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Like his comic book counterpart, Venom 2’s Carnage is “a red one,” meaning a red symbiote. The reason for this isn’t just for cosmetics.
The color scheme of Carnage has been an important staple of the character since his debut in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #360. The sleek red and black design is instantly recognizable to fans and separates him from his equally iconic counterpart, Venom. Yet Carnage’s colors were not simply chosen for cosmetic purposes alone.
As it turns out, there is a backstory behind it in the comics, one that adds a darker context to a character who was already interesting in his own right. This could serve an equally important significance during the character’s live-action debut in Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Why is Carnage Red?
In the comics, Carnage’s origins happen in a way that seems simple on the surface. After Venom broke through the prison cell Eddie Brock was being held in, a small piece of the symbiote was left behind. That piece soon bonded with Cletus Kasady, Brock’s cellmate. Once he came into contact with it, the two bonded, and Carnage was born. However, it is the way in which Kasady merges with the symbiote that gives Carnage his unique coloring.
Rather than bonding through exterior means the way Eddie and Venom did, the symbiote had merged with Cletus through his bloodstream. Specifically, the alien found its way into Cletus through a cut in his hand. What resulted was not only a stronger bond between the two of them but a more chaotic one as well. This is why Carnage is more powerful than Venom, and it is also why he looks the way he does. The red hue and unstable, fluid-like design of the character is meant to represent its fusion with Kasady’s blood.
This strange connection to the color red and its association with blood goes well beyond Carnage’s origins. When looking through the character’s long history, many of the stories and themes surrounding the villain take this fact into account. In Amazing Spider-Man #361, the issue in which Spider-Man first comes across Carnage, the villain wrote his name in blood at each crime scene. Along with this, there was the “Maximum Carnage” story arc, where Kasady had his blood drawn by a doctor while at the Ravencroft Institute, who hoped to “cure” him “of his madness.” This caused a then-dormant Carnage to re-emerge. There is also the fact that Kasady, himself, evokes the same themes as the symbiote he bonded with. He was a serial killer before Carnage existed, which connects him strongly to the theme of blood, and he is always depicted as having bright red hair.
How Venom 2 Incorporates Carnage’s Coloring
These themes seem as if they might make their way into Venom 2, as well. Aside from the comic-accurate design of Woody Harrelson’s Carnage that has been bringing the movie a lot of hype, there is also the fact that some trailers suggest that Kasady’s alter ego emerges during an experiment. This could be setting up a similar idea from the comics, where Kasady’s connection to his symbiote is blood-related. This is probably why Venom is terrified of Carnage being the color red since it would have the same significance as it did in the comics.
With the film releasing soon, it won’t be long before audiences find out why Venom 2‘s Carnage is red. Oftentimes, movies will give the viewer an entirely different interpretation of events from the source material, particularly when the source material is a comic book. But the trailer does highlight the importance of the color red when it comes to Carnage, and it seems as if the film will play by the same rules as the series it is based on.
To see how Cletus Kasady bonds to his symbiote, watch Venom: Let There Be Carnage in theaters Oct. 1.
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