Carnage
If you saw the third Spíder-Man movie directed by Sam Raimi, you have a pretty good idea about the origins of Venom. However, back in the early 90’s the character proved so popular, that Marvel began marketing him as something of an anti-hero instead of a villain, effectively neutering one of spider-Man’s most dangerous foes.
To try and fill the void, they came up with Carnage, by infecting maniacal murderer Kletus Kassady with an offspring of the original Venom symbiote.
Carnage has had rather few incarnations in plastic, but Hasbro deemed worthy to include him in the Marvel Legends Infinite Series line under the “Spawns of Symbiotes” moniker, along with fellow swap-out variant Toxin.
Carnage uses a retooled slim buck with a number of add-ons to portray the flailing tendrils sprouting from his calves and forearms, as well as a new head and hands.
The sculpture is well detailed even though it lacks complex textures. Carnage has a pair of holes in his back that connect to another tendril attachment, and his face is sculpted with a big, malignant grin.
Even though the articulation is not as extensive as in the Spider-Man figures sold in this assortment, Carnage still has a complete set of joints distributed as:
• Pegged hinge neck.
• Pegged hinge shoulders.
• Upper biceps swivel.
• Double hinged elbows.
• Pegged hinge wrists.
• Hinged torso.
• Swivel waist.
• Pegged hinge hips.
• Upper thigh swivels.
• Double hinged knees.
• Pegged hinge ankles,
• Rocker feet.
I find that this particular articulation design works really well with slim characters like Carnage, and although the plastic used this time feels somewhat more flexible than usual, Carnage can hold most poses without much trouble.
Carnage was molded entirely in red plastics, the harder and softer kind matching hues perfectly. All of the black paint applications show good coverage.
The eyes are painted in a pearly white color, and even though the edges of the eyes are not perfectly aligned, it is hardly noticeable considering the chaotic nature of the character design.
Other than the tendril attachment for his back, Carnage comes with no extra usable accessories, although the box includes the head of the Ultimate Goblin bonus figure and a large, translucent orange flame piece that should go on that character’s back.
I did not have much trouble to find my figure in a local store, but truth be told, afterwards I have never seen him again in the wild, but that also rings true for the Toxin variant, so maybe it is just a general distribution issue.
In any case, I find Carnage to be a really cool action figure villain and definitely worth chasing down.
Errex Score: 90/100
Category: Featured, Marvel, Toy Reviews
About the Author (Author Profile)
I've been collecting action figures since the original Kenner Star Wars days. Nowadays, I still collect pretty much anything that catches my eye.Subscribe
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