Warning! Spoilers for Eddie Brock: Carnage #5 ahead!Carnage drops a huge reveal about symbiote powers as it gains control overVenom’s former host, Eddie Brock. Following Marvel’sKing in Black,a weakened Carnage has bonded to Eddie Brock, who agrees to be its host with the condition that they’ll only target serial killers, though Carnage has different plans in mind.
Carnage threatens to kill dozens of innocent people if Eddie Brock falls out of line, but Eddie momentarily gains leverage by trapping himself in a burning room. Unfortunately for Eddie, Carnage remains intact inside him, and he’s left permanently injured.When Eddie asks Carnage why his healing factor doesn’t kick in, the symbiote reveals that he"doesn’t feel like"healing him.
Symbiotes are particularly tough. Venom and Carnage can survive melee attacks, bladed weapons, all kinds of bullets, and energy beams. Fire is usually one of their biggest weaknesses, but they can regenerate if a speck of them survives the flames. Symbiotes can also heal their host’s body, but there’s one implicit stipulation.
Carnage Reveals That Symbiote Powers Are More Complex Than They Seem
Eddie Brock: Carnage; Written by Charles Soule; Art By Juanan Ramírez
Carnage simply chooses not to heal Eddie Brock’s body just to teach him a lesson. The villain explains that symbiotes don’t heal their hosts automatically, as Eddie’s experience with Venom may have suggested. If Carnage is telling the truth, thenEddie Brock could have learned how to heal himself long ago, and he could use Carnage to heal himself rapidly if he understood his own body"on a cellular level.“A strong understanding of human capabilities and symbiote powers leads to true symbiosis, where a human host and its symbiote have equal control over their full range of skills.
Carnage’s comments also reveal a secret about human physiology in the Marvel universe. According to the symbiote, he and Venom simply activate the parts of Eddie’s cells that can heal his body quickly, rather than patching it up with their alien powers. If humans understood how to achieve this feat just as naturally as symbiotes do, then all human beings could technically develop a healing factor. This could explain howSuper-Soldier serums produce a healing factorin regular humans like Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes: by activating dormant parts of their bodies.
Carnage’s Revelation Proves How Strong Eddie Brock And Venom’s Bond Is
Venom Is Used To Healing Eddie Brock Without Asking Too Much In Return
Eddie Brock and Venom’s relationship has been rocky, at best. However, Eddie’s time with Carnage has shown him how easy he used to have it.In the brief time Eddie has been Carnage’s host, Carnage has forced his hand into killing, knocked him unconscious, taken control of his body, ransacked his mind, and left him to burn. Carnage also requires Eddie to murder, whereas Venom had the innate drive to be a lethal protector. When Eddie andVenominevitably reunite, Eddie will likely be grateful for his harmonious dynamic with his original symbiote.
