Mary Jane Watson has become the Carnage of Ghost Spider's reality. Carnage has long been considered one of the most terrifying Spider-Man villains of all, a psychotic symbiote bonded to a serial killer. The threat of Carnage is one that has come close to breaking Spider-Man ethically as well as physically, given the wall-crawler is mentally unequipped for dealing with the kind of homicidal madness one would frankly more expect from someone like the Joker.

But there's one way to make Carnage even more scary; by bonding the symbiote with a beloved character like Mary Jane Watson. In the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series, Mary Jane Watson became the Carnage Queen. She converted Midtown High into a symbiote hive, creating powerful and dangerous new symbiote creatures. Nut in the end, her strength of will was actually enough to override the symbiote's desire for chaos. Back in September 2019, artist Shannon Maer was commissioned to make Carnage MJ a reality in a stunning variant cover.

Related: Marvel's Black Cat is Getting An Anti-Venom Upgrade

And now it seems like a Carnage MJ may finally be becoming a comic book reality, too - sort of. According to Marvel's February 2021 solicitations, the Mary Jane of Ghost Spider's reality is about to become her dimension's Carnage - and she's going head-to-head against Ghost Spider herself. Here's the cover art and synopsis for this interdimensional adventure:

Gwen Versus Carnage 2 Cover
  • KING IN BLACK: GWEN VS. CARNAGE #2 (of 3)
  • SEANAN McGUIRE (W) • FLAVIANO (A) • Cover by KEN LASHLEY
  • DESIGN VARIANT COVER BY FLAVIANO
  • VARIANT COVER BY CARMEN CARNERO
  • GWEN STACY VS. MARY JANE WATSON!
  • They’ve been at each other’s throats over the band for years, but not like this. THIS battle of the bands really shreds…

Of course, in Ghost Spider's reality the symbiotes are very different than in main Marvel continuity. They're actually artificial creations, and they can be worn safely - if the wearer is psychologically prepared for the experience of wearing them. It took Ghost Spider quite some time to figure out the Venom symbiote was enhancing her emotions, and even now she reverts to Gwenom form if she loses her temper. It's unclear where Mary Jane Watson will get the Carnage from, but there's no way she's mentally stable enough to control it. The solicitation suggests MJ's deep-rooted frustration with Gwen Stacy will ultimately lead to her launching a murderous attack upon her band-mate.

Until now, it's been believed there is no connection between the symbiotes of Ghost Spider's reality and Knull, the God of the Symbiotes in the main timeline. But it looks as though the symbiotes are going wild on Earth-65 at the same time as Knull has been freed in the normal Marvel Universe. That suggests there may be a link of some kind - and if so, it's entirely possible both Mary Jane's Carnage and Ghost Spider's Gwenom will wind up falling under Knull's influence. Worse still, this suggests "King in Black" won't just affect the one Marvel timeline, but will instead threaten the entire Marvel Multiverse.

More: Marvel's Deadliest Versions Of Venom Are Finally Teaming Up