review by justin anderson

the plot: Maximum Carnage, part eleven.
Carnage is holding Eddie Brock hostage in the torch of the Statue of Liberty, roasting him alive. Until Morbius amd Nightwatch break in. Meanwhile, our band of heroes spots the cause of the rioting in Manhattan- Shriek. It turns out she can magnify people's hatred. In a short battle, she's quickly subdued. At the statue, a battle ensues, Carnage watching on in glee. The sun rises, forcing Nightwatch to haul Morbius away. Carnage chases the others off while he proceeds to torture Brock.

Downtown, the heroes stop the rioters, one by one. Until Shriek is rescued, and after a short battle, Shriek turns up her anger magnification to a level so strong, the heroes are now trapped in the middle of a city full of people out to kill them.

the review: Okay. This issue shows the main problem with this miniseries- too many heroes. Spidey, Venom, and maybe the Black Cat or Captain America should have been enough.

The art is good, but Carnage seems to be the focus of the drawing, so much detail put on him, it takes away from everything else.

We do get a glimpse into Shriek's abilities, finally. Her ability to magnify anger in others without trying, and when she does try, the results are rather nasty. But, in the course of this issue, one has to wonder who was really in charge of the five- Shriek took over the city, while Carnage amuses himself at Brock's expense. Not to mention, he offers no help to any of his team. This is what we call "hateful", folks.

Not to mention Carrion just floats in one spot, doing nothing at all. Yeah, I'm starting to get the impression he was a useless addition.

And maybe it's just me, but if the Statue's torch is, in reality, rather small inside (watch the X-Men movie), then it shouldn't be large enough for four people to fight with room to move. Poor research on the part of the writer and artist.

*** out of *****

send all email to John Cage
this page is best viewed at 800x600, so you can see everything.