Eddie Brock is now Carnage, and their relationship is toxic, to say the least. Hellbent on keeping Carnage at bay, Eddie must “feed” its killers, or it’ll resort to killing innocent people. Carnage is also hungry for supervillains, so Eddie and Carnage are up against Bushwacker in Eddie Brock: Carnage #3, out this week. It’s a satisfying fight comic with some answers, and the agents on Carnage’s tale are getting ever closer.
Eddie Brock: Carnage #3 is another example of Marvel Comics leaning into more adult content. It opens with a pile of bodies strewn around Carnage and Bushwacker after Bushwacker killed them ruthlessly. The body horror of Bushwacker is also on full display, with some grotesque skin guns popping out of him. Adding to the gore is a head explosion fit for a Red Band polybagged book. This series is not holding back.
The horror element is strong with Carnage, too, with blades popping out and a level of detail in tendril appendages that verges on body horror. Jesus Saiz uses some horror-worthy imagery, like when Bushwacker doubles in size and his gums and teeth show. Even a check-in with the plane survivors is creepy and eerie.
Compared to the last issue, which was filled with setup and exposition, this issue is tons of fun. It’s safe to say a matchup between Carnage and Bushwacker seems very one-sided, but writer Charles Soule and Saiz do a great job making the fight feel tense and dangerous for Carnage. In hindsight, it wasn’t a battle that pushed Carnage too much, but the horror elements in the body horror make it feel dangerous and unnerving.
Bushwacker is a real sick puppy.
Credit: Marvel
Regarding Eddie’s state of mind, Soule does a great job tugging at the evil side of Eddie. We see it in how he loses himself when talking to the podcaster he’s feeding stories to, as well as Eddie happily making sure a character is dead. The conversations between Eddie and Carnage in Eddie’s mindscape are also well done. Visually, there’s some creepy stuff going gon with literal chains wrapping around Eddie’s head to protect him. There’s a complexity to the dynamic between Eddie and Carnage that’s intriguing, thanks to Eddie’s darker side coming through.
The only big gripe is some heavy dialogue to set up the next target. The podcaster, who is a unique man-in-the-chair for a plot like this, goes on for quite a bit over three panels to set up Muse as a target. It’s only a couple of panels, but it shows the limit of page counts in single issues.
Eddie Brock: Carnage #3 thrives as a visceral, horror-fueled slugfest that leans into its mature rating with style. Though not every moment lands perfectly, the issue delivers gore, psychological intrigue, and the thrill of a man barely holding back a monster. A wickedly entertaining entry in a series that knows exactly what it wants to be.
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