A blood sample of Peter Parker's falls into the wrong hands. A science experiment, mingling two mutated genetic strands, goes horribly out of control. A creature is born, it escapes and it kills.

And, sometimes, it has Peter's face.

The Ultimate reimagination of this character discards the sentient symbiote storyline that linked the devilish Carnage to the villainous Venom. It creates a more personal link between the bad guy and Peter, which means he feels even more guilt than usual when he fails to stop its murderous rampage. And when one of Peter's closest friends falls in its wake -- well, Peter experiences whole new levels of remorse, guilt and violent fury.

The Ultimate Spider-Man series has had its fair share of serious moments, but I can't think of one to date that matches this one, single death. Some may argue for the shooting of Uncle Ben as the landmark, but we all knew that one was coming; this (and no, I won't reveal here who dies) came entirely out of the blue and caught me offguard.

The aftermath of the murder and the inevitable confrontation between Carnage and Peter (he never dons the Spider-Man duds for this fight) is an entirely human look at the way different young people handle the death of one of their own.

Carnage hurt the first time I read it, and the impact withstood additional readings. I'm not sure if I should hate writer Brian Michael Bendis for this dramatic turn of events or thank him for solid, effective storytelling. I think I'll go for the latter -- in part because I don't think I want Bendis mad at me, ever.

by Tom Knapp
Rambles.NET
3 June 2006