiderman was the last avenger they’d heard from at 1700 hours. The last transmission was carnage singing itsy bitsy spider. The other avengers in symbiote form are chasing spiderman. Spiderman continues to try to fight them off. He finds a fuel truck and attacks Ben. It kills the symbiote on him but it reconsumes him. The first of the contingency plans is Scorn, Dr. Nieves. The scorn symbiote is a hybrid of symbiote and machine that can form bonds with technology. They get her ready for deployment even against strong urges not to. However, Dr. Nieves wants to kill Kasady. Contingency B is the mercury team. The team consists of Marcus Simms and his symbiote dog Lasher, James Murphy(Agony), Rico Axelson(Phage), and Howard Ogden(Riot). Spiderman is in a truck with residents at the Ralsby family estate. The man in the car is the father of Cole, a 7 year old girl kidnapped by Carnage. Ralsby runs a zoo on the estate. The gates were shut off to save power to juice the perimeter to stop Carnage. They explain to spiderman a couple weeks ago people stopped coming back from the plant and when they went to check it out they found the symbiote consuming cattle to become massive and it slipped into the drains. It killed his wife and kids. The symbiote does not like the fence around the perimeter and won’t come in. They ask spiderman if more avengers are coming but he’s unsure. At Mobile command rig outside of Doverton, Scorn and the mercury team get acquainted. While Kasady is at the bar with Cole, his mom begs to have her back. Kasady says under one condition, she kills the father and brings back the head. She agrees.
Issue #3:
Scorn and the mercury team are scoping out the meat packing plant. They find the perimeter secured and the mercury team is trying to get to know scorn better as she doesn’t break easy. The team wants to make this the last Sunday Kasady ever sees. At last chance church, Kasady is with Captain America and the people of the town. He tells them that the lord wants a sacrifice of teeth. He is going to pull teeth out of the residents. Captain America continues to try to break free from the symbiote. At the family estate, sheriff Eric is trying to break free out of the gate as his wife and kids have arrived. He threatens to drive through and expose the perimeter if they don’t let him out to be with them. They don’t listen and he breaks his truck through the gate. His wife tells him this is goodbye. The symbiote consumes her and she goes to attack. Spiderman comes and stops her. She tells sheriff that it’s the only way to save the kids so he says to do it. She won’t do it. Spiderman promises sheriff that carnage will not kill his family. The reinforcements attack the church. Sounding a civilian as the symbiote are fighting through each other. They start attacking the symbiotes. Meanwhile, Kasady has the woman and the kids back at the church. He’s going to make Cap kill them. Suddenly, Cap breaks free momentarily from the symbiote and makes a distress call before being consumed again. He tells Kasady it’s a secret. He called Avengers black operator Victor Edward. He said unleash 4563. Enter contingency plan 3, Flash Thompson(Venom). He wants to kill Kasady and calls him a hillbilly moron that can’t control the suit and should’ve went down long ago.
Issue #4:
Spiderman addresses the unaffected townspeople at the family estate. He says although he knows he should go in alone, that if it was his family he’d want to fight as well. One of the gorillas busts loose but they shoe it away. Sheriff apologizes for breaking the fence. Downtown, the mercury team continues to fight even though they have bad weapons. Suddenly, the infected avengers arrive and start to fight. They call for Dr. Nieves who is devising a plan in the meat packing plant. Spiderman can no longer tell who is good and bad. He sends the sheriff to go after his wife while he fights the symbiote. He finds her tied up. Spiderman is struggling to take on the symbiote but it’s suddenly blasted. Venom has arrived but he assures spiderman he’s on his side. Carnage and Venom begin fighting. Venom blasts him with sonic shrapnel injuring the symbiote. Venom puts the gun in his mouth but spiderman stops him and says nobody dies. It saves carnage who breaks free. Suddenly, Nieves storms in on a truck with a plow taking both of them out. She says Kasady was the puppet master and she had to separate him. The avengers are able to break free. The symbiote begins to flee. Kasady has Thompson hostage now with a knife above him.
Issue #5:
The machine Scorn built separated Flash and Kasady from the symbiotes but now there are 2 loose symbiotes. At the meat packing plant, Kasady and Thompson face off. The symbiote takes away Kasadys legs as well as Flash. Flash attacks wounding Kasady but Kasady bites his neck. The avengers arrive but quickly realize the symbiotes have overtaken the animals that got loose. Kasady and Flash continue to battle. The avengers begin fighting off the animals. Simms is told they are coming to blow up the town at Sun up. The avengers realize the venom symbiote is trying to get back to Flash. So they take down the other carnage symbiotes to let it get to Thompson. Scorn uses a super sonic disrupter to attack the carnage symbiotes. Simms calls the authorities to stop the blow up but it’s too late. The missiles are coming in and people evacuate. The venom symbiote makes its way back to Thompson. He gets Kasady in a choke hold. The whole town has been destroyed. Scorn scoops up the carnage symbiote. Venom kept Kasady alive to please spiderman. Sheriff comes up quickly saying he’s going to kill him for what he did and killing one of his daughters. Spiderman tells him he is not a murderer and to not retaliate and end up in prison. He eventually lowers the gun and Kasady is sent to prison.
Amazing 5 issue story with amazing art.
Issue #1:
In Doverton, Colorado it seems like a peaceful little town. At Ralsby meat packing plant a supervisor notices the meat is gnarly and says to sharpen the blades. Suddenly, Carnage appears with blood all over him. He calls for the police but Carnage kills him. Four days ago an officer storms into his home and tells his wife it’s coming from the water and to step away. He rushes upstairs to find his son and daughter consumed by the symbiote. Sheriff O’Neil stumbled into a town neighboring them yesterday and said he was carrying demands from Cletus Kasady. They quickly realized the list was carved onto him. The US emergency response center is thinking of the next steps of how to stop Kasady. O’Neil cannot form a statement and keeps muttering that’ll do pig that’ll do. They have sent Spiderman, Wolverine, Hawkeye, and Captain America on it. Spiderman calls the thing to assist. Kasady is with an older couple he demands to do things for him. He calls for Martha to get him lemonade and setup the table because company is coming. The avengers arrive on the plane to find everyone saying big smiles over and over. Kasady is holding a baby and Hawkeye goes to take a shot but Cap tells him to stand down. Kasady then consumes all avengers besides spiderman with the symbiote and says it’s between them. The response center loses signal with spiderman and they have 5 reinforcements.
Issue #2:
Spiderman was the last avenger they’d heard from at 1700 hours. The last transmission was carnage singing itsy bitsy spider. The other avengers in symbiote form are chasing spiderman. Spiderman continues to try to fight them off. He finds a fuel truck and attacks Ben. It kills the symbiote on him but it reconsumes him. The first of the contingency plans is Scorn, Dr. Nieves. The scorn symbiote is a hybrid of symbiote and machine that can form bonds with technology. They get her ready for deployment even against strong urges not to. However, Dr. Nieves wants to kill Kasady. Contingency B is the mercury team. The team consists of Marcus Simms and his symbiote dog Lasher, James Murphy(Agony), Rico Axelson(Phage), and Howard Ogden(Riot). Spiderman is in a truck with residents at the Ralsby family estate. The man in the car is the father of Cole, a 7 year old girl kidnapped by Carnage. Ralsby runs a zoo on the estate. The gates were shut off to save power to juice the perimeter to stop Carnage. They explain to spiderman a couple weeks ago people stopped coming back from the plant and when they went to check it out they found the symbiote consuming cattle to become massive and it slipped into the drains. It killed his wife and kids. The symbiote does not like the fence around the perimeter and won’t come in. They ask spiderman if more avengers are coming but he’s unsure. At Mobile command rig outside of Doverton, Scorn and the mercury team get acquainted. While Kasady is at the bar with Cole, his mom begs to have her back. Kasady says under one condition, she kills the father and brings back the head. She agrees.
Issue #3:
Scorn and the mercury team are scoping out the meat packing plant. They find the perimeter secured and the mercury team is trying to get to know scorn better as she doesn’t break easy. The team wants to make this the last Sunday Kasady ever sees. At last chance church, Kasady is with Captain America and the people of the town. He tells them that the lord wants a sacrifice of teeth. He is going to pull teeth out of the residents. Captain America continues to try to break free from the symbiote. At the family estate, sheriff Eric is trying to break free out of the gate as his wife and kids have arrived. He threatens to drive through and expose the perimeter if they don’t let him out to be with them. They don’t listen and he breaks his truck through the gate. His wife tells him this is goodbye. The symbiote consumes her and she goes to attack. Spiderman comes and stops her. She tells sheriff that it’s the only way to save the kids so he says to do it. She won’t do it. Spiderman promises sheriff that carnage will not kill his family. The reinforcements attack the church. Sounding a civilian as the symbiote are fighting through each other. They start attacking the symbiotes. Meanwhile, Kasady has the woman and the kids back at the church. He’s going to make Cap kill them. Suddenly, Cap breaks free momentarily from the symbiote and makes a distress call before being consumed again. He tells Kasady it’s a secret. He called Avengers black operator Victor Edward. He said unleash 4563. Enter contingency plan 3, Flash Thompson(Venom). He wants to kill Kasady and calls him a hillbilly moron that can’t control the suit and should’ve went down long ago.
Issue #4:
Spiderman addresses the unaffected townspeople at the family estate. He says although he knows he should go in alone, that if it was his family he’d want to fight as well. One of the gorillas busts loose but they shoe it away. Sheriff apologizes for breaking the fence. Downtown, the mercury team continues to fight even though they have bad weapons. Suddenly, the infected avengers arrive and start to fight. They call for Dr. Nieves who is devising a plan in the meat packing plant. Spiderman can no longer tell who is good and bad. He sends the sheriff to go after his wife while he fights the symbiote. He finds her tied up. Spiderman is struggling to take on the symbiote but it’s suddenly blasted. Venom has arrived but he assures spiderman he’s on his side. Carnage and Venom begin fighting. Venom blasts him with sonic shrapnel injuring the symbiote. Venom puts the gun in his mouth but spiderman stops him and says nobody dies. It saves carnage who breaks free. Suddenly, Nieves storms in on a truck with a plow taking both of them out. She says Kasady was the puppet master and she had to separate him. The avengers are able to break free. The symbiote begins to flee. Kasady has Thompson hostage now with a knife above him.
Issue #5:
The machine Scorn built separated Flash and Kasady from the symbiotes but now there are 2 loose symbiotes. At the meat packing plant, Kasady and Thompson face off. The symbiote takes away Kasadys legs as well as Flash. Flash attacks wounding Kasady but Kasady bites his neck. The avengers arrive but quickly realize the symbiotes have overtaken the animals that got loose. Kasady and Flash continue to battle. The avengers begin fighting off the animals. Simms is told they are coming to blow up the town at Sun up. The avengers realize the venom symbiote is trying to get back to Flash. So they take down the other carnage symbiotes to let it get to Thompson. Scorn uses a super sonic disrupter to attack the carnage symbiotes. Simms calls the authorities to stop the blow up but it’s too late. The missiles are coming in and people evacuate. The venom symbiote makes its way back to Thompson. He gets Kasady in a choke hold. The whole town has been destroyed. Scorn scoops up the carnage symbiote. Venom kept Kasady alive to please spiderman. Sheriff comes up quickly saying he’s going to kill him for what he did and killing one of his daughters. Spiderman tells him he is not a murderer and to not retaliate and end up in prison. He eventually lowers the gun and Kasady is sent to prison.
Amazing 5 issue story with amazing art.
December 30, 2015
Carnage U.S.A. was mildly okay. Oh, and it made me realize that I have no idea how something became my favorite.
If you don’t know Carnage, he’s what happens when a serial killer, Cletus Kasady, gets ahold of the symbiotes (um, goopy parasites?) that made Spiderman. In Carnage U.S.A. the titular character is not really all about that as he goes and sits around a small Colorado town until Spiderman and the Avengers show up. After Carnage takes the entire town over, more superheroes show up, and because I don’t follow comics, they were just random superplebes identified with text boxes above their initial appearances. The artwork is good, but the story is crap. About the only reason I don’t give it one star is because there was a moment where I went, “It’d be cool if this happened” and then that cool thing happened. Eh, good enough for me. Two stars.
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Oh… you’re still here. Well, I’m not sure why Carnage is my favorite Spiderman villain other than that I decided he was a long time ago. Carnage should be great—symbiotes finally getting into a crazed person without limits—but I usually come away disappointed. Maybe he’s my favorite Spiderman villain because Spiderman villains are mostly lame, but I think it’s just one more reminder that what you pick as your favorite as a kid doesn’t hold up under scrutiny as you grow older. I could argue the same for Mr. Sinister from the X-Men. He’s my favorite villain, but I don’t know why, thus the distinction no longer matters.
If you don’t know Carnage, he’s what happens when a serial killer, Cletus Kasady, gets ahold of the symbiotes (um, goopy parasites?) that made Spiderman. In Carnage U.S.A. the titular character is not really all about that as he goes and sits around a small Colorado town until Spiderman and the Avengers show up. After Carnage takes the entire town over, more superheroes show up, and because I don’t follow comics, they were just random superplebes identified with text boxes above their initial appearances. The artwork is good, but the story is crap. About the only reason I don’t give it one star is because there was a moment where I went, “It’d be cool if this happened” and then that cool thing happened. Eh, good enough for me. Two stars.
--
Oh… you’re still here. Well, I’m not sure why Carnage is my favorite Spiderman villain other than that I decided he was a long time ago. Carnage should be great—symbiotes finally getting into a crazed person without limits—but I usually come away disappointed. Maybe he’s my favorite Spiderman villain because Spiderman villains are mostly lame, but I think it’s just one more reminder that what you pick as your favorite as a kid doesn’t hold up under scrutiny as you grow older. I could argue the same for Mr. Sinister from the X-Men. He’s my favorite villain, but I don’t know why, thus the distinction no longer matters.
June 26, 2013
This was a pretty good story that involved Carnage, probably one of the best. It definently brought out Carnage's insanity to a new level, and made him seem more threatening than he has been in all of his appearences, except for Minimum Carnage.It also helped bring in some symbiotes that haven't been seen in a while. All in all, if you're a fan of symbiotes, give this book a read.
December 22, 2013
First carnage story I have ever read, and I'm hooked. Awesome artwork, and it was fun seeing the many symbiots from Venom, and plus the Flash Thompson Venom was a big surprise.
April 20, 2024
So when I was a sophomore in high school I finally was able to start my comic book journey. I always wanted to read comics and graphic novels but I just never had the opportunity. But then I found out about the Comixology app and quickly downloaded it onto my phone. Since I was a high schooler I didn’t have much money to spend, but they had some free samples of comics that were out at the time. The first one that I noticed was Carnage U.S.A.
Carnage was always a fascinating character to me. Since Marvel turned Venom into an anti-hero they had to come up with a new symbiote villain, and this time they decided to make sure he wouldn’t become a hero of any sort, so they came up with redneck serial killer Cletus Kasady. I remember there was a video game on the PlayStation where Spider-Man and Venom team up to stop Carnage and the final boss fight scares the crap out of me. The red symbiote is consuming the world around you and you have to escape to save your lives.
In addition to my interest in Carnage the cover really drew me in. Why does the serial killer maniac have an American flag draped around him and why is it called Carnage U.S.A.? Is he turning the world into his a world of pure chaos? So I started reading my first comic ever and it was this very comic that I’m reviewing right now. It wasn’t even the full story, in fact I’m pretty sure it was only a few pages of issue 1, but it stuck with me all these years. The art was so striking to me; I always imagined comics as the classic silver age Steve Ditko style art with flat but intense colors but here I was looking at some very realistic and gritty art.
So 13 years in the making here we are, I finally finished the first comic I ever started (which is funny to say because I’ve read hundreds of comics since then), and it was great. Carnage is always frightening and this is no exception, he takes control of an entire town and is toying with their lives. Almost immediately the Avengers are called in, and you guessed it they get taken over too. A symbiote strike force team is called in to fight fire with fire. This was a wild ride from start to finish and I’m so happy that I finally was able to finish this all these years later.
Carnage was always a fascinating character to me. Since Marvel turned Venom into an anti-hero they had to come up with a new symbiote villain, and this time they decided to make sure he wouldn’t become a hero of any sort, so they came up with redneck serial killer Cletus Kasady. I remember there was a video game on the PlayStation where Spider-Man and Venom team up to stop Carnage and the final boss fight scares the crap out of me. The red symbiote is consuming the world around you and you have to escape to save your lives.
In addition to my interest in Carnage the cover really drew me in. Why does the serial killer maniac have an American flag draped around him and why is it called Carnage U.S.A.? Is he turning the world into his a world of pure chaos? So I started reading my first comic ever and it was this very comic that I’m reviewing right now. It wasn’t even the full story, in fact I’m pretty sure it was only a few pages of issue 1, but it stuck with me all these years. The art was so striking to me; I always imagined comics as the classic silver age Steve Ditko style art with flat but intense colors but here I was looking at some very realistic and gritty art.
So 13 years in the making here we are, I finally finished the first comic I ever started (which is funny to say because I’ve read hundreds of comics since then), and it was great. Carnage is always frightening and this is no exception, he takes control of an entire town and is toying with their lives. Almost immediately the Avengers are called in, and you guessed it they get taken over too. A symbiote strike force team is called in to fight fire with fire. This was a wild ride from start to finish and I’m so happy that I finally was able to finish this all these years later.
Read
January 28, 2025So I realised this a great place to track all my Venom reading. Last year I started reading Venom from his introduction until the now ongoing Venom war. I’m currently in the agent Venom Rick run and I’m enjoying this but this was a little intermission read and I have to say, I’m not impressed. Carnage never really does it for me, as a character it’s just pure evil for evils sake and that’s no the most gripping pull for a horror book especially when you’re including so much violence to women and children. It reminded me a lot of the terrifier films in that I understand the appeal but it question why people love it to the point they do. Nothing really apart from the art works for me, the writing was always kind of flat and didn’t punch or flow at all. Also the mood and lighting of the panels are really confusing and dark, I got really confused on who was who multiple times. Agent venoms inclusion was just kind of lame, and executed pretty weakly. I wanted to really love this but I ended up understanding why people Are not the biggest Zeb fan.
December 10, 2019
I was disappointed.
These are the same people that brought us Carnage: Family Feud, which I absolutely adored.
So, what went wrong here? Simply put: uninspired, boring story.
Carnage takes over a town. Does fucked up shit. The avengers show up. He beats them. Some symbiote soldiers including Agent Venom and Scorn show up. They save the day. Spider-Man teaches a valuable lesson about not killing people. The end.
Just... boring.
And ya know what? It really hurts to give this a three based on story, because the art by Clayton Craine is phenomenal and the dialogue is also very good. Hawkeye making fun of The Thing is hilarious, and every character was true to form. I also really liked seeing Scorn again. She’s awesome.
Ok. I just talked myself into 4 stars. The art and dialogue saved the day. Could have been a 5 with a better and more imaginative story though.
These are the same people that brought us Carnage: Family Feud, which I absolutely adored.
So, what went wrong here? Simply put: uninspired, boring story.
Carnage takes over a town. Does fucked up shit. The avengers show up. He beats them. Some symbiote soldiers including Agent Venom and Scorn show up. They save the day. Spider-Man teaches a valuable lesson about not killing people. The end.
Just... boring.
And ya know what? It really hurts to give this a three based on story, because the art by Clayton Craine is phenomenal and the dialogue is also very good. Hawkeye making fun of The Thing is hilarious, and every character was true to form. I also really liked seeing Scorn again. She’s awesome.
Ok. I just talked myself into 4 stars. The art and dialogue saved the day. Could have been a 5 with a better and more imaginative story though.
March 10, 2023
Zeb Wells's violence fetish is on full display, as is his misogynistic treatment of women (there's only one female character with agency in the whole story; otherwise, it's quite the sausage fest - and pretty white to the exclusion of others as well. The poor sheriff's wife is tortured and made into a passive controlled damsel in distress beyond belief in the 21st century - and what is WITH Wells's propensity for tying up women with symbiote tendrils?!) Wells's tendency to kill children is here, too - we're spared an on page death scene, although we get to see a baby in repeated life-threatening situations.
Carnage is a horror title so the dark and bloody tone is to be expected - but this leans heavy on outright violence for violence's sake, less on suspenseful dread. There's nothing clever or profound about the story, just a lot of Cletus being Cletus is that's your thing.
Carnage is a horror title so the dark and bloody tone is to be expected - but this leans heavy on outright violence for violence's sake, less on suspenseful dread. There's nothing clever or profound about the story, just a lot of Cletus being Cletus is that's your thing.
May 6, 2024
Una historia muy oscura al estilo Marvel, lo que significa que terminan al enemigo de turno con algo interesante que no sabemos como pasa.
La historia nos dirige con Cletus y sus ganas de joder una ciudad, lo consigue e incluso a algunos vengadores en el proceso como el Cap, La mole, Wolverine, Clint, etc.
El gobierno agarra a varios simbiontes que tienen a su disposición y los mandan a ese pueblo, lo cual junto con Spiderman, hacen el saneamiento respectivo para que terminen con él.
Lo cual es curioso porque quien termina todo es el agente venom.
La historia nos dirige con Cletus y sus ganas de joder una ciudad, lo consigue e incluso a algunos vengadores en el proceso como el Cap, La mole, Wolverine, Clint, etc.
El gobierno agarra a varios simbiontes que tienen a su disposición y los mandan a ese pueblo, lo cual junto con Spiderman, hacen el saneamiento respectivo para que terminen con él.
Lo cual es curioso porque quien termina todo es el agente venom.
July 19, 2018
First off, Clayton Crain's Carnage is the height of creepiness! He has an amazing way of illustrating Cletus Kasady's perverted insanity. The story here amps up most normal Carnage tales and his powers are much stronger than I remember but the author, Zeb Wells, evens it out with a lot of forces out to stop Carnage. His dialogue is funny and scary at times. Overall, the book is intense and dark but a very good read.
May 8, 2017
So what happens when Carnage takes over a small town in Colorado? The Carnage Symbiote takes over the Avengers (including Cap) and a small zoo, nothing like a Giraffe symbiote. While this is one of the Darker of marvel comics, it's hard not to be dark when writing a story that revolves around a serial killer bonded with an alien symbiote.
July 7, 2017
This is great,great art and not meaning less fights like in maximum carnage.The whle USA theme blends so well and the fact that if symbiotes existed the US army surely used it to create super soldiers wh play a good role here.
The Carnage posters are amazing,Carnage looks as deadlier as it gets.
The Carnage posters are amazing,Carnage looks as deadlier as it gets.
March 16, 2020
Like Carnage: Family Feud, Carnage USA is a bit of a sleeper. Great artwork, but not much depth here. Carnage also doesn't produce much carnage here either. One would expect a serial killer to kill more people, but yeah, that just doesn't happen in this more happy go lucky graphic novel that had the potential to be dark, but instead, was just boring.
July 21, 2019
I'm confused. Didn't Carnage already create other Carnages? When did he lose his legs? Why these Avengers and not more sonics?
Why were those other people with their, like, 15% symbiotes useful?
Why were those other people with their, like, 15% symbiotes useful?
July 30, 2019
Artwork was amazing
Seeing heroes like Wolverine and Captain America carnageized......awesome
Great action and characters included. Carnage trying to takeover a small US town. All good stuff
Also.........Venom arrives to help!
4 outta 5
Seeing heroes like Wolverine and Captain America carnageized......awesome
Great action and characters included. Carnage trying to takeover a small US town. All good stuff
Also.........Venom arrives to help!
4 outta 5
February 6, 2020
Good book
Last book was good but this was even better than the last can’t wait to read superior carnage this is amazing lol and he probably the only marvel character that curses like that I do recommend this for spider fans
Last book was good but this was even better than the last can’t wait to read superior carnage this is amazing lol and he probably the only marvel character that curses like that I do recommend this for spider fans
May 28, 2020
A really good standalone Carnage story. The premise of Cletus taking over and infecting all the inhabitants of a small town is great and manical. The whole thing felt like it had more to tell and condensing into 5 issues was a bad choice. There is enough room for a 8-12 issue arc on this story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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