What if Captain America was infected with Carnage's terrifying symbiote? Thanks to Marvel Comics and the upcoming Absolute Carnage event, fans no longer have to wonder... and the answer is as much of a nightmare as most will expect.
As yet more proof that the comics can do far more than the legally divided worlds of the Avengers and Venom movies, it seems that no Marvel hero will be untouched once the bigger, badder, and now symbiote god Carnage unleashes havoc this summer. The event is already dubbed Absolute Carnage, teasing fans with the scale of the crisis. And to drive home that point, Marvel is releasing more than two dozen variant covers for their biggest books leading into the August release of Absolute Carnage #1.
RELATED: How Captain America Can Bring Venom Into The MCU
The Captain America #13 cover by artist Butch Guice is just one variant that the Absolute Carnage event will be taking over, but we think fans will agree: no matter how good the others may be, seeing Steve Rogers' version of Carnage is going to be hard to beat. Have a look at the variant cover below:
For those who may not have been following the world of Venom in recent years, let us be the first to tell you that Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman have changed the game when it comes to Marvel's symbiotes. But those looking to dive into the madness of Absolute Carnage this summer only have a few issues to catch up on. The biggest development being the resurrection of Cletus Kasady, and his new mission to kill every Marvel hero who has worn a symbiote. Don't worry about keeping track of who that endangers--because according to Cates himself, this event "encompasses every single character who has ever worn a symbiote and every symbiote that has ever been, going all the way back to when Peter found the black suit."
That means just about every Marvel hero and half of the villains are now being hunted, so that Carnage can attain a higher level of symbiote godhood. And this time, he actually has the physical powers to pull it off. So the good news is that the above 'Carnage-ized Captain America' is more symbolic than a literal story tease. The bad news? Carnage will just kill him, not worry about infecting him. Check out the full list of Marvel books that will be getting Carnage-ized variant covers come July, ahead of the Absolute Carnage #1 launch in August.
- 1. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #25 by TODD NAUCK
- 2. AVENGERS #22 by JUNGGEUN YOON
- 3. BLACK CAT #2 by MARK BROOKS
- 4. BLACK PANTHER #14 by RYAN BROWN
- 5. CAPTAIN AMERICA #13 by BUTCH GUICE
- 6. CAPTAIN MARVEL #8 by INHYUK LEE
- 7. DAREDEVIL #8 by LEE GARBETT
- 8. DEADPOOL #15 SKOTTIE YOUNG
- 9. DOCTOR STRANGE #17 by EMA LUPACCHINO
- 10. FANTASTIC FOUR #12 PATCH ZIRCHER
- 11. FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #9 by WOO DAE SHIM
- 12. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #7 by GUISEPPE CAMUNCOLI
- 13. IMMORTAL HULK #20 by NICK BRADSHAW
- 14. SAVAGE AVENGERS #3 by LEINIL YU
- 15. SPIDER-GWEN: GHOST-SPIDER #10 IBAN COELLO
- 16. THOR #15 by MIKE MCKONE
- 17. TONY STARK: IRON MAN #14 PASQUAL FERRY
- 18. UNCANNY X-MEN #21 by DECLAN SHALVEY
- 19. VENOM #16 by RON LIM
Fans eager to see more of this Absolute Carnage event being teased ahead of its August start date can watch the announcement trailer below. From the sound of writer Donny Cates, this coming tale of Carnage might end up being even more far-reaching than his Venom series. And considering that comic has re-written the origins of the Marvel Universe... that's saying something.
The Absolute Carnage event begins on Free Comic Book Day, coming Saturday, May 4th to your local comic book store.