Many nostalgic fans will recommend ‘Maximum Carnage’ as one of the greatest Spider-Man stories in the character’s lengthy history – especially readers who started picking up Spidey in the ’90s! Personally, I found fourteen issues far too long for a one-trick story. But, Carnage‘s rampage through New York City took place at a time when the Comics Code was still very much in force and the Spider-Man titles were still aimed at an all ages audience. By modern standards, ‘Maximum Carnage’ seems so incredibly tame. But hey… each to their own!
Venom isn’t the only one who shares the spotlight with the webs-slinger, as guest-stars galore join forces with him as he tries to take down the murderous Carnage. But the villain of the piece isn’t alone, either! The psychotic Cletus Kasady is accompanied by a strange array of sidekicks. Just try not to wonder why the Avengers, Fantastic Four or any of the other gazillion super-teams didn’t step up to end the slaughter.
So get ready for a killing spree (with very little actual killing) as the carnage reaches its maximum! Allegedly…
Major Crossover: With 14 chapters covering four Spider-Man titles, Maximum Carnage can be considered a major crossover.
Must-Reads: In the Fallout section, issues/story arcs marked with a ✔ are essential reading.
Spoilers: The issue descriptions and fallout section contain spoilers, so be warned!
Previous events that directly impact this story:
- THE INFINITY WAR (1992) – Spider-Man meets his Doppelgänger
- SPIRITS OF VENOM (1992-1993) – Venom clashes with the Doppelgänger
- LETHAL PROTECTOR (1993) – Venom agrees to leave New York
Want to keep it simple? Here’s the chronological reading order without story descriptions, or spoilers:
- Spider-Man Unlimited #1 [1/3]
- Web of Spider-Man #101
- Amazing Spider-Man #378
- Spider-Man #35
- Spectacular Spider-Man #201
- Web of Spider-Man #102
- Amazing Spider-Man #379
- Spider-Man #36
- Spectacular Spider-Man #202
- Web of Spider-Man #103
- Amazing Spider-Man #380
- Spider-Man #37
- Spectacular Spider-Man #203
- Spider-Man Unlimited #2 [1/2]
| Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| Spider-Man Unlimited #1 [1/3] Harry Osborn recently died in the guise of the Green Goblin while trying to kill Spider-Man. Following Harry’s funeral, Mary Jane Parker asks her husband, Peter Parker, to take a break from being Spider-Man. Peter agrees, but almost immediately breaks his promise when Carnage (Cletus Kasady) escapes the Ravencroft Institute. Back in action, Spidey finds himself outnumbered when Carnage allies himself with his evil Doppelgänger (introduced during THE INFINITY WAR, 1992) and fellow Ravencroft escapee, Shriek! 1st appearance: Shriek/Frances Barrison |
| Web of Spider-Man #101 Cloak & Dagger save Spider-Man from a proper pounding! But Shriek absorbs Daggers light powers, apparently disintegrating her in the process. In San Francisco, Venom (Eddie Brock) hears about Carnage’s rampage and decides to return to New York… |
| Amazing Spider-Man #378 An injured Peter Parker returns home for a stern talking to from Mary Jane. But it’s in one ear and out the other, with that guy, as he heads back out and runs into the Demogoblin (the demonic side of the Hobgoblin, separated during THE FALL OF THE KINGPIN, 1991-1992). Failing to subdue him, Peter returns home. Venom arrives in New York and immediately goes after Carnage alone! But he gets beaten so badly that he shows up at the Parkers’ home looking for help… |
| Spider-Man #35 Spidey, Venom, Cloak and the Black Cat confront Carnage’s crew who have now allied with the Demogoblin. But the fight doesn’t go the heroes’ way as the Black Cat is buried in rubble and the bad guys escape. |
| Spectacular Spider-Man #201 The Black Cat and Venom argue in favour of ending the threat of Carnage once and for all, by killing him. Peter visits his recently-returned father, Richard Parker, who believes that some people are no better than animals and need to be put down. Carnage’s crew kills their way through New York, inciting regular people to riot. Sensing all the death and destruction, the creepy Carrion (Malcolm McBride) rises from the sewers… |
| Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| Web of Spider-Man #102 Team Carnage start killing people on the dance floor of a club that Mary Jane happens to be dancing in. The living vampire Morbius joins the heroes the fight against Carnage, but the bad guys escape (again) when the good guys focus on saving people from the burning club. |
| Amazing Spider-Man #379 Carrion joins Carnage’s gang and the rioting continues. Richard and Mary Parker find themselves caught up in the riots, saving Peter’s aunt May Parker from a mugger. Deathlok shows up, looking to kill Carnage but is defeated by Shriek and tied up. Cloak obtains a Sonic Disruptor and brings the flame-powered Firestar of the New Warriors onto Spidey’s team. |
| Spider-Man #36 Team Spidey attack Carnage and his crew and manage to defeat them. Venom uses the Sonic Disruptor on the Carnage Symbiote in an effort to separate it from Kasady, but the psychotic villain recovers and reveals that the Symbiote is now his bloodstream, making him impossible to kill. Back on the streets, Iron Fist frees Deathlok. |
| Spectacular Spider-Man #202 Firestar contains Carnage. Venom and Spider-Man convince her to burn Carnage alive, until Spidey changes his mind and makes her stop. Spider-Man and Venom clash over the web-slinger’s change of heart until Venom wins, then turns his attention to Carnage. Shriek uses her sound powers to defeat Venom before she and Carnage take Eddie prisoner. Captain America arrives to help the remaining heroes to their feet… |
| Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| Web of Spider-Man #103 Spider-Man’s team add Cap, Iron Fist, Deathlok and Nightwatch to their numbers as they work to contain the riots and try to take down Carnage’s abandoned allies. Carnage and Shriek torture Venom! |
| Amazing Spider-Man #380 Captain America defeats Shriek, putting an end to the riots. Nightwatch and Morbius track down Carnage at the Statue of Liberty, but are overpowered by the Doppelgänger and Demogoblin. The demonic duo rescue Shriek who restarts the riots, leaving the heroes surrounded while the villains escape… again! |
| Spider-Man #37 Venom breaks free and fends off Carnage long enough to escape. Carnage punishes Shriek for disobeying him, killing the Doppelgänger to teach her a lesson. The heroes catch up with the villains and Dagger shows up, very luch alive! |
| Spectacular Spider-Man #203 Deathlok whips up an Alpha Magni-Illumizor which conveniently subdues Shriek, cures Carrion, knocks out the Demogoblin and kills Carnage. Spider-Man heads to Central Park to think over all that’s happened, but Venom shows up and falls unconscious. Carnage rises from a nearby fountain! |
| Spider-Man Unlimited #2 [1/2] The three-way fight ends with Carnage escaping. Venom heads after the villain, while Spider-Man goes to the hospital. Later, Peter confronts his father over his pessimistic advice and makes up with Mary Jane. Soon, Spider-Man, Black Cat and Venom find Carnage at the ruins of the orphanage Cletus Kasady grew up in. Venom attacks and throws himself and Carnage into a nearby generator. The explosion knocks Carnage out, leaving no trace of his symbiote. This time, the Avengers turn him up and take him away. Venom disappears completely and chooses to use the explosions to allow Spider-Man to believe he’s dead. |
See how this story fits into the wider Marvel Universe with these reading orders:
- VENOM, 1988-2004 – Eddie Brock
| Must Reads | Issue & Fallout | Event / Crossover |
| ✔ | Spider-Man #44 (1994) To repay Spider-Man for saving his son during Carnage’s rampage, Detective Conner Trevane gives the wall-crawler information on a gun-dealing racket. | |
| Amazing Spider-Man #388 (1994) Peter Parker’s parents are revealed to be Simulacrums (or Life Model Decoys or Replicoid Duplicates) when the Vulture kills them. Amazing Spider-Man #389 (1994) Spider-Man discovers Harry Osborn (or rather his Green Goblin persona) was behind the creation of Peter Parker’s fake parents. | PURSUIT | |
| ✔ | Amazing Spider-Man #390 (1994) Malcolm McBride returns as Carrion and allies himself with Shriek again. | SHRIEKING |
| Spider-Man #48 (1994) Demogoblin is killed by the Hobgoblin. | ||
| ✔ | Amazing Spider-Man #393 (1994) Shriek cures Carrion. | SHRIEKING |
| ✔ | Venom: Carnage Unleashed #1-4 (1995) Venom and Carnage next clash when a computer game based on Carnage’s New York rampage, ‘Carnage Unleashed’, is released. | PLANET OF THE SYMBIOTES |
| Spectacular Spider-Man #229 (1995) Peter Parker finally gives in to Mary Jane and has (what’s intended to be) a permanent break from being Spider-Man. | THE GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY | |
| ✔ | Spectacular Spider-Man #246 (1997) After numerous super-villain breakouts at the Ravencroft Institute, Dr Ashley Kafka and John Jameson are fired. | |
| Amazing Spider-Man #545 (2008) Harry Osborn is revealed to be alive and well. | ONE MORE DAY | |
| Amazing Spider-Man #581 (2009) Harry Osborn’s resurrection is explained. | ||
| ✔ | Carnage #1-5 (2010-2011) Carnage and the Doppelgänger are rreunited with Shriek and immediately go on another killing-spree together. | |
| Minimum Carnage: Alpha #1 (2012) A pseudo-sequel pits Carnage against the new Venom (Flash Thompson) and Scarlet Spider (Kaine). | ||
| ✔ | Absolute Carnage #1-5 (2019) Carnage looks to kill everyone on Earth who’s been a host to a Symbiote in preparation for the arrival of Knull. | ABSOLUTE CARNAGE |
| ✔ | Extreme Carnage: Alpha #1 (2021) Cletus Kasady’s consciousness enters the Symbiote Hive Mind causes a different kind of carnage. | EXTREME CARNAGE |
| ✔ | Carnage Reigns: Alpha #1 (2023) Cletus Kasady’s consciousness takes over Tony Stark‘s Extrembiote Armor, allowing him to take part in a near-unstoppable rampage through New York! | CARNAGE REIGNS |
| Collected Edition Title | Collects… |
| Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Maximum Carnage (vol.25) | Amazing Spider-Man #378-380 Spectacular Spider-Man #201-203 Spider-Man #35-37 Spider-Man/Punisher/Sabretooth: Designer Genes #1 Spider-Man Unlimited #1-2 Web of Spider-Man #101-103 |
| Carnage Epic Collection: Born in Blood (vol.1) | Amazing Spider-Man #361-363, 378-380 Amazing Spider-Man Annual #28 Spectacular Spider-Man #201-203 Spider-Man #35-37 Spider-Man Unlimited #1-2 Web of Spider-Man #101-103 |
| Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage | Amazing Spider-Man #378-380 Spectacular Spider-Man #201-203 Spider-Man #35-37 Spider-Man Unlimited #1-2 Web of Spider-Man #101-103 |
Reading Order © Omniverse Comics Guide 2026
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