Advance Review: Extreme Carnage: Scream #1

Extreme Carnage: Scream #1 is a classic symbiote tale with some major twists. The tale begins with Alchemax losing the Spider-Man variant Doppelgänger and sending armored guards after him. The codependent duo of Andi Benton and her symbiote Scream attack both Doppelgänger and the Guardsmen.

The fight is disrupted by a massive disturbance to their convection as Carnage uses the power left behind by Knull to take control over Scream. Their combined form wreaks havoc on the Guardsmen even as Andi uses her hellfire to fight back. She separates herself from Scream and Carnage, but at the cost of Scream’s life.

The book is a quick roller coaster of emotions and tragedy, but with each act moving at hyper speed, we don’t get enough time to feel fully vested in the characters involved. In spite of this, the art effectively shows us the deep pain the separation causes both Andi and Scream. The book is classic 90s fun but with ramped up stakes in both shear violence and the death of Scream. It remains to be seen why Marvel wants to sacrifice the character of Scream, but given the classic 90s flavor there is a fair chance she and Andi will return quickly to fight again.

The dark, mystical tone and tragic destruction of a strong partnership makes the comic more than a basic crossover tale, but it remains to be seen if the authors are truly willing to throw their partnership away to simply give Carnage a visible score. Sacrificing a female symbiote this early in the crossover seemingly simply to boost the male seems a bit excessive. Here’s hoping the crossover is aiming to strengthen all the offspring symbiotes and this is simply a throwaway feint.

Writing: 3.0 of 5 stars
Art: 3.5 of 5 stars
Colors: 3.8 of 5 stars

Overall: 3.4 of 5 stars

Writer: Clay McLeod Chapman
Art: Chris Mooneyham
Colors: Marcio Menyz

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Author Profile

M.R. Jafri

M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.