There is no doubt in my mind that Carnage is one of the most iconic characters within not only Spider-Man mythos but also Marvel Comics at large. Admittedly, he’s much more synonymous with Spider-Man due to his relation to Spider-Man’s most recurring foe (and later rival/acquaintance) Venom.
Much like the Venom symbiote, Carnage has had a large amount of hosts. But the one most synonymous with it is the deranged ego-maniacal serial killer, Cletus Kassady. But with recent storylines, it looks as if that has come to an end. But there was a rather interesting character who could have easily taken on the mantle of the Carnage symbiote: Lee Price.
Lee was brought in as yet another host for Venom when it was separated from it’s host at the time, Eugene “Flash” Thompson. Lee was created in an attempt to harken back to the most notable hosts of the Venom symbiote: Eddie Brock, Mac Gargan (Scorpion) and Flash Thompson. Lee has Eddie’s typical Venom form, a military background much like Flash, and a villainous role in the vein of the Scorpion. One could easily see him as a foil to Flash Thompson, as they were both discharged from the army, lost limbs and received the symbiote later. Yet, Flash had essentially took his chance to redeem Venom and become a hero. Price did everything he could to ensure that Venom would be subject to his whims and use it for his own purposes. At the time, Venom wanted to bond with Price with the notion of turning him into a hero due to his military background and had gotten used to doing and being good.
The Venom synbiote would leave him be but like any criminal swayed by power, Price wanted it back; going after it’s clone and taking it for himself. Upon doing so, he became Maniac and actually became stronger; using it in ways that made it on par to Carnage itself, as he could possess other people with it. He would then be beaten and sent to jail after an epic team-up between Spider-Man, Black Cat and the at-time Agent Anti-Venom. Unfortunately, his use of it and overall run was quickly put to an end rather quickly when Carange himself would show up to kill him. So, why would he have been a good host for the Carnage symbiote?
Why Carnage?
Well, why not? Upon closer inspection, Price and Kassady have some similarities to one another. Kassady has a rather “loving” relationship with his symbiote that he couldn’t be without it no matter what. Upon gaining the Venom symbiote, Price loved the power it gave him and did whatever it could to maintain it. And when he couldn’t get it back, he got the next best thing with the Mania symbiote. Interestingly enough, Kassady has had different versions of the Carnage symbiote. Both of them had rather abusive childhoods as well: with the sole exception that Kassady already had psychopathic tendencies, Price had simply had abusive parents whom he had killed to escape said abuse.
In terms of overall theme, he would be quite similar to Kassady yet different to him all the same. The Venom symbiote describes Lee to be as a broken and hateful man. Kassady revels in destruction for the sake of destruction; wanting to destroy the world as he believes chaos is the natural order of the world. Price revels in destruction but more so to make a name for himself as well as get back at the world due to the misery he had experienced. Price even goes out of his way to become a crime boss using the symbiote in that way as well. Price might not be the ideal host for the Carnage symbiote; as it was actively molding Kassady into the perfect host for it. The Carnage symbiote has been described as a teenager, striving for independence from its host while at the same time craving attention and affection; which what it might get from someone like Price. Someone who is actually afraid of being alone, thus having a constant companion and would actively revel in the power that the Carnage symbiote would give him. This would make him a different Carnage altogether; making him a bit more subdued yet give him a striking presence; operating and creating crime from the shadows.
