Just under a week after our deep dive into Venom Unleashed #3, we’re back with a new edition—and this time, we’re shifting gears from All-New Venom to something even darker, bloodier, and more chaotic: Eddie Brock: Carnage.
The Venom mythos has always been defined by evolution, and few characters embody that better than Eddie Brock. From vengeful rival to reluctant antihero to cosmic warrior, Eddie’s journey has taken him across every corner of the Marvel Universe. But his latest chapter? It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before. Bonded to the Carnage symbiote—the very embodiment of chaos and brutality—Eddie is walking a razor’s edge between control and destruction. What does this mean for him? For Carnage? And for the larger symbiote saga unfolding across the Marvel Universe?
To get the inside scoop, we sat down with Venom editor Jordan D. White, who’s not only overseeing All-New Venom but also steering the bloody ship of Eddie Brock: Carnage. From his personal love of Venom and Carnage to how this wild new story came together, Jordan breaks down what fans can expect from this latest symbiote saga. So buckle up—it’s about to get messy.
Plus, read on to check out the exclusive Eddie Brock: Carnage #2 preview art!
Now, let’s dive in!
AIPT: To start, I wanted to ask, now that you’re editing a Venom book and a Carnage book, what is it about these characters YOU love, Jordan, and do you have a favorite story for each?
Jordan: I am a Spider-Man fan at my core, and like most comic fans, the stories that have lodged themselves directly into my heart and brain are the ones from when I was young and impressionable. My favorite Venom stories are the ones back when he was a Spider-Man foe–with the top one being Amazing Spider-Man 346-347, David Michelinie and Erik Larsen, Venom taking Spider-Man to a deserted island for a final battle to the death. What I love about Venom, though, is a little complicated, though, in that what he has become is so different from what he was back then. Back then, he was a scary, beefier, evil Spider-Man, and I kind of loved the simplicity of that. He just wanted to destroy Peter and he was extremely driven and hard to stop. But since then he’s grown into something else entirely. When I look over all the Venom there has been since then I see, as a through-line, stories of deeply flawed people working to try to turn a corner and do better. And really, that covers the hosts AND the symbiote as well. And I think there is a lot to like about that.
Covers for Amazing Spider-Man 346-347.
Covers for Amazing Spider-Man 346-347.
For Carnage, my fave is Maximum Carnage. I have a real fondness for Carnage and the “family” of madness he put together in that series. As for what to love about Carnage…I mean, kind of that he is the OPPOSITE of what I just said about Venom. He is terrible and he has no qualms about that fact. He is a killer, he loves to kill, and he loves to inflict pain and suffering. And while obviously, those are awful traits for a person to have in real life, they are fascinating traits in stories. I love horror movies–Carnage is not that much different from Freddy Kreuger–he is the bad guy of the story…but he is also the reason you want to see the movie in the first place.
A page from Maximum Carnage.
Credit: Marvel
AIPT: The interest in Eddie Brock: Carnage is palpable, Jordan, as we got over 50 questions for you from this. I’ve whittled them down, which was made easy thanks to many folks asking a similar question: Where did the idea come from (i.e., did you pitch it, did Charles, etc)?
Jordan: Like many great comic books, it was a collaboration. The idea of Eddie and Carnage bonding started with Al Ewing, who pitched that as one of the end elements of Venom War. He wasn’t pitching a story from there, just that that was where Eddie ended up as we shifted over to All-New Venom.
It was my idea to bring in Charles Soule–we’ve worked together a number of times over the years on DARTH VADER, POE DAMERON, LANDO, DAREDEVIL, and all the way back to THUNDERBOLTS. It’d been too long since we’d done a book together, so I reached out. Thankfully, he was interested, and he took the seed of Eddie and Carnage together and grew it into a full story, with all the details of their deal, what they’re both really trying to get from each other, and even how they’re cheating one another. And I could not be happier.
Marvel Studios could do the funniest thing.
AIPT: C.S. wants to know: Considering some comparisons have been made to the show Dexter due to the comic’s premise; were the makers of Eddie Brock: Carnage inspired by any other media in making this? Or were you given the prompt ‘Eddie is bonded to the red symbiote in this’ and went from there?
Jordan: That was all the juice Charles brought to the project! When I threw it to him, it really was pretty open. I think, at one point, I said something like “With it basically being an internal Venom vs. Carnage, it’s like Maximum Carnage every issue,” and while there is still a kernel of that in the book, metaphorically anyway, it went a very different way at its core.
It would not be the book it is with any other writer at the helm, Charles really took the basic concept and made it sing.
AIPT: Probably a bit early to be asking this but I figured Hex has a right to ask: Will Dylan Brock be appearing in upcoming issues or is he trapped in the world of All-New Venom with his alien dad?
Jordan: Obviously, Dylan and Eddie are going to see each other again…but not just yet. Eddie may not have always been the best father to Dylan, but he knows enough to know being around Carnage is not great for kids. He’s endangered Dylan enough without knowingly subjecting him to a serial killer. He has his hands full keeping his literal red-headed step child in line…I think he knows that Dylan is safer living with that nice couple who took him in. But yeah–they will for sure see each other. We have some plans cooking.
Dylan is currently living with MJ and Paul.
Courtesy Marvel Comics
AIPT: Kristian asks: Was this the plan for Eddie going into Venom War, or did it change over time?
Jordan: It was Al’s plan pretty far back. I don’t think it was there WAY way back, as there have been different Carnage collaborators working on the character alongside Al while he’s been Venoming. As those writer shifts happened, I think the plans shifted. But it’s definitely an idea I heard about pretty soon into my time coming over to being the Venom Editor.
AIPT: Midnighter asks: The last few Carnage series have been specifically aimed at mature audiences because of the degree of violence shown. Was there any thought of making this series Red Band or will the merger with Eddie Brock give us a less explicitly violent Carnage?
Jordan: You know, I honestly never thought about doing the book as red band, which is funny. I think our plans for the series’ existence began before the idea of Red Band books came around…and honestly, over my many years at Marvel I have done LOADS of very gory books just using the Parental Advisory rating, so I have never felt particularly limited on that front. It’s definitely EDDIE’s plan that he would tone down Carnage’s worse tendencies, but it’s definitely not anything Carnage has agreed to…so this is definitely still a book for mature readers.
A cover to Marvel’s very first “Red Band” polybagged issue.
Credit: Marvel
AIPT: Justamy asks: I really want to know how long after this comic takes place if we take into account “Venom War”? “All New Venom” takes place 3 months after the events of “Venom War”. So it would be nice to have an idea if this happens right after they both left that church or if there is a time gap between events.
Jordan: This takes place contemporaneously with All-New Venom, so it’s been right around that same amount since Venom War. Which is not to say you won’t see more about what happened in that church, but we’re picking things up a bit into Eddie and Carnage’s relationship. Eddie’s already got a whole OTHER collaborator in his mission in the form of Bailey Bushkin and her podcast.
AIPT: Wayne D. Nicholls asks: Will Eddie and Carnage be a bulkier carnage since Eddie has a bigger stature?
Jordan: Yep–that’s the plan. For sure, as Venom, Eddie’s bulk is exaggerated even more by the symbiote, but just at his base, Eddie is a buffy dude rather than Cletus’s more lithe form. He’s a more solid figure as Carnage than Cletus was.
Eddie Brock does not skip arm day!
Credit: Marvel
AIPT: The Carnage Kisser asks: We’ve certainly seen an uptick of the Carnage symbiote acting independently and wanting a degree of separation between herself and Cletus Kasady over the past couple of years. I’d be curious to know what Soule’s interpretation of the reasoning of this might be, and what part continuing to stay bonded to Eddie might mean for the symbiote, whether this is another scheme she plans to spin anyway in her favour or if finally taking another host is going to lead to a genuine change of outlook, however minimal, for the symbiote?
Jordan: As you’ve seen from the first issue, Carnage was hurt more by the events of the Venom War than it at first had seemed. Putting all that power into All Blood, the effects of the Enagrac…it left Carnage weak and unable to survive without a host. A terrible time to have JUST had a falling out with the one you brought back from the dead.
But that said…Carnage is a clever freaking symbiote, and you cannot trust him as far as you can throw him. And I doubt you can throw him far, since he is all goopy and will stick to you. But yeah–Carnage has things up his sleeves other than Eddie’s arms, for sure.
AIPT: Oro asks: How do you personally view relationships between Eddie and his Other? Romance? Friendship? A secret third thing?
Jordan: To me, the key lies in the way you asked the question–the symbiote is Eddie’s Other. It’s not the same as a romance or a friendship, it’s taking this other thing and making it a part of yourself. When he was with Venom, the reason they said “We are Venom” wasn’t because symbiotes have different pronoun usage, it was because they truly felt like the two of them together added up to one thing. So I think that relationship is deep because…well, it’s hard to imagine having a relationship with a part of yourself, but yeah–that is kind of what it was. Is your left hand in love with your right? It’s more complicated and more simple than that.
A panel from Venom #150 by Tradd Moore.
Credit: Marvel
BUT…that was with Venom. And now Eddie is with Carnage. And that is much more like…he lost a part of himself and replaced that part with a murderer. But the basis of the relationship is still fundamentally the same as it was with Venom, so…it remains to be seen just how much of Carnage Eddie takes into himself and vice versa.
AIPT: One deeper lore question from Carnage Kisser: Another thing we’ve noticed over the past few years is that the Carnage symbiote’s mouth color has changed from pink to orange. I’d love to know what Saiz’s preference is and if he plans to do one over the other for this series, and perhaps even why? We’ve never had an outright, but I believe it was to imply the symbiote’s gained resistance to fire? Is that also something we should expect to see in this series?
Jordan: Huh. Interesting question. One thing that is funky about Carnage is his design. I LOVE Carnage’s original design. Mark Bagley REALLY kicked ass coming up with it. And one of the things I love about it is, sadly, one of the things that it has lost over the years–how UNrealistic it is. That design is very much a design that works because it’s a drawing. Those black lines all over a red base–what does that represent? It does not necessarily look like anything in real life, it just looks COOL.
Likewise, his teeth–I refer to his original teeth look as “jack o’lantern teeth” because, in contrast to Venom’s actual, real-looking individual teeth, Carnage looked like someone just cut a jagged line into his face, and he was using it as a mouth. I think the glowing of his mouth is similar in that…what does that glow represent?
I would argue it was there because with his teeth being flat black, his mouth needed to be light for contrast…but again, that is a drawing reason, not an in-world 616 explanation. I think, though, that as comic book art styles changed over the years and tipped towards realism, artists who drew in a more reality-based style have taken Carnage and grounded him more–given him real teeth, interpreting the black lines on his skin, and in the case of the mouth glow…gotten rid of it. As of right now, Carnage’s mouth isn’t glowing in the book–I am sorry!
AIPT: Another question asked by multiple folks: Will we see Sleeper?
Jordan: You will be seeing Sleeper in one of my books very, very soon…and you will learn what he is REALLY up to a bit after that. It’s good stuff.
Sleeper has been absent for a bit.
Credit: Marvel
AIPT: Sezar is wondering: What future roles does Normie hold in the symbiote side of the story?
Jordan: I have a rough idea of where I think Normie’s story should go, long term, and I told the folks in charge of Avengers Academy what it was when I gave them permission to use him in their series. But honestly, for now, I could not be happier with how they are handling him.
If you have not checked it out yet, AVENGERS ACADEMY is an Infinity Comic you can read if you have a MARVEL UNLIMITED subscription, and it features Red Goblin, Kid Juggernaut, Moon Girl, and more working together to learn how to navigate life as a super-powered person. Highly recommended. Seriously–MARVEL UNLIMITED is one of the best deals in all of comics, you should check it out if you have not.
A panel from Avengers Academy #8 featuring Normie.
Credit: Marvel
AIPT: And finally one more question from Bear: What is Carnage’s goal for the series now that he lost his godlike powers and has to bond with his biggest enemy?
Jordan: I cannot tell you that! That’s the very question Eddie is asking himself as we speak–along with “What happened to the passengers?” and “What have I done?”
Check out the exclusive Eddie Brock: Carnage #2 preview art below!
