The Amazing Spider-Man #362
Amazing Spider-Man #362 is the second chapter of the three-part introductory Carnage arc (ASM #361–363), the storyline that cemented Carnage as one of Spider-Man's most enduring and vicious antagonists. It delivers the first on-panel confrontation between Venom and Carnage — a parent-versus-offspring symbiote clash that the book also uses to lay down foundational lore about how the alien creatures reproduce asexually, why Carnage is markedly more dangerous than his progenitor, and why Venom alone can (at least partly) track him. That Venom's cooperation comes only when Spider-Man appeals to Eddie Brock's warped moral code — protecting innocents — is the earliest dramatic articulation of Venom's antihero identity, a character trajectory that would drive his entire solo mythology in the years that followed.
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The three-issue arc was scripted by David Michelinie, who had also created Venom years earlier during his previous run on the title alongside Todd McFarlane, and penciled by Mark Bagley with inks by Randy Emberlin — the regular creative team on Amazing Spider-Man at the time. Wikipedia's series history notes that Michelinie and Bagley's era was characterized by extensive use of Bagley's Spider-Man design for licensed merchandise, suggesting the team was operating at a commercially high-profile moment for the title. According to the Wikipedia entry on Carnage, Stan Lee had input into Carnage's character concept, pushing for a villain who would be considerably darker and more lethal than Venom.
Trivia · 7 facts
- Second appearance of Carnage (Cletus Kasady), part of the three-issue introductory Carnage arc spanning ASM #361–363 (April–June 1992).
- Written by David Michelinie; penciled by Mark Bagley; inked by Randy Emberlin; cover also by Bagley and Emberlin; edited by Eric Fein; lettered by Rick Parker; colored by Renee Witterstaetter and Bob Sharen.
- Story title: 'Savage Alliance!' (Part 2 of 3) — Spider-Man and the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) travel to Venom's Caribbean island hideout to recruit Eddie Brock against Carnage.
- First time Venom and Carnage actively oppose each other in the same story arc; Venom agrees to help only in exchange for his freedom, with Spider-Man reluctantly accepting.
- Key symbiote mythology established: Venom explains to Spider-Man and the Torch that the symbiote reproduces asexually once per generation and theorizes that Carnage's unique power level results from the offspring having gestated on Earth.
- Carnage demonstrates the ability to block Venom's natural parental tracking sense — a lore detail that would remain a persistent element of both characters going forward.
- J. Jonah Jameson appears in a cameo; a clue pointing to Jameson as Carnage's next target sets up the conclusion in issue #363.
Cast · 9 characters
Full credits
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Spider-Man and Human Torch retrieve Venom from his desert isle and ask him to help out in the fight against Carnage.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
