Superior Carnage #2

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    k4tzm4n

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    Edited By k4tzm4n  Moderator

    The Good

    "Hey Gregg, do you want to read Carnage's new series?"

    "Absolutely! I love me some symbiotes. What's it about?"

    "Well, it's about Wizard and Klaw trying to manipulate a mostly incapacitated Carnage. So, I guess it's really just Wizard and Klaw with Carnage in the background."

    "Never mind. I do not want to read that."

    I imagine many of you would have the same reaction. Wizard and Klaw having the spotlight in a mini with Carnage's name slapped on the cover? It's tough to be optimistic about such a thing, but you know what? Writer Kevin Shinick is pulling it off thus far and it's pretty darn fun (despite being a totally bleak scenario). Wizard's decaying mind adds a unique layer to the premise, not to mention quite a few bits of amusing dialogue (loved the Black Tarantula bit). I don't find myself emotionally invested in the character's well-being, but enough is being done to make me legitimately curious about how everything will unfold for him. Klaw, on the other hand, seems like he's just there to be the dude who puts down Carnage whenever he steps out of line. It looks glorious each time and I did appreciate the scene which reveals why Klaw is loyal to this seemingly crazy man, but I'd like to see a little more depth given to the character.

    Shinick does a more than able job making these less popular villains entertaining, but the real attention grabber is the magnificent artwork. Illustrated by Stephen Segovia and colored by Jay David Ramos, the duo does a killer job on each and every panel, offering detailed and dark characters with strong outlines. Klaw, despite his consistently silly appearance, comes off as looking formidable and -- dare I say it -- like a badass at times. That in itself is quite an accomplishment. The true visual treats of this issue has to be whenever Cletus is covered in the symbiote or whenever Klaw uses his sonics. The former is awesomely frightening and the latter is pure spectacle.

    The Bad

    Carnage isn't a character who has a problem with killing anything and anyone in his path. Even the first issue of this series made that clear when he slaughtered everything in his way with his terribly pointy tendrils. So, when Wizard survives a relatively extended encounter with the villain, I thought to myself, "Man, he has no idea how lucky he is." But then it turns out Carnage attacks him three more times. I can swallow Wizard being super lucky in one assault, but knowing he attacked Wizard a few more times and didn't impale him is just too tough for me to swallow, especially after the first issue showed he tends to slaughter people with no issue whatsoever.

    I was wondering if this book could thrive without having Spider-Man appear, but it looks like that's not the case. It's unclear if SpOck will reappear, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did (most likely the finale in #5). At this point, it seems like he exists solely to fill in readers on Wizard's backstory. It definitely came off as forced and I'd much rather see the villains hold the weight of the panels on their own, but there's no denying the art team made Spidey look fantastic. As for his reaction: I understand he has priorities, but lobotomized or not, Carnage isn't a character you want to delegate to the authorities and Otto should be smart enough to realize that. Yes, he says he may have to eventually address it, but we're talking about a character who humiliated Spider-Man and Venom at the same time and he's now -- as far as Spidey knows -- potentially aligned with a villain who's going nuts, after all.

    The Verdict

    While this series probably won't turn you into a fan of Wizard or Klaw, Shinick has done a solid job creating a premise which has a nice grip on my attention. Carnage's lack of involvement is a tad disappointing, but I have a feeling that's going to change quite a bit over the next 3 issues. Throw in some truly impressive art and this is a limited-series that I'm definitely going to follow until the end.

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    butters911

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    I personally love both the Wizard and Klaw. I wouldn't call them lesser known villains. At least not to the comic reading public.

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    HollowPrince65

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    they are known just....B listers really.

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    TheCheeseStabber

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    @k4tzm4nSp0ck will return to the series in issue 4 and 5

    Solicitations <3

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    k4tzm4n

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    #4  Edited By k4tzm4n  Moderator

    @butters911: @hollowprince65: Saying "lesser-known" was a poor choice of words on my part. Updated to "less popular." Obviously people know who they are, but the intention was to imply they aren't exactly the most popular villains around and definitely not considered A-list by many.

    @thecheesestabber said:

    @k4tzm4nSp0ck will return to the series in issue 4 and 5

    Solicitations <3

    I was obviously avoiding the solicitations for this series, but thanks for ruining it for me. :P

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    TheCheeseStabber

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    @k4tzm4n: Thats your fault for reading my comments

    Everyone know all my comments contain only pain and spoilers!

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    k4tzm4n

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    #6  Edited By k4tzm4n  Moderator

    @k4tzm4n: Thats your fault for reading my comments

    Everyone know all my comments contain only pain and spoilers!

    I want you to do the world a favor. Print the following image and then tape it to your monitor. :D

    No Caption Provided

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    TheCheeseStabber

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    @k4tzm4n: Should I feel honored that you made that specifically for me?

    P.s I'm using my Craptop I cant print

    P.P.S And that only deals with the spoilers not the pain

    P.P.P.S The way you spoke in the article made it sound like you weren't sure if he was coming back, I thought was helping the all knowing Mods only to bring upon there wrath!

    PPPPS. WRATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    WWAJfan

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    .....dropping this, gonna wait what happens , if it ends good I might buy the Trade.

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    mcauburn

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    Really enjoying this series, but one thing is really annoying me; how does Kletus Cassady have his legs back? I know he has robot legs but these look like normal legs. It's a tiny point but it seems like a very obvious mistake to make.

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    WWAJfan

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    #10  Edited By WWAJfan

    @mcauburn:

    the symbi regrew his legs during Minimum Carnage (read Venom 27 n MC Omega)

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    mcauburn

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    @wwajfan:

    I actually read all of Minimum Carnage and can't remember that at all. Probably because it was rubbish.

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    WWAJfan

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    @mcauburn:

    well in Venom 27, when Flash decapitates Carnage, in that sequence it can be seen the symbiote regrowing his body, regenerating from head to body to extremities (my bad for giving you such a mediocre explanation lol) point is at that time carnage n Kassady have become more bonded nearly a perfect symbiosis..instead of 2 beings co existing they started to be more like only one being existing. Hope that helps if not my bad lol : )

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    ninjanan123

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    #13  Edited By ninjanan123

    if anything the book does fit in with the "Superior " theme of taking an awesome characters powers and putting them on some mad scientist no one really cared about

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    WWAJfan

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    #14  Edited By WWAJfan

    @ninjanan123:

    exactly, in fact they need to know that Carnage doesn't have too be superior to be awesome, Dang it he has to be Cletus freakin Kassady, im very disappointed with this series so far. This tittle should be rename Lesser-carnage

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    Barkley

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    well...Superman Unchained is better

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    WWAJfan

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    Marvel should had given this to Bunn

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    LaserLambert

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    Man I'm the opposite, if they titled this Superior Wizard I might have actually paid attention. of course then it would have NO sales.

    Klaw is awesome too.

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    TheCerealKillz

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    #18  Edited By TheCerealKillz

    @barkley said:

    well...Superman Unchained is better

    Good. GOOD. GOOD RELEVANT COMMENT. EVERYONE SHOULD JUST PRAISE YOU AS GOD, FOR MAKING SUCH A GREAT RELEVANT COMMENT I SWEAR.

    Ugh.

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    thanosrules

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    lol.

    First thing I thought, when I saw the "fourth" member of the frightful four as introduced in this issue is:

    Do all "Superior" versions have to start out with a bowl cut and round glasses?

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    Mezmero

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    #20  Edited By Mezmero

    I re read this issue and I'm starting to think this concept might have potential. Whenever Kasady fought most of the time he was simply a psychotic butcher. And especially now without a working mind he has no sense of precision or cunning. The Carnage symbiote is suppose to be a big deal and giving it to a serial killer was already a super crazy idea. Might as well not let go to waste on a brain dead body. Imagine what that elasticity and slicing power could be capable of in the hands of an actual professional surgeon. The detailed knowledge of the human anatomy and the accurate cutting techniques of a master surgeon could make this quite possible the most dangerous member of the Frightful Four. He could probably do more damage at a faster rate and causing a lot less collateral with that kind of precision. These first two issues were kind of meh, but I'm willing to see this through for now. Hopefully this won't end up like the Mac Gargan version of Venom and be completely forgettable.

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