Bodies are dropping left and right thanks to Torment in Death Spiral, Marvel’s Spidey/Venom crossover, and part 4 kicks into gear today with Amazing Spider-Man #24. Someone very close to Eddie Brock is dead, and now that he’s bonded to Carnage, that rage could spike with innocence in the crosshairs. Now that Spider-Man, Venom, and Carnage are in the picture, things are about to get a lot more complicated.
Amazing Spider-Man #24 opens with a flashback to when Eddie was just a boy. It’s a reminder of how awful his father was to Eddie, from physical abuse to not caring a lick about him. Torment murdering him is no great loss, but it’s still very personal. Just imagine wearing a killing machine like Carnage, which can tap into your mind, and feeling untethered rage? Let’s just say Eddie’s rational thought goes bye-bye.
Scripting this issue is Charles Soule and Joe Kelly, with Jesus Saiz on art. If you liked Eddie Brock: Carnage, this is like the band getting back together, and that applies to the art style and Eddie taking the central focus. Since we know Carnage is already manipulating Eddie, this issue serves as a kind of test to see how far Carnage can push him.
Carnage is scary in this one.
Credit: Marvel
Also along for the ride are Venom and Spider-Man, who pick up where they left off, getting hammered by Carnage and dusting themselves off. The scenes with them are a bit tense, with Spider-Man still getting used to MJ as Venom, but no development occurs between them. It’s more of a temperature check than anything else.
Also in this issue is a nice check-in with Peter’s old grade school buddy, Brian Nehring. This scene reveals something is very wrong with him, but a choice is made to keep it a secret. It may not be Brian’s choice, either. Expect this to pay off after Death Spiral.
Check-ins aside, the scenes with Carnage are great, with Saiz doing some impressive work on the Carnage look. From the tendrils to the way his hands disappear into shapes, Carnage is far more alien than we usually see with symbiotes. Torment also looks quite scary thanks to the inset of the spiral and jagged chain weapon, making the two monster-of-the-week caliber weird. Throw in a cliffhanger page that’s odd and unnerving, and you have yourself a Carnage-focused chapter reminding us how monstrous he can be.
Amazing Spider-Man #24 shifts the spotlight to Eddie Brock and explores the dangerous bond between him and Carnage with intensity and purpose. Charles Soule taps into Eddie’s past to ground the story in personal trauma, while showing how easily Carnage can push him toward chaos. Jesus Saiz elevates the horror with unsettling visuals that make Carnage feel more alien and unpredictable than ever. While Spider-Man and Venom appear, their roles feel secondary, serving more as observers than drivers of the story. The issue works best as a character study of Eddie under pressure, building tension for what comes next in the crossover.
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