Death of the Venomverse #1 (2023)

On Ryker's Island, Cletus Kasady decides to murder his cellmate Eddie Brock. As he pulls out a shiv, he recoils in horror as the Venom symbiote flows through the cell window and bonds to Eddie. Jubilant that his beloved Other is alive, Eddie's rejoicing is cut short as Carnage abruptly appears and impales Venom with its divine spear, All-Blood. Awestruck, Cletus asks what it is, Carnage absorbing the Venom symbiote as it replies that he'll find out shortly. Saying it has other universes to go to and Venoms to kill, Carnage disappears. On Earth-18197, Agent Venom surveils the scene of a battle in an alien jungle, lamenting that she's too late. Noting scorch marks made by high-tech weapons, Agent Venom wonders if Carnage was killed only to retract her optimism upon finding the butchered corpse of Venomized Rocket. Incredulously wondering how a raccoon got a symbiote, Anne retracts her symbiote from her face as her comrade, a man clad in the repaired Virus Armor, says that in an infinite multiverse with infinite Venoms, anything is possible; grumbling that that makes them sound expendable. Anne laments that this makes twelve Venoms from different universes they've failed to save, and Carnage is showing no signs of slowing down. On Earth-24398, Carnage attacks Venomized Wolverine as she fights her way through a Facility lab. Incredulous, Wolverine protests that she killed Carnage with her own claws, but Carnage sneers that it's not its variant from her universe. As Wolverine attacks it, Carnage urges her to fight with everything she has. Extending her foot-claws, Wolverine snarls that she doesn't care what Carnage is or where it came from, slicing its head in half as she says that she killed it once and can kill it again. Regenerating, Carnage retorts that she's never fought anything like what it's becoming. In the present, Agent Venom and Virus explore the lab, the former wondering what Carnage is after given the departure from its usual MO of random acts of violence. Virus posits that Carnage is training to prepare for a future battle, Anne noting that Carnage is going after Venomized versions of enemies it wants to fight and cutting them down, reality by reality; Virus adding that Carnage has always been stopped before and seems hellbent on making sure that doesn't happen again. Coming across Laura Kinney's corpse, Anne is shaken as Virus notes that Carnage has absorbed her symbiote -- codex and all -- to empower itself. In another universe, a Venomized Ant-Man attacks Carnage atop a symbiote-augmented ant. Transforming into Giant-Man, Ant-Venom attempts to devour Carnage by transforming his foot into a massive maw, only to be effortlessly cut down. Arriving soon after, Anne surveils the battlefield and finds Scott Lang's tiny skeleton stripped of flesh. As she laments that the people don't care about the slain Venoms and that she feels helpless to save the others, Virus tries to reassure her by saying they're catching up with Carnage. In yet another universe, Carnage perches on an apartment and watches Mania web-swing across the Philadelphia cityscape. Salivating at the prospect of claiming her Hell-Mark, Carnage attacks her only to be blasted by a torrent of hellfire. Ambushing her with a Spot portal, Carnage sneers that she doesn't deserve the Hell-Mark and has squandered its potential, strangling her with a tentacle as it starts to rip the demonic sigil from her. Agent Venom shoots Carnage from behind, buying Mania time to escape. As Andi mistakes Anne for Flash Thompson, Virus grabs her and tries to carries her to safety. Firing a barrage of spikes, Carnage disables Virus' Goblin Glider; Agent Venom attempting to buy them time for Virus to portal Andi to safety. Deducing that Agent Venom has been following it, Carnage attempts to strangle her with a tendril only for Agent Venom to slash through it and fall from the rooftop, tossing a grenade into Carnage's face. As Agent Venom picks herself up in the alley below, Virus wonders if Carnage was killed; Agent Venom replying that she sincerely doubts it. As Mania notes that Agent Venom isn't Flash, Anne introduces herself and says that she's there to protect Andi from Carnage -- who promptly portals into the ally nearby. Hiding around a corner, Agent quickly explains to Mania what Carnage is while Virus tries to repair his damaged portal device. Noting that they've got Carnage right where they want it, Agent Venom signals Agent Spider-Man, Agent Deadpool, and Agent Hawkeye to spring their trap. Laughing off their attacks, Carnage boasts that with no weak fleshy host in the way their attacks do nothing to it; Anne expression confusion as to how it could be so powerful with no host. Urging Virus to hurry, Agent Venom is only able to watch as Carnage drags Agent Spider-Man into a Spot portal and closes it, cutting him in half. Agent Deadpool attempts to avenge his friend only to be devoured, a furious Mania joining the fray despite Agent Venom urging her to stay back. Impaling Mania on numerous bladed tendrils, Carnage absorbs her symbiote -- and with it her Hell-Mark. Discarding Andi Benton's corpse, Carnage gleefully wreathes itself in hellfire as Virus opens a portal, Agent Venom lamenting their failure. Attempting to devour them before they can escape, Carnage is repelled by Virus' sonic weaponry and resolves to rid itself of that weakness next. Back at the Symbiote Squad Headquarters on Earth-1051, Virus notes that Carnage isn't following them and is still weak to sonics. Anne angrily rebukes his attempt to help her to her feet, then apologizes and sadly states that she thought they'd be able to save Andi. As she notes hit-and-run tactics won't work anymore, Agent Venom escorts Virus and Agent Hawkeye to where the rest of the recruits are waiting. As she debriefs them about Carnage's new powers and their failure to save the latest potential recruit, Space Knight Venom asks who it was and is horrified to hear it was Mania. As he angrily demands to know why she didn't bring him, Agent Venom quickly assures him that it wasn't the Mania from his world, but Flash -- wracked by guilt for abandoning his protege -- snaps that that doesn't matter. As Flash glares at her, Anne tells him that while they're getting better at tracking Carnage they still don't know what it's after, and even if they had known it'd be going after a variant of Andi Benton she'd've left him behind anyway -- his personal connection with Andi making him a liability. Agent Hawkeye says there are countless symbiotes across the multiverse with ungodly levels of power who are in danger, Anne saying they'll need to fight smart if they want to stop Carnage. Seething with rage, Space Knight Venom agrees to be patient but says that Anne won't be sidelining him anymore. Jumping to another universe, Carnage arrives in a junkyard and growls that it needs to purge all its weaknesses. Struck by a bolt of lightning, Carnage decides to add electrokinesis to its powerset and looks up to see a Venomized version of Electro. As the Venomized Electro challenges it to a fight, Carnage lunges and then telepots, appearing inside Electro and exploding his body. Absorbing Electro's symbiote — and with it his electrokinetic powers, Carnage notes it wasn't sure if that would work but is pleased with the results. As it turns to leave, however, it is confronted by the Symbiote Six -- Venomized variants of Doctor Octopus, Kraven the Hunter, Rhino, the Vulture, Mysterio, and the Lizard -- who declare their intent to avenge their fallen comrade.