Marvel's Most Powerful Symbiote Is Officially [SPOILER!] - And Venom Is Screwed

Contains spoilers for "Death of Venomverse" #5 by Cullen Bunn, Gerardo Sandoval, Victor Olazaba, Jim Campbell, and VC's Clayton Cowles

Carnage has taken on his most potent form ever as his quest to slaughter the most powerful Venoms across the universe concludes with a major defeat. In "Death of Venomverse" #5 from Marvel Comics, Carnage's final stand against some of the strongest symbiotes from across the multiverse unfolds, including defeating a version of the King in Black himself, Knull. With his potential victory, the King in Black of Earth-616, Eddie Brock's Venom, should be very worried about the villain coming after him next.

In the "Death of Venomverse" miniseries, a hostless Carnage has taken it upon himself to kill all Venoms from across the multiverse. In the process, he's consumed the powers of every symbiote he's taken out, increasing his powers exponentially. To stop him, Anne Weying, the Agent Venom of Earth-1051, assembles her own army of Anti-Venoms and Anti-Carnages, trying to halt his deadly attacks. However, those attempts largely fail as Agent Venom and her team watch Carnage get stronger and stronger. And, with the villain taking on a variant of Knull, he's on the verge of gaining god-like powers. But can Carnage be stopped? 

While Agent Venom and her army of multiversal symbiotes prepare for their next battle, the Avengers of Earth-1051 watch as Knull, the God of Symbiotes, fights Carnage. The King in Black tries to intimidate the red symbiote by telling him he will face oblivion, but Carnage's attack doesn't waver. Following the Avengers' intervention, he and Knull murder the variants of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Carnage impales most of the team with his symbiote blade while Knull slices Magneto's head off. The King in Black calls in backup for Carnage, bringing symbiote Celestials to Earth — but even they are not strong enough to take him down. Carnage beheads a space god, much to Knull's shock, and claims he's reached his true potential as a god.

With Knull and Carnage's deadly tussle reaching its climax, Agent Venom and her forces arrive at the scene. When they become overwhelmed by Knull's symbiote dragons, a surprise face touches down on the battlefield: Asgardia. Wielding Mjolnir, the daughter of Midgard, Asgard, and Klyntar holds the mighty hammer and a dark sword while her Valkyries help stop the King in Black's dragon army. However, when it seems as if Agent Venom and her symbiote allies finally gain the upper hand, Carnage does what appears to be impossible and kills Knull.

The symbiotes watch in horror as Carnage impales the King in Black and absorbs his god-like power. He tells the heroes and villains trying to stop him that he will put Knull's powers to use much better than he ever would. Carnage declares there's "nothing left" for him to accomplish and "no foe to conquer," except for one he wants dead more than any other: Earth-616's Eddie Brock.

The remaining symbiotes try to fight Carnage, leading to mass casualties. Agent Venom tells her son, Codex (Dylan Brock), to teleport them out of the battle, but he instead brings more versions of Venom from across the multiverse into the confrontation. Carnage tells the symbiotes it's "too late" to do anything but die as he massacres the army in front of him singlehandedly. The death toll climbs as Anne Weying begs Dylan to send everyone back to their realities. However, before that can be done, Carnage hits Dylan with a deadly attack. The symbiotes hold Carnage while he tells them he will kill the other King in Black before they are teleported out of the battle. The lethal symbiote calls his opponents cowards for leaving, while Weying grieves losing Dylan and more symbiotes as the issue comes to a surprise end, with her saying that all of her attempts to stop Carnage meant nothing. The team realizes they've lost the fight, and Carnage is still on the loose.

Carnage's ultimate form still runs rampant as the miniseries reaches its conclusion. But what's next for the symbiote?

Readers have an idea of where Carnage will end up next in the Marvel universe. Following his defeat of The King in Black, Carnage will return to Earth-616 in the new "Carnage" #1 relaunch from Torunn Grønbekk and Pere Pérez. He will attempt to find a host to match his deadly pursuits, leading him on a collision course with his longtime partner, Cletus Kasady. However, it's unclear whether Kasady wants to return to his past life — even with a considerable upgrade to the dangerous symbiote. Check out the text solicit and Rachelle Rosenberg's cover for "Carnage" #1, which comes out in November. 

Marvel Comics/Paulo Siqueira

ABSOLUTE KASADY! Every symbiote needs a host. And for CARNAGE, there has only ever been one host who has made it feel whole, and it's time for a reunion ... DON'T MISS this shocking and unexpected start to the next chapter of CARNAGE's story — one which lays the groundwork for the next VENOM epic!

For those expecting Carnage to lay low after gaining the incredible abilities of some of the multiverse's most notable symbiotes, think again. Gaining Knull's powers finally gives him a fighting chance to obliterate Eddie Brock. But, with the current King in Black of Earth-616 dealing with world-ending situations before, he won't go down without a fight. "Death of Venomverse" #5 is now in comic book stores and available at online retailers.